On the second week of january, 2009, i decided to study a very special character in the old testament, enoch
Around the same time that i decided to do this study on this character, my cousin suffered a stroke and was left a vegetable. she died on january 13, 2009 at 2:30 in the morning. it is said that in such conditions, the last thing to go is our hearing. i was there when she breathed her last and i couldn't help but compare her situation to what a lot of people are going through right now
I found enoch mentioned in genesis chapter 5, verses 17-24:
and jared lived an hundred sixty and two years, and he begat enoch:
and jared lived after he begat enoch eight hundred years; and begat sons and daughters:
and all the days of jared were nine hundred sixty and two years; and he died.
and enoch lived sixty an five years, and begat me-thuse-lah:
and enoch walked with GOD after he begat me-thuse-lah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters:
And all the days of enoch were three hundred sixty and five years:
and enoch walked with GOD: and he was not: for GOD took him.
taken into context, this was an a brief explanation of enoch's life. he was a descendant of adam, had me-thuse-lah and other children, and then was taken by GOD
what is interesting here is that it was mentioned twice that enoch walked with GOD, with the second mention indicating what had happened because of his walk with GOD
A web-site that i frequently visited mentioned that enoch's walk with GOD probably meant that he was aware of GOD's presence all the time. that must also mean that he made GOD his priority and probably talked to GOD all the time
Also, after adding up the numbers, it shows adam was still alive when enoch was born. adam was probably the first pastor or preacher. and the stories he told of GOD's goodness was probably told and retold to the generations that followed (proof of it was the stories reached moses hundreds of years later. although, GOD would have supplied the missing details.)
So enoch heard first-hand of what the garden was like and he saw the longing that his ancestor had to go back to that garden (revelations show that GOD's children will go back to the new garden of eden, within the walls of the new jerusalem.) he heard of GOD's plans of the coming messiah and must have directed his way of living to GOD's purpose
Aside from the few verses in genesis, i also found enoch mentioned several times in the new testament
The first mention of enoch in the new testament was in luke 3:37:
which was the son of of ma-thusa-lah, which was the son of enoch, which was the son of jared; which was the son of ma-lele-el; which was the son of ca-inan,
Now this was an indication of the genealogy of JESUS. (even some of the present-day jews can recite their genealogy going back to adam) this is a confirmation of what genesis mentioned. what is so great about this is that it was written by luke. luke was a doctor (that's why he became the patron saint of doctors) and he was writing for a theophi-lus, who, apparently, was non-jewish. why do i say that, luke gave extra care in explaining details which means that the person being written to does not have any firsthand knowledge of the jewish way. in a sense, everything had to be examined, such as any good scientist would do
Enoch is also mentioned in hebrews. in this epistle, paul mentions the great names of the old testament and includes enoch in their company. (some of us would want to be included in such a list) but, if you look closely, the book of hebrews mentions moses, abraham, and the rest (including enoch) because he wants to teach faith
hebrews 11:5
By faith enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because GOD had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased GOD.
before enoch was translated, or taken by GOD, enoch pleased GOD. how many of us could say the same thing? oh, we do our own part, our own small way of showing HIM we love HIM. but is it an everyday, every hour, every minute, every second thing that we do, or is it only when it is convenient for us?
hebrews 11:6 says:
But without faith it is impossible to please HIM: for he that cometh to GOD must believe that HE is, and that HE is a rewarder of them that diligently seek HIM.
believing should be an every time thing for those who profess to be CHRISTIANS. not just when we think we should believe.
If the people mentioned by paul in the book of hebrews believed even before JESUS came to the scene, how much more should we believe after JESUS came into our midst? shouldn't we believe and be aware of HIS presence every day, every hour, every minute, every second of our lives?
shouldn't we be like enoch and be faithful to HIM who is our creator?
I mentioned i was with my cousin, before and when she died. how many of us are living but can't really see, feel, smell, taste and even, talk to GOD? i am sure that there are problems that we all face, but i bet enoch had his problems too. remember, man was trying to populate the world. and even though it doesn't mention how many children enoch begat, i'm sure that sibling rivalry was the same then, as it is now. providing for a large family was also a situation and continuing to walk with GOD meant that he probably asked GOD on every situation. and since he was aware of the HIS presence, he was more in tune to what GOD had to say to him
Ever wondered who it is that we hear with that small voice during decision making time? my guess? it's the HOLY SPIRIT begging us to go towards the light and into the loving arms of GOD
A lot of us are in a coma right now, a spiritual coma with our relationship with GOD. but we can still hear HIS HOLY SPIRIT guiding us. let us not be deaf to that voice and find out, too late, that we had a chance to a whole new life with HIM...
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