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Enoch, Henoch [Ē'nŏch,Hē'nŏch]—teacher, initiated, dedicated.
In some six verses the Bible sets forth the brief biography of this Old Testament saint—but what a biography! We know nothing of the rank or profession of Enoch. Two things of great interest characterize him, namely, his holy life on earth and his glorious exit from earth.
Enoch walked with God. Twice over we are reminded of this evident fact. The wicked are “without God.” Enoch was at peace with God. Although born a child of wrath, he became a child of grace. He must have been at peace with God; two cannot walk together unless they be agreed (Amos 3:3).
Enoch enjoyed close communion with God. What a real union of hearts the repeated phrase, “walked with God” implies! What sweet hours of holy and happy intercourse God and Enoch must have had as they communed with each other. There was never a cloud between their fellowship. God was a pleasure to Enoch, and Enoch pleased God.
Enoch was separated from the world. This seventh man from Adam did not walk in the way of the sinners of his corrupt age. His character and conduct were a distinct rebuke to the godless around. Jude tells us that Enoch functioned as a prophet, declaring God’s just judgment upon the unrighteousness of his time.
Enoch’s life was one of progress. Walking with God implies a steady progress in his course. He did not walk for awhile and then stand still. Each day found him nearer the divine goal. In unbroken companionship with his Friend, he found himself more weaned from the world and more ripe for heaven. He did not attempt to walk alone to heaven. He walked with God, and as he took each step his eyes were fixed on his heavenly Companion.
Enoch had an unusually glorious end. He is the only one of the line of whom it is not said that “he died.” He was not—God took him. “He was not” suggests that his friends sought for him. He was a missing person they could not trace. “God took him,” which means he was translated that he should not taste death. Among the millions upon millions of men who have lived, only two out of the vast number never died—Enoch and Elijah! Andrew Bonar has the sweet suggestion that God and Enoch were in the habit of taking a long walk together every day and that one day God said to his companion, “Why go home? Come all the way with Me.” Thus at 365 years of age—a year for every day of our year—God took His servant directly to heaven.