“By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, ‘and was not found, because God had taken him’; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God'” (Hebrews 11:5).
Enoch is a man of great mystery. Outside of his appearance here in Hebrews 11, virtually everything we know about Enoch is derived from one Biblical chapter: Genesis chapter five. For instance, Genesis 5:18 tells us that Enoch’s father was 162 years old when he was born. A little later in that chapter, we also read the following…
“When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. And after he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Enoch lived 365 years. Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away” (Genesis 5:21-24 NIV).
Of all the people who have found their way into the Biblical record, only Enoch and the prophet Elijah departed their earthly lives in this manner. So why would God take this action in Enoch’s life? Well, the Genesis account simply tells us that “…Enoch walked with God.”
We can draw one application from this passage in saying that Enoch steadily moved forward in his relationship with the Lord, just as one does when he or she is walking. In other words, Enoch did not sprint, nor did he lag behind. He did not choose an alternate path for himself, nor did he stop and start- he simply walked with God. This is analogous to something we read in the Old Testament book of Micah…
“…O people, the LORD has already told you what is good, and this is what He requires: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8 NLT).
Hebrews 11:5 also tells us that Enoch was known as someone who pleased God before he was taken away. Therefore, we can say that those who seek to please God must faithfully walk the road God travels. The features of that path include righteousness, mercy, and humility, just as we see in the passage quoted from Micah 6:8 above.
So, Enoch walked with God by faith and received the privilege of departing this life in an extraordinary manner. Thus, we leave this account of Enoch’s life with the encouraging message of 1 Thessalonians 4:1…
“Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more” (NIV).