The lives and experiences of Old Testament figures resonate with us on many levels. Some of us wish we had come to the earth when darkness had not progressed to the terrible level we are witnessing right now. We also envy some of the Old Testament figures for their close relationship with God. Today, we have with us the man who spent more years on earth than all other Old Testament personalities. He is here to share his rich experiences with us. Our interviewee for the month is none other than Methuselah, the man associated with longevity. He lived on this earth for nine hundred and sixty-nine years (969). In fact, his record has not been broken in any generation.
Shepherd Heart: We are most delighted to have you with us Sir.
Methuselah: The pleasure is mine. I have been eagerly awaiting your summons since you started the series.
Shepherd Heart: (Laughs) certainly not a summons Sir. We were also excited to wait for your turn to share your thoughts with us. We are glad that you honoured our invitation. I am sure that our readers would love to know more about you and how you coped with your longevity while on earth.
Methuselah: (Laughs) the word ‘cope’ gives a wrong impression about longevity. I think most people see old age or growing old as something to be despised. It is funny isn’t it? The same people would do anything to stay alive! What is the reason for the ambivalence? Simple. Old age comes with a lot of pains. The bones ache. Muscles contract. Beauty fades and wrinkles become the norm. So, smart men have made anti-aging business a multi-billion dollar industry. And the woman folks are the major patrons, though the men are trying to catch up with the fad. Premature aging was not God’s original plan for humanity.
As Jesus Christ observed in Mathew 19:8, “In the beginning it was not so”. God had good intentions for humanity; a plan to bring them to an expected end with a beneficial outcome. But satan ambushed Adam and Eve and set in motion the cycle of death which primarily starts in old age and the attendant discomforts. There is hope for mankind anyway. The Cross of Christ was the turning point. God’s ultimate agenda is unfolding and will be consummated at the marriage supper of the Lamb.
Aging and death would be completely swallowed up by eternal life. The millennial rule of Christ would be a foretaste of the good things God has in store for the redeemed in terms of longevity. Isaiah 65:20 speaks of that epoch era: “For the youth will die at a hundred years, and he who fails to reach a hundred will be considered accursed”.
Shepherd Heart: Well, if you put it that way, it begs the question – Why did God allow the devil to tempt Adam and Eve when He (God) knew that they would not have the capacity to overcome him?
Methuselah: The ways of God are past finding out. Ephesians chapter one verses eleven declares that “God works out everything in agreement with the counsel and design of His own will”. Isaiah the prophet gives us an idea of what God thinks about people who try to question His judgment. Chapter 40, verses thirteen and fourteen posed some questions for us, “Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, or as His counsellor has taught Him? With whom did He take counsel, that instruction might be given Him? Who taught Him the path of justice and taught Him knowledge and showed Him the way of understanding”.
My advice is, learn to trust God’s judgement even when you don’t understand His ways. It is even impossible for any human to try to understand the Almighty Jehovah. He was not playing with words when He said in Isaiah chapter fifty-five verses eight and nine, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, says the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts”.
Shepherd Heart: That is profound Sir. I actually agree with you that we should accept God on His terms, after all, we do not have much choice in the matter. In my early years as a Christian, I used to ponder on why God used the phrase, “I am the LORD” while giving instructions to the Israelites after their deliverance from Egypt. In later years, I came to understand that God was telling them to trust His judgment. I believe that every Christian needs to get to the point of saying, “I will obey God’s commandments because He is the LORD. I trust His judgment in all matters concerning me because He is the LORD. He is the sole Authority in all realms”.
Methuselah: Trusting in God’s providence even when we do not understand His ways is an act of faith. That is what faith actually means. It is believing that God is absolutely in control and that He would fulfil His promises at His own time. The time factor is usually the point of departure between humans and God. He lives in eternity while mankind is bound by time. For instance, a woman who is trusting God for the fruit of the womb is influenced by her biological clock. God is not under any such constraints. The woman prays for God’s intervention with eyes on this clock.
If God delays and menopause sets in, she is likely to take her eyes off God and perhaps seeks help in medical sciences. She may allow herself to be persuaded to go for In vitro fertilization (IVF). Who dropped the ball in this instance? It certainly was not Jehovah. If she understood the personality of God, His power and authority over all things, including her womb, she would look up to heaven and say, “Father, I see the biological clock but You are the God who never fails. You are the Ancient of Days and the one who created the clock. I choose to wait for You. I know You are able to bless me with a child. If You choose not to do it, I love You all the same because I know I am Your child. Nothing can separate me from Your love”. When a child of God makes such a declaration of love for the Father, angels in heaven throw a party.
