In Genesis chapter five, the lifespan of the descendants of Adam’s list introduces all of his generations. The Bible begins to mention the period of human life in the first book of the Old Testament. During those days, Adam and his descendants live between seven hundred to roughly nine hundred years, with some having children for a little over one hundred years with their spouses. Adam, for example, was the first man God made in His image, lived to be nine hundred and thirty years. This man was seventy years from reaching a thousand.
Today, people, in general, are fortunate to live seventy years with the blessing of God. The individuals who reach that milestone testify that there are certain things they did to keep themselves strong enough to maintain their longevity. People who live long in the Bible do have a relationship or some form of association with God. However, this is not to say that some people who do not serve God do not live long: some unbelievers surpass life expectancy.
The difference between the people in the Old Testament and folks today is the understanding between good and evil. Humankind’s life expectancy declination could be sin already begun to work its corrupting influence upon the environment and people’s physical bodies. After the flood of Noah’s time, the lifespan of people decreased dramatically. By Abraham’s generation, life expectancy had fallen to less than two hundred years. Why such a decrease in lifespan? Knowledge exposure.
God intended for His creation to know and enjoy Him only. However, through deception and disobedience, humanity now knows good and evil. Due to sin, human beings have a choice.
Similar to the choice of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, we as believers and unbelievers will continuously have to make decisions that will either enable us to live in a proper environment or not. There will also be influences that will force others to make choices that they might not choose. These lives experiences contribute to our life expectancy.