The Book of Enoch & the BibleНамуна

The Hall Of Faith

Hebrews chapter 11 names a handful of men and women who served the Lord faithfully in the Old Testament. Many have since called this the ‘Hall of Faith’, a listing of greats who, by faith accomplished amazing things without reward. (The ultimate reward that comes through Christ.)

Enoch appears among these few, and of those he is the one the Old Testament tells us the least. 2 Peter, which we covered before. was written around the same time as Hebrews and Jude was written after. These letters were not the basis for inclusion of Enoch in Hebrews.

What does the Old Testament say about Enoch? He’s part of a list of genealogies in Genesis 5 that tell who fathered who and when they died, so almost no detail.

If we look at the other genealogies around Enoch, we see unique language used to describe him. After the others had their firstborn, we’re told they “lived” for however many more years, having more children. But with Enoch, we’re told he “walked with God” after fathering his firstborn.

Enoch lived about 400 years less than those before and after him, so his life was significantly shorter. Verse 24 tells why: Enoch walked with God and was then taken away by God.

Hebrews tells us that Enoch was taken up by faith, commended as having pleased God Then in the Book of Enoch, we’re told of Enoch being commended. Enoch says his place in heaven was “prepared beforehand as my inheritance; for this was confirmed about me in the presence of the Lord of hosts.” (En 39:8 MSV)

Hebrews uses Enoch as an example of how we must have faith that God will reward us. Why? Because in the Book of Enoch, we see that his world is crumbling. Their only future is destruction and death, ending in the flood. Refusing to accept despair, Enoch prophesies of the end times and the Son of Man; that God has a future hope for those who love him. This required great faith!

So why did God take Enoch away? We don’t know the full answer, but next we’ll look at clues from the Bible.