Men in the Bible: Methuselah – A Man of Opposites Methuselah lived one hundred and eighty-seven years, and begot Lamech. After he begot Lamech, Methuselah lived seven hundred and eighty-two…
Men in the Bible: Methuselah: A Man of Opposites — Longevity without legacy in the shadow of Enoch
Methuselah lived one hundred and eighty-seven years, and begot Lamech. After he begot Lamech, Methuselah lived seven hundred and eighty-two years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred and sixty-nine years; and he died. – Genesis 5:25-27
The man in the Bible we shall be spotlighting today is Methuselah, the son of Enoch.
Methuselah was the typical antithetical man because he was sired by Enoch, who did not live long, considering the average length of years in his days. Enoch lived only 365 years in an era when the average life expectancy was 907.5 years. However, his son, Methuselah, on the other hand, went on to live for 969 years!
Methuselah’s longevity was the first antithesis about him, as he almost tripled his father’s total age. Therefore, if paternal factors were any consideration in the length of years of children, Methuselah defied those odds by going on to live significantly longer than his own father. There was his first antithesis.
Another intriguing thing about Methuselah was that, despite his long life, he seemed to have achieved so little. The major feat the Bible records about him was that “he had sons and daughters.” Surely, there is more to life than having sons and daughters.
Even though the average length of life in his days was more than 900 years, Methuselah had an advantage over all his forbears and his contemporaries in that he had more days, more weeks, more months and more years than everyone else to do whatever he chose to do or become whatever he wanted to become. Therefore, just stopping at having sons and daughters sounds like a poor utilization of his numerical advantage and a pathetic summation of his lifetime.
Someone said, “the beauty of a life is not in its length, but its contribution.” As far as Methuselah goes, that was not the kind of epitaph that would be written on his tomb, as his main contribution to the world was the addition of sons and daughters. While that is not bad in itself, it was a gross underutilization of his longevity and a poor management of the resources of time and whatever else he had at his disposal.
Another, paradoxical note about Methuselah is that, while he had a father who must have been an example of right living and piety to everyone in Enoch, there was no indication that Methuselah himself followed the footsteps of his father. Nothing was said about his lifestyle, actions, choices, decisions and other distinguishing aspects of a man’s life.
The only thing of note written about him was that he lived long and had children. He did not delight the heart of God like his father. There was also no indication that he continued the legacy of intimacy that his father had with God. The chain of intimacy with the divine appeared to end with him and was neither upheld by him nor passed on to his children. That is not a recommended way to be a parent. If we learn anything from Methuselah, it will be how not to live.
Men in the Bible: Enoch – the Man with the Longest Walk with God Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days…
Men in the Bible: Enoch – the Man with the Longest Walk with God
Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him. – Genesis 5:22-24
The man in the Bible whom we shall be focusing on today is Enoch, the son of Jared. Enoch enjoyed arguably the longest unbroken relationship with God of all the people in the Bible and post-biblical days. He walked with God for 300 years!
Imagine having God for company and being His presence for 300 years. Some man Enoch must have been. Even in an era with no technology and other distractions as we have today, the era of Enoch obviously had its own fair share of distractions that did not allow anyone else before or after him to be so profiled as having that length of walk with God.
300 years!
If this were not a remarkable feat, it would not have been mentioned in the Bible when profiling Enoch in the genealogy. However, because it was a notable feat and an unusual development, even we who are around several thousand years after get to read about Enoch and his walk with God today.
While Enoch had the advantage of living in an age with lesser distractions than ours, that did not negate the commitment and steadfastness he must have invested in maintaining an ongoing relationship with God. Also, holiness is the highest form of piety, for without it no human can see God (Hebrews 12:14). Therefore, having a 300-year long relationship with God tells us the sanctified life Enoch must have led. He must have been pure in his thoughts, blameless in his speech, sincere in his attitudes, righteous in his actions, undefiled in his ways, and spotless in his company.
