The Lodestar

Enoch is a legendary figure in the Bible and Judeo-Christian tradition because he did not die like other creatures. The Bible only says, “He was not, for God took him.” Paraphrased, this could mean, “He ceased to exist because God took him.” One fine morning (or evening), he just vanished. It was God who did the vanishing trick.

This vanishing amuses Bible readers. But the emphasis is not on the vanishing but on the twice-repeated phrase “walked with God.”

In the Bible, “walking” is more than physical movement. It means the way of living or how a person conducts their life. Taking advantage of this flexibility, the NLT* translates the first instance of “walking” in this verse as “lived in close fellowship with God” (5:22) and the second instance as “walking in close fellowship with God” (5:24). It was not physically moving with God on a surface, but the intimate relationship between the two persons involved. God and Enoch were very intimate.

Many people did not see the possibility of human beings having an intimate relationship with the living God in Enoch's day. Since Enoch could see this possibility through the eyes of faith, he is included in the catalogue of the heroes of faith (Heb 11:5).

However, the Lord has revealed that intimacy with God is not for the specialists but for all those who follow him. He invites, “Abide in me,” and he offers, “and I [will abide] in you” (John 15:4). It does not need any training, but it is spontaneous for all those who have the Spirit of Christ (another name of the Holy Spirit) dwelling in them (Rom 8:9).

Godly men and women followed the trail that Enoch blazed, which Christ made even smoother. By constantly being aware of the Spirit of Christ within us, living in communion with him through prayer to let him hear our voice, and listening to his voice, we develop intimacy with the Creator of this universe.

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*New Living Translation