Enoch: Distinguished by Hope

Lessons in walking with God

The uncertainty of the current pandemic can make it feel like we have nothing to distinguish the end or the near end of this difficult time. So, what do we do? In another season of interminable misery, we read, “And after [Enoch] became the Father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God.” Genesis 5: 21. It was a walk that lasted 300 years in which Enoch refused to let God’s character and promises be defined by his current circumstances. And it was a walk that was distinguished by hope and it pleased God.

In the 300^th year of this long walk, however, everything is changed in an instant. Hebrews 11: 5 picks up the story, ‘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. God translated him.” This is an old Latin word, an irregular verb, it simply means to be carried over or carried across. God carried Enoch across. God transferred him. God picked him up and carried him over and put him on the other shore. One moment, by faith, Enoch is walking with God amidst unceasing, opposing traffic. Enoch was trusting that in His goodness, God surely knows where Enoch is, hears his prayers, and has a plan. And then, in an instant, Enoch is communing with God by sight with a whole new degree of intimacy and in a whole new world. Jesus tells us, “And they shall walk with me in white.” (Revelation 3:4)

Although Enoch was not around to see it, his grandson Noah built the Ark that saved the family line that would ultimately be the family lineage to Jesus Christ – who saved us all. For Enoch, after 300 years of following and hoping and trusting, faith had turned to sight. Hope had turned to fruition all in a single moment. The life of faith was crowned. The walk of faith was gloriously and spectacularly rewarded. Enoch was right after all – God is good, He can be trusted, there was a plan. His hope was real. God did not disappoint the hope He placed in Enoch. Indeed, God exceeded it.

Did you imagine that this was one of those worthy devotionals that says, despite what you see and despite what you don’t see, just soldier on! Grit your teeth, think of England (well maybe not England!) and do your best to summons some hope from within yourself. Do we imagine that in the face of so much opposing traffic this is what God is asking of us? This is not the lesson of Enoch.

Enoch’s name can also mean, “teacher” and what the Father is teaching us through Enoch is that to walk with God is always to walk with hope. Through Enoch, God is showing us how He is faithful to supply the gift of His hope that brings us through the day and burns in us for a better tomorrow.

Jesus’ living hope has the power to flood our lives with peace, strength and joy. Indeed, the absence of hope can make the heart sick. The hope of Jesus is a gift in the Holy Spirit. It is not of our own manufacture, it is a living hope that, through the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the power of His Resurrection, we receive as sons and daughters of the living God, sons and daughters who shall be raised into life eternal. Certainly, hope is both a gift and a commandment. As with all commandments, we do have the responsibility to surrender to it, make space for it, to ask for it and receive it. We are invited to follow and submit to His leading in Him making His hope an active part of our lives.  

Let’s be honest, Enoch does not stand out in a crowd of heroes. And I believe that is the very point. Enoch is a sort of everyman or everywoman. So read that great list of heroic names in the book of Hebrews and when you get to Enoch insert your own name – Samson, David, Abraham, [your name goes right here!]…We are, after all, each of us God’s heroes. Especially you.

In His great love,

+ Andrew