And God must have enjoyed his company so much that He just took him away at such an early age to keep him from being stained by the corruption of the world (Genesis 5:24). Enoch living for 365 years can be described as untimely departure, in an era when the average age was 907.5 years. But God took him away and relocated him closer to Himself so He could enjoy his presence the more.
Therefore, Enoch was not just the man with the longest relationship with God, he was also the man that God took away.
Men in the Bible: Cain and the First Misery Cain replied to the Lord, “My punishment is too great for me to bear! You have banished me from the land…
Men in the Bible: Cain and the First Misery
Cain replied to the Lord, “My punishment is too great for me to bear! You have banished me from the land and from your presence; you have made me a homeless wanderer. Anyone who finds me will kill me!” – Genesis 4:13-14 (New Living Translation)
We are still studying the man, Cain. Today, we will explore him from another unpleasant angle of being the first man in recorded history to be plagued with misery.
While this may not be such a big deal in itself, since we are all probably familiar with the story, the essence of today’s note is to help us to appreciate some of the consequences that our actions, good or bad, may attract, even when we do not really think about them. This was probably the case with Cain too, as he might not have guessed what the repercussions of killing his brother might be. After all, there was no precedence for him to learn from, which could have helped him reign in his violent impulse.
There is an African saying, “someone who does what no one else has done before will certainly experience an effect no one else has experienced.” This was the case with Cain as he soon found out when God decided to punish him for his offence. If Adam and Eve had seen the worst hand of God as the punishment for their own disobedience in eating the forbidden fruit, Cain had it much worse than his parents with this weighty pronouncement of God:
And He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground. So now you are cursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you. A fugitive and a vagabond you shall be on the earth.” – Genesis 4:10-12
While Adam had the ground cursed for his sake, in the case of Cain he was outrightly cursed from the earth with the implication that he would be forever unproductive, as the earth would not yield its goods to him. This is a terrible sentence indeed, as it meant that Cain was condemned to a life of unfruitfulness. There is no work, no business, no trade, no endeavor that he would do that would give him a satisfactory yield.
Moreover, Cain was also condemned to a life of fugitive and vagabond. The Oxford Dictionary defines a fugitive as “a person who has escaped from a place or is in hiding, especially to avoid arrest or persecution,” and a vagabond as “a person who wanders from place to place without a home or job.” These are no desirable statuses for anyone. However, they were the lot of Cain as the divine sentence for the heinous crime he committed in taking the life of his innocent brother.
He was condemned to running from place to place with no settled abode to call his own. He would run from humans, animals. elements, and everything else. Even when those were not really chasing him, his guilty consciousness would not allow him to think so, as he would only see threats to his life and safety around everyone and everything he was around. What a miserable way to live indeed.
Sin has consequences that are usually unfavorable.
Men in the Bible: Cain and the First Lie Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s…
Men in the Bible: The First Liar
Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” – Genesis 4:9
Cain set another undesirable record by telling the first lie in the annals of history, as recorded in the Holy Bible.
Having lost control of himself, which gave room for all manners of negative emotions, disappointment, bitterness, anger, jealousy and sadness, his resolve became compromised, such that when violence came knocking to be added to the list, he could do nothing to stop it. Thus, resulting in him killing his innocent brother. Having lost it to this point, it was no surprise either that Cain was past recovery and would not stop at anything to save his face.
Therefore, when God asked him about his brother’s whereabouts, he did not think twice before boldly lying, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” With this, he uttered the first lie. With hindsight, one can see how silly this must have sounded even to his own hearing because he was actually talking to the omniscient God.
The interesting thing is that his parents, Adam and Eve, even in their mistake, did not lie to God when He called them out. They only confessed they were in hiding because they were naked and afraid of what God might do to them. But this was not the case with Cain, his lack of self-control had weakened whatever noble resolve he still had left in him, and only the base part was in active play at this point. That was why he had no gumption in committing a murder in the first place, killing his own brother to boot, and then lying about his whereabouts when asked.
This sequence of events happened just like God had warned him when the whole attitude issue started:
God spoke to Cain: “Why this tantrum? Why the sulking? If you do well, won’t you be accepted? And if you don’t do well, sin is lying in wait for you, ready to pounce; it’s out to get you, you’ve got to master it.” – Genesis 4:6-7 (The Message)
By not heeding this golden warning to nip the negativity in the bud, Cain allowed it to fester until he became the willing domain for all kinds of social vices.
Men in the Bible: Cain’s Emotional Flaws That Led to Fratricide
Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him. – Genesis 4:8
We are continuing our spotlight on Cain, the first murderer and fratricide in the Bible, by exploring the inner constitution of his mind, which led him to commit murder, something that no one before him had done.
He was an angry man
By allowing negative emotions to fester in his mind and not nipping them when they started, Cain inadvertently allowed his disappointment to boil into anger. By also not exercising control over his anger, it continued to surge to the point of consuming violence that could only be gratified by hurting someone.
It is noteworthy that God warned him about the consequences of allowing his negative emotion to fester.
God spoke to Cain: “Why this tantrum? Why the sulking? If you do well, won’t you be accepted? And if you don’t do well, sin is lying in wait for you, ready to pounce; it’s out to get you, you’ve got to master it.” – Genesis 4:6-7 (The Message)
This shows that God clearly warned Cain about the implications of not putting a grip on his emotions. But he did not heed the warning, either because he did not understand what God was saying, or he was past caring. He allowed the anger to get the better of him until it pushed him to kill his brother.
He was a sad man
Another attribute Cain can be described with was sadness. He was a sad man. He did not handle the rejection he suffered well. He became jealous of his brother whose offering was accepted, and jealousy does not elicit a positive response, it usually leads to sadness and wrong behaviors. That was what we eventually saw from Cain, who made an undesirable name for himself by being the first person to be documented for murder and fratricide.
It all started with a lack of emotional intelligence, exemplified in a lack of self-awareness as to know what was good for God, and this leading to feelings of disappointment, anger and sadness, which, when still left unchecked, drove him to murder.
Another lesson we can learn from God is His disposition to a balancing act. He is not a God of extremes. Even though some who profess to follow Him go to extremes in His name or make extreme claims on His behalf, extreme is not a label that one can pin on God. He balances the acts.
Understanding God: He is Not Moved by Sentiments
Another lesson we can learn from the personality of God is that sentiments do not move Him. Therefore, He cannot be deceived into making a wrong judgment or call, as humans tend to do.
Understanding God: He is A Creator
He is a Creator. This is not to be interpreted loosely, particularly in the light of our contemporary use of the word. God is the ultimate Creator, as He created all things, even the ends of the earth (Isaiah 40:28).
Understanding God: God of the Beginning
There is no better way to begin this journey of exploring the people and entities in the Bible than to start with God. He is not just the beginning but is the origin of all things.
Women in the Bible: A Paragon of Beauty
What made Sarah’s beauty so compelling that kings and nations took notice? Explore the deeper layers of grace, favour, and mystery surrounding one of Scripture’s most unforgettable women — and discover why her story still provokes wonder today.
Men in the Bible: A Man of Ambition and Adventure
Terah may not have reached Canaan, but his courage to start a life-changing journey laid the foundation for Abraham’s destiny. Discover how ambition and bold steps mark a life of significance.
Men in the Bible: An Impetuous and Impudent Man
A revealing glimpse into a man whose choices exposed deeper issues of character, showing how hastiness and entitlement can quietly shape a destiny, and why his story still speaks to us today.
Men in the Bible: A Man with Little Foresight
Sometimes what looks like a smart choice can hide the seed of a mistake. This reflection from Scripture invites us to think again about how foresight — or the lack of it — shapes a man’s story.
Men in the Bible: The First Man to Tithe
Before laws, temples, or traditions, one man honoured God with his substance. Abraham’s tithe was not commanded, demanded, or enforced. It flowed from reverence.
Fathers in the Bible: A Destiny-Shaping Father
What makes a man a truly aware father? Discover how one man’s prophetic foresight shaped his son’s destiny and changed generations forever.
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