Hebrews 11:5 NIV
[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. https://bible.com/bible/111/heb.11.5.NIV
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. https://bible.com/bible/111/gen.5.21-24.NIV
Epitaphs can be sad and poignant, but also very funny.
The British comedian Spike Milligan has as his epitaph: ‘I told you I was sick’.
The American actor and voice for Bugs Bunny has, of course, as his epitaph ‘That’s all folks’.
One man has as his epitaph, ‘Here lies John Yeast. Pardon me for not rising.’
What else could be on Doctor Martin Luther King’s epitaph than, ‘Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, I’m free at last!’
What we are looking at here is Enoch’s epitaph. And what an epitaph! What a wonderful way to be remembered!
There are three parts to it:
He walked.
He walked with God.
There is something so utterly ordinary about this, so banal. Enoch carried out the most basic of human motions. What made the difference above all is that He did it with God.
To walk with God implies that Enoch’s direction, motion and speed were all the same as God’s, at all times.
It also implies relationship and intimacy – a level of familiarity and obedience.
As Moses taught the Israelites many, many years later:
Deuteronomy 10:12-13 NIV
[12] And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, [13] and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?
And the prophet Micah later:
Micah 6:8 NIV
[8] He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. https://bible.com/bible/111/mic.6.8.NIV
This simple phrase teaches us something deeply important and profound. Faith is not – and never will be – just an intellectual exercise.
We do not just believe because we are convinced. Faith has to imply a relationship: because we believe who God is, we seek to walk with Him.
And that changes how we walk.
Allow me to explain.
There is a track cycling race called the keirin. It is a Japanese invention. Cyclists race for eight laps. However, for five and a half of these laps, they follow a pace-making electric bike called a derny, which slowly brings them up to speed (45kph for women; 50kph for men). Once five and a half laps are reached, the electric bike leaves the track and the cyclists then sprint to the eight-lap finish.
While all this is going on, the cyclists must follow the pace-maker. They cannot go faster than it. They have to submit to the style and pacing of whoever is riding that bike.
That is what Enoch did. He humbly submitted to walking with God at His pace, in His direction and His way.
Can that be said of us?
But because of that humble walking with His God, Enoch receives two rewards.
The first of this is that he saw.
Enoch saw judgement.
Enoch was the father of Methusela, the man who lived longer than anyone else in human history – nine hundred and sixty-nine years.
But there is a story behind this incredible longevity, and in case you are wondering, it has nothing to do with his diet.
The name Methuselah has two meanings, thanks to the way Hebrew is written. It can either mean ‘man of the javelin’, or ‘his death will send’.
But here is the very odd thing. According to the Biblical timeliness, the great flood of Noah’s day happened in the year Methuselah died.
So it seems that Enoch walked so closely with God that he was able to foresee the judgement to come in the flood, and his son Methuselah’s longevity could have been a sign of God’s grace, giving people more time to repent before it came.
But Enoch saw more than that. Enoch saw final judgement:
Jude 1: 14-15 NIV
[14] Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about them: “See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones [15] to judge everyone, and to convict all of them of all the ungodly acts they have committed in their ungodliness, and of all the defiant words ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”
This obscure man, thousands of years from the coming of Christ, prophesied about the second coming and final judgement. That is, he wasn’t just aware of the flood, he was also aware that God would one day bring all of history to a close.
And look at his prophecy! Is it not still contemporary?
So Enoch walked and he saw. However, the writer to the Hebrews tells us that he did not die.
And this is something very rare.
Only one other person in all of Biblical history, spanning thousands of years, did not die.
Elijah:
2 Kings 2:11-12 NIV
[11] As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. [12] Elisha saw this and cried out, “My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!” And Elisha saw him no more. Then he took hold of his garment and tore it in two. https://bible.com/bible/111/2ki.2.11-12.NIV
Elijah, of course, males an appearance on the Mount of Transfiguration, beside Moses, who died (Matthew 17:2-3; Mark 9:3-4; Luke 9:29-30).
Enoch does not have that privilege.
Instead, this quiet man with humble, obedient faith, has a role to play on the ancestry of Jesus Christ (Luke 3:37).
There is something quiet and unassuming about this man. Few verses are spoken about him. Yet he makes the roll call of the great heroes of faith.
Why?
Because he walked humbly with his God.
That makes all the difference.
So let me ask you: what will people remember you for? What will they write on your grave?
Will it be something worthless and in vain, like the gunslinger who had this on their grave:
‘Here lies a man named Zeke
Second fastest draw in Cripple Creek’
Or will it truly be for something worthwhile?
Lord, may it be that we walked with You until we could walk no more!
Prayer
Lord Jesus, these few lines challenge me more than an entire book ever could. Help me to walk with You I’m humble obedience until I can walk no more. Amen.
Questions
1. What happened to Enoch?
2. Why did his son live for so long? What did Enoch see?
3. What can you do to walk humbly with your God?
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