Surveying Experiences of Biblical Characters in Senior-Age Bracket

Given the inexorable march of time, all living beings must eventually grow old (barring, of course, untimely deaths).  The steady stream of advancements in health science has nowadays enabled the post-retirement period of many a working adult to be stretched into several decades.  Believers concerned about these prolonged golden years being frittered away ought then to check out what did biblical characters in the senior-age bracket do.

 

It is natural to presume that the so-called poster boy for our discussion here seems to be Moses whom God called to service only when he was nearing the post-golden age of 80 years; lest any reckons that Moses had earlier been idling away for 40 years in Midian tending to flocks, the Bible points out that “it came into his heart when he was 40 years old to visit his brethren” (Acts 7:23) ostensibly to help alleviate the lot of fellow Hebrews labouring under enforced slavery.  Even at 120 years of age, “his eyes were not dim nor his natural vigour diminished” (Deuteronomy 34:7) with Moses on record as having pestered God to “let me cross over and see the good land beyond the Jordan” (Deuteronomy 3:25) until reprimanded by Him to “speak no more of this matter to Me” (Deuteronomy 3:26).

 

On the other hand, the Bible also contains the following not-so-superlative examples for mere mortals like us to take cognisance of:

●     “Anna was a widow of about 84 years who did not depart from the temple but served God with fastings and prayers night and day” (Luke 2:37)

●     after boldly claiming the Hebron mountain ridge as family inheritance, Caleb spurred his men of war with the incentive that “he who attacks Debir and takes it, to him I will give my daughter as wife” (Joshua 15:16) instead of leading the charge himself due to his 85-year age

●     having been exiled by the Roman authorities to a tiny Aegean island, the aged John explained in his introductory chapter that “I … was on Patmos for the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ” (Revelation 1:9) rather than assigned to more missionary endeavours.

 

Is this short-list of merely 3 examples too brief?  Shouldn’t the ambit of our survey be extended to cover other elderly-but-active characters of note?  To do justice, it is perhaps helpful for us to consider at some length the latter selection of biblical characters individually in turn since their unusual circumstances will each have to be separately taken into account as well.

 

If chronologically compiled, such an extended list will by default have to begin with Noah who “was 600 years old when the flood-waters were on the earth” (Genesis 7:6) — way beyond the 80-year age of Moses when heeding God’s call to return from Midian and lead the Hebrews out of Egypt towards the Promised Land.  To be highlighted, however, is the mention that “all of the days of Noah were 950 years” (Genesis 9:29); hence, this ark-builder who “found favour in the eyes of the Lord” (Genesis 6:8) should not be viewed as belonging at the time to the community of the aged when compared to those living during this antediluvian epoch (where the life-spans of, for example, Adam and Methusaleh have been documented as stretching inordinately to 930 and 969 years respectively).

 

The next in this extended list must be the “father of many nations” — hailed 3 times in the Bible as the “friend of God” — who, not unlike Moses, responded to the Lord’s call in a vision and duly departed at 75 years of age from Haran for the Promised Land.  Again, it has to be asked whether Abraham ought to be counted among the aged at this point in time relative to those living then (where the life-spans of, for example, this man of faith and his son of promise have been documented as 175 and 180 years respectively).  Despite Sarah having wondered, while laughing to herself, whether “after I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my husband being old also?” (Genesis 18:12) in relation to the likelihood of pregnancy for her when already 90 years old, there can be no doubt at all of Abraham’s virility for the Bible records him as having sired 8 sons in total (viz Ishmael, Isaac, Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak and Shuah).

 

The third candidate that has been suggested for addition to this secondary list is yet another childless man described as “well advanced in years” (Luke 1:7) when visited by the messenger-angel Gabriel outside the Holy of Holies.  The astonishing pregnancy of Zacharias’ wife has often been acclaimed as a miracle not only because it occurred in accordance with the arch-angel’s announcement of divine favour but also due to their Nazirite son being appointed as the herald (prophesied in Malachi 4:5) who “will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah” (Luke 1:17).  Regrettably, no hint is provided in Luke’s chronicles as regards the elderly priest’s precise age but it is possible to infer from Zacharias’ duty (which had been scheduled by lot) “to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord” (Luke 1:9) that he had not yet retired despite him readily acknowledging “I am an old man” (Luke 1:18) — bearing concomitantly in mind the Torah’s stipulation that Levites “at the age of 50 years must cease performing this work, and shall work no more” (Numbers 8:25).

 

Long gone are the days when human life-spans used to be measured in terms of centuries (rather than decades as since observed over the intervening millennia).  King David, who “died in a good old age, full of days and riches and honour” (I Chronicles 29:28), is estimated by historians to have lived some 70 years.  This is generally in line with what Moses disclosed much earlier: “The days of our lives are 70 years and, if by reason of strength, they are 80 years” (Psalm 90:10).  Given the immutable constraint that “a person’s days are determined and You have decreed the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed” (Job 14:5), it is incumbent upon any believer grateful for God’s gift of salvation to pursue a life culminating in a good old age full of days.  In view of the rationale that “... those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works” (Titus 3:8), believers should not tarry till old age before paying heed to Paul’s exhortation that “as we have opportunity, let us do good to all” (Galatians 6:10).  Attention has been drawn by Luke, when penning Acts 7:23, to Moses stepping out of his comfort zone at age 40 and surreptitiously helping his own race but then he had to undergo a 40-year-long wilderness-experience stint after his ensuing flight from Pharoah’s clutches; the well-known fact that Moses was already 80 years old when commissioned by God should therefore not be arrogated as an excuse for us to procrastinate whilst still in the prime of life.

 

 

   

PS:  This is not the appropriate forum for discussing whether salvation is through faith or via works.  In brief, James’ insistence that “faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead” (James 2:17) cannot be viewed as being at dissonance with Paul’s theological exposition that salvation is proffered to sinners by virtue of His mercy and grace.  According to Paul’s textual composition, his explanatory passage that “… by grace you have been saved through faith …; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9) must not be read on a stand-alone basis but needs to be coupled with his very next verse that “we are … created in Christ for good works” (Ephesians 2:10).