Walking With God
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. (Genesis 5:21-24)
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.” (Jude 14-15)
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. (Hebrews 11:5)
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.” (Jude 14-15)
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. (Hebrews 11:5)
Enoch is one of the strangest characters in Seth’s family tree. We are told that he walked faithfully with God until God suddenly ‘took him away’. What does that mean? Thankfully, the writer of the book of Hebrews fills in some of the missing detail for us. Enoch enjoyed such a close friendship with the Lord that heaven couldn’t wait to call him home to glory. People lived for so long before the Flood that he was taken up to heaven at a relatively young age, not through death, but through a miraculous ascension, just like Elijah in 2 Kings 2. Pretty weird, I know, but wow!
I wonder if Enoch is singled out in this family tree because of what we learned together yesterday – that God is interested in quality, not just quantity, when it comes to his disciples. Enoch is the kind of disciple that the Lord is calling us to be and to multiply more of what we are. We know that Enoch was a man of the Word and Spirit because, in the New Testament, Jude quotes a prophecy from the ancient Book of Enoch. We also know that Enoch was a man of prayer and of deep friendship with God, who taught others to pray and to know God deeply too. We are told that Enoch walked with the Lord (Genesis 5:22&24) and that, as a result, his descendant Noah also learned from him how to walk with the Lord (Genesis 6:9). It’s an irresistible principle. We multiply more of what we are.
Many of us have been sensing throughout lockdown that the Lord is using this season to invite us into deeper friendship with him. It shouldn’t take the thwarting of our busy plans and the ruining of our busy social lives to teach us how to walk with God, but perhaps it does. Rather than viewing these long weeks of lockdown as wasted time, the Lord would encourage you to see them as an extended spiritual retreat with him. He wants to help you go and make more disciples, but first he wants to help you to be a disciple. Let’s use this time to learn to walk with God.
I wonder if Enoch is singled out in this family tree because of what we learned together yesterday – that God is interested in quality, not just quantity, when it comes to his disciples. Enoch is the kind of disciple that the Lord is calling us to be and to multiply more of what we are. We know that Enoch was a man of the Word and Spirit because, in the New Testament, Jude quotes a prophecy from the ancient Book of Enoch. We also know that Enoch was a man of prayer and of deep friendship with God, who taught others to pray and to know God deeply too. We are told that Enoch walked with the Lord (Genesis 5:22&24) and that, as a result, his descendant Noah also learned from him how to walk with the Lord (Genesis 6:9). It’s an irresistible principle. We multiply more of what we are.
Many of us have been sensing throughout lockdown that the Lord is using this season to invite us into deeper friendship with him. It shouldn’t take the thwarting of our busy plans and the ruining of our busy social lives to teach us how to walk with God, but perhaps it does. Rather than viewing these long weeks of lockdown as wasted time, the Lord would encourage you to see them as an extended spiritual retreat with him. He wants to help you go and make more disciples, but first he wants to help you to be a disciple. Let’s use this time to learn to walk with God.
1) How do you feel about lockdown right now? How much are you treating it as an opportunity to go deeper with God?
2) What do you think it looked like for Enoch to “walk with God” each day? What might it look like for you to use the weeks that remain of lockdown to walk ever more closely with God too?
3) It’s amazing how creative we have become during lockdown in connecting with other people online. How can you connect with friends online to help each other walk with God? How can you study the Scriptures, worship God and pray together? How can you grow as a disciple and a disciple-maker, even during lockdown?
2) What do you think it looked like for Enoch to “walk with God” each day? What might it look like for you to use the weeks that remain of lockdown to walk ever more closely with God too?
3) It’s amazing how creative we have become during lockdown in connecting with other people online. How can you connect with friends online to help each other walk with God? How can you study the Scriptures, worship God and pray together? How can you grow as a disciple and a disciple-maker, even during lockdown?
Father God, I thank you that the biggest thing you want from me is my friendship. Help me to be like Enoch and to walk each day closely with you. Help me to do that on my own, but please also help me to find ways to do that with my friends. Help me to become a faithful disciple and a fruitful disciple-maker, even in the midst of lockdown. Amen.
If you have time, consider carrying on your conversation with God using one of our helpful Prayer Pathways.
Today’s Everyday Devotions have also inspired a devotional video that you can watch on our YouTube channel.
Join our Online Service now.
Today’s Everyday Devotions have also inspired a devotional video that you can watch on our YouTube channel.
Join our Online Service now.