I remember the days of old; I mediate on all Thy works; I muse on the work of Thy Hands. Psalm 145:3
There is a desire among many people to know who their ancestors are and from where they have come. Television commercials offer online services making it possible for individuals to research archived records in order to create their own family tree. The Scriptures encourage us to remember: “Remember this day in which you went out from Egypt, from the house of slavery.” (Exodus 13:3) They were to “tell them to their children, that the generation to come might know, even the children yet to be born, that they should put their confidence in God.” (Psalm 78:6-7)
God, in His great wisdom, has laid out a meticulous chronological record within the pages of the Bible, which allows us to trace our ancestry, to know from when and where humanity has come. Humanity is not here by chance, inhabiting a blob, spinning in space without purpose. The inherent consequence of a beginning billions of years in the past is that it encourages meaninglessness and hopelessness. Jean-Paul Sartre, a philosopher from the last century, was an atheistic existentialist who believed in a humanistic evolutionary past. He lived a life without meaning and hope. His philosophy of life is summed up in the following: “There is no ultimate meaning or purpose inherent in human life; in this sense life is ‘absurd’. We are ‘forlorn’, ‘abandoned’ in the world to look after ourselves completely.”
The chronological record begins in Genesis 5:3:
Adam, age when son born – 130 yrs (Genesis 5:3)
Seth, age when son born – 105 yrs (Genesis 5:6)
Enosh, age when son born – 90 yrs (Genesis 5:9)
Kenan, age when son born – 70 yrs (Genesis 5:12)
Mahalalel, age when son born – 65 yrs (Genesis 5:15)
Jared, age when son born – 162 yrs (Genesis 5:18)
Enoch, age when son born – 65 yrs (Genesis 5:21)
Methuselah, age when son born – 187 yrs (Genesis 5:25)
Lamech, age when son born – 182 yrs (Genesis 5:28)
Noah, age when son born – 500 yrs (Genesis 5:32)
Shem, age when son born – 100 yrs (Genesis 11:10)
Arpachshad, age when son born – 35 yrs (Genesis 11:12)
Selah, age when son born – 30 yrs (Genesis 11:14)
Eber, age when son born – 34 yrs (Genesis 11:16)
Peleg, age when son born – 30 yrs (Genesis 11:18)
Reu, age when son born – 32 yrs (Genesis 11:20)
Serug, age when son born – 30 yrs (Genesis 11:22)
Nahor, age when son born – 29 yrs (Genesis 11:24)
Terah, age when son born – 70 yrs (Genesis 11:26)
Abraham, age when son born – 100 yrs (Genesis 21:5)
Isaac, age when son born – 60 yrs (Genesis 25:26) )
Jacob, age when he went to Eqypt – 130 yrs (Genesis 47:9)
Israel in Egypt – 430 yrs (Exodus 12:40)
Exodus to start of Solomon’s reign – 476 yrs (1 Kings 6:1)
Solomon’s reign – 40 years (2 Chronicles 9:30)
Rehoboam’s reign – 17 yrs (2 Chronicles 12:13)
Abijah’s reign – 3 yrs (2 Chronicles 13:2)
Asa’s reign – 41 yrs (2 Chronicles 16:13)
Jehoshaphat’s reign – 25 yrs (2 Chronicles 20:31)
Jehoram’s reign – 8 yrs (2 Chronicles 21:20)
Ahaziah’s reign – 1 yrs (2 Chronicles 22:2)
Athaliah’s reign (Ahaziah’s mother) – 6.5 yrs (2 Chr 22:12; 23:1)
Joash’s reign – 40 yrs (2 Chronicles 24:1)
Amaziah’s reign – 29 yrs (2 Chronicles 25:1)
Azariah’s (Uzziah) reign – 52 yrs (2 Chronicles 26:3)
Jotham’s reign – 16 yrs (2 Chronicles 27:1)
Ahaz’s reign – 16 yrs (2 Chronicles 28:1)
Hezekiah’s reign – 29 yrs (2 Chronicles 29:1)
Manassah’s reign – 55 yrs (2 Chronicles 33:1)
Amon’s reign – 2 yrs (2 Chronicles 33:21)
Josiah’s reign – 31 yrs (2 Chronicles 34:1)
Joahaz’s reign – .25 yrs (2 Chronicles 36:2)
Jehoiakim’s (Eliakim) reign – 11 yrs (2 Chronicles 36:5)
Jehoiachin’s (Jeconiah) reign – .25 yrs (2 Chronicles 36:9)
Zedekiah’s reign to burning of temple – 11 yrs (2 Chr 36:11)
Burning of temple to Edict of Cyrus – 70 yrs (Jer 25:12; 29:10)
Cyrus’s Edict to start of Jerusalem rebuild – 70-80 yrs (approx.)
Start of Jerusalem rebuild to Messiah cut off – 483 yrs (Dan 9:25)
Total years from Creation to the Messiah cut off (crucified): 4,200 years
It is very evident from nature that the Creator is very attentive to detail. His work is incredibly intricate and precise, obviously the handiwork of a skilled Designer. When it comes to His word, the Bible, the same attention to detail is evident. His inclusion of the above chronological record reveals this truth. He also declares: “Truly I say unto you, ‘Till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, until all is fulfilled.'” (Matthew 5:18) The jot and tittle are the smallest parts of a Greek letter, the language used in the writing of the New Testament of the Bible.
You can trust His record as recorded in the Bible. There is no need to replace the authority of His word with the wisdom of man. If you approach nature from God’s perspective this journey through life becomes a great adventure.
* Note: The above chronological record is confirmed in Matthew 1 and Luke 3. The New Testament record has on occasion been a stumbling block for some in that Luke 3 adds two names that appear after the Genesis flood and prior to King David. These names do not appear in the Old Testament record. These additions in no way invalidate the record. It does not create the opportunity to add billions of years to the creation account. At best, their addition may add 100 years to the record.
Many are in awe of redwood and sequoia trees due to their immense size and old age. They are old, but the oldest living trees are probably Bristlecone pines. One tree of this species began to grow not long after the Genesis flood waters receded. The oldest giant sequoia and coastal redwood trees are approximately 3,200 and 2,400 years old respectively. To stand alongside and consider the enormity of these trees is humbling and inspiring. It reinforces the truth of Psalm 90:10,12: “As for the days of our life, they contain seventy years, or if due to strength, eighty years, yet their pride is but labor and sorrow; for soon it is gone and we fly away… So teach us to number our days, that we may present to Thee a heart of wisdom.”
The slideshow below takes you on a journey to several of these trees: