Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him. (5:24)
When Lamech had lived 182 years, he fathered a son and called his name Noah, saying, “Out of the ground the Lord has cursed this one shall bring us relief from our work and from the painful toil of our hands. (5:28-29)
When you read this chapter, you notice that it is full of peoples’ names, how old they were when they fathered such’n such a son, and how many years after that they lived. If you do the math, you will note that Adam lived 930 years, and was 874 years when Lamech, who was Noah’s father, was born. That means that Noah’s father could have heard all the stories of creation and the Fall from Adam himself!
All the people mentioned lived between 777 years and 969 years. Except Enoch. Enoch “only” lived 365 years, and then God took him.
Sometimes we think, “This is how life works.” And then God does something unexpected—such as taking Enoch—because He is God!
Lamech knew Noah was special and prophesied that he would bring them “rest from the toil of our hands”—but he certainly did not see how. Again, God did the unexpected—only now that human beings have lived for thousands more years, we know that it is to be expected that God will eventually bring judgement upon wickedness. More on this in the next chapter.
Prayer: Help me not to put you in a box, God. Help me to be open to Your work even if it is something other than what I expect. Help me to be open to how you work differently with various people. Amen.
