Methuselah - The Curse of Immortality

In one of the lesser known parts of Jonathan Swift’s classic book Gulliver’s Travels, Lemuel Gulliver visits the country of Luggnagg, where he hears of the existence of a small number of Struldbrugs, human beings who live for ever and never die.

This possibility for the human race excites him; He says: I freely own myself to have been struck with inexpressible delight, upon hearing this account. I cried out, as in a rapture, "Happy nation, where every child hath at least a chance for being immortal! Happy people, who enjoy so many living examples of ancient virtue, and have masters ready to instruct them in the wisdom of all former ages! but happiest, beyond all comparison, are those excellent Struldbrugs, who, being born exempt from that universal calamity of human nature, have their minds free and disengaged, without the weight and depression of spirits caused by the continual apprehensions of death!”

The reaction from the Luggnaggians to this outburst is one of amusement and laughter; and Gulliver wonders why. Then they explain to him that these unfortunate Struldbrugs do indeed live for ever, but they are subject to all the usual ailments of old age and experience them in a progressively more degenerate manner. So when Gulliver meets them, this is what he finds:

They commonly acted like mortals till about thirty years old; after which, by degrees, they grew melancholy and dejected. When they came to fourscore years, which is reckoned the extremity of living in this country, they had not only all the follies and infirmities of other old men, but many more which arose from the dreadful prospect of never dying.

They were not only opinionated, peevish, covetous, morose, vain, talkative, but incapable of friendship, and dead to all natural affection. Envy and impotent desires are their prevailing passions. They find themselves cut off from all possibility of pleasure; and whenever they see a funeral, they lament and repine that others have gone to a harbour of rest to which they themselves never can hope to arrive.

Although written nearly 300 years ago (and I apologise to those who are not English mother-tongue for the old English in the two quotes above), all this seems highly topical for today. Medical science has made phenomenal advances in countering killer diseases, so much so that average life expectancy in the UK increased from 48 to 78 during the course of the 20th century - and is still increasing. Sadly, this increase in the length of life has not been matched by a general increase in the quality of life in old age - as you can see if you visit any residential care home today.

Which brings us to Methuselah, the oldest man who ever lived, dying at the age of 969. There is a lot of dispute about whether people really did live to the ages recorded in Genesis 5; but it seems to me quite plausible that, in order to populate the earth from zero, human beings at that time lived much longer than we do now, and their life spans only became significantly shorter when the full effects of sin and death began to seep into the genealogical line.

All we know about Methuselah is that he lived 969 years and was the father of Lamech (and so grandfather of Noah). However, add up the figures in Genesis 5 and 7:6, you discover that Methuselah died in the great flood - though some traditions have him dying seven days before the flood began.

The many years that he had lived on the earth had not taught him to live a life that was acceptable and pleasing to the Lord. Noah found favour in the eyes of the Lord (Genesis 6:8); but Methuselah, despite all his life experience, did not. A length of life which we could only imagine today was, like the unfortunate Struldbrugs, of no benefit to him.

What are our hopes and aspirations for old age - if God allows us to reach that point in life? Do we look no further than living in financial security and good health and seeing our grandchildren married? These are good things, but surely there is more than that to old age.

None of us can escape the ageing process: Outwardly we are wasting away, but inwardly we are being renewed day by day (2 Corinthians 4:16).

For example, Corrie Ten Boom was unable to speak and paralysed for the last five years of her life, after suffering two strokes; but people came to sit with her simply to experience the presence of God in her room. Will we find favour with God when we reach old age, whatever our physical or mental capacities? The time to start preparing for it is now!