Read with Me
Genesis 5:6-24 (HCSB)
Seth was 105 years old when he fathered Enosh. Seth lived 807 years after the birth of Enosh, and he fathered other sons and daughters. So Seth’s life lasted 912 years; then he died.
Enosh was 90 years old when he fathered Kenan. Enosh lived 815 years after the birth of Kenan, and he fathered other sons and daughters. So Enosh’s life lasted 905 years; then he died.
Kenan was 70 years old when he fathered Mahalalel. Kenan lived 840 years after the birth of Mahalalel, and he fathered other sons and daughters. So Kenan’s life lasted 910 years; then he died.
Mahalalel was 65 years old when he fathered Jared. Mahalalel lived 830 years after the birth of Jared, and he fathered other sons and daughters. So Mahalalel’s life lasted 895 years; then he died.
Jared was 162 years old when he fathered Enoch. Jared lived 800 years after the birth of Enoch, and he fathered other sons and daughters. So Jared’s life lasted 962 years; then he died.
Enoch was 65 years old when he fathered Methuselah. And after the birth of 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.
Listen with Me
For the most part, this genealogical record is pretty standard. It follows the formula of this man was so many years old when he fathered the next son in the line leading to Noah. After he fathered that son, he lived so many years and he fathered other sons and daughters as well. So, his life lasted so many years, and then he died. Lifespans were between 895 and 962 years.
But that pattern is shattered in the record of Enoch, the seventh from Adam. There are three key differences that are present in the record of his life.
First is the shortness of his lifespan. Enoch was only alive here on earth for 365 years, instead of the average of over 900 years for his ancestors.
But those 365 years were not merely lived out by Enoch. Moses wrote that Enoch “walked with God”. That is a lifestyle so different from others in his line that it merited a break in the pattern. Even though the details of what this “walking with God” looked like are not given, it is clear that the quality of Enoch’s life was unique. He lived each day with a clear sense of God’s presence. He followed God’s commands and devoted his life to Him. He learned from God and taught his children and others. In short, he was the kind of person whom people today would call a “holy man” or even a “saint”.
This life lived completely devoted to God led to the final difference in Enoch’s record: he didn’t die. The Hebrew simply states that at the end of 365 years, Enoch was not because God took him. Some have struggled to find an interpretation less “supernatural”, such as Enoch going on a pilgrimage and simply never returning. But the words of the text are as clear as one can make them. Enoch did not experience death. Instead, like Elijah, he was taken alive directly to heaven.
There’s one more point about Enoch that is important. Because he walked so closely with God, hearing God’s words and even His plans for the future, Enoch was a prophet who shared those words with others. He was privy to God’s plan to send a global flood that would punish humanity for their ever-increasing sinfulness. And he was even shown that this flood would come in the third generation from his own time. So, he named his son, who would be the grandfather of Noah, Methuselah, which means “when he dies it will come”. Significantly, if you add up the numbers in the genealogical record, Methuselah died the same year as God sent the flood.
Pray with Me
Father, it is fascinating how in four short verses we can learn so much about this saint of old. And it all stemmed from his close walk with You. Enoch’s life destroys the myth that we can’t live godly lives here and now simply because we are just human beings. Enoch was just a human being, but even before Jesus’ death and resurrection, even before the Holy Spirit was poured into the hearts of believers, Enoch walked with You because he chose to walk with You. How much more through faith in Jesus and with the indwelling Holy Spirit should we be able to live a positively holy life. Thank you for showing us this so clearly in Your word, Lord. Now help us to live it out each day. Amen.