ENOCH WALKED WITH GOD AND DID NOT DIE

PROCLAMATION

“And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah; And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters; And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years; And Enoch walked with God; and he was not; for God took him.”  Genesis 5:21-24 (KJV)

 

EXPLANATION

These are the words of God which were revealed to and written by Moses under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  In this fifth chapter of Genesis, Moses presents the genealogy of Adam from creation to Noah.  He said that Adam lived one hundred and thirty years before he begat his son Seth.  Adam had many other sons and daughters and lived a total of nine hundred and thirty years before he died. (Genesis 5:1-5)  Briefly mentioned in the genealogy were Seth, who begat Enosh, who begat Kenan, who begat Mahalalel, who begat Jared, who begat Enoch.  Enoch was the first man mentioned in The Bible who walked with God. (Genesis 5:22)  Enoch is also the first of the two men mentioned in The Old Testament who did not die. (Genesis 5:24)  He was translated, he was removed from earth by God.  The other man who did not die was Elijah. (2 Kings 2:11)  Moses goes on to say that Enoch begat Methuselah, who lived to be nine hundred sixty-nine years old, the oldest man to ever live. (Genesis 5:27)  Then Moses said that Methuselah begat Lamech who was the father of Noah.

 

APPLICATION

No one knows how long they will live.  The Bible says that the days of our lives are seventy years, threescore and ten years, but that can be lengthened, or it may be cut short. (Psalm 90:10)  However, walking faithfully with God may be a good way to extend our years.  Enoch walked with God for three hundred years after the birth of his son Methuselah. (Genesis 5:22)  Enoch and Noah are the only two men who are said to have walked with God. (Genesis 5:22 and 6:9)  The best was to get in good favor with God is to keep His commands.  We need to pray and ask God to forgive us of our sins, and then help us to walk in His way.  We may have to go through death, but that will be our transition from earthly labor to heavenly reward.

 

WALK IN THE LIGHT AND NOT IN THE DARK

Proclamation:

“Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.”  Psalm 119:105 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written by King David under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  David knew that without the help and guidance from The Lord that he would wander down the wrong path.  By meditating on The Word of God (Psalm 119:97) and by obeying it kept him from going down the evil path. (Psalm 119:101)  The Word of God illuminated his path and gave him directions. 

Application:

The steps and directions of a good man are ordered by The Lord God. (Psalm119:133)  If we read, study, and obey The Word of God and acknowledge His influence in our lives, then He will direct our paths. (Proverbs 3:6)  It is not wise for us to walk down the dark road of life by ourselves.  If we choose to do that then we are sure to stumble.  We need to let The Lord God direct us, and provide the light on our path.  As we plan, begin, continue, and complete every work and purpose in this life, we need to include God in it.  For it is in Him that we live, move, and have our very being. (Acts 17:28)  Walk in the light of the presence of The Lord and be blessed. (Psalm 89:15)

BE CAREFUL WITH WHOM YOU ASSOCIATE

Proclamation:

“In the name of The Lord Jesus Christ ... keep away from every brother who is idle and does not live according to the teaching you received ... If anyone does not obey our instruction ... Do not associate with him ... Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother." 2 Thessalonians 3:6 and 3:14-15 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written by the Apostle Paul, under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God, to the believers in Thessalonica.  Paul was both admonishing them and warning them not to associate with non-believers.  They were to tell the non-believers what The Word of God says.  If they chose not to accept it then the believers were to keep away from them.

Application

Christians are to separate themselves from, and not continue to fellowship with, habitually disobedient believers and from non believers.  We are not to hang out with or frequently interact socially with the blatantly sinful, non believing individuals or with so-called believers who live a pattern of life that is not conforming to The Word of God.  We are to warn them, in brotherly love, of the consequences of their behavior and their non-belief, but we are not to continue to “walk with” them.  "Can two walk together, except they be agreed?" (Amos 3:3)  Be very careful regarding the people that you choose to "walk with".   Our friends are our friends because we chose them and we choose to associate with them when nothing forces us to do so.  Who our friends are says a lot about us and who we are.  Only birds of the same feather will flock together.  If we cannot pull them up, we should let go of them and not let them pull us down. 

