Meet Enoch, walker…
Alec Shuttleworth
February 03, 2017
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Genesis 5:21-24
21 When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. 22 After he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked faithfully with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. 23 Altogether, Enoch lived a total of 365 years. 24 Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.
There is all sorts of stuff about Enoch we are going to puzzle over. For a start he lived to be 365 years old. By the way he was a bit of a disappointment for the pre-flood patriarchs. His father Jared lived to be 962 years, his son Methuselah 969 and his great grandson Noah 950.
On the other hand he did not die but “God took him away”, According to the book of Hebrews chapter 11 v 5 “By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: "He could not be found, because God had taken him away." For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.” Only Elijah in the Old Testament was spared death in the same kind of way.
And we may want to scoff, and say another ancient myth being peddled as truth. Scientists are now predicting we will shortly be living to be 140 or 150 but the human body just cannot sustain greater age.
The point that the writer of Genesis is making is that out of these strange ancient stories we can draw a present truth. In all this list of super aged beings Enoch is the least in terms of years. But he is the one, and the only one who “Walked with God”
We often use the metaphor of our “walk with God”. Hymn writers like William Cowper have written powerfully on it as has John Newton:
I pity all that worldlings talk
Of pleasures that will quickly end;
Be this my choice, O Lord, to walk
With thee, my Guide, my Guard, my Friend.
That Enoch walked with God is all the explanation we get for his unusual preferment. Other than the name of his son we know nothing of him. The only choice we know he made was to walk with God.
Enoch’s prayer
Gracious God,
When the stories come to be written
Make me content with one line
“He walked with God”
All that I did
All that I thought I achieved
Wise words, clever ideas
Great tunes
Souls converted
Will be as nothing
“He walked with God”
Be it enough
That I chose
Guide, Guard and Friend
Be it enough
That out of the complexity of my life
One thing alone stands the test
“He walked with God”
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