Critical Life Lessons From Ancient Bible Eulogies

Genesis 5:5
Altogether, Adam lived a total of 930 years, and then he died.

Genesis 5:23-24
(23) Altogether, Enoch lived a total of 365 years. (24) Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.

Genesis 5:27
Altogether, Methuselah lived a total of 969 years, and then he died.

Genesis 5:29
He named him Noah and said, “He will comfort us in the labor and painful toil of our hands caused by the ground the LORD has cursed. ”

A Eulogy contains the highlights of the life of a person who has died. A eulogy is an attempt to summarize the life of a person after it has ended. A eulogy begins with the birth, then relations of a person, then any major achievements or contributions to life that should never be forgotten, and then death.

Genesis chapter five is a collection of eulogies from the ancient world. This collection of eulogies contains lessons that can seriously inform our lives before we exit. As we compare ourselves to them we discover that we can make certain corrections in our daily lives.

The first lesson is that being alive is good enough to be grateful about. Most of the people listed in this chapter lived, had children, and died. That is it. Nothing much. We also note that the Bible doesn’t condemn them for only living, having children, and dying. We should be grateful that we are alive and that this is good enough to thank God for!

Nothing is mentioned about the property they owned. Nothing is mentioned about outstanding achievements. We are only told repeatedly for each name that they were born, had children then died. The beginning of a good life is to be first satisfied that we are alive. The rest can be added and we do not have to Kill ourselves for things that may not matter ultimately. First, get satisfied. Secondly, work on the rest with ease and relaxation!

Secondly, opportunities can be wasted. You can have a great opportunity but end up like others who did not have similar opportunities. Adam had a great opportunity as the first person on earth, but all we know is he lived, had children, and died. Nothing much! Can you imagine that Adam the first person alive who even interacted with God and had lived in the perfect world before sin could end up with no other contribution? He lived, had children, and died, that is all. Others who came after him are outstanding. We have no positives that we can learn from Adam. Where was the faith of Adam demonstrated? What were Adam’s leadership skills? He lived, had children, and died, that’s all!

Methuselah had an advantage over all human beings who have ever lived. He lived the longest life of nine hundred and sixty-nine years, Genesis 5:27. All we know of this long life is that he lived, had children, and died. Any great show of faith? None. Any contributions to development? None. Fought any battles for God and community? None. Any leadership skills? None. Family life example we can learn from this long life? None. A secret he left behind for a long life? None. All we know is that like everybody else, he just lived, had children, and died. He had the advantage of the longest life but that opportunity was wasted. We may have a bigger advantage over others but that doesn’t mean our lives will be better than others ultimately. The advantage is only useful if used. Use your advantages in life to live a better memorable life!

The third lesson is that the shortest life is not the worst life. During funerals, we mourn that life is short. We weep bitterly for those who die young. We wish the late person had lived longer. This chapter teaches us that the shortest life may not be the worst life. It can be the shortest and best. Compared to everyone else in this chapter, Enoch lived the shortest life of 365 years, Genesis 5:23. Yet this shortest life had the best ending of going into eternity with God, Genesis 5:24. In this short life on earth, Enoch did what was never said of Adam, Methuselah or anyone else, he walked with God. Faithfulness to God is a remarkable achievement and contribution to life. We should not worry about longevity but the quality of life. It’s better a short and sweet life than a long and empty one. Make your days count.

The fourth lesson is that parenting is a serious contribution to life. If you are a good parent, your children will be a blessing to this world. Lamech intentionally parented Noah to be a blessing and Noah built an Ark and became a blessing, Genesis 5:28-29. Lamech named Noah with the intention that Noah will grow to be a blessing and it came to pass. What is the intentionality of your parenting? As your children grow as they are doing will they be a blessing to themselves and humanity? Will God be glorified in their lives? Good parents will be remembered for nothing else except that they were good parents whose children changed the world.

The fifth lesson is that last is not least. Noah was the last one to be listed in this list of ancient luminaries. Yet being last doesn’t mean he was the least. The following chapters show that Noah made a serious contribution by being faithful to God. He saved himself and his family and animals in the ark. Being last does not condemn you to be the least!

The sixth lesson is that giving yourself a good life is also a contribution worth having. Noah saved himself and his family and the animals, nobody else and that was enough. If you try your best and the only person who benefits from your efforts is yourself, you have still succeeded. Condition is you did everything to help others and you emerged as the only beneficiary of your efforts. This is an achievement.

The seventh lesson and final is that all lives have a lesson. We can learn a lesson from good people and bad people. The worst among us teach us what not to be. The best among us encourage us that life is worth living. Everyone ends up being a lesson for others. Will you be a good or bad lesson to others? May God help us to be good lessons in Jesus’ name, Amen!

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