by

Pastor B.J. Knefley

The writer of Genesis 5:24 states that “Enoch walked with God.” Think about that for a moment. What does it mean that he walked with God? Have you ever walked with anyone? I’ve walked with some who walked too slow, and I’ve also walked with those who were virtually running. (One of my daughters walks this way.) So what would it mean to walk with God?

This passage has always fascinated me. I’ve wondered what it might have looked like. As I’ve thought about it, many images have come to mind, yet I still wonder. What does it mean to walk with someone? Whenever I walk with others, I always match their pace. I can imagine Enoch walking with God as he strolled through the Kingdom. As he strolled, he would stop and observe things, perhaps even weep at times over what he saw. Like a child, Enoch walked and observed, probably asking questions as he went. Wherever God went, Enoch was right there with Him, observing, listening, and learning. It was a relationship of trust—that made it so special. On some level, it reminds me of the relationship between a father and his child exploring the world around them. 

For Enoch to have walked with God, it seems he must have been in harmony with Him. A phrase that might better describe this kind of walking is “joined at the hip.” It also implies that wherever God went, Enoch was right there. If God turned left, Enoch turned left. It was a mutual relationship of trust and oneness. Perhaps it’s important to point out that the passage also states, “Then one day he disappeared, because God took him.” (Genesis 5:24). 

I have never met anyone who walked as close to God as Enoch did, but I have met many who wished they could. To my knowledge, there are no other reports of anyone walking as Enoch did. Is it possible that our attention is drawn away by the pleasures of this world? Perhaps the problem is that we want to control things, and walking as Enoch did would require a life of dependence, which we often resist because we desire independence. Think about it.