Genesis 5:24-32

Methuselah lived one hundred eighty-seven years, and became the father of Lamech. Methuselah lived after he became the father of Lamech seven hundred eighty-two years, and became the father of sons and daughters. All the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty-nine years, then he died.

Lamech lived one hundred eighty-two years, and became the father of a son, and he named him Noah, saying, “This same will comfort us in our work and in the toil of our hands, because of the ground which Yahweh has cursed.” Lamech lived after he became the father of Noah five hundred ninety-five years, and became the father of sons and daughters. All the days of Lamech were seven hundred seventy-seven years, then he died.

Noah was five hundred years old, and Noah became the father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Methuselah was the oldest person ever recorded. He lived to be 969 years old. This is understood to be the time that the rains started for the global flood. This is very interesting because he outlived his son Lamech by five years. Scholars believe that God had promised to not bring the flood until Methuselah died. Methuselah’s age demonstrates the patience of God and His unwillingness that any should parish. He gave the people more time than one would expect to allow the people of Noah’s time to repent and be saved from death in the flood, but they refused to listen to God and Noah.

Notice that God blessed mankind through Noah. We were to be comforted “in our work and the toil of hour hands.” My understanding is that through Noah, part of our curse was to be removed. This is not something that God had to do but He decided to do it. This is evidence that the God of the Old Testament is the same merciful God that we see in the New Testament. This must be true because the Bible tells us that God never changes.