Prayer: Our Lord and our God, as we look at the life of Enoch today, help us to understand what it means to walk by faith and not by our sight. Turn our thoughts and actions toward You, Oh God, that others might see our faith and be drawn to it. Amen.
Main Scripture: Read Hebrews 1:5-6.
By faith, Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death, and he was not found because God took him up; for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God. And 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 seek Him. (Hebrews 11:5-6, NASB)
Associated Scriptures:
It was also about these men that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, "Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones, 15 to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him." (Jude 14-15, NASB)
Enoch lived sixty-five years and became the father of Methuselah. Then Enoch walked with God three hundred years after he became 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. (Genesis 5:21-24, NASB)
If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him (1 John 2:29).
Correlative Quotes:
Surely one of the godliest as well as most interesting characters who ever lived was Enoch. He is one of the only two who lived before the flood (Noah also, Genesis 6:9) of whom it is said, “he walked with God.” He is also one of only two individuals who never died (Elijah – II Kings 2:11).[1]
Elijah was…and as the living saints will be at the last day; and this was a translation of him, soul and body, to heaven, to eternal glory and happiness, by a change from mortality to immortality, which passed upon him; and which is a pledge of the resurrection of the dead, and a proof of the Old Testament saints knowing, expecting, and enjoying eternal life.[2] – John Gill
By the act of believing, God's children know that the Lord made the worlds by his word. The OT great ones lived by faith. Abel, Enoch, and Noah are mentioned as precise examples of men acting by faith. Also, the generation receiving the exhortation was to live by faith. And each succeeding generation also must live by things hoped for until the coming of Christ.[3]
Study:
Enoch walked with God. Genesis 4:22 tells us that, “he walked with God for 300 years.” His walk was predicated on faith. Enoch didn’t walk down the lane with a physical God otherwise, it would not have been by faith. Hebrews 11:5-6 makes this clear when it states that Enoch “was pleasing to God.” Hebrews goes on to say, “And without faith, it is impossible to please Him” (vs. 6). Therefore, we can come to only one conclusion, Enoch lived by faith. His walk was a walk of faith and his walk was continuous.
Enoch, then, becomes a great example of faith in action. Remember that faith is a verb and as a verb, our actions testify to our faith. God commands us to be like him. Ephesians 5:1 tells us, “Be imitators of God, as dearly beloved children.”
If we are going to walk with God and be pleasing to Him, we must be like God. If we are going to be like God or imitators of Him, we must follow the commandments of God. Jesus says in Matthew 22:37-40: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
Just as Enoch was an imitator of God and the testimony of his faith was his walk, we must continually walk with God. Being “imitators of God” (Ephesians 5:1) suggests three critical areas outlining our walk with God.
Ephesians 5:2 explains, “and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.” This verse says simply, Love as Christ loved. 1 John 4:16 adds this thought, “And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.” To maintain our walk with God, we must walk in love.
Ephesians 5:8-9 “you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth).” To walk in the light of God means to walk in the truth. The light of God is found in His word. God’s word is truthful and, therefore, becomes the guide and map to show us how and where we should walk.
The Bible is replete with verses that instruct us in how to walk in wisdom. Psalms 37:30-31 (NASB) says that we will speak with wisdom and justice when the word of God is in our hearts. “The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks justice. The law of his God is in his heart; His steps do not slip.” Psalms 111:10 (NASB) tells us that fearing God or holding him in a position of high esteem is the first step in receiving His wisdom. This awe of God means that we respect who He is in all ways, at all time, with all our thoughts and words. When we are not constantly questioning God and His existence, we open our minds and dedicate our hearts to understanding who He is and what God is saying.
Summary Statement:
Enoch had a continuous walk with God. He, “walked with God for 300 years.” Now that’s a long walk. This dedication to God has its foundation built on three truths. If we are going to imitate Enoch’s walk (Ephesians 5) we must first, walk in God love (vs. 2). Secondly, we must know and walk in God’s light (vss. 8-9). Finally, to walk with God we must walk in wisdom (vs. 15).
Enoch is the first evidence in scripture of eternal life in fellowship with God. He was granted eternal life through the grace of God. Enoch believed in God through faith and as proof of that faith he walked with God for 300 years of his life. His walk with God led to a daily relationship with God. If we are going to experience a daily relationship with God, we must first have faith and then walk with God as Enoch did.
Lesson within the Lesson:
What does it mean to walk in the light? Read Ezra 7:10 and Psalm 119:11.
Where do we find the “road map” for our walk in the truth? Read Timothy 2:15 and Proverbs 9:10.
How do we interpret the “road map”? Read John 14:26 and Luke 12:12.
How is it to our advantage to follow God’s “road map” for our lives? Read John 14:27, Psalm 1:1-2, and Philippians 4:11
[1] Enoch, © 2016 bible.org, Fair Use Authorization, Section 107, of the Copyright Law, bible.org/illustration/enoch.
[2] Gill, John. Commentary on Hebrews 11:1, The New John Gill Exposition of the Entire Bible". "Public Domain, studylight.com, Fair Use Authorization, Section 107, of the Copyright Law.
[3] The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright © 1962 by Moody Press. Fair Use Authorization, Section 107, of the Copyright Law.
Partly Cloudy, 65°