Genesis 5:18–24 ‘Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.’ (v24)
Since the time of Adam, the Scriptures make it clear that all human beings will face death.
But Enoch’s passing is at odds with that of other men and women, and the implication is that his ‘ending’ is connected to his lifestyle.
Here was a man who ‘walked with God’ and ‘then he was no more’, implying that, like Elijah, he is translated to heaven rather than his physical body dying and being buried.
The text doesn’t tell us more and there is no promise in the rest of the Bible that any of us can book this kind of heavenly entrance.
But the walking with God metaphor is powerful. Anytime we walk with someone, we choose to walk at their pace and be the kind of companion that they want to be with.
If you are aggressive or unpleasant and bore your companion, they won’t walk with you very long.
Walking with God implies our recognition of Him as the senior partner, and a desire to be the kind of person He is happy to be with.
We can guess what this looked like for Enoch, but the New Testament speaks of how we can know the assurance of God’s presence by His Spirit.
Let’s be clear that we can grieve and quench His work in and through us. He remains, but His felt presence may be absent, or diminished.
And so, we walk with Him by listening, by reading His Word and by spending time with others who walk with Him, maybe more closely than us.
We may not end our days translated, but we can know the sweetness of fellowship and maybe our passing from this realm to the next won’t be such a great jump.
A Prayer To Make:
Thank You, Lord, for Your gracious presence with me. Fill me again with your love today. Amen.
An Action To Take:
Think about the last week. Are there times when God might have been uncomfortable to be with you?
Scripture To Consider:
Gen. 5:1–24; Ps. 51:10–19; Gal. 5:16–26; Jas 4:1–7
