September 27, 2025 • 28 mins
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What would your epitaph say? For Enoch, a mysterious figure from Genesis, it simply read: "He pleased God." While most of what we leave behind remains unseen—typically just a name and two dates separated by a dash—Enoch broke even this pattern by never experiencing death at all.
Nestled within Hebrews 11's "Hall of Faith," Enoch's extraordinary story teaches us what it truly means to walk with God. This isn't mere religious jargon but a profound relationship concept—two beings moving in the same direction, at the same pace, in complete agreement. Scripture reveals that walking with God involves living in newness of life, walking according to the Spirit rather than the flesh, walking in love as children of light, and walking in truth.
What makes Enoch's testimony particularly relevant is the context of his faithfulness. He lived in a world Genesis describes as thoroughly corrupt, where "every intent of the thoughts of man's heart was only evil continually." Violence dominated society, wickedness prevailed everywhere, and moral decay had reached its zenith. Sound familiar? Despite these circumstances—or perhaps because of them—Enoch maintained an unwavering walk with God for 365 years until he was simply "taken away."
This biblical account powerfully demonstrates that faithful living isn't determined by external circumstances but by internal commitment. Hebrews reveals the essence of Enoch's success: "Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." Enoch embodied both elements—living with constant awareness of God's presence while trusting completely in His goodness.
The message for us today couldn't be clearer: regardless of how dark our world becomes, walking with God remains not only possible but the most fulfilling way to live. Through intentional communion with God, alignment with His purposes, and courage to speak truth, we too can please God in our generation. What greater legacy could anyone hope to leave behind?
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Episode Transcript
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SPEAKER_00 (00:11):
All right, Hebrews chapter 11 is where we're
currently at.
Hebrews chapter 11.
Hebrews chapter 11, verse 5 iswhere we start.
Well, taking a little bit of adiversion here in the book of
(00:32):
Hebrews until we find a new bookto land on.
No rush though, for sure.
Hebrews chapter 11, you probablyknow by now, is is considered
the Hall of Faith by many.
Brief visit, we would see, as aalmost like a museum of those
(00:52):
who have lived by faith.
And I like that because I likemuseums.
I'm a history fiend.
I love it.
Another thing I really enjoy isfamily history.
You're like, wow, that'sexciting life you have there.
I know.
I love museums.
I love history.
I love family history.
(01:13):
And sometimes two in themorning, I'll be, you know,
searching out, you know, wheredid those people come from?
Where, where did they go?
How did they live?
You know, and I'm I'm trying touncover that kind of thing.
But what you find most of thetime in searching family history
is that most of what you know isthat you don't know much about
(01:34):
those that have gone before.
You you find the sad fact thatmost of what we leave behind is
unseen.
And what is seen is our name andmaybe uh a number with a dash in
the middle of it, you know, uh acouple numbers and dashes there.
Um, and and that's rough.
Well, today we meet anindividual in verse five who
(01:58):
doesn't even fulfill that.
He's got a birth date and adash, and then just disappears.
Enoch, interesting chap there inverse five.
Let's read verse five and six,and let's let's look at this
guy.
By faith, Enoch was taken awayso that he did not see death and
(02:24):
was not found because God hadtaken him.
For before he was taken, he hadthis testimony that he pleased
God.
But without faith, it isimpossible to please God, for he
who comes to God must believethat he is, and that he is a
rewarder of those who diligentlyseek him.
(02:48):
So here we see a man that youmaybe have never heard of
before, a man named Enoch.
Enoch lived by faith.
Now, the interesting thing thatwe see here, and we'll talk
about this, is that he was takenaway and did not see death.
Interesting, it does not happenmuch.
(03:11):
We'll talk about that, but alsonotice with Enoch here that he
had a testimony in verse five.
A testimony that he pleased God.
So what we can say about Enoch'slife without knowing much is
that on his epitaph, it wasn'treally a gravestone, right?
(03:33):
Because he didn't die, but uhEnoch pleased God, and that's a
good epitaph to have.
That's a good thing that we wantpeople to say about us.
We please God.
Now, for the bulk of his story,we need to turn to Genesis
chapter five.
You can hold your place in inHebrews, but turn to Genesis
(03:55):
chapter five.
Genesis chapter five is achapter that maybe if this was
your daily reading and you gotto Genesis chapter five, you're
already turning from it.
You know what I mean?
Because if you'll notice, it's agenealogy.
Does that stuff just kind offrustrate you in the Old
Testament?
You find a list of names, namesand ages, right?
(04:20):
That's what we get in Genesischapter 5.
And as you read this, we're notgonna read the whole thing, um,
but as you read this, you seethat there's kind of a rhythm to
it.
Um notice, uh, let's let's startin verse 16 to get some of this
(04:42):
rhythm.
It's a genealogy.
Exciting.
After he begot Jared, Machalel,which is fun to say, lived 830
years and had sons anddaughters.
So all the days of Mahalel were895 years and he died.
(05:02):
Jared lived 162 years and begotEnoch, our man Enoch.
And after he begot Enoch, Jaredlived 800 years and had sons and
daughters.
So all the days of Jared were962 years and he died.
(05:24):
Verse 21.
Enoch lived 65 years and begotMethuselah.
