Genesis 5:28














Whole chapter a reproof of the restless ambitions of men. Of these long lives the only record is a name, and the fact, "he died." Moral of the whole, "Dust thou art" (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:50). Yet a link between life here and life above. Enoch translated (Hebrews 11:5). The living man passed into the presence of God. How, we need not care to know. But we know why. He "walked with God." Who would not covet this? Yet it may be ours. What then was that life? Of its outward form we know nothing. But same expression (Genesis 6:9) tells us that Noah's was such. Also Abraham's, "the friend of God" (Genesis 17:1); and St. Paul's (Philippians 1:21); and St. John (1 John 1:3) claims "fellowship with the Father" not for himself only (cf. John 14:23).

I. ESSENTIAL FEATURES OF A WALK WITH GOD. Not a life of austerity or of contemplation, removed from interests or cares of world. Noah's was not; nor Abraham's. Nor a life without fault. Elijah was "of like passions as we are;" and David; and St. John declares, 1 John 1:8-10.

1. It is a life of faith, i.e. a life in which the word of God is a real power. Mark in Hebrews 11. how faith worked in different circumstances. To walk with God is to trust him as a child trusts; from belief of his fatherhood, and that he is true. With texts before us such as John 3:16; 1 John 1:9; 1 John 2:2, why are any not rejoicing? Or with such as John 4:10; Luke 11:13, why are any not asking and receiving to the full? God puts no hindrance (Revelation 3:20). But

(1) too often men do not care. To walk with God is of less importance than to be admired of men.

(2) If they do care, they often will not take God's way. The simple message (2 Corinthians 5:20; 1 John 5:11) seems too simple. They look for feelings, instead of setting God's message before them and grasping it.

2. To walk with God implies desire and effort for the good of men. In an ungodly world Enoch proclaimed the coming judgment (Jude 1:14; cf. Acts 24:25). Spiritual selfishness often a snare to those who have escaped the snare of the world. It is not the mind of Christ. It springs from weakness of faith. Knowing the gift so dearly purchased, so freely offered to all, our calling is to persuade men. Not necessarily as teachers (James 1:19), but by intercession and by loving influence.

III. ENOCH WAS TRANSLATED. But apostles and saints died. Yet think not that their walk with God was less blessed. Hear our Lord's words (John 11:26), and St. Paul (2 Timothy 1:10). Hear the apostle's desire (Philippians 1:23). Enoch walked with God on earth, and the communion was carried on above. Is not this our Savior's promise? (John 14:21-23; John 17:24). Death is not the putting off that which is corruptible; it is separation from the Lord. Assured that we are his forever, we may say, "O death, where is thy sting?" - M.

And all the days of Methuselah.
In dwelling upon this text I shall —

I. Take a simple survey of the age and manners of the antediluvian world. The youth of the world was the season of man's greatest age; perhaps, also, of man's greatest wickedness.

II. Draw some important lessons from this survey —

1. The agglomerative tendencies of human depravity.

2. The vanity of earthly things.

3. The power of an endless life.

4. The great natural wickedness of the heart.

5. That mere duration of years does not constitute a long life, but the fulfilment of life's ends.

6. The danger of religious procrastination.

(Dr. Cheever.)

I. THE CLOSE OF LIFE IS ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN.

II. LIFE HAS COME TO A CLOSE WITH MEN THROUGH ALL GENERATIONS FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES.

III. LIFE COMES TO A CLOSE IN ALL PARTS OF THE WORLD. Some places are more salubrious than others.

IV. LIFE COMES TO A CLOSE AT ALL SEASONS OF THE YEAR.

V. LIFE CLOSES AT ALL PERIODS. Death is not peculiar to any age.

VI. LIFE CLOSES IN A VARIETY OF WAYS. How many perish in the battlefield, amid all the dreadful realities of war! Many are lost by shipwreck at sea. Many lose their lives by accident on land. Far from the land of his birth and friends, pursuing his philanthropic career, John Howard finished his labours and his life. Sublimely grand must have been the exit of Thomas Chalmers; but, like that of John Foster, no human eye was permitted to see it. It was a Sabbath evening when he retired to rest, "in his most happy mood." In the morning he was found on his bedside in an attitude of repose. A peaceful smile, like a beam from the Sun of Righteousness, lingered about his face. His immortal part had soared upwards, escorted by a convoy of angels, to the better land. Thus widely diversified are the circumstances and modes of our departure. VII. THE CLOSE OF LIFE NEVER HAPPENS BY CHANCE. It is an event of Divine appointment.

