How and Why Did People in the Bible Live So Long?

Why were life spans of people living in biblical times so much long then than they are today? What has changed? Why did people in the Old Testament live for hundreds of years before the flood drop dramatically after the flood? Why do people living today live much shorter life spans than in the days in which the Bible was written?

Long Lives in the Ancient Days

The first few humans recorded in the Bible, in particular the Old Testament, lived an exceedingly long number of years. Adam lived to the age of 930 years, his son Seth lived 912, his son Lamech lived 777 years, Lamech’s son Noah lived to 950 years, his son Shem lived 600 years. There is a pattern that shows up. Progressively, each generation lived shorter and shorter lives. Adam was the first human created and must have been nearly perfect. They were more perfect in health, size, and stature. Perhaps the first generations of humans lived such long lives because they were so close to the man that God created and what God creates was perfect from the beginning. That is until sin entered the human race. Sin is destructive and the continuing sin through the generations had a cumulative effect. By the time Abraham was born, the life spans had shrunk considerably.

Even though Abraham lived to 175 years, Moses lived only 120 years. The effects of the fall of man, which happened in the Garden of Eden, had an effect. The creation had fallen with the fall of man. God cursed the land after Adam and Eve sinned. No longer would the environment be perfect. Even nature itself would be feeling the effects of sin.

God Curses the Ground

After the fall of man, God said to Adam in Genesis 3:17-18, “To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat fro Adam&Eve m it,’ “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.” So here is part of the reason. The ground became difficult to work. Thorns and thistles were found in the earth and man had to work hard to produce food. The fall also may have produced disease and sickness since the ground was now cursed.

By the time the Psalms were being written, the lifespan of mankind had shrunk closer to what they are today, as testified in Psalm 90:10, “The length of our days is seventy years–or eighty, if we have the strength; yet their span is but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away.”

Sin Destroys

Sin has always been a corrupter. It corrupts humans, it corrupts even the creation as noted in Romans 8:22, “We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.“ Sin is seen as a disease and it separates man from God. And when there is a separation from the Life Giver, then life ebbs. Since the wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23), this could extend to the creation itself. Rebellion against God always incurs a cost.

Sin Shortens Life

It is no surprise that today there are more drug and alcohol addictions and abuse than ever before. These sins are known to shorten a person’s life. We know that drinking in excess and drug abuse (being illegal) destroy brain cells, the liver, and other muscular and neurological systems. These sins cause a person’s life to be take away in a more rapid sense that the average.

Life Span Statistics

Today the average life span of a man is nearing 70 and is close to 75 for women. It is less in less developed nations but longer in other nations that are, paradoxically, less developed. Diet, access to alcohol, drugs, and environmental factors are the greatest contributors to human’s life spans. The correlation is sin shortens life…and the sins of man, e.g., in industrial waste, fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides, hasten the end of a person’s life.

How to Lengthen Life

The way to lengthen life is to eat a balanced diet, don’t smoke, don’t drink excessive amounts of alcohol, avoid drugs, particularly illicit drugs, and to exercise at least three times a week. A proper day of rest is also of supreme importance. Most people in Western Civilizations have at least one day of rest. For most of Western society it is Sunday. God commanded a Sabbath-rest in the Old Testament and there still remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God today (Heb. 4:9). God created us. He knows our bodies better than we do. He knows we need to rest and this is part of the reason He commanded the Sabbath day to rest. Most Christians rest on Sunday. In fact, as a former manager, I understood that most people can get more done on six days than in seven. This is because of the simple fact that a rest worker is a more productive and capable worker than if they work seven days a week, week after week.

How to Have the Longest Life There is only one true way to have the longest life span of all. That is to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. He gives to those who believe in Him eternal life (John 3:16). This means that a person will live forever. They will never tire, have no need to sleep, and will be healthy and happy for eternity. The best part is that this grace from God is free. You simply have to believe that Jesus Christ is the One and Only way to the Father in Heaven (Acts 4:12). If you believe in the Son of God, you will never, ever die again. And that is the longest life possible. I pray you will accept this eternal life today.

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