After he begot Methuselah, Enochwalked with God 300 years and
had sons and daughters.
So all the days of Enoch were365 years.
(05:45):
And Enoch walked with God, verse24, and he was not, for God took
him.
So in this rhythm of life,right?
This so-and-so lived so manyyears, begot his son, lives so
many years, and then died.
Um, in this rhythm of that, wesee Enoch kind of breaks the
(06:06):
whole thing up, right?
Because he didn't die accordingto this.
Over and over again, it's thatthing of life.
And then one guy stands out,Enoch.
Now, a few things we notice hereon the surface is that people
lived a long time.
Never like trip you out here inthe book of Genesis.
Why did people live so long?
(06:27):
Well, it was before red fooddied, I think, right?
Before Twinkies, and theatmosphere was just completely
different, right?
We don't exactly know what itwas like, but people just lived
a lot longer.
Perhaps the oxygen content was alittle bit higher.
Um, they lived a long timebecause after the flood, things
(06:49):
go downhill quick.
And 120 years, although still along time to live, becomes more
the norm there after the flood.
And into our day, that you know,120 years would be outrageous.
Um but here it it goes, theylive for a long time.
In fact, Methuselah, uh Enoch'sson, is the longest uh living,
(07:14):
and I think he's 696 years, helives.
Uh, it's it's right aroundthere, but but uh a long old
time.
Now, that though isn't the mostunique part of the story that
people lived a long time beforethe flood.
We see in verse 24, our manEnoch, that Enoch walked with
(07:36):
God and he was not, for God tookhim.
So strange occurrence happensthere as Enoch is just a young
man, 365 years old.
Um, he is one day taken.
He's just no more.
And Enoch didn't die likeeveryone else, he just seems to
(07:58):
be taken.
What seems to be here a previewof what's known in the New
Testament as the concept of therapture.
Um, that one day God will justtake an entire generation of
believers and will be translatedthere into to heaven.
You can read about this, it'snot really the main point of our
(08:20):
study today, but 1 Thessalonians4, 15 through 18, and 1
Corinthians for later study, 15,51 through 52, it describes this
moment when those of us who arealive and remain will be caught
up to be with the Lord there in1 Thessalonians.
Um, that it would happen in amoment, in the twinkling of an
(08:44):
eye in 1 Corinthians 15, 51,that all at once a whole
generation of believers will betranslated in an instant, the
amount of time it takes you toblink, translated to heaven.
Now, that's not the point of ourstudy, but Enoch here is a
preview of that.
And if you want to talk moreabout that afterwards, it could
(09:05):
be great conversation.
We can do that.
But Enoch seems to have gottenhis own preview of this event
some 5,500 years ago.
Um, and it's fascinating.
Now, for our study here inHebrews chapter 11, and stay is
we can stay here for a second,we see that he was taken uh up,
(09:32):
and Enoch's actually go aheadand look back at Hebrews uh
chapter 11, verse 6.
Um Enoch's major accomplishmentin um verse 5 actually was that
he pleased God.
(09:54):
He had a testimony that hepleased God, and and God rewards
those that please him.
Uh, what did it look like?
Now we don't have much to go onhere.
Now flip back to Genesis 5.
I like to have you jump back andforth, keep you on your toes,
(10:14):
you know.
Um, Genesis chapter 5.
We don't have much to go on hereof this, what this pleasing God
thing was all about.
But verse 24 says, Enoch walkedwith God.
Enoch walked with God.
Now, that idea of walking withGod is one that if you've been
in the church for a while, youknow, as Christian needs, right?
(10:37):
Christianese talk that onlyChristians have amongst each
other, right?
Because we say things like that.
We say things like, hey, how'syour walk, man?
Uh what, you know, like a I gota sore knee, so it's affecting
the way I walk for sure, youknow.
No, no, no.
How's your Christian walk?
How's your relationship with Godgoing?
(10:58):
Um, we say things like, How longhave you been walking with the
Lord?
Well, since I was a little guy,I came to the Lord and I've been
walking with him ever since.
Oh, is so-and-so still walkingwith the Lord?
Oh, I hope I heard that person,well, they're not walking with
the Lord anymore, and that's abummer.
Um, a walk with God,Christianese, term we probably
(11:20):
all know, but it has to do withrelationship and a way of life.
Our relationship with God.
And it's a good picture, right?
Although I'm not like thebiggest fan of walks, it takes a
lot to get me off the couch,honestly.
Um, my wife will say, Hey, youwant to go for a walk?
And usually that's a good thing.
I mean, you can have some walksthat start with a tense
(11:43):
situation, like we need to takea walk, you know.
Um, but most of them are good.
Hey, you want to go for a walk?
Okay, we'll go for a walk.
And you go for a walk, and itinvolves friendship and
relationship, calmness.
It's usually a relaxed pace.
Adam, we saw, walked with God.
(12:04):
And it seemed to be almostliterally that Adam walked with
God in the cool of the gardenthere.
Enoch, we see here in verse 24,walked with God.
Noah is one who walked with God.
Abraham is known as a guy whowalked with God, and many
others.
Um, it's been pointed out aboutthis walk with God, this
(12:25):
relationship with God, then itrequires a few things.
Amos, the book of Amos, chapterthree, verse three, says that
can two walk together unlessthey're agreed.