VIII. THE CLOSE OF LIFE MAKES ALL THE ARTIFICIAL DISTINCTIONS OF LIFE VOID. "Death," says Dr. Donne, "comes equally to us all, and makes us all equal when it comes. The ashes of an oak in a chimney are no epitaph of that to tell me how high, or how large it was; it tells me not what flocks it sheltered whilst it stood, nor what men it hurt when it fell. The dust of great men's graves is speechless too; it says nothing, it distinguishes nothing. As soon the dust of a wretch whom thou wouldst not, as of a prince whom thou couldst not look upon, will trouble thine eyes if the wind blow it thither; and when a whirlwind hath blown the dust of the churchyard into the church, and the man sweeps out the dust of the church into the churchyard, who will undertake to sift those dusts again, and to pronounce: 'This is the patrician — this is the noble flour; and this the yeoman — this the plebeian bran!'"

IX. THE CLOSE OF LIFE IS OF INCONCEIVABLE IMPORTANCE. Our chances of preparation last while life lasts. Iris said that when Alexander encamped before a city, he used to set up a light, to give notice to those within that if they came forth to him while that light lasted, they should have quarter; but if they came not out within the given time they were to expect no mercy. Our light is burning now. It goes out when life departs. Death fixes all forever. It is this solemn fact — that death in shutting the gates of life upon us here, ushers us into the unchangeable hereafter — that accounts for the opposite experiences of men when they come to die. Voltaire said to his doctor — "I am abandoned by God and man. I will give you half of what I am worth, if you will give me six months' life." "Sir," replied the doctor, "you cannot live six weeks." "Then," said the dying man, "I shall go to hell"; and soon after expired. "I shall be glad to find a hole," said Hobbes, "to creep out of the world at." How different the anticipations of good men! "O Father of Thy beloved Son Jesus Christ!" exclaimed the martyr ; "I bless Thee that Thou hast counted me worthy to receive my portion in the number of martyrs." "I have pain," said Richard Baxter, "(there is no arguing against sense); but I have peace." "Is this dying?" said Dr. Goodwin. "How have I dreaded as an enemy this smiling friend." "The best of all is, God is with us," was John Wesley's shout of victory in the last hour. "The victory's won forever," exclaimed Dr. Payson; "I am going to bathe in an ocean of purity and benevolence and happiness to all eternity."

X. I HAVE NOW TO OBSERVE, THAT THE CLOSE OF LIFE MAY BE NEAR AT HAND. We know not the day nor the hour of the messenger's arrival.

XI. MY LAST REMARK IS THAT THE CLOSE OF LIFE DEMANDS INSTANT PREPARATION. Mark what that preparation is. What you require to fit you for death is all the same as that which you require to fit you for life.

(W. Walters.)

People
Adam, Cainan, Enoch, Enos, Enosh, Ham, Japheth, Jared, Kenan, Lamech, Mahalaleel, Methuselah, Noah, Seth, Shem
Places
Tigris-Euphrates Region
Topics
182, Begetteth, Begot, Eighty, Eighty-two, Hundred, Lamech, Lemech
Outline
1. Recapitulation of the creation of man.
3. The genealogy, age, and death of the patriarchs from Adam to Noah.
22. Enoch's godliness and translation into Heaven.
25. The family line of Methuselah to Noah and his sons

Dictionary of Bible Themes
Genesis 5:3-32

     1655   hundreds and thousands
     4016   life, human

Genesis 5:22-29

     5106   Noah

Genesis 5:28-29

     6701   peace, search for

Library
With, Before, After
'Enoch walked with God,'--GENESIS v. 22. 'Walk before Me.'--GENESIS xvii. 1. 'Ye shall walk after the Lord your God.'--DEUTERONOMY xiii. 4. You will have anticipated, I suppose, my purpose in doing what I very seldom do--cutting little snippets out of different verses and putting them together. You see that these three fragments, in their resemblances and in their differences, are equally significant and instructive. They concur in regarding life as a walk--a metaphor which expresses continuity,
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

After the Scripture.
"In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God created He him."--Gen. v. 1. In the preceding pages we have shown that the translation, "in Our image," actually means, "after Our image." To make anything in an image is no language; it is unthinkable, logically untrue. We now proceed to show how it should be translated, and give our reason for it. We begin with citing some passages from the Old Testament in which occurs the preposition "B" which, in Gen. i. 27, stands before image, where
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit

The Neo-Kohlbruggians.
"And Adam lived a hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, and after his image; and called his name Seth."--Gen. v. 3. Many are the efforts made to alter the meaning of the word, "Let Us make man in Our image and after Our likeness," (Gen. i. 26) by a different translation; especially by making it to read "in" instead of "after" our likeness. This new reading is Dr. Böhl's main support. With this translation his system stands or falls. According to him, man is not the bearer
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit

Walking with God. Gen 5:24
Walking with GOD. Gen 5:24 O! for a closer walk with God, A calm and heav'nly frame; A light to shine upon the road That leads me to the Lamb! Where is the blessedness I knew When first I saw the LORD? Where is the soul-refreshing view Of JESUS, and his word? What peaceful hours I once enjoyed! How sweet their memory still! But they have left an aching void, The world can never fill. Return, O holy Dove, return, Sweet messenger of rest; I hate the sins that made thee mourn, And drove thee from
John Newton—Olney Hymns

The Epistle of Saint Jude.
V. 1, 2. Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ, but a brother of James, to those that are called to be holy in God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, mercy unto you and peace and love be multiplied. This Epistle is ascribed to the holy Apostle, St. Jude, brother of the two Apostles, James the Less and Simon, by the sister of the mother of Christ, who is called Mary (wife) of James or Cleopas, as we read in Mark vi. But this Epistle cannot be looked upon as being that of one who was truly an Apostle,
Martin Luther—The Epistles of St. Peter and St. Jude Preached and Explained

Consolations against the Fear of Death.
If in the time of thy sickness thou findest thyself fearful to die, meditate-- 1. That it argueth a dastardly mind to fear that which is not; for in the church of Christ there is no death (Isa. xxv. 7, 8), and whosoever liveth and believeth in Christ, shall never die (John xi. 26). Let them fear death who live without Christ. Christians die not; but when they please God, they are like Enoch translated unto God (Gen. v. 24;) their pains are but Elijah's fiery chariot to carry them up to heaven (2
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

"But it is Good for Me to Draw Near to God: I have Put My Trust in the Lord God, that I May Declare all Thy
Psal. lxxiii. 28.--"But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord God, that I may declare all thy works." After man's first transgression, he was shut out from the tree of life, and cast out of the garden, by which was signified his seclusion and sequestration from the presence of God, and communion with him: and this was in a manner the extermination of all mankind in one, when Adam was driven out of paradise. Now, this had been an eternal separation for any thing that
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Influences that Gave Rise to the Priestly Laws and Histories
[Sidenote: Influences in the exile that produced written ceremonial laws] The Babylonian exile gave a great opportunity and incentive to the further development of written law. While the temple stood, the ceremonial rites and customs received constant illustration, and were transmitted directly from father to son in the priestly families. Hence, there was little need of writing them down. But when most of the priests were carried captive to Babylonia, as in 597 B.C., and ten years later the temple
Charles Foster Kent—The Origin & Permanent Value of the Old Testament

The Promise to the Patriarchs.
A great epoch is, in Genesis, ushered in with the history of the time of the Patriarchs. Luther says: "This is the third period in which Holy Scripture begins the history of the Church with a new family." In a befitting manner, the representation is opened in Gen. xii. 1-3 by an account of the first revelation of God, given to Abraham at Haran, in which the way is opened up for all that follows, and in which the dispensations of God are brought before us in a rapid survey. Abraham is to forsake
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

Appendix xii. The Baptism of Proselytes
ONLY those who have made study of it can have any idea how large, and sometimes bewildering, is the literature on the subject of Jewish Proselytes and their Baptism. Our present remarks will be confined to the Baptism of Proselytes. 1. Generally, as regards proselytes (Gerim) we have to distinguish between the Ger ha-Shaar (proselyte of the gate) and Ger Toshabh (sojourner,' settled among Israel), and again the Ger hatstsedeq (proselyte of righteousness) and Ger habberith (proselyte of the covenant).
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

Genesis
The Old Testament opens very impressively. In measured and dignified language it introduces the story of Israel's origin and settlement upon the land of Canaan (Gen.--Josh.) by the story of creation, i.-ii. 4a, and thus suggests, at the very beginning, the far-reaching purpose and the world-wide significance of the people and religion of Israel. The narrative has not travelled far till it becomes apparent that its dominant interests are to be religious and moral; for, after a pictorial sketch of
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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