The Days Of Noah (Part 3)

Continued from Monday . . .

Jesus said in Matthew 24 that it would be like the days of Noah when He returns. Today we continue on this series with the second lesson, of five important lessons, on what we learn from the days of Noah as we approach the day of Christ's return and judgment.

LESSON 2 - GOD'S GREAT MERCY HAS A LIMIT

Methuselah teaches us three powerful lessons about God. First that His mercy is very great, secondly that God ALWAYS keeps His word no matter how long it takes, and thirdly that His great mercy has a limit. Methuselah’s name seemed to have great prophetic meaning that something terrible would happen when he died.

Let’s do some math to see a little diamond hidden in Scripture:
(Genesis 5:25) Methuselah had a son called Lamech when he was 187 years old. (Genesis 5:28) Lamech had a son called Noah when he was 182 years old. (Genesis 7:6) The flood came when Noah was 600 years old. Therefore the flood came (187 + 182 + 600 =)969 years after Methuselah's birth.

So how old was Methuselah when he died? Genesis 5:27 reveals that Methuselah lived to be 969 years old. Wow! He died the year the flood came and he was the oldest man who ever lived. Methuselah’s death did bring disaster. But God’s great mercy was demonstrated by allowing Methuselah to live longer than anyone else in history. This was in order to delay His wrath, giving people time to repent. But when God’s wrath came – it was devastating!

Jesus warned us that something much worse than the flood is coming. He was true to His word with the flood and he will be true to His word with the coming judgment – something so horrific that the book of Revelation describes it:

Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?" (Revelation 6:15-17)

When we consider the evil around us and how bad the coming judgment will be we should be amazed at the mercy of God. That He gave us time to repent . . . and that He has given us time to preach the Gospel.

To be continued on Friday: Lesson 3 - Do Not Underestimate The Wickedness Of Man

Go On To Part 4
Go Back To Part 2
Go Back To Part 1