That's important, right?
Can you walk with someone if youdon't agree on where you're
going?
You know, one takes off to theleft, the other to the left, and
(12:47):
the other takes off to theright.
You're not walking together ifyou're not agreed in that.
In the destination, right?
To walk with someone means thatyou have to agree on where
you're going, or else you won'tbe going to the same place.
To walk with someone, itinvolves the same path, right?
If you walk with someone andyou're going down two different
(13:09):
paths, you won't be walkingtogether.
It involves the same pace,right?
If one person is running and theother person, like myself, is
walking, you're not walkingtogether.
And so this idea of a walk withGod is important because it's a
relationship that stickstogether, goes the same
(13:29):
direction as God, the same pathas God.
God, what do you want me to do?
I want to do it.
Where do you want to go?
I'll go there.
And and so this idea of a walksort of makes sense in our mind
because we've all done it.
The Bible has a lot to say aboutwalking with God and how we
walk.
(13:51):
Write down these passages if youwant to study it a little bit
later, but Psalm 1, verse 1, I'mjust gonna read them off, says,
Blessed is the man who walks notin the counsel of the ungodly.
So walking with God will meanthat we don't walk in the
counsel of the ungodly worldaround us.
(14:11):
Uh, Paul had a lot written aboutthis walk.
Uh, Romans 6, 1 says we're towalk in our lives, to live our
lives in newness of life inChrist.
Romans 8, verses 1 and verse 4says we want to walk in the
spirit and not the flesh.
(14:31):
That would be a good study, howto walk in the spirit and not
the flesh.
Galatians 5, 16, and also verse25 essentially says the same:
walk in the spirit, power tolive our life.
There's a long string of thesewalking passages in the book of
Ephesians, you can consider.
(14:52):
Ephesians 4 1 says, walk worthyof the calling for which you
have been called.
Ephesians 4 17, don't walk asthe Gentiles, the godless
nations, uh in the futility oftheir mind.
Uh Ephesians 5.1, Paul says,walk in love.
Way to walk and live your life.
(15:13):
Ephesians 5.8, walk as childrenof light.
Uh Ephesians 5.15, walkcircumspectly or carefully.
Colossians 1 10, walk uh worthyof the Lord, fully pleasing him,
being fruitful in every goodwork.
Paul had a lot to say aboutthis.
John had some to say about it.
In 1 John, he says, uh chapter1, verse 7, walk in light.
(15:37):
Uh he also encouraged them towalk in love.
Uh 3 John, last one, verse 3through 4, John says, walk in
truth, the truth of God's word.
And he says, I have no greaterjoy than to hear that my
children walk in truth.
So the way we live our life isseen in this.
(16:00):
Different ways to walk and liveyour life in love and light and
the truth in the spirit, allthese different things.
That'd be a great study.
But here we just read simplyabout Enoch, that he walked with
God.
And this wasn't a one-time thingfor Enoch.
It seems that he walked with Godhis entire life.
(16:24):
It was a habit that summed hislife up.
Um, he walked with God, and inthe book of Jude, we'll turn
there for one more snapshot ofEnoch.
The book of Jude, it's only gotone chapter, and it's right
before Revelation.
So easy to find, second to lastbook in the Bible, one chapter.
(16:48):
Book of Jude, verse 14.
We also read about Enoch here.
Now, Enoch, the seventh fromAdam, prophesies prophesied
about these men also, saying,Behold, the Lord comes with ten
thousands of his saints toexecute judgment on all, to
(17:12):
convict all who are ungodlyamong them of their ungodly
deeds which they have committedin an ungodly way, and of all
the harsh things which ungodlysinners have spoken against God,
against him.
So here in Jude, we we get alittle snapshot.
It's it's from a traditional uhverse there about Enoch.
(17:36):
It's been passed down, but it'sscripture, it's right here.
And it says about Enoch that heprophesied.
He was a guy who prophesied.
Now we look at that and go,well, he was a prophet.
That makes him a great personfor sure.
But the idea of prophesyingsimply means to speak God's
word, to say what God says.
(17:58):
So we read this here that Enochtold the people in his
generation that judgment wascoming.
Judgment was coming.
He even named his son somethinga little prophetic.
Now there's a little bit ofdiscussion of what the name
Methuselah means, but manypeople would say that it means
(18:18):
his death shall bring.
Methuselah, his death shallbring.
And there was something specificbeing said about Methuselah's
name, uh, that something wouldhappen when he died.
Now, what happened the yearMethuselah died?
The flood.
(18:38):
Methuselah died the year of theflood.
So interesting, Enoch, no idea,he names his son, his death will
bring.
And the year that Methuselahdied, the flood came.
So it's possible that Enoch, inthis prophetic kind of way,
names his son specifically tosay, something's coming when
(19:02):
this kid dies.
You be careful.
Judgment was coming.
And we read that here in Judethat he was a guy who prophesied
to the ungodly.
Judgment is coming.
Now, something to notice in thiswhile we're passing, Methuselah
is also the oldest person everrecorded to have lived.
(19:24):
969 years old.
Methuselah.
If Methuselah was named hisdeath will bring, why is it
significant then that he wouldlive longer than anyone else?
Maybe because God is patient.
