Enoch, found in the fifth chapter of Genesis, is said to have walked with God. And for this walking, the record tells us that God took him so that he no longer walked upon the earth. (Genesis 5:21-24 ) What does it mean for Enoch to walk with God, and how can we also walk with God and be found acceptable?

The words of these verses are vague in meaning, so we greatly appreciate Paul's inspired commentary on Enoch's life found in the book of Hebrews. Paul says, “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.” (Heb 11:5-6 )

Enoch, Paul says, did not see death. He was a man that by faith in God and in God's rewards sought after God. His walking was a walk of faith – a walk of seeking after God. His walk was a walk with God in a time of almost universal defiance.

This was a time not much different from our own. This was a time in which mankind began to build and dwell in cities, began to create commerce and trade, create recreation and arts, and inventions and technologies (Gen 4:17-22 ).

These were great accomplishments of mankind. However, their growth in physical intelligence could not counter their diminishing moral character. Mankind began to disregard God. He disregarded God's design for the family, and mankind began to disregard the value of his fellow man.

For example, Lamech destroyed God's design for the family when he married two wives (Gen 4:19 ), and he makes a poetic boast of murder and revenge (Gen 4:23-24 ). This reminds me of some of the modern popular music that praises murder, revenge, and getting all that one can get at any cost. These were the conditions in which Enoch walked with God.

Enoch, however, did not always walk with God. The scriptures say that Enoch began to walk with God after he fathered Methuselah. This would put him at being 65 years old. This indicates to us that before Methuselah was born, Enoch was, perhaps, out doing his own thing like the world around him. Something changed at the birth of Methuselah.

What was this change? Jude gives us insight. He says, “...Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, 'Behold, the Lord came with ten thousands of his holy ones, to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed...” (Jude 14-15 ) This shows us that Enoch was a prophet, which means that God gave him a revelation.

This revelation came in the birth of his son, Methuselah. The name “Methuselah” means “He dies, and the dart or arrow of God's vengeance comes.” This prophecy pointed to the deluge. This is why he walked with God. Enoch realized that God would judge the people, so he decided to walk with God rather than to be lost!

We ought to realize this same fate for mankind. But instead of a deluge and temporary destruction by water, Peter tells us that this destruction will be with heat that will melt even the building blocks of matter. Nothing will survive! So, Peter concludes, “Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness?” (2 Peter 3:1 ) We all must resolve to walk with God.

How do we do this? The answer today is the same as it was in the days of Enoch. To walk with God, one must walk in the same direction. You can not be a friend to the ways of the world and be a friend to God at the same time. We must choose one or the other. To walk with God, one must agree with God. Amos asked, “Shall two walk together, except they have agreed?” (Amos 3:3 ) This means that we must submit to God's commands and precepts. God does not agree with us by conforming to us. We must conform to Him. Last, to walk with God, one must walk in step with God. That means that we must keep up and finish the course. Let us all resolve to walk with God!