Search
Enosh and Enoch are the third pair in the first group of figures presented in Genesis as seeds of the divine truths. In the divine revelation, Adam, among the first pair of characters, points to God’s redemption, which was promised by God and was needed by fallen man. Abel, who is of the second pair, indicates a man who takes God’s way of redemption and life according to God’s revelation. Then, of the third pair, Enosh signifies a man who realizes his fragility and impotence while taking God’s way of redemption and life; and Enoch signifies a man who is being supplied by God to walk and live with God and thereby to escape death.
Enosh’s father, Seth, was born to take Abel’s place (Gen. 4:25). This shows that he was consistent with Abel and was the continuation of Abel. He named his son Enosh, which means “frail man.” This surely indicates that as he took God’s way of redemption and life, he sensed the extreme fragility, the impotence, and the complete helplessness of fallen man. His son, whom he begot and named Enosh, must have inherited the same realization and sense.
Because Seth sensed his own fragility, impotence, and helplessness, he must have sought God’s help by calling on the name of Jehovah, the One who is, who was, and who will be forever—that is, the name of the One who always is—and thus enjoying His rich supply. This One who exists forever is everlasting, immortal, ever unchanging, self-existing, and ever-existing. He is the source of every rich supply and is fully sufficient to meet man’s every need. Romans 10:12 says, “For the same Lord of all is rich to all who call upon Him.” Whenever a person calls on His name, he will enjoy His rich supply. The name Seth gave to his son indicates that before naming him, Seth may have already begun to call on the name of Jehovah. Therefore, after he gave his son such a name, Genesis 4:26 says that men began to call on the name of Jehovah. Because Enosh was born of such a father, one who called on the name of Jehovah, he inherited this blessing naturally and became one who called on the name of Jehovah, thus enjoying God’s riches.
Enosh, as one who called on the name of the Lord, became a model representing all those who call on the name of Jehovah and enjoy God’s riches. The blessing of calling on the Lord’s name continues throughout the entire Bible. It is inherited throughout the generations by those who take God’s way of redemption and life, and it is practiced by the New Testament believers also. In the Old Testament age, Job (Job 12:4; 27:10), Abraham (Gen. 12:8; 13:4; 21:33), Isaac (Gen. 26:25), Moses (Deut. 4:7), Samson (Judg. 15:18; 16:28), Samuel (1 Sam. 12:18; Psa. 99:6), David (2 Sam. 22:4; Psa. 17:6; 55:16; 116:4; 118:5; 145:18), the psalmist Asaph (Psa. 80:18), the psalmist Heman (Psa. 88:9), Elijah (1 Kings 18:24), Isaiah (Isa. 12:4), Jeremiah (Lam. 3:55, 57), and others all practiced calling on the name of the Lord. Also, Isaiah charged God’s seekers to call upon the name of the Lord (Isa. 55:6). It is God’s commandment (Psa. 50:15; Jer. 29:12) and desire (Psa. 91:15; Zeph. 3:9; Zech. 13:9) that His people call on Him. It is the joyful way to drink from the fountain of God’s salvation, and the enjoyable way to delight oneself in God (Isa. 12:3-4; Job 27:10). Hence, the psalmists called upon the Lord’s name daily (Psa. 88:9). Joel the prophet prophesied that people would call upon His name in the year of the New Testament jubilee (Joel 2:32).
Joel’s prophecy was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost when all who believed were saved by calling on the name of the Lord (Acts 2:17, 21). This became the way in the New Testament by which man can be saved and enjoy God’s riches (Rom. 10:10-13). The early believers practiced calling on the name of the Lord everywhere (1 Cor. 1:2), and this calling became a popular sign by which Christ’s believers were recognized by the unbelievers, especially the persecutors (Acts 9:14, 21). When he repented and believed in the Lord, Saul, who had helped to persecute Stephen, one who called on the name of the Lord (Acts 7:58-60), was told by Ananias to be baptized, calling on the name of the Lord. In this way Saul washed away his sin of persecuting those who called on the name of the Lord (Acts 22:16). Thereafter, he himself also became one who called on the name of the Lord. This can be proved by the fact that he exhorted others to be saved by calling on the name of the Lord (Rom. 10:13) and to enjoy all the riches of the Lord by calling on His name (Rom. 10:12). He told us that all who seek the Lord out of a pure heart call on the name of the Lord in this way (2 Tim. 2:19, 22).