God is patient, not willing thatany would perish, Peter tells
(19:46):
us, but that all would come torepentance.
So how long did Methuselah live?
900 or 600, 960 something years,right?
Okay, I got the it's 900 years,right?
And you go, God is just patient.
Um and and Enoch here then showshimself to be someone who spoke
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the truth about the world thathe lived in.
So he pleased God, he walkedwith God, he told the truth to
the world around him.
And we get from this in thishall of faith the fact I want to
please God, I want to live likethat.
And we think, well, but see,here's the problem.
(20:30):
I live in 2025.
Enoch lived way back then.
It was a different world.
We think that way about timesometimes, don't we?
We think, you know, the worldwas never this evil in my day.
Not generally true.
I think the world has gottenpretty evil.
Uh technologies has reallyhelped us see that, I think,
(20:55):
because we see everything in ourfeed, right?
How evil the world is.
But the world has always beenevil, even in the Victorian age,
a very proper age of, you know,you know, society doing the
right things.
Jack the Ripper lived in theVictorian age.
You know what I mean?
And so we see this truth inEnoch and in history that the
(21:18):
world has always been evil.
Is it getting more evil?
Maybe not.
It's always been evil.
I know we've turned a lot, butlet's turn one more spot.
Genesis chapter six.
Important for us to see beforewe go.
Genesis chapter six.
(21:40):
After this genealogy that weread, we come to Noah's life.
We'll look at him next week.
But we come to Noah's life, andwe find out in Genesis chapter
six what the world was like inNoah's day, and consequently in
Enoch's day as well.
Verses one through four are veryinteresting, and lots of books
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have been speculated and writtenon this is speculation.
But there seems to be a lot ofspiritual weirdness going on in
verse one through four.
What is it?
I don't exactly know, but somespiritual weirdness of the sons
of God seeing the daughters ofmen having children that were
giants in those days.
Interesting weirdness, right?
(22:27):
But look at more plainly inverse five.
Then the Lord saw the wickednessof man was great in the earth,
and every intent of the thoughtsof his heart was only evil
continually.
And the Lord was sorry that hemade man on the earth, and he
was grieved in his heart.
So the Lord said, I will destroyman from the earth, whom I have
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created from the face of theearth, both man and beast,
creeping things, birds of theair, for I'm sorry that I made
them.
But Noah found grace in the eyesof the Lord.
Umtice verse 12.
And the Lord looked upon theearth, and indeed it was corrupt
or rotten, for all flesh hadcorrupted their way on the
(23:12):
earth.
So we get a picture of earthduring Enoch's days.
It's evil.
Every thought and tent of man'sheart is evil only.
The world is violent.
So picture it.
Enoch going outside could say,it's a dangerous place out
(23:32):
there.
I could get beat up if I stepoutside.
I could get killed.
I mean, to prove the point, westudied Cain and Abel, uh, which
was about a thousand yearsbefore Enoch, right?
Uh and in Cain and Abel's day,25% of the earth's population
were murderers, right?
(23:53):
That's a pretty tough statistic.
One out of four people, right,murdered someone.
And so the earth was just evil.
And in here in chapter six, it'ssaturated evil.
And it says it's corrupt.
It's this idea of something youlook in the back of your fridge
and go, how long has that beenthere?
And it's just totally consumedwith rottenness.
(24:16):
That's the world in Enoch's day.
It was violent.
So we look at Enoch's world andwe look at our world, and we
say, you know what?
We have a lot in common.
It's possible to walk with theLord in a totally wicked and
violent world.
In a world where you look atyour newsfeed, right?
(24:38):
I don't even know why I look atmy newsfeed, but I do.
The algorithm, all it shows meis people getting beat up every
day.
You know what I mean?
People getting pushed onto thetracks of the train, you know,
and and you know, firebombingsand wars and all these things.
And I look and go, you knowwhat?
The world is violent, and theworld is filled with evil.
(25:00):
But Enoch shows us you can walkwith God in a world like that.
You can live your life followingGod in your family, right?
You can raise your family in agodly way in a fallen world.
Um, and so we understand that aswe look at Enoch.
(25:22):
We understand the way God feelsabout these things as we look at
the violence and the wickedness.
What does God feel about this?
He's gonna judge it.
Uh, Enoch told his world,judgment is coming.
Now, interesting, Enoch's wordsof judgment that we read in Jude
(25:43):
don't really point to the floodthat was coming.
There was judgment on the wholeworld that God would finally
judge things.
And really, it points to a timethat's still yet to come, right?
That's God's heart.
I will judge evil, but I have alot of grace, is what God would
(26:06):
say.
I have 900 something years ofmethuselah.
Why?
Because he doesn't want anyoneto perish, but he wants all to
come to repentance.
And so we look at Enoch in thislife and and and a walk with
God.
It's a life that tells the truthout of love and compassion for
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people.
You don't have to go this way.
This isn't okay.
Don't live this way.
Here's God.
He's just, but he's so loving,he's so forgiving, he's so
gracious that while we werestill sinners, Christ died for
us.
So God hates sin, but heabsolutely loves sinners.
(26:49):
He came all this way, Jesus wasborn and lived and died and rose
again to save us, to give us anew life that we could walk with
him.
That's a great message to havein this dark world.
