It is Settled!

A series of lessons from the Bible

by Howell Lasseter

Genesis Answers

Compare your answers to last week's questions with the following:

#1: Methuselah was 969 years old when he died.

#2: Methuselah was 187 years old when Lamech was born.

#3: Lamech was 182 years old when Noah was born.

#4: Lamech was 777 years old when he died.

#5: Since Methuselah was 187 when Lamech was born, and Lamech was 777 when he died, Methuselah was 964 when Lamech died; this was 5 years before Methuselah himself died.

#6: Since Lamech was 182 when Noah was born, when Noah was 500 years of age, Lamech was 682.

#7: Since Methuselah was 187 when Lamech was born, and Lamech was 182 when Noah was born, when Noah was 500, Methuselah was 869.

In relation to the time of the flood, consider this: Lamech, Noah's father, died 5 years before the flood. Methuselah, Noah's grandfather, died the year of the flood. Reading what is revealed in God's Word, what conclusions do we draw regarding the relationship of Lamech and Methuselah to God? We know "Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord" (Genesis 6:8). We know Lamech and Methuselah were not commended as to their favor with God. We know they were not spared to enter the ark. Neither did the Hebrew writer include them among the faithful in his list in Hebrews 11.

One included in the list of the faithful whom we now want to notice is Abraham. Let's look further at history to see the connection between Noah and Abraham. Abraham was from the lineage of Shem, the son of Noah. Shem was the second son of Noah, with Japheth being the oldest (Genesis 10:21) and Ham the youngest (Genesis 9:22-24). Shem was 100 years old two years after the flood (Genesis 11:10). He died at the age of 600 (Genesis 11:11). We learn from Genesis 11 that Shem was still living when Abraham was born, and probably died only 25 years before Abraham (whose name was changed by God from Abram). Notice what Joshua 24:2,3 says about Abraham's descendants: "And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus said the Lord God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the (Jordan River - HL) in old time, even Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nachor: and they served other gods. And I took your father Abraham from the other side of the flood, and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac." It is this man, Abraham, a man who served God, we will notice in our next lesson.