Enoch

ENOCH

Hebrews 11:5

Genesis 5:21-24

INTRODUCTION

1. Enoch was a good man

a. This is evidenced by two distinct ideas

b. The Hebrew writer says that his being taken up was indicative of his service to God

c. Moses says in Genesis 5 that he walked with God and was no more because God took him

d. Enoch walked with God and was rewarded with immortality because of his walk

2. Enoch walked with God

3. He was father of Methuselah

4. And great-grandfather to Noah

5. These are significant points to recognize about Enoch and his godly life

TRANSITION: First notice that

I. He walked with God

A. Enoch was old

1. He was 65 when Methuselah was born

2. He lived a total of 365 years before he was taken

3. Now, 365 years is a lot of life

B. What does it mean that he "walked with God"?

1. Walk indicates how he lived

a. "Don’t talk the talk unless you can walk the walk"

b. We talk about people in all walks of life

2. Walking with God means God is our walk of life or our way of life

3. Walking with God is an effort to live a godly lifestyle

C. Enoch’s walk was not a short one

1. He lived a godly life for at least 300 years

2. Genesis 5:22, "Then Enoch walked with God 300 years after he became the father of Methuselah…"

3. Life is a marathon not a sprint

4. It requires continued dedicated service daily

a. Matthew 6:11 "Give us this day our daily bread…"

b. Matthew 6:34, "So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

5. Do not borrow tomorrow’s troubles today

6. But determine each day when you wake up and put your feet on the Lord’s earth for another of His days, "Today I will walk with God"

TRANSITION: Notice with me now that:

II. Enoch was the father of Methuselah

A. Methuselah was from good stock

1. Only two men in history did not die, Enoch and Elijah

2. Enoch was the father of Methuselah, with a father this good one would expect children who were wonderful

3. Methuselah may not have been such a great man

4. Consider the math

a. Some question the math saying that it was a mix up of lunar and solar cycles and each age needs to be divided by 12

b. That would have Enoch fathering Methuselah at age 5

c. Methuselah was 187 when his son Lamech was born (5:25)

d. Lamech was 182 when Noah was born (5:28)

e. Noah was 600 when God flooded the earth (7:6)

f. 187 + 182 + 600 = 969

g. Genesis 5:27, "So all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty-nine and he died."

h. From the beginning of the life of Methuselah to the end was 969 years, the same number of years from his birth to the flood that killed the wicked on earth

B. This is not a definite statement of guilt

1. But consider that Noah is listed as the only one who found favor with God

2. The indication is that Noah and his wife and children were the only ones who found favor in God’s eye

3. Our children and grandchildren are not always what we hope

C. Consider Samuel

1. 1 Samuel 8:1-3

a. Samuel was a prophet and judge over Israel

b. He was fair and just and people loved him

c. His sons were not and the people hated them

i. They took bribes

ii. They took dishonest gains

2. Sometimes the apple does fall far from the tree

a. Squirrel hunting and the nuts rolled down hill far away

b. Some children are not what their parents hope for

D. Judges 2:10

1. It takes effort on the home front

2. Work and keep working!

TRANSITION: Also:

III. Enoch was the great-grandfather of Noah

A. Noah "found favor in the eyes of God…" (Genesis 6:8)

1. He was from Methuselah’s line

a. Methuselah was likely killed in the flood with an understanding of Genesis 6:5-8

b. If he was this indicates that good can prevail over bad

2. Noah was good despite the negative influences around him

a. A confederate ferry boat captain pulled a gun on Yankee spies who got too close to his price

b. We can avoid the influences of the world

B. Noah was a good man in spite of his environment

1. He had a crooked grandfather

2. His dad Lamech, of him we are uncertain, he died before the flood by about 12 years

3. No mention is made of his affiliation with God but the Bible never says that he "walked with God" as it does with Enoch and Noah