5 Fun Facts from the Old Testament

One fun fact from the Old Testament is Noah’s age at the time of the Flood. Most of us are aware that Noah was older when he built the ark and the floodgates broke open; however, not many people know that Noah was 600 years old when the Flood started (Genesis 7:6). Many people believe this is not an accurate age or people kept track of ages differently in ancient times, but there is no support to this view. The Bible tells us that Noah was 600 years old when the Flood started; therefore, this is the truth.

The 600 years listed here are literal 600 years. It is not symbolic of a lesser age. Rather, Noah was literally 600 years old when the Flood started. People during Old Testament times lived much longer because they were closer to Adam. Adam lived to be 930 years old when he died (Genesis 5:5). Adam, Noah, and many others lived so long because God created mankind to live forever. God never intended for any of us to die.

Since God created us to live forever, mankind lived longer in the Old Testament times because they were closer to this original genetic makeup. As the centuries have passed, we no longer live that long. If we look at the Bible, we can see the average age of the people slowly decrease. As it is in the present day, nobody lives to be several hundred years old. However, it is the truth that Noah was 600 years old when the Flood began, and he was 950 years old when he died (Genesis 9:28-29).

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A second fun fact from the Old Testament is that David is known to be a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22). This is not said about anyone else in the entire Old Testament and even in the New Testament. While David did have troubles during his life and fell to his own sin many times, David always returned to God. He didn’t hide from God nor did he charge God with wrongdoing.

When David finally understood the severity of his sin after committing adultery with Bathsheba and murdering Uriah, he turned back to the Lord. His baby died, yet David still praised the Lord and knew he would see his child in Heaven (2 Samuel 12:14-31). There were consequences for David’s sin; however, God still welcomed David into His arms when he returned in repentance. The same rings true for us. We all sin and fall short of God’s glory, but if we turn back to Him, God will welcome us home every time. 

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A third fun fact from the Old Testament is that there is no mention of God in the Book of Esther. Although there is no mention of God in this book of the Bible does not mean God was not present. Rather, it is quite the opposite. God is present throughout the book of Esther and helped Esther rise to her position. The Lord was orchestrating every success and victory that came to Esther and Mordecai. 

As Mordecai told her, “For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14). Esther rose to power to save her people. God was behind this entire plan because He has always protected His people, Israel. Even though God’s name is not recorded in this book of the Bible, He is still the Savior behind the story and the One who enabled Esther to succeed. 

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A fourth fun fact from the Old Testament is that Moses wrote a psalm. Most believe that only David wrote the Psalms, but many people wrote psalms. One of these individuals is Moses. This is the same Moses who led Israel out of slavery in Egypt. Moreover, this is the same Moses who was said to be a friend of God (Exodus 33:11). 

The psalm that is accredited to Moses is Psalm 90. This is a beautiful psalm, which is often underrated among scholars and everyday people alike. Read this psalm for yourself and see Moses’ honest prayer to the Lord and his heartfelt words. We do not have many personal writings of Moses that detail his feelings; however, Psalm 90 is a perfect way to get a glimpse into Moses’ heart and mind. 

Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy; however, only in Psalm 90 do we see Moses pen his own feelings. Psalm 90 is a psalm that many of us can relate to as well as it is a psalm we can pray on our own time. Moses is a man we can all relate to and it helps to know that he also experienced similar thoughts as ourselves, recorded in Psalm 90.

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A fifth fun fact from the Old Testament is that it is full of prophecies concerning the Messiah. Isaiah is best known for talking about the future Messiah; however, throughout the Old Testament, we see hints at the Messiah. Even at the time of God pronouncing curses on Adam and Eve, and the serpent, we see a prophecy of the promised Messiah. God says to the serpent, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel” (Genesis 3:15).

As God says in this passage, He will crush the serpent’s head and the serpent will strike his heel. The passage is referring to the Messiah to come, which we see in the New Testament to be Jesus Christ. Jesus is the One who will crush the serpent’s head and the serpent will strike His heel. Through having a knowledge of the Old Testament, we can see how much Jesus was long awaited by Israel. Even though many people of Israel rejected Jesus and people to this day still reject Him, He is the promised Messiah, who redeemed us from our sins. One day, He will return, not to bring salvation, but rather to bring judgment on evil and establish a new Heaven and Earth. 

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