Enoch, the man who walked with God

In the middle of a long list of names, ages and the repeated phrase “and he died”, Genesis 5 holds a surprise. One entry ends differently. Of one man it is not said that he died, but that he walked with God and was not, for God took him. That man is Enoch, the seventh from Adam, one of the briefest and yet most fascinating figures in the whole Bible.

“And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah: And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah 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.”

Genesis 5:21-24

The seventh from Adam

Enoch was the son of Jared and belonged to the line of Seth, those who called on the name of the Lord. Jude, in the New Testament, calls him “the seventh from Adam” (Jude 14). In the Bible, seven often expresses completeness. He should not be confused with the other Enoch of Genesis 4, Cain’s son, after whom the first city was named. The two Enochs represent two paths: one gives his name to a city built by men; the other walks with God towards the heavenly city.

Walking with God

The phrase “walked with God” appears twice in Enoch’s short account. It does not describe an isolated moment of devotion but a whole life of fellowship. Walking with someone means going in the same direction, at the same pace, in constant conversation and trust. The prophet Amos would ask centuries later: “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” (Amos 3:3).

The text says Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah, for three hundred years, and that he had sons and daughters. Enoch was not a hermit cut off from the world. He was a family man living amid everyday responsibilities. His holiness did not consist in fleeing from life, but in living it in God’s presence. Many commentators have noted that the birth of his son seems to have marked a turning point in his relationship with God.

A time of growing wickedness

Enoch lived at a time when violence and corruption were increasing on the earth. A few generations later, Genesis will say that the wickedness of man was great and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually (Genesis 6:5). In that setting Enoch was different. He was not swept along by the current. His life shows that it is possible to be faithful to God even when the whole of society turns away from him.

A prophet of judgment and of the Lord’s coming

The letter of Jude reveals something Genesis does not say: Enoch was a prophet. Jude quotes his words:

“And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”

Jude 14-15

Enoch announced that the Lord would come with ten thousands of his saints to execute judgment on the ungodly. It is one of the Bible’s earliest prophecies of the Lord’s coming. Walking with God did not make him indifferent to evil; on the contrary, it made him a voice calling people to repentance.

“And he was not; for God took him”

Enoch’s end is unique. Genesis does not say “and he died”, as of all the others. It says: “he was not; for God took him.” The letter to the Hebrews explains:

“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.”

Hebrews 11:5

Enoch was translated into God’s presence without passing through death. In the whole Bible only one other man had a similar end: the prophet Elijah, who went up to heaven in a whirlwind (2 Kings 2:11). Enoch’s story is a light of hope in the middle of the genealogy of death. It announces that death is not the final destiny of those who walk with God.

He pleased God by faith

Hebrews adds that before his translation Enoch had this testimony, that he pleased God, and goes on with one of the best-known sentences about faith: “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” (Hebrews 11:6). Enoch’s life was a life of faith: he believed that God exists, sought him and was rewarded with his presence for ever.

Methuselah: the longest-lived man

Enoch’s son Methuselah is famous as the oldest person recorded in the Bible: he lived 969 years (Genesis 5:27). There is a curious detail: if you add up the figures in Genesis 5 and 7, Methuselah was 187 when Lamech was born; Lamech was 182 when Noah was born; and Noah was 600 when the flood came. 187 + 182 + 600 = 969. In other words, according to those figures, Methuselah died in the very year of the flood. Some have seen in his long life a sign of God’s patience, waiting until the last moment before sending judgment. The name Methuselah has been interpreted in several ways, and its exact meaning is debated.

The books attributed to Enoch

There are ancient writings attributed to Enoch, the best known being the so-called First Book of Enoch, composed in the centuries before Christ. Fragments of it were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls at Qumran. Most churches do not regard it as part of the Bible, but the Ethiopian Orthodox Church includes it in its canon. Jude quotes a sentence that also appears in that book. A biblical author quoting a work does not mean the whole work is inspired, just as Paul quoted Greek poets in Athens (Acts 17:28).

Enoch’s life also answers a practical question: how do we walk with God today? By listening to his Word, talking with him in prayer, obeying in small and large decisions, and returning to him whenever we stray. It is not about perfection, but about direction and constancy.

Places in the story

Interesting facts

Lessons for our lives

Faith is lived in the everyday: Enoch walked with God while raising his children. It is possible to be different: in a corrupt society one can live with integrity. Consistency matters: three hundred years of walking together speak of long-term faithfulness. Pleasing God is the goal: Enoch’s best testimony was that he pleased God. Death does not have the last word: those who walk with God have an eternal destiny with him.

On the road to Jesus

Enoch walked with God; in Jesus Christ, God himself came to walk with us. Jesus travelled the roads of Galilee, drew near to the disciples on the road to Emmaus and walked beside them. Enoch announced the Lord’s coming with his saints; the apostles teach that Jesus will return in glory. And what Enoch experienced —being taken into God’s presence— is the hope Jesus promises his own: “I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also” (John 14:3).

In the next episode we reach one of the best-known accounts in the Bible: Noah, the ark and the flood.

Prayer

Lord, I want to walk with you like Enoch: every day, at home, at work and in a world that turns away from you. Give me a faith that pleases you. Thank you that in Jesus Christ you walk beside me and have promised to take me to be with you for ever. Amen.