Genesis 5 serves as a transition chapter. We need to get
from Adam and his sons, to Noah. So chapter 5 takes us there. There is a
formula for each person mentioned; their name, how old they were when the next
in line was born, how long they lived after, and then he died. Is there any doubt that death has entered the
world? For 20 verses, the formula repeats itself always ending with and he died. But then something changes
in Genesis 5:21-24.
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.
So far so good. Enoch fits the formula. But then verse 24
breaks the pattern.
Enoch
walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.
Remember this was an oral culture. The audience would have
perhaps been lulled into a rhythmic trance while this chapter is being read,
but then, and verse 24 they would have been snapped out of their reverie. Enoch
didn’t die, because God took him away.
But then the pattern resumes, until we get to Noah, where the pattern is
interrupted to tell Noah’s story.
Again, the audience would perk back up at the change in the
rhythm of the orator. Finally at Genesis 6:9, we make the connection:
This
is the account of Noah: Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of
his time, and he walked with God.
Noah receives high praise, especially when compared with the
preceding narrative about the widespread wickedness that mankind has fallen
into. Noah is different. How different? As different as Enoch was from the rest
of the genealogy in chapter 5. You see, both men walked with God. Not only does this word not appear of any of the
other people mentioned in the genealogy in chapter 5, but it is also not used
in 6:1-9 to describe anyone else either, regardless of what kind of walking
they are doing. The Hebrew form of the word, though, is even rarer! What is
translated as “walked” in English, really means “walked around, back and forth,
in many/all directions.” Enoch and Noah walked faithfully with God in all ways
and all parts of their lives.
Up until this point in Scripture, the only other person who
“walks” in all directions or ways is God: Then
the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the
garden in the cool of the day… So God, Enoch and Noah, all walk the same
walk, which is to say that Enoch and Noah walk like God walks. For Enoch, it
led to him being assumed into heaven. For Noah, it led to him and his family
surviving the Flood that destroyed the rest of mankind at that time.
Faith can take us to scary places. Is it worth it to let God
into every area of our lives? To hand over control in those places that we
think we need to control? The obvious
answer is “yes”. But I must confess that more often than not, it comes with
hesitation. Perhaps, it is because we don’t hear God’s voice as clearly as we
want. Or maybe because we think we know too much about the situation and the
outcome. Or possibly because we just don’t want to be uncomfortable and take
our eyes off our lives to focus on God not ourselves. Enoch and Noah kept their
eyes on God and they were richly rewarded. Scripture doesn’t say that many
people “walked” with God the way these two men did. How can you walk faithfully
with God today? What are you holding back that you can give to Him?
Let us be grateful for a gracious God who sees our fears and tells us anyway, "Do not fear!" He is in control, what a relief! Happy Thanksgiving!
For more on Enoch, see my previous post here.
No comments:
Post a Comment