Enoch: The Man Who Was Not

By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; – Heb 11:5

Many are not aware that there’re two ENOCHs in Genesis. The first is the son of Cain, (yes, the Cain that murderer Abel). For some reason, his father wanted his name to endure far beyond him and so named a city after him – the City of “Enoch”.  Apparently, that didn’t work out; a second Enoch came along and lived a life so remarkable, that it obliterated whatever memory anyone could have had of the first Enoch.

Enoch (son of Jared, not of Cain) is one of only two persons in scripture that never tasted death. The Bible says “One day Enoch was walking with God, and he disappeared. God took him” (Gen 5:24 ERV).

Now, that’s awesome! But why did God take Him?

Contrary to our children Sunday School teachings, it wasn’t because he was so sinless that God had to take him out before he got corrupted by the rest of humanity. Enoch was not ­sinless, the Bible says “ALL – including Enoch – have sinned” (Rom 3:23). There’s a difference between moral uprightness and sinlessness. The former will not take you to Heaven, let alone make you skip death in the process. Yet the Bible says Enoch was translated because he “pleased God”.

What did he do to please God? Hb 11:5 tells us the answer. “BECAUSE OF FAITH Enoch was caught up and transferred to heaven” (AMP).

The ERV renders the whole story in simple English:

Enoch was carried away from this earth, so he never died. The Scriptures tell us that before he was carried off, he was a man who pleased God. Later, no one knew where he was, because God had taken Enoch to be with him. This all happened because he had faith.

That was the key. In a world characterized by sinful faithlessness, Enoch stood out due to his faith.

Beloved, faith is premium with God. Do you have faith? Don’t belittle it, it’s precious, and has great recompense of reward. (Hb 10:35; 11:6; 1Pt 1:7). There’s no limit to what God can do for you when you live in faith. As with Enoch, He’ll even break protocol for you to show the world just how pleased He is, because of your faith.

AMEN.

More Blessings await you today; you’ll not miss them in Jesus’ Name.

GREG ELKAN