Taking a look at the following ages of these men in Genesis, many will ask the question, “How could these people have lived so long?”
Methuselah 969 years old (Genesis 5:27), Jared 962 years old (Genesis 5:20), Noah 950 years old (Genesis 9:29), Adam 930 years old (Genesis 5:5), Seth 912 years old (Genesis 5:8)
Good Genetics
The life expectancy in 2020 was 72.63 years. Depending on where you live in the world, that number could vary a few years either way. Those with access to better diets and medical care are on average able to add a few more years to their lives. Even in the best case scenarios, very few of us today will live to see 100. So why are our lives so much shorter than these men listed above? How could these individuals in the Old Testament have lived so long? The most reasonable answer is genetics.
Death And The Curse
(Genesis 3:3) But God did say, “You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.”
(Genesis 3:17) To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, You must not eat from it, “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life.
When God made Adam and Eve they were created perfect. What started as perfect genetics became corrupted as a result of Adam and Eve’s sin, and the curse from God that followed. Death and sickness entered the world because of disobedience, as God said it would.
Bad Genetics
The genetic codes that lie within the human body are passed on from parents to their children. Each generation from the perfectly created couple until now have seen an increasing amount of genetic problems and defects that have been passed down. With all of these defects comes disease and sickness. You can notice in the Bible the generations that followed Adam soon began to see their life spans become shorter and shorter as the results of sin began to have an effect on how long they lived.
The lifestyle choices we make, along with the kind of foods we eat, can make a big difference in determining how long we live today. With that being said, it is certain we still will not live as long as Mr. Methuselah. Could you imagine trying to get all of them candles on that birthday cake!
