One of the most interesting passages in the Bible involves Enoch, the seventh generation of mankind and the great-grandfather of Noah. With the number seven holding much biblical significance, denoting completeness, it is not ironic that Enoch uniquely did not taste of death. Yet prior to God taking Enoch, the special part of Enoch’s life was that he “walked with God” for 300 years.
21 Enoch lived sixty-five years, and begot Methuselah. 22 After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters. 23 So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. 24 And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him. Genesis 5:21-24
Walking with God is an intimate progression. Often as Christians, we seem to make our own plans, as we walk ahead of God. Instead of waiting on Him to operate in His will and in His perfect timing, we seem to be in a rush. Enoch seemed to enjoy the sweetness of walking alongside God, as his prime concern was to please the Lord.
5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. 8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
Romans 8:5-8
Certainly, Enoch was in the Spirit, even in those Old Testament times before the Holy Spirit came to dwell within believers. When Jesus promised this gift to His followers, He spoke of “another” Helper, to abide with us forever (John 14:16). The Greek word for “another” in that verse is allos, referring to another of the same sort, which is much different from the other word for another, heteros, which means another of a different sort. This designation reminds us that the Holy Spirit is God, just as the Father and Son of God. What does it take to please God?
Finally then, brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus that you should abound more and more, just as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God; 2 for you know what commandments we gave you through the Lord Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 4:1-2
If we love God, we are to keep His commandments (John 14:15). The word for “keep” is in the future indicative tense, which literally means, “you will keep,” yet that word can be translated “guard,” as well. Guarding God’s commandments involves personally following them, yet additionally, we are to protect those commandments. As the world around us continues to change in a direction away from God, we are to boldly protect the ways of the Lord. Though Enoch’s life occurred early in the history of man, that life is still remembered and mentioned in the New Testament, first in the “Hall of Faith” of Hebrews 11. Paul honored Enoch for his faith in walking with God, and then drew a correlation between that faith and the act of pleasing God.
But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
Hebrews 11:6
Unfortunately, many people erroneously think that God is involved in some grandiose game of Hide-and-Seek, making it difficult for us to find Him. On the contrary, God has given us every opportunity to see Him, whether it be through His creation all around us or His presence everywhere. He has promised that if we diligently seek Him, we will find Him (Deuteronomy 4:29). Have you ever played Hide-and-Seek with someone who instead of hiding, stood right in front of the seeker? Sometimes, when our minds are focused upon what is covert, we miss what is overt!
Enoch is mentioned an additional time in the New Testament, concerning prophetic words about apostates in the end times. Apostates are people who have fallen away from the Lord. Instead of walking beside Jesus, they are lagging far behind, sometimes to the point where they no longer can see Him. Interestingly, the words quoted in Jude 14-15 are from the Book of Enoch, an ancient, Jewish work attributed to Enoch, who existed before the Jewish religion began. While God may not have desired for the Book of Enoch to be included in the canonical version of the Holy Bible, He certainly wanted the verses about apostasy there!
God gave Enoch a special gift for his consistent walk alongside the Lord. That gift was that Enoch never would taste of death. According to polls, fear of death is the second most common fear, behind public speaking. Even some Christians continue to fear death, though God has promised us that He has removed the sting. Instead of a fear of death, many hold a fear of dying, which involves the possibly painful process leading up to that last moment of being absent from the body and present with the Lord. Jesus explained to Nicodemus about being born again, and those who have been born twice only will taste of death once, while those who only have been born once will taste of death twice. To simplify that statement, physical birth plus spiritual birth equals physical death while physical birth without spiritual birth equals physical and spiritual deaths.
Whatever your fear, if you are walking with God there is no reason to fear. When walking alone on any pathway, we can be waylaid by those with evil intentions. When walking alongside God, He is there to protect us, yet when we choose to leave His side, that protection has disappeared. That being said, God has a special way of allowing calamity to strike those who have chosen to stray, and then continues to again walk as a companion as soon as those who have strayed are willing. Yet the true test as a believer is in the desire to walk beside God, filled in His Spirit, guarding His laws. Let Enoch be an example in each of our lives how to walk faithfully!
12 These are spots in your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried about by the winds; late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots; 13 raging waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.
14 Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, 15 to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.”
Jude 12-15
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