And it all comes from just thislife of walking with God,
getting to know him more andmore every day, making your
(27:10):
decisions right alongside him.
God, where do you want to go?
God, what do you want to do inthis situation?
God, I want to follow you.
You walk with God and you followhis heart too.
So, God, thank you for thisexample of Enoch, and we
understand very clearly that helived in a world that was just
(27:31):
as evil and wicked as ours,probably even more.
And yet, for his life, hefollowed you and he walked with
you.
He spent time talking to you andgetting to know your heart.
He shared the truth with hisneighbors, but but he also
shared uh just your love forthem.
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I'm positive he did.
God help us to walk with you inour lives.
God, give us your spirit so thatwe would have your heart.
Help us to know who you are andwhat you say.
God uh help us to live in thesethings.
In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.
All right, Hebrews chapter 11 is where we're
currently at.
Hebrews chapter 11.
Hebrews chapter 11, verse 5 iswhere we start.
Well, taking a little bit of adiversion here in the book of
(00:32):
Hebrews until we find a new bookto land on.
No rush though, for sure.
Hebrews chapter 11, you probablyknow by now, is is considered
the Hall of Faith by many.
Brief visit, we would see, as aalmost like a museum of those
(00:52):
who have lived by faith.
And I like that because I likemuseums.
I'm a history fiend.
I love it.
Another thing I really enjoy isfamily history.
You're like, wow, that'sexciting life you have there.
I know.
I love museums.
I love history.
I love family history.
(01:13):
And sometimes two in themorning, I'll be, you know,
searching out, you know, wheredid those people come from?
Where, where did they go?
How did they live?
You know, and I'm I'm trying touncover that kind of thing.
But what you find most of thetime in searching family history
is that most of what you know isthat you don't know much about
(01:34):
those that have gone before.
You you find the sad fact thatmost of what we leave behind is
unseen.
And what is seen is our name andmaybe uh a number with a dash in
the middle of it, you know, uh acouple numbers and dashes there.
Um, and and that's rough.
Well, today we meet anindividual in verse five who
(01:58):
doesn't even fulfill that.
He's got a birth date and adash, and then just disappears.
Enoch, interesting chap there inverse five.
Let's read verse five and six,and let's let's look at this
guy.
By faith, Enoch was taken awayso that he did not see death and
(02:24):
was not found because God hadtaken him.
For before he was taken, he hadthis testimony that he pleased
God.
But without faith, it isimpossible to please God, for he
who comes to God must believethat he is, and that he is a
rewarder of those who diligentlyseek him.
(02:48):
So here we see a man that youmaybe have never heard of
before, a man named Enoch.
Enoch lived by faith.
Now, the interesting thing thatwe see here, and we'll talk
about this, is that he was takenaway and did not see death.
Interesting, it does not happenmuch.
(03:11):
We'll talk about that, but alsonotice with Enoch here that he
had a testimony in verse five.
A testimony that he pleased God.
So what we can say about Enoch'slife without knowing much is
that on his epitaph, it wasn'treally a gravestone, right?
(03:33):
Because he didn't die, but uhEnoch pleased God, and that's a
good epitaph to have.
That's a good thing that we wantpeople to say about us.
We please God.
Now, for the bulk of his story,we need to turn to Genesis
chapter five.
You can hold your place in inHebrews, but turn to Genesis
(03:55):
chapter five.
Genesis chapter five is achapter that maybe if this was
your daily reading and you gotto Genesis chapter five, you're
already turning from it.
You know what I mean?
Because if you'll notice, it's agenealogy.
Does that stuff just kind offrustrate you in the Old
Testament?
You find a list of names, namesand ages, right?
(04:20):
That's what we get in Genesischapter 5.
And as you read this, we're notgonna read the whole thing, um,
but as you read this, you seethat there's kind of a rhythm to
it.
Um notice, uh, let's let's startin verse 16 to get some of this
(04:42):
rhythm.
It's a genealogy.
Exciting.
After he begot Jared, Machalel,which is fun to say, lived 830
years and had sons anddaughters.
So all the days of Mahalel were895 years and he died.
(05:02):
Jared lived 162 years and begotEnoch, our man Enoch.
And after he begot Enoch, Jaredlived 800 years and had sons and
daughters.
So all the days of Jared were962 years and he died.
(05:24):
Verse 21.
Enoch lived 65 years and begotMethuselah.
After he begot Methuselah, Enochwalked with God 300 years and
had sons and daughters.
So all the days of Enoch were365 years.
(05:45):
And Enoch walked with God, verse24, and he was not, for God took
him.
So in this rhythm of life,right?
This so-and-so lived so manyyears, begot his son, lives so
many years, and then died.
Um, in this rhythm of that, wesee Enoch kind of breaks the
(06:06):
whole thing up, right?
Because he didn't die accordingto this.
Over and over again, it's thatthing of life.
And then one guy stands out,Enoch.
Now, a few things we notice hereon the surface is that people
lived a long time.
Never like trip you out here inthe book of Genesis.
Why did people live so long?
(06:27):
Well, it was before red fooddied, I think, right?
Before Twinkies, and theatmosphere was just completely
different, right?
We don't exactly know what itwas like, but people just lived
a lot longer.
