“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 5:22–24
These verses were the first memory verse assignment that I was given as a child, so I remember them well. I was given them by Sister Anneli Martin, (who later became my mother-in-law), on my first Sabbath at church, when I was 11 years old.
To an eleven-year-old kid this was a new and interesting concept. The idea that this man named Enoch walked with God for three hundred years was a powerful statement. Then there was the idea that God then “took him.” Where did he go? Was anyone really that good that God would want to take him to be with Him?
“Enoch’s walk with God was not in a trance or vision, but in all the duties of his daily life. He did not become a hermit, shutting himself entirely from the world; for he had a work to do for God in the world. In the family and in his intercourse with men, as a husband and father, a friend, a citizen, he was the steadfast, unwavering servant of the Lord.” –Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 85
Enoch did not just believe in God but he believed God. Each and every day Enoch developed a trust in what God said, and how He led him. This trust came from a daily experience with God. This was not just something that he meditated upon in the morning or the evening, but something that he actually lived. God was part of his daily life, his work, his chores at home and his interaction with other human beings.
“His heart was in harmony with God’s will; for ‘can two walk together, except they be agreed?’ Amos 3:3. And this holy walk was continued for three hundred years. There are few Christians who would not be far more earnest and devoted if they knew that they had but a short time to live, or that the coming of Christ was about to take place. But Enoch’s faith waxed the stronger, his love became more ardent, with the lapse of centuries.” –Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 85
I have heard it said by many preachers, even in our church, that it is much more difficult to live for God than to die for Him. But I respectfully disagree with them.
The reason that they might find it more difficult to live for God is because they are not living with God, because they do not believe God! They may believe in God, that He exists, but they do not believe what God tells them and that God has their best interests at heart. They have little trust in God and more trust in themselves. If you come to a point in your life where you start to believe God, then, like Enoch, your faith or belief will wax stronger and your love will become more ardent with each passing day.
“Enoch was a man of strong and highly cultivated mind and extensive knowledge; he was honored with special revelations from God; yet being in constant communion with Heaven, with a sense of the divine greatness and perfection ever before him, he was one of the humblest of men. The closer the connection with God, the deeper was the sense of his own weakness and imperfection.” –Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 85
I ask you—do you believe God? It is actually very easy to tell. What is your life like? Do you trust yourself? How often do you ask God to participate in your life? Do you only interact with God a couple of times a day? God wants you to walk with Him every moment of every day. Do you only believe in some scriptures and testimonies that fit your life or way of thinking and others are not so important? That is not believing God.
Enoch did not think himself too wise or too important to be taught of God. Each moment of his life he realized how much he needed to depend on God. But this did not happen from his birth. It took Enoch until he was 65 years old to come to the point where he was humble enough to start believing God, to start trusting Him.
Enoch was one of the sons of God so he was brought up around Adam, who was a first-hand witness to God’s creation. Adam experienced paradise and how it was lost to him through sin. Adam saw first-hand how sin had caused the murder of his own beloved son, Abel, by his other son’s hand. Yet it took Enoch 65 years before he really started to believe God. Sixty-five years before he began a walk with God, a walk that has never ended.
“Thus he waited before the Lord, seeking a clearer knowledge of His will, that he might perform it. To him prayer was as the breath of the soul; he lived in the very atmosphere of heaven.” –Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 85
I wonder how much we wait before the Lord. How often do we allow God to work with us in our lives? Is your life like living “in the very atmosphere of heaven”? I do not know about you, but I want this for my life; I need this for my life. I think I will believe Jesus. I will believe in all that Jesus says.
But, how do I do that?
Trust as Enoch trusted, believe as Enoch believed, and walk with God as Enoch walked. You are never too old to start.
“The men of that generation had mocked the folly of him who sought not to gather gold or silver or to build up possessions here. But Enoch’s heart was upon eternal treasures. He had looked upon the celestial city. He had seen the King in His glory in the midst of Zion. His mind, his heart, his conversation, were in heaven. The greater the existing iniquity, the more earnest was his longing for the home of God. While still on earth, he dwelt, by faith, in the realms of light.” –Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 87
Enoch’s mind, heart and conversation were in Heaven!
“By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.” Hebrews 11:5–6
Two steps, “believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.”
“Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.” Matthew 5:8. For three hundred years Enoch had been seeking purity of soul, that he might be in harmony with Heaven. For three centuries he had walked with God. Day by day he had longed for a closer union; nearer and nearer had grown the communion, until God took him to Himself. He had stood at the threshold of the eternal world, only a step between him and the land of the blest; and now the portals opened, the walk with God, so long pursued on earth, continued, and he passed through the gates of the Holy City—the first from among men to enter there.” –Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 87
Enoch became the first man to walk into Heaven, into God’s Holy City, and he walked there with God.
Are we not tired of walking alone on this earth? Are we not tired of failure and regret? Are we tired of being unhappy Christians? Are we not tired of believing in God without knowing and believing God?
Is your goal not the Celestial City that has been promised by Jesus to you personally? The road that leads to that home starts here on earth with a walk with Jesus, your personal Saviour. This is not a time when we should be thinking first of what we have in our home, but what we have for God’s home—what time we have for our work but what time we have for God’s work. In truth it should be the same. A Christian should always be a Christian.
It is often said that numbers never lie. You can tell a lot from numbers. People do not give and sacrifice for the cause of God and that is very evident from the numbers. God’s church should not be poor and always be scraping by. Very few sacrifice for the cause of Jesus. Why do you think that is? I would say because they do not believe God as Enoch did. Enoch did not keep treasure to himself but instead his “heart was upon eternal treasures.”
If you just believe in God, you might say that “I am barely making my payments at home, I cannot pay my tithe fully. I cannot give an offering this week, as I do not have much, only enough to cover my expenses. God will understand.”
If you really believe God, you will trust in what He says and know that God knows what you have and need. When you pay your tithe faithfully, as He has said, He will bless you—so when you sacrifice and give an offering, even when you are not sure that you can pay your bills, you believe that God will take care of you and provide for you because that is what He has promised!
“Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in Mine house, and prove Me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” Malachi 3:10
Yes, it is a promise from God! But that promise may only be words to you. You see, you have the choice of whether to believe God or not. If you believe God, that is real faith! That real faith then produces real and acceptable works because it is enabled by God’s grace. You become the workmanship of Jesus.
When you only believe in God you will be apprehensive about telling someone about God and your experience with Him. But when you really believe God there will be no fear. For you know that He has said that He will be with you and will surround you with angels to protect you. His Spirit will give you the words to speak. If you believe God that is real faith!
It is your choice, my friends, and no one can make that decision for you. But, it all begins with one step. Enoch began with one step and so must we. Do you not want to take that same walk as Enoch did?
Believe God; He does not lie; He does not forget; and He does not tire.
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved. He that believeth on Him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” John 3:16–18
God the Father gave His Son for you, that you might be saved because He loves you. But, do you believe Him? Jesus gave His life to pay the penalty of your sin because He loves you. But, do you believe Him?
That eleven-year-old boy introduced to that verse in Enoch is now a 57-year-old man. I have never regretted starting my walk with God just as I have never forgotten my first memory verse. “And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.”
If you have not yet begun your walk with God, I urge you today to begin. It just takes that first step.
May God grant us the same end as Enoch. Amen.
John Formosa