BLESSED FOR HOLDING GOD IN AWE

Proclamation:

"Blessed are all who fear The LORD, who walk in His ways."  Psalm 128:1 (NIV)

Explanation:

The human author of this psalm, and the context and occasion for which it was written are unknown.  The purpose clearly was to inform the people of God that those who hold The Lord in reverential awe, who are humbly submissive to Him, and who obey His Word, will be blessed.  The author goes on in this psalm to say that such a person's work will be productive, and all will be well with them, their spouse, and their children. (Psalm 128: 2-6)

Application:

To fear The Lord God is to hold Him in reverential awe.  God is awesome and awe inspiring.  When we place Him in the proper perspective and live by His Holy Word, He will bless us with joy and happiness. (Psalm 128:2)  In order to be truly happy, one must be truly holy.  The believer who truly enjoys life is the one who acknowledges that The Lord God is in every aspect of their life.  When we walk in His ways not only will we be blessed but our family will also be blessed. (Psalm 128:3-4)  By living in practical obedience to The Word of God and walking with God, one can truly enjoy a happy, healthy, productive, and long life. (Proverbs 3:1-2)  Fear The Lord, be obedient to His Word, walk in His ways, and be truly blessed.

Our Fellowship With God

"If we claim to have fellowship with Him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.  But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin."  1 John 1:6-7 (NIV)

The Apostle John, who referred to himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved, recorded in this general epistle that we cannot have a fellowship with The Lord God if we do not obey His Word.  We must believe and walk in His way, in His light, and maintain fellowship with our Christian brothers, if we want Him to cleanse us and forgive us of our sins.

Many people claim to be Christian, but their actions do not support their claim.  Believers must walk with The Lord God, as Enoch (Genesis 5:22) and Noah (Genesis 6:9) did.  Once we believe that Jesus, The Christ, is The Son of God who was raised from the dead, and accept Christ as our personal savior, then we will be saved and our relationship with The Lord God is secure. (Romans 10:9)  We may be in or out of fellowship with Him, based upon our behavior, but our relationship does not change.  We still sin, we confess our sins, we ask to be forgiven, (1 John 1:9), and then we persevere and continue to walk in His way. (Ephesians 6:18)   By walking His way and obeying His Word, we demonstrate and maintain our fellowship with God.

Follow The Lord

"As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew.  They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen.  "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men."  At once they left their nets and followed Him."  Matthew 4:18-20 (NIV)

The Apostle Matthew recorded that at the beginning of His earthly ministry, Jesus called the disciples which He chose to be His followers, and they answered the call and followed Him.

All of us follow someone.  The person that we follow is the one who has influence over our behavior.  Often we make a conscious decision to follow someone, but sometimes a person's influence on us is subtle and we are unaware of the effect on us until later on. The devil is very subtle in his ways of influence. (Genesis 3:1)   We are influenced by what we hear (Luke 11:28), read (2 Timothy 2:15), and see or watch (Psalms 101:3).  That is why we are encouraged to read and study the Bible, to fellowship with other believers, and to be very careful about what we allow to come before our eyes.  Those of us who choose to follow Christ must deny and resist the worldly influences on our lives, and submit to The Lord. (James 4:7)  God wants all of us to be saved. (1 Timothy 2:3-4)  However, many are called but few are chosen. (Matthew 22:14)  The choice is up to us.  We cannot follow and serve two masters. (Matthew 6:24 and Luke 16:13)   With respect to the salvation of our soul, we must choose who we will follow. (Joshua 24:15 and John 14:6)

Time Spent With The Lord Is Good

"Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to Him those He wanted, and they came to Him.  He appointed twelve, designating them apostles, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach and to have authority to drive out demons."  Mark 3:13-15 (NIV)

John, whose surname was Mark, a companion of the Apostle Paul, addressed the gospel according to Mark to the Gentiles in Rome.  He depicted Jesus as a suffering servant of God, demonstrating the humanity of Christ.  Here John Mark records that Jesus called the twelve apostles, or disciples, another name for students.  He wanted them to be with Him, close to Him, in fellowship.   He wanted to give them authority, to share His power with them and to send them out into the world to preach and teach.  Jesus wanted companions that He could teach, and that would do His will.

We would all benefit if we spent more time with The Lord.  The disciples clearly benefited from the time that they spent with Jesus.  Today, we are His disciples.  We need to spend more time with His Word and in fellowship with Him.  As His disciples we are His students, and by our study of The Word of God, He can teach and train us.  Afterwards, He can bless us and share some of His power with us.  Then He can use us to spread His Word to others and be a blessing to them.  So let us make a commitment to spend a little more time each day in fellowship with, and learning from The Lord.  Let Him bless us and use us as He sees fit, according to His purpose.