Perhaps the oxygen content was alittle bit higher.
Um, they lived a long timebecause after the flood, things
(06:49):
go downhill quick.
And 120 years, although still along time to live, becomes more
the norm there after the flood.
And into our day, that you know,120 years would be outrageous.
Um but here it it goes, theylive for a long time.
In fact, Methuselah, uh Enoch'sson, is the longest uh living,
(07:14):
and I think he's 696 years, helives.
Uh, it's it's right aroundthere, but but uh a long old
time.
Now, that though isn't the mostunique part of the story that
people lived a long time beforethe flood.
We see in verse 24, our manEnoch, that Enoch walked with
(07:36):
God and he was not, for God tookhim.
So strange occurrence happensthere as Enoch is just a young
man, 365 years old.
Um, he is one day taken.
He's just no more.
And Enoch didn't die likeeveryone else, he just seems to
(07:58):
be taken.
What seems to be here a previewof what's known in the New
Testament as the concept of therapture.
Um, that one day God will justtake an entire generation of
believers and will be translatedthere into to heaven.
You can read about this, it'snot really the main point of our
(08:20):
study today, but 1 Thessalonians4, 15 through 18, and 1
Corinthians for later study, 15,51 through 52, it describes this
moment when those of us who arealive and remain will be caught
up to be with the Lord there in1 Thessalonians.
Um, that it would happen in amoment, in the twinkling of an
(08:44):
eye in 1 Corinthians 15, 51,that all at once a whole
generation of believers will betranslated in an instant, the
amount of time it takes you toblink, translated to heaven.
Now, that's not the point of ourstudy, but Enoch here is a
preview of that.
And if you want to talk moreabout that afterwards, it could
(09:05):
be great conversation.
We can do that.
But Enoch seems to have gottenhis own preview of this event
some 5,500 years ago.
Um, and it's fascinating.
Now, for our study here inHebrews chapter 11, and stay is
we can stay here for a second,we see that he was taken uh up,
(09:32):
and Enoch's actually go aheadand look back at Hebrews uh
chapter 11, verse 6.
Um Enoch's major accomplishmentin um verse 5 actually was that
he pleased God.
(09:54):
He had a testimony that hepleased God, and and God rewards
those that please him.
Uh, what did it look like?
Now we don't have much to go onhere.
Now flip back to Genesis 5.
I like to have you jump back andforth, keep you on your toes,
(10:14):
you know.
Um, Genesis chapter 5.
We don't have much to go on hereof this, what this pleasing God
thing was all about.
But verse 24 says, Enoch walkedwith God.
Enoch walked with God.
Now, that idea of walking withGod is one that if you've been
in the church for a while, youknow, as Christian needs, right?
(10:37):
Christianese talk that onlyChristians have amongst each
other, right?
Because we say things like that.
We say things like, hey, how'syour walk, man?
Uh what, you know, like a I gota sore knee, so it's affecting
the way I walk for sure, youknow.
No, no, no.
How's your Christian walk?
How's your relationship with Godgoing?
(10:58):
Um, we say things like, How longhave you been walking with the
Lord?
Well, since I was a little guy,I came to the Lord and I've been
walking with him ever since.
Oh, is so-and-so still walkingwith the Lord?
Oh, I hope I heard that person,well, they're not walking with
the Lord anymore, and that's abummer.
Um, a walk with God,Christianese, term we probably
(11:20):
all know, but it has to do withrelationship and a way of life.
Our relationship with God.
And it's a good picture, right?
Although I'm not like thebiggest fan of walks, it takes a
lot to get me off the couch,honestly.
Um, my wife will say, Hey, youwant to go for a walk?
And usually that's a good thing.
I mean, you can have some walksthat start with a tense
(11:43):
situation, like we need to takea walk, you know.
Um, but most of them are good.
Hey, you want to go for a walk?
Okay, we'll go for a walk.
And you go for a walk, and itinvolves friendship and
relationship, calmness.
It's usually a relaxed pace.
Adam, we saw, walked with God.
(12:04):
And it seemed to be almostliterally that Adam walked with
God in the cool of the gardenthere.
Enoch, we see here in verse 24,walked with God.
Noah is one who walked with God.
Abraham is known as a guy whowalked with God, and many
others.
Um, it's been pointed out aboutthis walk with God, this
(12:25):
relationship with God, then itrequires a few things.
Amos, the book of Amos, chapterthree, verse three, says that
can two walk together unlessthey're agreed.
That's important, right?
Can you walk with someone if youdon't agree on where you're
going?
You know, one takes off to theleft, the other to the left, and
(12:47):
the other takes off to theright.
You're not walking together ifyou're not agreed in that.
In the destination, right?
To walk with someone means thatyou have to agree on where
you're going, or else you won'tbe going to the same place.
To walk with someone, itinvolves the same path, right?
If you walk with someone andyou're going down two different
(13:09):
paths, you won't be walkingtogether.
It involves the same pace,right?
If one person is running and theother person, like myself, is
walking, you're not walkingtogether.
And so this idea of a walk withGod is important because it's a
relationship that stickstogether, goes the same
(13:29):
direction as God, the same pathas God.
God, what do you want me to do?
I want to do it.
Where do you want to go?
I'll go there.
