Genesis 5 NLT
After Noah was 500 years old, he became the father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (v. 32)
Age is just a number! Think about it, after Noah was 500 years old he had his three sons. This means that Noah was over 500 years old when he was building the ark. The waters flooded the earth when Noah was 600, so it took him anywhere from 50 to 100 years to build that monstrosity. The bible says that while he was building the ark he was preaching to the crowds. We don’t know if he was preaching verbally or if the simple construction of the ark was a testimony of judgment (likely both), but we do know that Noah is called a “preacher of righteousness” in 2 Peter 2:5.
I know that people in Noah’s day lived much longer than we do today. Today, the bible says we aren’t promised much more than 80 years and 120 years is likely the max. Yet, the thought of Noah producing children, preaching to the crowds, and building the biggest construction project of his life at 500+, fills me with great encouragement. He did all this when he was exactly 10 times my age! Age is just a number. You are never too young to serve the Lord and you are never too old to be fruitful. We tend to box ourselves in based on the age perspectives of our culture. However, those are just numbers and cultural perspectives. Noah teaches us that God is sovereign and in control of our days, not some arbitrary number.
If I mention the age of 65, you immediately think of “retirement” because that age is typically associated with retirement. Yet, where in the word does it even say we are supposed to retire? That is a societal phenomenon and those numbers vary around the world depending on where you live. In some places in Africa, the retirement age is 55! I get that there is a point where you will be limited in your effectiveness in your job and so you must plan for a time when you cannot work and you will be “retired.” But in the Lord’s service, there is no retirement. The main reason you exist on this planet is not for that 9 to 5 job you are doing every day. You exist to glorify Him and serve Him forever. There is no retirement from that—only a promotion where you continue that service in His presence in Heaven!
