The Gospel According to Methuselah, Part One
A Devotional Series from Genesis
Online Bible Audio/Readings Links (ESV)
5/22 Reading Portions: Numbers 31; Psalms 75-76; Isaiah 23; 1 John 1
Genesis 5:25-27
When Methuselah had lived 187 years, he fathered Lamech. Methuselah lived after he fathered Lamech 782 years and had other sons and daughters. Thus all the days of Methuselah were 969 years, and he died.
SWORD
Methuselah had the longest recorded life in this genealogy. His was the longest recorded life in all human history. In the chronology, the length of his years coincided with the year that the great flood came upon the earth, in the days of Methuselah’s grandson, Noah. The flood came 1,565 years after the creation of Adam.
Named מְתוּשֶׁלַח (m’-too-SHE-lach) by his father, the prophet Enoch, his name means “his death sends,” “his death brings,” “his death is a spear,” or “his death is a sword,” depending on how one might pronounce the last part of his name. The Hebrew word שָׁלַח (sha-LACH) means “send” or “bring.” Pronounced a different way, שֶׁלַח (SHE-lach) means “spear” or “sword.” The latter is how my Masoretic Text Hebrew Bible presents its pronunciation in his name, and so the latter interpretation seems best. The Hebrew root מָוֶת (MA-vet) means “death,” and מְתוּ (ma-TOO) means “his death.” His death, being a spear or a sword, makes Methuselah, a type of Christ since his death was prophetic of occurring when judgment came upon the earth with a flood. Jesus’ death was a substitute for the judgment we rightly deserve, but it was also a judgment upon the entire earth. Concerning the crucifixion, Jesus said,
“Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to Myself.” John 12:31-32
Not only did Jesus’ death come by a spear piercing His side (John 19:33-34), but “sword” is often used as a metaphor for God’s Word, as it is written,
and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, Ephesians 6:17
And again,
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Hebrews 4:12
There is more than meets the eye concerning the gospel in Methuselah’s brief mention, so stay tuned and be on the lookout for tomorrow’s devotional thought. Hallelujah! What a Savior!
