Walking with God

 July 11, 2022

“Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.”

—Genesis 5:24 NKJV

Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God.”

—Genesis 6:9 NKJV

The statement that “Enoch walked with God, and was not, for God took him” has long intrigued me. The genealogies at this point are simply names without any indication of the moral character of the personalities. Except for Enoch, mention of character doesn’t come till the next chapter where it says, “the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” —Genesis 6:5 NKJV

What was so different about Enoch that he is said to have walked with God? What was his inner life like? How did he relate to others? What did his walking with God consist of? How did God take him? We are given no information other than he “walked with God” and somehow simply disappeared.

Reading this again today, I noticed something I hadn’t seen before: Noah also walked with God…but God didn’t take him. Instead, God instructed him to build a huge boat. Walking with God may take many forms. My walk with God will be different than yours, and the results may vary widely, but we both can be walking with God. 

There are boundaries that define the parameters of walking with God. These two men were within those boundaries; as for the others, their wickedness was so great, God decided to destroy them. Today, there are those who are clearly outside the boundaries; but for those who walk with God, some speak in tongues, dancing and shouting in praise, while others bow silently or chant hymns before altars shrouded in incense. God takes some seemingly before their time, while others are given lifelong difficult assignments. 

In these texts, life isn’t a race; we aren’t in competition; we are walking in companionship, listening and conversing, enjoying each other’s company, walking with God. It’s a fine day for a stroll; why not walk with me? We can walk together…with God.