Enoch

Introduction

While only a handful of verses in the Bible mention Enoch, he stands out as arguably the most righteous man who ever lived apart from Christ.

For those who don’t know Enoch from a bar of soap, he was born 662 years after Adam.

Read Genesis 5:18-24, Hebrews 11:5-6, Jude 1:14 (Other two references are geneologies)

As you see, we aren’t given too much details about Enoch. We aren’t told his rank or profession, but quick observations show:

- He had a special relationship with God

- He pleased God

- He had great faith

- He was a prophet before man

- He had a glorious exit from earth

As we look into the life of Enoch tonight, I want to ask the questions

- What was life like for Enoch. What where his surroundings?

- What made Enoch so special?

- What does all this mean to me? How can I learn from the life of Enoch?

So lets look at Enochs background and what life was like when he was alive.

Enoch lived, Scientifically, in an Age of Progressiveness

The first few chapters of Genesis show us that man was no dummy when God made him. God made Adam and Eve with outstanding minds, and this was a trait passed down to their children.

We read of some remarkable achievements in Genesis - particularly early on in Genesis 4.

These people were very intelligent.

Imagine

- building a city when there are no plans on what a house should look like.

- How would you get the materials if there were no chainsaws to cut down the logs.

- What do you do to hold the walls up - there was no one to offer you a nail gun.

- Who would be there to stop you from building unsafe structures? (he didn’t have to worry about rain)

CAIN BUILT A CITY

Imagine:

- turning a stick you found in the bush into a musical instrument

- How do you go about making good music when no one is there to teach you

- Got that sussed? Okay, so how do you go about making a harp?

JUBAL WAS THE FATHER OF ALL WHO PLAY THE FLUTE AND HARP

It boggles my mind to think that of the other two people recorded,

- Jabal was the father of all who live in tents and raise livestock - an expert farmer, vet

- Tubal-Cain was a craftsman and engineer. He was not limited to wood. Recognised

minerals around him and used them (iron and bronze) to make tools.

In later chapters of Genesis,

- Noah built a huge boat and knew how to make wine

- Nimrod had exceptional hunting abilities

- The people tried building a sky scraper (using bricks and mortar)

- Laws and protocols were made as kingdoms established

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When I was young, about 7, I often wondered what life must have been like for my parents. I was taught at school about dinosaurs and the ancient history of man. I can still remember having stories read to us in the library at Merrilands school and wondering how did mum and dad lived when there were no houses and they had to live in caves.

Despite the wrong ideas I had about the primitive 1950’s (or was it 40’s?), I also got the wrong idea that a long time ago, man was as thick as a plank - that mankind was a bit monkey-brained at the start of life.

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But this is not so. Enoch lived Scientifically an age of progressiveness.

Enoch also lived in an age where people did whatever they liked.

He lived, Socially, in an Age of Permissiveness Where anything was accepted.

Genesis 4 talks about the spread of a godless society. Despite the scientific advancements, evil was rampant. People were controlled by their own desires. It seemed they had permission to do anything.

This godlessness was characterised in the line of Cain.

Its important to see that there are two family lines mentioned in Genesis.

* The line of Cain - noted for their godlessness

* The line of Seth - noted for their godliness

Its important that we backtrack a few years and look briefly at Cain, since he is the symbolical as well the physical head of his line. What we see in Cain, we also see in his line.

While Abel went out of his way to please God, Cain couldn’t care less, and only discharged his duty.

We are never told on our time-line as to where Cain murdered Abel. Judging by Cains complaint to God, that "people may kill him", we get the impression that there were lots of people. After all, God did tell Adam and Eve to "be fruitful and multiply".