Reformed Doctrine Daily Devotions

Today’s devotion comes from Genesis 5:21-24.

“Enoch lived sixty-five years, and became the father of Methuselah.  Then Enoch walked with God three hundred years after he became the father of Methuselah, and he had other sons and daughters.  So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years.  Enoch walked with God;  and he was not, for God took him.”  Genesis 5:21-24.  

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“5 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death;  and he was not found because God took him up;  for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God.  6 And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”  Hebrews 11:5-6. 

Last night as I was preparing this devotion, I focused on Enoch’s walk with God and examples in Scripture about walking with God such as “walk in My statutes”, “walk humbly with your God”, “walk in newness of life”, “walk by the Spirit”, “walk in love”, and “walk in the Light”.

But, this morning as I found and read the main text about what Scripture concluded about Enoch, Hebrews 11:5-6, I noticed two things.  

First, in verse 5 above, I was surprised to read that nothing is said about Enoch walking with God.  Verse 5 only commended Enoch by stating that “he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God.”  

Second, although verse 6 above applies generally to all the saints in the Hall of Faith and also applies to us today, verse 6 should also specifically be connected to Enoch.  We see both the conjunction “And” leading verse 6 and that verse 6 immediately follows verse 5.  We also see Enoch’s “pleasing to God” defined in verse 6 as “And without faith it is impossible to please Him”.

Sometimes, we can get lost in a Christian checklist of things that we should do:  “walk in My statutes”, “walk humbly with your God”, “walk in newness of life”, “walk by the Spirit”, “walk in love”, and “walk in the Light”.  Although these things are important and good, let us not forget the main point taught by Enoch’s life and Scripture.  Walking by faith is what all the saints did in Hebrews chapter 11. “By faith” leads each sentence of what the saints did.  “For by it the men of old gained approval.”  Hebrews 11:2.     

“for we walk by faith, not by sight—”  2 Corinthians 5:7.