Living by Faith: The Faith of Enoch

In Hebrews 11:5-6, the author 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. And 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.” The Bible doesn’t tell us much about Enoch but what it tells us is enough. Enoch walked with God and then he was no more because God took him up. He didn’t die like most of us, rather, God just took him home. 

My first pastor, Jim Wilson, used to say that God and Enoch were very close and one day, while they were out for a walk, the Lord put his arm around Enoch’s shoulder and said, “Son, we’re closer to my place than yours, so let’s just go home.” Whether or not it happened this way, the point is that Enoch was spared the pain and suffering of death by faith. By walking with God and trusting him day by day. 

Indeed, the thing to notice here about Enoch is that he was commended as being pleasing to God before he was taken up. Being taken up to God was but a fruit of something that already existed in his life, and in verse 6 we find out what that something was: his faith. It was deep and enduring trust in the faithfulness of God. And without faith it is absolutely impossible to please God because the person who bothers to draw near to him has to believe some very basic things about him, namely, that he exists and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him. And the point is clear: this kind of faith marked Enoch’s life, and he’s not any different from us. He was just a man; he wasn’t a superhero. What makes him remarkable is his faith in the remarkable God. 

For this reason, Enoch’s faith is not about Enoch, it’s about God. He trusted in the faithfulness of God and found God to be faithful, and now his life cries out to ours and says, “I bid you to trust in God as well, for he who promised is faithful. God is the hero of my life: trust in him, hope in him, cling to him.” This is the testimony of Enoch to us today, and I pray that we’ll have ears to hear it. I pray that we’ll join him the joy and privilege of walking, talking, and trusting in God each day.