Lesson 7

LESSON 7 - THE PATRIARCHS

February 18, 1888.

SIDE LIGHTS. - “History of the Sabbath,” last part of Chap. 2; “Great Controversy,” Vol. 1 Chap. 9.

1. How long was it from the creation of Adam till the birth of Seth? Gen. 5:3.
2. How long from the birth of Seth till the birth of Enos? Verse 6.
3. How long from the birth of Enos till the birth of Cainan? Verse 9.
4. How long from then till the birth of Mahalaleel? Verse 12.
5. How long after the birth of Mahalaleel was Jared born? Verse 15.
6. How old was Jared when Enoch was born? Verse 18.
7. How long did Enoch live before the birth of Methuselah? Verse 21.
8. How long did Methuselah live before Lamech was born? Verse 25.
9. Then how long was it from the creation of Adam till the birth of Lamech? Ans.- 874 years.
10. How long did Adam live? Verse 5.
11. Then how long did he live after Lamech was born? Ans. - 56 years.
12. How long did Adam live contemporary with Methuselah? Ans. - 243 years.
13. Was there not, then, ample opportunity for Methuselah to learn of Adam all about the institution of the Sabbath, the fall, etc.?
14. How long did Lamech live before Noah was born? Gen. 5:28, 29.
15. How old was Methuselah when Noah was born? Ans. - 369 years. Compare verses 25 and 28.
16. How old was Methuselah when he died? Verse 27.
17. Then how long did Methuselah live contemporary with Noah? Ans. - 600 years.
18. How long did he live contemporary with Shem? Ans. - 98 years. See Gen. 11:10.
19. How long did Shem live after the flood? Gen. 11:10, 11.
20. How long after the flood was Abraham born? Ans. - 352 years.
21. Then what opportunity had Abraham to learn all the events of the antediluvian world? Ans. - He lived for 150 years contemporary with Shem, who had lived 98 years with one who had lived 233 years with Adam.
22. Before the flood, had there been more than one language? Gen. 11:1.
23. Soon after the flood what did the people begin to do? Verses 2-4.
24. What was their object in doing this? Verse 4.
25. What evil motives prompted them to do this? Ans. - Pride and presumption. They thought that by their own efforts they could frustrate any possible attempt on the part of God to punish them for their wickedness.
26. What did the Lord do? Verses 7, 8.
27. What was the tower called, and why? Verse 9.
28. Is it possible for men by combining together to avert the judgments of God? Prov. 11:21.

NOTE.

It is not to be expected that all shall commit to memory the figures given in this lesson, although many of the younger scholars may not find it difficult to do so. Even though all could commit these figures to memory, it would be somewhat difficult for them to grasp fully the idea they are designed to convey, without something to aid them. Accordingly the teacher should prepare some sort of a diagram, showing by different lines how long the patriarchs lived contemporaneously, and how few lives it took to span the period of time from the creation till the call of Abraham. This lesson is designed to show how easy it was to preserve and transmit the knowledge of the truth of God. A diagram will be found on page 11.