Shepherd Heart: Thank you very much Sir. This speaks to me personally. I have been in the same narrow place as this hypothetical woman. Sometimes, one is tempted to get angry with God for the perceived undue delay. Does He not know that the years are flying past us? When is He going to show up? Anyway, I have not had the cause to make provisions for Plan B. I believe that every child of God must settle the matter of trust once and for all. We cannot have any productive relationship with the Father except we trust Him implicitly. Now, I want to take us back to the issue of your longevity. Was there anything you did that contributed to it?
Methuselah: That is a very good question. If I were Adam, the first man on earth, I would give you a cop out answer. I would say that my longevity was ordained by God. If I make this claim, I would then be in a bind trying to explain why Adam, Seth, Enoch and the rest of the early humans did not live as long as I did. I think the safest place to hang my booth would be Scripture. Three Scriptures specifically declare that the days of each person on earth are numbered by God Himself. We will start from Job 14:5, “Since his days are determined, the number of his months is with You (in Your control), And You have made his limits so he cannot pass (his allotted time). The same theme is echoed in Psalm 90:12, “Help us to remember that our days are numbered, and help us to interpret our lives correctly. Set Your wisdom deeply in our hearts so that we may accept Your correction”. And lastly, Psalm 139:16, “Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in Your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them”. In a nutshell, I had nothing to do with my longevity. God chose to give me the honour of being the oldest person in my generation.
Shepherd Heart: What was your relationship with God like? Did you have any routine in your interaction with Him that you would love to share with us?
Methuselah: People of my generation were not exposed to the intensity of darkness you are grappling with now. We were closer to nature and invariably to the God who created it. I had a very rewarding relationship with God. I started my day with prayer. It was more contemplative because we did not have the Bible in our time. I loved to share my fascination with nature with God. I took long walks in the woods and asked Him questions about some of the marvels of nature I encountered during such outings.
Shepherd Heart: Did you have any means of documenting your adventures?
Methuselah: Sure. Story telling was the most important tool we used to share our experiences. Most of what you know about some of us came through story telling. That is besides inspired Scriptures anyway. We had the time to interact with our families, friends and neighbours and everyone had a story to share.
Shepherd Heart: (Laughs) you must feel sorry for us then! We have not been taken captives by technology. Families have been torn apart because everyone is married to one technological device or the other. It is not unusual to see all members of a family engrossed in their respective devices even at the dinner table which should serve as a platform for family socialization.
Methuselah: There are too many things wrong with your generation and heaven is really concerned about their effect on your wellbeing. God created humans for community. That is why the enemy is doing everything he can to destroy that bond. Right now, mental health problems are endemic globally. Human interaction is a safety valve that has no substitute. Because people are now married to their devices as you rightly observed, they leave themselves open to attacks by demons of depression. Suicide rates have skyrocketed in nations where technology has been elevated above human relations. There is really nothing heaven can do about the situation because God would not infringe on the free will He gave humans from the beginning of time. Help comes to those who seek it.
Shepherd Heart: I agree with you totally Sir. This reminds me of the Lord’s admonition to the church in Laodicea recorded in Revelation 3:17, “For you say, ‘I and rich; I have prospered and grown wealthy, and I am in need of nothing; and you do not realize and understand that you are wretched, pitiable, poor , blind, and naked”. We have attained the level of technological advances that ought to make our lives better, but our quality of life is pitiable.
Methuselah: There is no indication that the situation will improve in future. If anything, the enemy is expected to make his last pitch for the destruction of humanity by undermining every fabric of sanity in the society through the reign of lawlessness. Jesus said in Mathew: 21-22, “For then there will be great tribulation (affliction, distress, and oppression) such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now – no, and never will be (again). And if those days had not been shortened, no human being would endure and survive, but for the sake of the elect (God’s chosen ones) those days will be shortened”.
Shepherd Heart: Is there really nothing we can do to salvage the situation?
Methuselah: The people of God do not walk in darkness. Paul the apostle said in Ephesians 5:8, “For you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the LORD; walk as children of light”. He also said in 1 Thessalonians 5:4, “But you, brothers are not in darkness, so that the day should overtake you like a thief”. The best protection is found in God – in His word and His Spirit. Make the Scriptures your main food. Make the Holy Spirit your best friend. More importantly, trust God with all your heart. Have confidence in His ability to protect and provide for you. There is a Scripture you must commit to memory. It is Malachi 3:16, “Then those who feared the LORD talked often one to another; and the LORD listened and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him of those who reverenced and worshipfully feared the LORD and thought on His name”. How does God respond to such people? In verse 17 of the same chapter He said, “And they shall be Mine, says the LORD of hosts, in that day when I publicly recognize and openly declare them to be My jewels (My special possession, My peculiar treasure). And I will spare them, as a man spares his own son who serves him”. Loving God with your whole heart, soul, mind and strength is the pathway to greater joy and a fulfilled life.
Shepherd Heart: Thank you very much Sir. We have enjoyed the chat with you tremendously. We pray that God would use it to minister life to all our readers, especially the redeemed of the Lord.
Methuselah: Thank you for having me.
