The
Lord describes the people in the day of Enoch
(my interpretation in
parenthesis)
The people had hearts
that were hard (there was no love), their ears were dull of hearing (they would
not listen or understand, they could not be reasoned with), their eyes could
not see afar off (they could not see the coming consequences of their actions,
only their immediate selfish desires). They had gone astray from the Lord for
many years. They sought their own counsel in the dark (without any help from
the Lord, only their own opinions). Their acts were full of abominations and
murder. They were ripe for destruction. They had denied themselves the blessings
God could bring into their life and brought upon themselves spiritual death if
they did not repent.
Enoch’s
response as he was first called
Enoch bowed himself to
the earth and asked, “Why is it that I have found favor in thy sight, and am
but a lad, and all the people hate me; for I am slow of speech; wherefore am I
thy servant?”
The
Lord strengthened and sustained Enoch
The lord tells Enoch: go
forth, no man shall pierce thee, open your mouth and it will be filled, I will
give thee utterance, my spirit is upon you, all thy words will I justify,
mountains will flee and rivers will turn from their course, thou shalt abide in
me and I in you, walk with me.
The Lord gave to Enoch
visions of the spirits he had created and many things that could not be seen with
the natural eye. Enoch went forth in the land and was then known as a seer. Enoch
went to the high places and preached with a loud voice. The people came to hear
him; no man laid hands on him in fear because he walked with God. The people
trembled and could not stand in his presence. Enoch’s faith was great. In
battle he spoke the word of the lord and mountains fled, rivers turned out of
their course, roar of lions were heard in wilderness, and all nations feared. God
gave him great power of language, and powerful were the words he spoke. The
Lord blessed the land where he dwelt and his people were righteous and had no
poor among them.
How
one message I learn from the story of Enoch applies to my life.
There have been many
times I have been called to a church calling where I felt completely inadequate
to do the calling. Like Enoch I felt completely unqualified to do the calling
and wondered why I was the one being called. I think the biggest message I
learn from Enoch is; it doesn’t matter if we are qualified to do the Lords
work, what matters most of all is if we are willing. The Lord reassured Enoch
that he would be there for him and he would make him equal to the task. We see
in Enoch, how that came about in a powerful way. I have also felt reassured
from the Lord, that He would be there for me and he would help me. I have
experienced sustaining power beyond my own ability as I accepted those callings
and did my best to fulfill them. Many times I have found myself able to do
things that previously I was not able to do and after I was released I lost the
ability to do. It gave me a real testimony of the power of the Lord to qualify
us for the callings that he asks us to do. The most important thing is our
willingness.
Enoch
and his people
(a summary from the scriptures: Genesis 5:22–24; Moses 6:27-29, 47;7:1-21)
Enoch lived on the land
365 years and became the father of Methuselah at age 65. Enoch walked and
talked with God face to face. He was called as a prophet to teach repentance to
the people. The people were wicked and had turned away from all the commandments
given to Adam. They had no love in their hearts, they could not listen to
reason, and they could not see past their own selfish desires. Their acts were
full of abominations and murder. They were ripe for destruction. They had
denied themselves of the blessings God could bring into their life and brought
upon themselves spiritual death. As Enoch spoke to them they trembled and could
not stand in his presence. Enoch reminded them of the things taught by Adam. Enoch
went upon the mountain and the heavens opened and he was clothed with glory.
(Temple) He saw the Lord and talked with Him face to face. The Lord showed him
the world for many generations. The people of Canaan would come to battle
against the people of Shum and they would be utterly destroyed. The people of
Canaan would be cursed, the land would be cursed with much heat and be barren
and unfruitful. Blackness would come upon them and they would be despised by
all nations. Enoch was told to go to the other nations and preach repentance to
them and baptize them. The enemies of God came to battle against the people of
Enoch. Enoch spoke the word of the Lord and the earth trembled, mountains fled,
rivers changed their course, and lions roared out of the wilderness. Land came
up out of the sea and their enemies fled and stood afar off. They had wars
among themselves, but the Lord dwelt with the people of Enoch and they dwelt in
righteousness. They were of one heart and one mind and there was no poor among
them. Enoch continued to preach righteousness and built a city of Zion. After a
process of time Zion was taken up into heaven.
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