In Hebrews, there’s an interesting individual who is mentioned, Enoch. What makes him so special is that he never died. Why is that, and what can we learn from him? Join us this morning as we find out.

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There was once a man so godly that the Lord allowed him not to die. He just went ahead and took him before he ever experienced death. But what made him so special? Let’s talk about it.

“By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death. He could not be found because God had taken him away. For before he was taken he was commended as one who pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists, and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” — Hebrews 11:5-6

Now, there’s a lot out there about Enoch, a lot of what I’d call conspiracy theories and big questions floating around. But I just want to deal with what the actual scriptures say.

So who is Enoch, and what did he do that made him so special that he never experienced death?

The first mention we have of him is found in Genesis chapter five. It’s just a paragraph in your Bible, but in verses 21 through 24, it talks about a man named Enoch who, at the age of 65, became the father of Methuselah, you may know the phrase “as old as Methuselah,” who is considered the oldest man in the Bible. But we don’t get a lot of information here.

“Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.” — Genesis 5:24

That’s it. That’s all we have. So again, there are a lot of questions. What’s so special about him? What did he do that earned him a spot in the Hall of Faith?

We can pick up another clue in Jude chapter one, verses 14 through 16, where we discover that Enoch laid out a kind of prophecy, speaking out against the ungodliness of the world around him. There’s some discrepancy about whether Jude was quoting the Book of Enoch or simply referencing well-known Jewish tradition; honestly, the latter is probably more likely. But the picture becomes clearer when you put all the pieces together. Enoch was counted as righteous. He was faithful to God. And it pleased God.

Going back to Hebrews 11:6 — anyone who comes to God must believe that he exists, and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. That was Enoch. He earnestly sought God. He earnestly believed God existed.

But here’s what really stuck out to me about the time frame he lived in. If you keep reading in Genesis, Enoch is the grandfather of Noah. Sometimes, when we read these stories, they feel disconnected, like random snapshots in history. But they’re not. During Enoch’s lifetime, the world was progressively becoming more immoral and evil. Remember, Noah was the man God chose to build the ark, to save the remnant of humanity who would honor and worship the Lord, because the world had become so dark. And in the legacy of Noah, the man who first brought a kind of salvation for mankind, is this guy, Enoch, who we know spoke out against ungodliness and unrighteousness.

Some people think things just suddenly get bad. Like they wake up one day and go, “Oh my goodness, how did everything get like this?” But I’m telling you, the immoral things you see and experience today didn’t just happen overnight. It’s been a slow progression. And Enoch, who earnestly sought after God, saw those things coming and spoke out against them anyway.

That’s what makes Enoch special. He was earnestly seeking after God in the midst of darkness, in the midst of terrible things. And he was faithful the entire time.

My encouragement to you is this: right now, we live in a time where there are a lot of terrible things happening. A lot of evil. A lot of dishonesty. A lot of hatred. In this time, earnestly seek after the Lord. Be honest about searching His face. Be in the Word. Be in prayer. Let the full context of scripture dictate what you do and how you respond to the world, how you view the world, how you present hope, how you present grace, and how you present the gospel.

Be pleasing to God by your faith, and let God do the work in your life. He’ll take care of you and reward you where need be.