Genesis_5

Scripture

Genesis 5:24

Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.

 

Observation - What does it say?

Enoch is mentioned in the bible only a handful of times. We know he is in the line of Jesus (Luke 3:37). We also know that he was a prophet (Jude 14). Most importantly we know that Enoch was a man of great faith (Hebrews 11:5). We learn here in Genesis that he walked with God and was taken up by God, that he never died. In the bible, when someone walks with God, it denotes an intimate relationship with God. Other characters that we know “walked with God” include Noah, Abraham, and Isaac.

 

Understanding - What does it mean?

Last year, I went on a backpacking trip with my friend Josh. We went to a place called the Golden Trout Wilderness outside of Lone Pine. This trip included a lot of walking, something like ten miles a day with lots of elevation gain. It was fairly grueling for me. But it was a good chance for me to grow my relationship with my friend, specially since I was dependent on him for directions and we had to depend on each other for safety.

Britt Merrick, an author and pastor, says that walking with someone requires three things: An agreed upon place, an agreed upon path, and an agreed upon pace. When we walk with God, we are surrendering ourselves to His place, His path, and His pace. Merrick writes further, in his book Big God, “So to walk with God, the Christian needs to be concerned with things that are consistent with the character of God and the plan of God.” Walking with God in this way requires intimacy.

One thing I have learned through backpacking is how much “fluff” I have in my life. When you are backpacking, there is a need to take the essentials for survival and not much more. You carry your food, water, and shelter in a bag that is attached to your back; it doesn’t really give you any room for fluff. God has asked of us something similar in our spiritual lives. After talking about Enoch’s faith, the author of Hebrews continues by giving us an example of this. Hebrews 12:1-2 “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith…”

 

Life Application

Jesus, I know that I get so easily distracted by so many other things in my life. I let my pride get in the way of what you are doing, and want to do through me. Help me to strip away the things that you don’t want, in exchange for the goodness you have in store for me.

 

- Tyler Galloway

 

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