The Bible is filled with biographical sketches of great men and women who encountered the Living God. In the next few days, let’s consider a few of these Biblical characters and their incredible encounters with the Almighty.
Enoch’s biography is packed into four short verses. “Enoch was 65 years old when he fathered Methuselah. And after he fathered Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and fathered other sons and daughters. So Enoch’s life lasted 365 years. Enoch walked with God; then he was not there because God took him” (Genesis 5:21–24).
Before we analyze the record of his life, let’s do some arithmetic. Adam, our first ancestor, was miraculously created from dirt and then lived 930 years (Genesis 5:5). I guess he lived so long because there were no insecticides, no herbicides, no pollution, and Little Debbie’s oatmeal cream pies weren’t on the market. When Adam was 130 years old, Seth was born (Genesis 5:3). Seth was 105 (and Adam was 235) when Seth’s son Enosh was born (Genesis 5:6). “Enosh was 90 years old when he fathered Kenan” (Genesis 5:9) and “Kenan was 70 years old when he fathered Mahalalel” (Genesis 5:12) and “Mahalalel was 65 years old when he fathered Jared” (Genesis 5:15) and finally, “Jared was 162 years old when he fathered Enoch” (Genesis 5:18). If my math is right, Adam was 622 years old when his great, great, great, great, great grandson Enoch was born.
Imagine this... Adam held Enoch in his arms. He taught him how to throw a ball, how to whistle and how to spit. He also taught him about the Garden of Eden and about his long walks and talks with God. “Enoch, my boy, you can walk with God too!”
“Enoch’s life lasted 365 years. Enoch walked with God.”
The little epistle of Jude records, “Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied: ‘Look! The Lord comes with tens of thousands of his holy ones to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly concerning all the ungodly acts that they have done in an ungodly way, and concerning all the harsh things ungodly sinners have said against him’ ”(Jude 14–15). Enoch preached and prophesied during the years leading up to Noah’s generation “when the Lord saw that human wickedness was widespread on the earth and that every inclination of the human mind was nothing but evil all the time” (Genesis 6:5).
Enoch’s heart remained true. He walked with God, just as his oldest grandpapa had in the Garden. The Scriptures record that Enoch walked right out of this life and into eternity, hand-in-hand with His Savior and Sustainer. “By faith Enoch was taken away, and so he did not experience death. He was not to be found because God took him away. For before he was taken away, he was approved as one who pleased God” (Hebrews 11:5–6).
A nineteen century African-American preacher told the story. “Ole Enoch, he done walked with God ever’day. Them walks got longer and longer, till one day God said to Enoch, ‘We’re closer to my house than yourn. You just come on home with me.’ ”
All Scripture quotations, except as otherwise noted, are from
Holman Bible Publishers’ Christian Standard Bible.