And and so this idea of a walksort of makes sense in our mind
because we've all done it.
The Bible has a lot to say aboutwalking with God and how we
walk.
(13:51):
Write down these passages if youwant to study it a little bit
later, but Psalm 1, verse 1, I'mjust gonna read them off, says,
Blessed is the man who walks notin the counsel of the ungodly.
So walking with God will meanthat we don't walk in the
counsel of the ungodly worldaround us.
(14:11):
Uh, Paul had a lot written aboutthis walk.
Uh, Romans 6, 1 says we're towalk in our lives, to live our
lives in newness of life inChrist.
Romans 8, verses 1 and verse 4says we want to walk in the
spirit and not the flesh.
(14:31):
That would be a good study, howto walk in the spirit and not
the flesh.
Galatians 5, 16, and also verse25 essentially says the same:
walk in the spirit, power tolive our life.
There's a long string of thesewalking passages in the book of
Ephesians, you can consider.
(14:52):
Ephesians 4 1 says, walk worthyof the calling for which you
have been called.
Ephesians 4 17, don't walk asthe Gentiles, the godless
nations, uh in the futility oftheir mind.
Uh Ephesians 5.1, Paul says,walk in love.
Way to walk and live your life.
(15:13):
Ephesians 5.8, walk as childrenof light.
Uh Ephesians 5.15, walkcircumspectly or carefully.
Colossians 1 10, walk uh worthyof the Lord, fully pleasing him,
being fruitful in every goodwork.
Paul had a lot to say aboutthis.
John had some to say about it.
In 1 John, he says, uh chapter1, verse 7, walk in light.
(15:37):
Uh he also encouraged them towalk in love.
Uh 3 John, last one, verse 3through 4, John says, walk in
truth, the truth of God's word.
And he says, I have no greaterjoy than to hear that my
children walk in truth.
So the way we live our life isseen in this.
(16:00):
Different ways to walk and liveyour life in love and light and
the truth in the spirit, allthese different things.
That'd be a great study.
But here we just read simplyabout Enoch, that he walked with
God.
And this wasn't a one-time thingfor Enoch.
It seems that he walked with Godhis entire life.
(16:24):
It was a habit that summed hislife up.
Um, he walked with God, and inthe book of Jude, we'll turn
there for one more snapshot ofEnoch.
The book of Jude, it's only gotone chapter, and it's right
before Revelation.
So easy to find, second to lastbook in the Bible, one chapter.
(16:48):
Book of Jude, verse 14.
We also read about Enoch here.
Now, Enoch, the seventh fromAdam, prophesies prophesied
about these men also, saying,Behold, the Lord comes with ten
thousands of his saints toexecute judgment on all, to
(17:12):
convict all who are ungodlyamong them of their ungodly
deeds which they have committedin an ungodly way, and of all
the harsh things which ungodlysinners have spoken against God,
against him.
So here in Jude, we we get alittle snapshot.
It's it's from a traditional uhverse there about Enoch.
(17:36):
It's been passed down, but it'sscripture, it's right here.
And it says about Enoch that heprophesied.
He was a guy who prophesied.
Now we look at that and go,well, he was a prophet.
That makes him a great personfor sure.
But the idea of prophesyingsimply means to speak God's
word, to say what God says.
(17:58):
So we read this here that Enochtold the people in his
generation that judgment wascoming.
Judgment was coming.
He even named his son somethinga little prophetic.
Now there's a little bit ofdiscussion of what the name
Methuselah means, but manypeople would say that it means
(18:18):
his death shall bring.
Methuselah, his death shallbring.
And there was something specificbeing said about Methuselah's
name, uh, that something wouldhappen when he died.
Now, what happened the yearMethuselah died?
The flood.
(18:38):
Methuselah died the year of theflood.
So interesting, Enoch, no idea,he names his son, his death will
bring.
And the year that Methuselahdied, the flood came.
So it's possible that Enoch, inthis prophetic kind of way,
names his son specifically tosay, something's coming when
(19:02):
this kid dies.
You be careful.
Judgment was coming.
And we read that here in Judethat he was a guy who prophesied
to the ungodly.
Judgment is coming.
Now, something to notice in thiswhile we're passing, Methuselah
is also the oldest person everrecorded to have lived.
(19:24):
969 years old.
Methuselah.
If Methuselah was named hisdeath will bring, why is it
significant then that he wouldlive longer than anyone else?
Maybe because God is patient.
God is patient, not willing thatany would perish, Peter tells
(19:46):
us, but that all would come torepentance.
So how long did Methuselah live?
900 or 600, 960 something years,right?
Okay, I got the it's 900 years,right?
And you go, God is just patient.
Um and and Enoch here then showshimself to be someone who spoke
(20:08):
the truth about the world thathe lived in.
So he pleased God, he walkedwith God, he told the truth to
the world around him.
And we get from this in thishall of faith the fact I want to
please God, I want to live likethat.
And we think, well, but see,here's the problem.
(20:30):
I live in 2025.
Enoch lived way back then.
It was a different world.
We think that way about timesometimes, don't we?
We think, you know, the worldwas never this evil in my day.
Not generally true.
I think the world has gottenpretty evil.
Uh technologies has reallyhelped us see that, I think,
(20:55):
because we see everything in ourfeed, right?