Being Obedient To God's Commands

"The Lord saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become ... The Lord was grieved that He had made man on the earth, and His heart was filled with pain.  So The Lord said, 'I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth; men and animals' ... But Noah found favor in the eyes of The Lord ... Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God ... So God said to Noah, 'I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth.  So make yourself an ark of cypress wood ... This is how you are to build it ... I am going to bring flood waters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens ... But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark; you and your sons and your wife and your sons' wives with you.  You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you ... You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them.'  Noah did everything just as God commanded him."  Genesis 6:5-8:21 (NIV)  The great flood followed this.

In this first book of Moses history is recorded regarding the events which led up to the great flood.  God told Noah, who was a righteous man, that He was going to destroy all of mankind and all of the  animals.  However, Noah and his family would be spared along with two of every kind of animal.  God told Noah to build an ark and He told him exactly how to build it.  Noah did everything just as God commanded him.

Noah had never built an ark before, or anything like it, but he did what God had commanded him to do.  Because he was obedient, he and his family were spared when the great flood eliminated all of the rest of mankind.  We do not know what the future holds in store for us, but if we walk with and follow God, all things will work out for our benefit. (Romans 8:28)  We may also be blessed and spared from some very bad situation if we are obedient to God's commands. 

God Is Always With Us

"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.  You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.  You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.  Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of The Lord forever."  Psalms 23:4-6 (NIV)

The second half of this psalm, David depicts God as his protector, comforter, provider, supplier, and constant companion.  He states that he walks with God every day, and is is with God that he wants to spend eternity.

As Christians, we have no need to be afraid of anything because God is always with us.  He can protect us from all hurt, harm, and danger.  He can supply all of our needs and provide for us until our cup overflows.  The love of God is always with us, no matter what kind of situation we are going through, He will see us through it.

You Are Also A Leader Of God's People

"Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law My servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for The Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:7-9 (NIV)

After the death of Moses, The Lord said to Joshua, "Moses my servant is dead. Now then ... As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you." (Joshua 1:1-5) Joshua was to lead the people into the promised land. These were the words of encouragement and the directions that The Lord spoke to Joshua. God chose him to lead the people.

If anyone follows you, listens to your advice, and if what you say or do influences anyone, then you are also a leader, and as such you have the responsibility to say and do the right thing, so as not to lead them astray. The best way to do that is to be sure that you follow The Word of God. Read, study, meditate, think about, recite, talk about, and live God's Word, and you will be prosperous, successful, and a good leader because God will be with you wherever you go.

Does Our Walk And Thoughts Cause God Grief?

"The Lord saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. The Lord was grieved that He had made man on the earth, and His heart was filled with pain. So the Lord said, "I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth--men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air--for I am grieved that I have made them." But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. This is the account of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God." Genesis 6:5-9 (NIV)

This is why the great flood came, because man's great wickedness, and his evil thoughts and deeds, God was grieved that He had made man. God wanted to start over with mankind, and He choose Noah, "a righteous man" who "... walked with God ...", to save a remnant of His creations.

Are our walk and thoughts causing God grief? If all of mankind thought and acted like we do, would God want to again wipe out mankind from the face of the earth? Most of us feel that the world would be a better place if every body was just like us. But I would challenge us to think about all of the good that is done, that we do not do, that would be missing from the world. Do we donate to every good cause? Do we help those in need? Do we obey the law, including traffic laws? Do we always tell the truth?

"What kind of world would this be, if everyone in it was just like me?" (Unknown) Would God be grieved and want to wipe out mankind again if everyone was like us? We should pray that our Christian walk would be more like Noah's.

To Walk With God

"When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. And after he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Enoch lived 365 years. Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away. " Genesis 5:21-24 (NIV)

The Bible records the name of Enoch's father and one of his sons. It states that he had other sons and daughters and that he lived for 365 years. Not much else is known about Enoch except that he is the first man that the Bible records "... walked with God ..."

Enoch obviously enjoyed a very special intimate relationship with God. Only one other man is reported to have walked with God and that was Noah (Genesis 6:9). Enoch was taken from earth by God while he was alive (Genesis 5:24). Only one other man was taken from earth by God without dying first and that was Elijah (2 Kings 2:1-12). Enoch was special.

To walk with God implies true Godliness, for two cannot walk together except they agree (Amos 3:3). Enoch lived a Godly life. It is clear that he put God first and endeavored to please Him. When our life is over, what will be said about our "Christian walk"? Will our life reflect an intimate and personal relationship and fellowship with God?