Gen 5:10 - And Enos lived after he begat Cainan eight hundred and fifteen years...
Gen 5:13 - And Cainan lived after he begat Mahaleel eight hundred and forty years...
Gen 5:16 - And Mahaleel lived after he begat Jared eight hundred and thirty years...
Gen 5:19 - And Jared lived after he begat Enoch eight hundred years...
Gen 5:22 - And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years...
I posted a while back about how I was amazed that Enoch was faithful to walk with God for 300 years. But now I want to contrast what the Bible says about Enoch vs. the rest of his forefathers.
First of all, we notice that they all "lived." That's profound. They had breath; they walked around; they related with other people. They lived. We don't know much about their lives other than they procreated. However, Enoch did not just "live." Enoch did more than that; he "walked with God." His life was not wasted, but rather was spent in communion with God. What a great example.
Second, we notice the lengths of their lives. 807, 815, 840, 830, 800... that's how many years Enoch's forefathers "lived." Now, when we get to Enoch, we find that after he begat Methuselah, he only was around for 300 years. Why would God take him at such a young age? (I mean really, 365 years old is not that old!?) It reminds me of a quote from Jim Elliot (who, coincidentally, died on this date in 1956 (thanks Pastor Curran for the reminder), written in his journal:
God, I pray Thee, light these idle sticks of my life and may I burn for Thee. Consume my life, my God, for it is Thine. I seek not a long life, but a full one, like you, Lord Jesus. (1948)Are we willing to give up just "living" and actually spend our days on earth faithfully "walking with God"? And if that requires that God takes us earlier... are we ok with that? Jim Elliot recognized that the length of life was not as important as the quality of the walk with God. Enoch knew it too. Let's learn it.
Just a thought...
