By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, “and was not found, because God had taken him”; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God. (Hebrews 11:05, NKJV).
Presented in chronological order, the succinct and profound journey through the annals of the faithful in Scripture now brings us to Enoch, the seventh from Adam, whose name means, teaching.
If Abel is a representative of the Spirit-led Old Testament believer, Cain a picture of the bitter and self-worshiping religious hypocrite of all ages, then Enoch is a brilliant symbol of the New Testament church.
Precious few words are written about him, only a brief passage in Genesis, here in Hebrews, and finally in Jude. All emphasize his righteous walk of faith, speaking nothing of his actual deeds, but only of his heart - a heart that walked with, and pleased, God.
In fact God was so taken with him, that He took him - raptured him - into His presence without death, just before the global flood of divine judgment.
In all of existence, all its permutations and convolutions, all its decisions, priorities, and potentials, there is NOTHING that matters beyond your relationship with your Creator. Get that right through faith, and EVERYTHING else falls into place. Get that wrong through unbelief, and regardless of whatever else happens, your life is a tragic waste.
God has decreed this to be so. He created humanity - with its will, emotions, spirit and mind - for unique and everlasting fellowship with Him. The rest is either just icing on the cake, or a downward rebellion spiraling into eternal torment.
Enoch so pleased God by faith that He spared Him from judgment in the most conspicuous and unexpected way possible. He snatched him from the face of the earth. Before that, Enoch was bestowed a son, and chose a name for that son based on his role as one of the first ancient prophets. He called the boy, Methuselah, whose name signifies, his death shall bring.
This boy became the longest lived person in the antediluvian world. At his death, the Flood came and destroyed all but the eight humans preserved through the judgment in the Ark. But Enoch was taken before that in a marvelous act of grace.
The chronicle of Enoch, like Abel before him is presented with the formula By faith…
Having personally memorized Hebrews, I can attest that this chapter was perhaps the easiest, and certainly the most lyrical to commit to memory because of the formulaic preface to each episode, building into a verbal crescendo of glory after glory. The repetition of By faith, By faith, By faith along with its precise historical chronology is so very effective and powerful. It is a joy to recite, precisely because of its pattern and content.
And the lesson it drives home is simple, yet life-changing.
Faith, that substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen, is the nuclear furnace of life, provided that it is centered upon the living God of the Bible.
It the crowning achievement of Fallen man. Without it, every other achievement is worthless, full of gas and vapor.
With it, even the smallest act becomes a cause for triumphant celebration, and lavish praise from the Lord of the Universe.
The ultimate reward of a life of faith is God Himself, as He declared to Abram in Genesis 15.
Yes, we obtain righteousness by faith. Yes, it is faith that enables us to be adopted into the family of God and live forever. Yes, it is faith that defeats Satan and conquers death.
But above even these marvelous things, faith gives us Jesus, in intimate, heroic, and noble fellowship. And fills the otherwise empty void of life that without Him, is vain futility ending in everlasting torment.
God has decreed that faith, not our own works of righteousness, earns His pleasure.
And that decree is the foundation of His greatest mercy and grace.
Exercise that gift of faith now, while there is still time, and become His beloved child, and like Enoch, you will be spared the coming judgment.
