Enoch, Who Walked With God (Pt. 1 of 2)
A study of the life of Enoch is an interesting character study. He is mentioned in only one passage in the Old Testament (Gen.5:18- 24), and referenced only three times in the New Testament (Luke 3:37; Heb.11:5; Jude 14-15). Though an obscure personality from the standpoint of the scarcity of Divine revelation, everything said of Enoch portrays him as a man of great faith. Inspiration saw fit to include Enoch among the most memorable men and women of faith in what many refer to as “Faith’s Hall of Fame” [Hebrews 11]: “By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God” (Heb.11:5). What was it about the life of Enoch that pleased his God? Moses summed up the life of this great man of faith when he penned that “Enoch walked with God” (Gen.5:24). He did not walk apart from God, nor did he walk ahead of God. Enoch chose a life of fellowship and favor with Jehovah, no doubt spending much time each day in communication with the Almighty, and in doing His will. What can we learn from this great man of faith?
In Enoch, we find a man who took seriously his responsibility as a father. The biography of the life of Enoch is very brief. We know that his father was Jared (the second-oldest man to have lived, 962 years), and that Jared was 162 years of age when Enoch was born (Gen.5:18). At the age of 65, Enoch had his first child, Methuselah (the oldest man to have ever lived, 969 years). Upon the arrival of his firstborn, we read, “And Enoch walked with God AFTER he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters” (Gen.5:22, emphasis mine, SPM). Prior to fatherhood, it seems that Enoch was walking his own path. There is no mention of his spiritual life before children enter into the picture. Oftentimes, husbands and wives give no consideration to their spiritual condition until they welcome children into the home. There is something about being responsible for the life of a child that awakens a sense of accountability to God. Though Enoch did not walk with God prior to fatherhood, he made the decision to begin his journey with Jehovah so that he and his family might walk in the way of the Lord together. Fathers are charged with rearing their children in “the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Eph.6:4). The ESV uses the expression “the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” The burden of responsibility regarding spiritual leadership has been placed upon fathers, and Enoch was one who took this task seriously. The same compliment paid to Abraham concerning the spiritual leadership he provided for his home could likely be said of Enoch: “For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment” (Gen.18:19). Enoch walked with God, and saw to it that his family walked with him in the way of the Almighty.
Patrick Morrison
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