Scripture: Hebrews 11:5-6 By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.” For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
Devotional: Today is the first day that we are going to be looking at some of the specific people in the Hall of Faith. People who were commended for their faith and how they lived for God. First up: Enoch.
Enoch may not be a Bible story that you are familiar with. Allow me to catch you up. Genesis 5:21-24 says this, “When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. After he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked faithfully with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Enoch lived a total of 365 years. Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.” Between our Scripture for today from Hebrews and these verses from Genesis, you are officially caught up. There isn’t much more said about Enoch in the entire Bible.
I certainly wish there was though. A man who walked faithfully with God, then he didn’t see death on this earth? Instead, God just took Him up to heaven? That is truly remarkable and hard to imagine. It would be nice to know what “walking faithfully with God” looked like for him. It would be the perfect example of living by faith.
But what we can learn from this passage is that our faith, our confidence, in Jesus is pleasing to God. Not only is it pleasing to God, but this verse tells us that it is impossible to please God without it. You have to have faith in order to believe that He exists and sent His son Jesus to die in our place. And if we believe that, then I think that is reason enough to not have a lukewarm relationship with Him. Because if the God of the universe is willing to send His one and only Son to die for all of us so that we can be forgiven and spend eternity with Him, He is worth our time and our full devotion.
I have a feeling this is the type of faith that Enoch had. Whatever came his way, he recognized his deep desire and need for a Savior. A Savior that would not come in Enoch’s lifetime, yet he trusted in the saving grace of his Heavenly Father. And the way he lived that faith was enough for God to simply whisk him up, straight into His presence.
Reflect:
- How can you live so that your faith is on display for others to see?