Walking with God

Enoch walked with God, and he was not

Genesis 5:21-24

Enoch lived sixty-five years and became the father of Methuselah. Then Enoch walked with God three hundred years after becoming the father of Methuselah, and he had other sons and daughters. So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.

This quick glimpse at the father of Methuselah is fascinating to me. He is a man only mentioned twice in the bible, but the attributes attributed to him are outstanding. He has these four verses here in Genesis and is also mentioned in Hebrews 11. Some refer to this chapter in Hebrews as the “Hall of Faith.” A list of deeds performed by men who did something extraordinary through their faith in God. Of the three attributes of Enoch, what was mentioned in Hebrews was that he walked with God, and then he had been taken up. His witness was that he lived a life pleasing to God.

What does it mean to walk with God? For Enoch, the people around him noticed that he lived a life pleasing to God. Did that mean living a “blessed life” by our terms today? Was he rich? Did it imply he had the latest wagon to haul his kids around? The bible doesn’t say, except that he was pleasing to God in his walk with God. The Hebrew word for “walk” is Halak. The definition is to go, come, walk. The NASB Halak is translated into over a hundred words that are some type of moment. These include following, growing, living, and passing.

Halak

How was Enoch following, growing, living, and passing in his life that everyone witnessed and said, “Hmm, he is pleasing to the Lord.” I mean, we are only five chapters into the bible. Sin had entered the world; they were kicked out of the garden. The law was not written yet. Jesus hasn’t died for our sins yet, so the Holy Spirit had not come. And yet Enoch walked in a manner that was pleasing to God. I live in a time that the law is written, Jesus came and fulfilled the law, and I have the Holy Spirit with me, and yet I struggle with hang-ups, compulsions, and addictions. Taking a look at Enoch allows me to examine my own life. To question my motives in following God.

Is there evidence that I am growing as a Christ-follower? Does my daily life reflect a Holy and Just God full of mercy and kindness? Am I passing the test before me that is life? Am I choosing Jesus above all else?

Community?

I wonder who had helped Enoch on his walk in his life? Did his father teach him the way to follow God? Was he able to hear stories of Adam and Eve and how they walked in the garden in the cool of the day? Did he have friends or family that helped him be accountable for his actions? What did he do? How did he live his life? Maybe, a better question for us is, how are we living our lives? Not to get into a comparison trap of trying to measure up to Enoch, but to say it can be done. We can put down the things in our lives that take away from following Jesus and take our cross and follow him daily. Living a holy lifestyle that is a direct reflection of who we are in Jesus.

Not a perfect life, but one striving for that finish line of meeting Jesus face to face. And when we get there, we can look back and say we did everything we could to follow, grow, and live a life pleasing to God.

Prayer

Father, we ask for every hindrance that so easily keeps us from you to be removed. Please, remove the blinders on our eyes so that we can see you as you are. A great and powerful holy God that is full of mercy and grace. Please help us understand what it means to follow you and what it takes to pick up our cross. Thank you for your son, and thank you for the cross. Amen.

Walking with God

One thought on “Enoch walked with God, and he was not”

  1. Jin says:

    기도 ( Pray on Korean)
    아버지, 우리를 당신에게서 쉽게 떼어놓을 수 있는 모든 방해물을 간구합니다. 저희가 당신을 있는 그대로 볼 수 있도록 우리 눈의 눈가리개를 제거해 주십시오. 긍휼과 은혜가 충만하신 위대하고 능력 있는 거룩하신 하나님. 당신을 따른다는 것이 무엇을 의미하고 우리의 십자가를 지는 데 필요한 것이 무엇인지 이해할 수 있도록 도와주세요. 당신의 아들을 주셔서 감사하고 십자가에 감사합니다. 아멘.

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