Moses, who wrote Psalm 90, offers a succinct word of wisdom born from a life experience no others have seen. He counted 603,550 non-Levitical males over the age of twenty that fled from Egypt (Numbers 1:46). As you recall, their unbelief in the face of Jehovah’s wilderness provisions shortly after the start of the Exodus lengthened what should have been a 4-day journey into a 40-year death march, as all those over 20 died in the desert.

Simple math shows an average of 41 males each and every day were buried in the wilderness. Moses knew first hand that God is not mocked, and death is truly the wages of sin. It obviously left a very deep and lasting impression on Moses, as you can see in his words above.

As we start into our new year, allow me to make an application of Moses’ inspired insights to your life in particular. Let’s say you’re a 20-year male. According to Moses, you’ll likely die between the age of 70-80; let’s assume 75 if you do some exercise and eat healthy (?) like we’re supposed to. Taking into account time you’ll very likely spend eating, sleeping, working and commuting to a weekly job, that leaves 4 hours a day, or 3,348 discretionary days (9.1 years) of your life to propagate the gospel to the next generation. If you’re 40 years old, you’ve only got 2,130 days (5.8 years) left. And the 60-year old? The warranty on your washing machine may outlast you – 913 days, or 2.5 years. Sobering, isn’t it?