Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

When Jared had lived 162 years, he became the father of Enoch. After he became the father of Enoch, Jared lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Jared lived a total of 962 years, and then he died.
When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. After he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked faithfully with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Enoch lived a total of 365 years. Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.

• Genesis 5:18-24

By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.” For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.

• Hebrews 11:5

Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about them: “See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to judge everyone, and to convict all of them of all the ungodly acts they have committed in their ungodliness, and of all the defiant words ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”

• Jude 1:14-15

A Quote

“[regarding Genesis 5:21-24] It was not that he merely thought of God, that he speculated about God, that he argued about God, that he read about God, that he talked about God; he walked with God, which is the practical and experimental part of true godliness. In his daily life he realized that God was with him, and he regarded him as a living God, in whom he confided and by whom he was loved. And notice that Enoch was a family man. He ‘fathered other sons and daughters.’ Some have said, ‘Ah, you cannot live as you like if you have a lot of children about you. Do not tell me about keeping up your hours of prayer and quiet reading of the Scriptures if you have a large family of little ones. You will be disturbed, and there will be many domestic incidents that will be sure to try your temper and upset your equanimity. Get away into the woods and find a hermit’s cell. There, with your brown jug of water and your loaf of bread, you may be able to walk with God. But with a wife not always amiable and a troop of children who are never quiet, by day or night, how can a man be expected to walk with God?’ The wife, on the other hand, exclaims, ‘l believe that had I remained a single woman l might have walked with God. When l was a young woman l was full of devotion. But now with my husband, who is not always in the best of tempers, and with my children who seem to have an unlimited number of needs and never to have them satisfied, how is it possible that I can walk with God?’ Yet Enoch was a family man, and he walked with God.”

• Charles H. Spurgeon, from his sermon notes

What Do We Know about their Relationship?

We know practically nothing.  Enoch is the son of Jared and the father of Methuselah.  He walked with God and God took him so that Enoch did not die.  From Genesis, not dying might be inferred, but Hebrews is specific.

And the Hebrews Scripture states that Enoch pleased God.

What Can We Infer about their Relationship?

We can infer that for Enoch, walking with God was the only inviolable activity of the day.  We do not know how long these walks were.  We can infer that God was constantly on Enoch’s mind even when the babies were crying, babies in that Genesis 5:10 says other sons and daughters.

In What Ways Can We Fill in the Gaps about their Relationship?

If we combine this question with the Rev. Spurgeon quote, could we see Enoch never raising his voice with his children, but constantly redirecting them back to activities that are better for them?  I doubt if Enoch spared the rod, but I could see him praying a great deal as his wife and children may have not been the model of piety.  But then again, we never hear about Enoch’s wife.  She may have been a saintly woman.  If both parents are on the same page in the arena of discipline, the children avoid getting false signals.  They know better what is expected and family harmony improves.

What Can We Learn from this Relationship?

The highly commercialized phrase “What Would Jesus Do?” or simply WWJD, if you want it to lose all meaning was probably a daily reminder for Enoch.

Do we start each day with a thought about God?  Do we have to be reminded to say the blessing at a meal?  That may sound harsh, but do you hold hands and pray over the food when at a restaurant?  Is God the last thought before you fall asleep?  How many times do you think of God throughout the day?  How many times do you interrupt your thought pattern regarding work to ask God what He thinks of the situation?

How much quiet time do you have with God?  Is it daily?  Is it hourly?

I am writing this, a couple of weeks ago, on the day after our church went to their summer schedule.  The first service is at the same time.  The second service is 45 minutes earlier, giving people more time in the sun, even though daylight savings time had already given them an extra hour in the afternoon.  My argument was, as it is every year, that one hour per week, attended by maybe five percent of the membership, if we are lucky, is not enough time to learn to be more like Jesus and now we have a three-month rest period where we do not have Sunday school?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!  Is that enough punctuation to express my irritation?

But I could not deny that I am tired.  But teaching Sunday school class, or attending a class that someone else teaches, is where my batteries get recharged.  I am getting old, and it takes a while each morning before my bones want to move.  Sometimes, the pain never goes away all day.  Most weeks, there is only one day when the alarm is not set, and I am finding it harder and harder to sleep for very long.  All of that comes from old age and a wife who is more infirmed than I am, thus doctor visits abound.  So, I had to admit that I was tired, but if there was not a summer schedule, I would continue to teach without any complaint.  I might need a fill-in if I were going to take a trip to see the grandchildren, but that could happen any time.  I feel the summer schedule is more for sun worship than God worship.  It is more for being lazy instead of devoted to God and walking with God.

But then, if we walked with God every second of every day, we would not need Sunday school at all.

Can we start by starting the day in the right direction?  You know, a walk In the Garden, just me and God.  Thank you, Oak Ridge Boys, for singing this hymn by C. Austin Miles, written in 1913.  And I want to thank my wife for suggesting the addition of this hymn.

A Closing Prayer

Lord,
We live hectic lives.  We do not live the life of Peace that You offer us.  The next paycheck is important, but we forget to start the day and end the day with You.  We get busy in between even if we accomplish those good beginnings and endings.  We make rash decisions on little things after we pat ourselves on the back by going to You in prayer for the big things.  We miss the point entirely, that You want all that we have to offer, not just an hour on Sunday, not just a twenty-minute devotion each morning and evening.  Thank You for those dewy rose moments in the morning and those wildly colorful sunsets.  Thank You for redirecting our focus on You as You magnificently reveal that You are still there, helping us through each and every day.
In Thy Name we pray,
Amen.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.