How evil the world is.
But the world has always beenevil, even in the Victorian age,
a very proper age of, you know,you know, society doing the
right things.
Jack the Ripper lived in theVictorian age.
You know what I mean?
And so we see this truth inEnoch and in history that the
(21:18):
world has always been evil.
Is it getting more evil?
Maybe not.
It's always been evil.
I know we've turned a lot, butlet's turn one more spot.
Genesis chapter six.
Important for us to see beforewe go.
Genesis chapter six.
(21:40):
After this genealogy that weread, we come to Noah's life.
We'll look at him next week.
But we come to Noah's life, andwe find out in Genesis chapter
six what the world was like inNoah's day, and consequently in
Enoch's day as well.
Verses one through four are veryinteresting, and lots of books
(22:04):
have been speculated and writtenon this is speculation.
But there seems to be a lot ofspiritual weirdness going on in
verse one through four.
What is it?
I don't exactly know, but somespiritual weirdness of the sons
of God seeing the daughters ofmen having children that were
giants in those days.
Interesting weirdness, right?
(22:27):
But look at more plainly inverse five.
Then the Lord saw the wickednessof man was great in the earth,
and every intent of the thoughtsof his heart was only evil
continually.
And the Lord was sorry that hemade man on the earth, and he
was grieved in his heart.
So the Lord said, I will destroyman from the earth, whom I have
(22:50):
created from the face of theearth, both man and beast,
creeping things, birds of theair, for I'm sorry that I made
them.
But Noah found grace in the eyesof the Lord.
Umtice verse 12.
And the Lord looked upon theearth, and indeed it was corrupt
or rotten, for all flesh hadcorrupted their way on the
(23:12):
earth.
So we get a picture of earthduring Enoch's days.
It's evil.
Every thought and tent of man'sheart is evil only.
The world is violent.
So picture it.
Enoch going outside could say,it's a dangerous place out
(23:32):
there.
I could get beat up if I stepoutside.
I could get killed.
I mean, to prove the point, westudied Cain and Abel, uh, which
was about a thousand yearsbefore Enoch, right?
Uh and in Cain and Abel's day,25% of the earth's population
were murderers, right?
(23:53):
That's a pretty tough statistic.
One out of four people, right,murdered someone.
And so the earth was just evil.
And in here in chapter six, it'ssaturated evil.
And it says it's corrupt.
It's this idea of something youlook in the back of your fridge
and go, how long has that beenthere?
And it's just totally consumedwith rottenness.
(24:16):
That's the world in Enoch's day.
It was violent.
So we look at Enoch's world andwe look at our world, and we
say, you know what?
We have a lot in common.
It's possible to walk with theLord in a totally wicked and
violent world.
In a world where you look atyour newsfeed, right?
(24:38):
I don't even know why I look atmy newsfeed, but I do.
The algorithm, all it shows meis people getting beat up every
day.
You know what I mean?
People getting pushed onto thetracks of the train, you know,
and and you know, firebombingsand wars and all these things.
And I look and go, you knowwhat?
The world is violent, and theworld is filled with evil.
(25:00):
But Enoch shows us you can walkwith God in a world like that.
You can live your life followingGod in your family, right?
You can raise your family in agodly way in a fallen world.
Um, and so we understand that aswe look at Enoch.
(25:22):
We understand the way God feelsabout these things as we look at
the violence and the wickedness.
What does God feel about this?
He's gonna judge it.
Uh, Enoch told his world,judgment is coming.
Now, interesting, Enoch's wordsof judgment that we read in Jude
(25:43):
don't really point to the floodthat was coming.
There was judgment on the wholeworld that God would finally
judge things.
And really, it points to a timethat's still yet to come, right?
That's God's heart.
I will judge evil, but I have alot of grace, is what God would
(26:06):
say.
I have 900 something years ofmethuselah.
Why?
Because he doesn't want anyoneto perish, but he wants all to
come to repentance.
And so we look at Enoch in thislife and and and a walk with
God.
It's a life that tells the truthout of love and compassion for
(26:27):
people.
You don't have to go this way.
This isn't okay.
Don't live this way.
Here's God.
He's just, but he's so loving,he's so forgiving, he's so
gracious that while we werestill sinners, Christ died for
us.
So God hates sin, but heabsolutely loves sinners.
(26:49):
He came all this way, Jesus wasborn and lived and died and rose
again to save us, to give us anew life that we could walk with
him.
That's a great message to havein this dark world.
And it all comes from just thislife of walking with God,
getting to know him more andmore every day, making your
(27:10):
decisions right alongside him.
God, where do you want to go?
God, what do you want to do inthis situation?
God, I want to follow you.
You walk with God and you followhis heart too.
So, God, thank you for thisexample of Enoch, and we
understand very clearly that helived in a world that was just
(27:31):
as evil and wicked as ours,probably even more.
And yet, for his life, hefollowed you and he walked with
you.
He spent time talking to you andgetting to know your heart.
He shared the truth with hisneighbors, but but he also
shared uh just your love forthem.
(27:53):
I'm positive he did.
God help us to walk with you inour lives.
God, give us your spirit so thatwe would have your heart.
Help us to know who you are andwhat you say.
God uh help us to live in thesethings.
In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.
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