930 years old!?  Say what!?  Beyond trying to say names that are difficult to pronounce, we see ages of the men that are difficult to comprehend.  Could people really live that long?  It is not until the time of the flood, when God purposely shortens the life span of man to 120 years, even though after the flood you’ll still see Noah, for example, live much beyond that.  The flood though certainly marks the time when the days of man are shortened.

The father of Noah, Lamech, said an interesting statement that I think has double meaning, one he probably didn’t intend.

Speaking of Noah he said, “Out of the ground that the Lord has cursed, this one shall bring us relief from our work and from our painful toil of our hands.”  Lamech wasn’t alive when the flood waters came as he lived 595 years after Noah was born and the flood waters came when Noah was 600.  Neverthless, one could say the people were indeed ‘relieved of their work and painful toil’ when the waters washed them all away.

So in this chapter we see the descendants from Adam to Noah.  Do you know your ancestry well?  Where they are from?  Key events of their lives?

PRAYER:  Lord, have mercy upon us.  Help us value life, life of people of all ages.  Help us appreciate our ancestry and know You worked in their lives as well as ours today.  In Jesus’ strong and precious name we pray.  Amen.”