THE MAN WHO WALKED WITH GOD

     We have all studied the creation account.  Since childhood we have been taught about the days of creation and the beginning of man's occupation of the earth.  We also learn of man's sin against God and the curses that would plague the earth because of that sin.  In chapter 4 following the birth of Seth we read man began to call upon the name of the Lord. (verse 26)  In chapter five we are given a genealogy of the generations of Adam which take us to the birth of Noah and his sons.
     But there is something written in the course of the genealogy we often acknowledge, and yet really don't give much thought to what is being said.  When Enoch is mentioned in verse 21 we are told he became the father of Methuselah.  Attention is then given to Methuselah who lived longer than any other man in human history.  Often overlooked in this piece of trivia is the account of Enoch.  It is not enough to pay attention to Enoch's age when he became the father of Methuselah.  Something else much more striking is written about Enoch.
     When all of the other genealogies are read there is a common thread mentioned about them all except Enoch.  All the others died.  Enoch did not die.  In verse 22 we are told that Enoch walked with God for three hundred years after the birth of Methuselah, becoming the father of other sons and daughters during that time.  In verse 24, we are told again that Enoch walked with God, and then, he was not, for God took him. 
     When Enoch walked with God he had a fellowship with him.  This fellowship denotes an intimate relationship shared between him and God.  We are also told in 6:9 that Noah walked with God.  The same word used to describe the walk of Enoch with God is used in connection with Noah.  In 6:8 we are told that Noah found favor (grace) in the eyes of the Lord.  And yet Noah was not taken in the way Enoch was taken.
     The phrase and he was not simply tells us Enoch no longer existed in the flesh as others of mankind.  The only explanation given for this is found in Hebrews 11:5.  Enoch was taken up by faith so he should not see death, and he was not not found (and he was not) because God took him up.  The last portion of this verse is striking, "for he obtained a witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God."  We are then told in verse 6, without faith it is impossible to please God.
     What are we to learn from the written word?  First, God blesses man in various ways.  We may not always understand but it is not always given to us to understand.  Secondly, if we are going to be people of faith we must have an intimate fellowship with God as Enoch did.   Implicit in this fellowship is our dependence on Him and obedience as we call upon His name.  This is how we become pleasing to Him.  Finally, if we desire to be taken up by the Lord as a part of that resurrection unto eternal life, then let our life boldly proclaim to those around us we walk with the Lord.  Rodger