Genesis 5

Scripture:  Genesis chapter 5

Observation:  The lineage of Noah.  For all of Noah's ancestors, the Bible says they died.  In the case of Enoch it was different.  Verse 24 says "Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him."  Finally Enoch's great-grandson Noah is born, one who would "comfort us concerning our work and the toil of our hands, because of the ground which the Lord has cursed.” (v.29).

Application:  It doesn't take a math wizard to figure out that many of the men mentioned in Noah's lineage were alive while Adam was alive.  They heard first hand the account of the garden, of the sin, and the consequences. Yet the only man that was walking with God was Enoch.  How is this possible?  Because our sinful nature is stronger than our conscience.  The apostle Paul recognized this when he admitted, "The good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice." (Romans 7:19).  From the start sin has a stronghold on us, but as Enoch showed, it is possible to walk with God even in our sinful flesh.

Prayer:  Father, it is my desire to be like Enoch, to walk with you and set an example to others, but just like Paul, I find that the good I want to do is not what I end up doing.  What a task it is, to go against my very nature, but what rewards when I know that I've pleased You by not giving in to evil!  Help me to remember that, and to make every effort to grow in the fruits of the Holy Spirit.  In Jesus' name, Amen.