From Enosh, the third generation from Adam, to Enoch, the seventh generation from Adam, there were no outstanding persons who could serve as spiritual representatives or signs. Therefore, in terms of spiritual representation and significance, Enoch was the continuation of Enosh. Enosh called upon the name of Jehovah and enjoyed the riches of God; Enoch, in the spiritual sense, carried on from Enosh and went a step further to walk with God, and was taken by God so that he escaped the ultimate issue of man’s fall, that is, death.
When Enoch was sixty-five years old, he begot a son, whom he named Methuselah, which means “when he is dead it [the judgment of the flood] shall be sent.” The significance of this name corresponds with Enoch’s prophecy: “Behold, the Lord came...to execute judgment against all” (Jude 14-15). This certainly indicates that he must have known, through God’s revelation, that one day the Lord would come to judge that ungodly and unrighteous generation. Therefore, when he begot Methuselah, he gave him such a name. It has been calculated that when Noah was six hundred years of age, at the time when the flood came to judge that evil age (Gen. 5:25-29; 7:6), Methuselah was nine hundred and sixty-nine years old, the age at which he died. Enoch must have been warned concerning this, and, fearing God, he began to walk with God, that is, to live and move with God, taking God as his center and everything.
Enoch’s walking with God must have been due to his believing in God and his seeking after God. According to Hebrews 11:6, Enoch believed not only that “God is,” but that “He is a rewarder of those who seek Him out.” This shows that Enoch not only believed that there is a God, that is, that God exists, and that He is real, living, and present, but he also believed that God is a rewarder who will reward those who seek Him out. In this way, Enoch believed in God, sought Him out, and walked with Him for three hundred years. This satisfied and pleased God, and as a result God rewarded him with Himself as the eternal life and enabled him to escape death and to be taken by God so that he did not have to see death.
Enoch’s being taken by God meant that he was taken out of that evil age, which was ungodly and unrighteous. Not only was he exempted from suffering the judgment of the catastrophe concerning which he prophesied, but he even did not have to see the death that all fallen men must pass through. Death is the ultimate destiny of fallen man. It is not only those who forsake God’s way of redemption and life and take the way of death who must die; even those who take the way of God’s redemption and life, and who live according to God’s revelation and for God’s will, are subject to death. However, Enoch found the way to escape death. By walking with God for three hundred years, fully enjoying God’s salvation, he lived a life that enabled him to escape the power of death, to overcome the destruction of death. Therefore, God took him away, separating him from death so that he did not see death. This is God’s ultimate salvation, the ultimate consummation of God’s salvation.
Enoch walked with God and was taken by God while he was living. Thus, he also is a model, representing all the overcomers who will be raptured while they are living. This signifies that all who take God’s way of redemption and life by calling on Him, enjoying His riches, and walking and living with Him can receive grace to such an extent that they will not see death (John 8:51; 11:26). Elijah, the overcoming prophet in the Old Testament, was raptured while he was living (2 Kings 2:11). In the future, when the Lord returns, the overcoming believers, because they live soberly and watchfully, will be raptured while they are living, not having to see death. Thus they will escape the great tribulation that is coming upon the whole earth (Matt. 24:21; Luke 21:34-35; 1 Thes. 5:3) and will be taken up to Mount Zion (Rev. 14:1), where the Lord Jesus has been since the time of His ascension. There they will walk, live, and be with Him forever. All these items are represented by Enoch’s walking with God and being taken by God.
Enosh means “frail man.” In giving his son this name, Seth must have sensed the extreme fragility, impotence, and complete helplessness of fallen man. Enosh must have inherited the same realization and sense. Because Seth sensed his own fragility and impotence, he must have begun to call on the name of Jehovah. Because Enosh was born of such a father, one who called on the name of Jehovah, he inherited this blessing naturally and became one who called on the name of Jehovah and thus enjoyed God’s riches. In this way, he became a model representing all those who call on the name of Jehovah and enjoy the riches of God. In the spiritual sense, Enoch carried on from Enosh and took a further step to walk with God. When he begot Methuselah, he received the revelation from God that one day the Lord would come to judge that ungodly and unrighteous generation. Hence, he was warned and, fearing God, he began to walk with God. He also believed that God is a rewarder who will reward those who seek Him out. As a result, God rewarded Enoch with Himself as the eternal life and enabled him to escape death, to be taken by Him, and to not see death. Thus Enoch also became a model, representing all the overcomers who will be raptured while they are living.
