Why are our lifespans so short today?

If you've read the early chapters of Genesis, our average lifespan of 80 years is woefully

short compared to when folks live to be 300, 400, even 900 years old.

The question today is from a listener named Stephen.

Dear Pastor John, thank you for this ministry.

Would you provide your thoughts on why people live so long in the early chapters of Genesis?

Thank you.

The question why people lived so long in the early history of mankind as described in

Genesis 1 to 10 is the flip side of why people for thousands of years have lived only

70 or 80 years compared to hundreds of years.

Of course, it's also the flip side of why people by the millions have died at five years

old, or 45 years old, in other words, the issue of mortality in this world is a massive

contrast not only to eternal life, but also to living 900 years.

So what's up?

That's what the question is.

In Genesis 5, Adam lives to be 930 years old.

His son Seth, 912 years, Seth's son, 910 years, Methuselah, the oldest, 969 years, and

Noah, 950 years, then after the flood Noah's son Shem lives 600 years.

His son 438 years, then Sheila, 433 years, then Pila, 239 years, and then Tara, the

father of Abraham, 148 years, and then the age of the patriarchs, Abraham, 175 years, Isaac,

180 years, Jacob, 147 years, and then after the 400 year bondage in Egypt, Moses, 120

years, Joshua, 110 years, and when we get to the period of the kings, David died at 70

...