Enoch gets very little ink in the bible, but what we learn from his life is extraordinary. Enoch’s father, Jared, was 962 years old when he died. (Gen 5:20), and his son, Methuselah lived to age 969 (Gen. 5:27), but Enoch himself lived to a mere 365 years old. (Ancient Mesopotamian king lists have ages much longer than those in this point in biblical history.) So here’s Enoch living not much more than a third of the age of his father and his son. Was he gipped? That depends on some other factors.
The Septuagint, the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament that was the most quoted by the New Testament writers says like this:
“Enoch was well-pleasing to God after he begot Mathusala, two hundred years, and he begot sons and daughters. And all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty and five years. And Enoch was well-pleasing to God, and he was not found, because God translated him.” (Gen. 5:22-24, Septuagint)
Many centuries later, the writer of Hebrews writes:
“By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. 6And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. Hebrews 11:5–6)
He concludes that Enoch must have been a man of faith because faith (embodied as seeking God and drawing near to Him) is essential to pleasing Him,
and Enoch pleased God. This puts the length of Enoch’s life in perspective. He is not cheated out of two-thirds of his expected life; God just rewards him early for walking with Him and earnestly seeking Him. And that reward was: God didn’t make him wait another 600 years before He fulfilled Enoch’s desire for God.What a model for a godly life! Enoch walks with God. He seeks to draw near to God. He has faith in God, and that pleases God enough to fulfill his desire early.
But what a challenging example! How did Enoch’s family feel about his departure? Did they understand that it was the fulfillment of his desire for God? And what about Enoch himself? As his departure drew near did he feel cheated, or perhaps exuberant?
We have this promise from Jesus Himself:
“. . . if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. 4And you know the way to where I am going.” 5Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” 6Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:3–6)
Here’s another challenge! How does the idea of Jesus coming today and taking you to be with Him strike you? Is it an early fulfillment of your life-long desire to be with Him? Or is it an unsettling, frightening thought? Jesus seems to think that the disciples would be comforted and encouraged by the idea. And so will we when our heart’s desire is to be with Him.
So what do we do if our hearts just aren’t there yet? Experience teaches that God will change our hearts if we sincerely ask him to. So we ask God to give us such a hunger and thirst for Him. And we begin to make Him the fundamental priority in our life as we begin to seek Him through prayer, the Word, and private time with Him. As a friend of mine wisely put it: “You don’t have to feel it, but you do have to mean it.” And when we do mean it, God can change our heart.