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Patriarchs and Prophets
the object of the garden, the history of its two trees so closely connected
with man’s destiny, were undisputed facts. And the existence and
supreme authority of God, the obligation of His law, were truths which
men were slow to question while Adam was among them.
Notwithstanding the prevailing iniquity, there was a line of holy
men who, elevated and ennobled by communion with God, lived as in
the companionship of heaven. They were men of massive intellect, of
wonderful attainments. They had a great and holy mission—to develop
a character of righteousness, to teach a lesson of godliness, not only
to the men of their time, but for future generations. Only a few of the
most prominent are mentioned in the Scriptures; but all through the
ages God had faithful witnesses, truehearted worshipers.
Of Enoch it is written that he lived sixty-five years, and begat a
son. After that he walked with God three hundred years. During
these earlier years Enoch had loved and feared God and had kept His
commandments. He was one of the holy line, the preservers of the true
faith, the progenitors of the promised seed. From the lips of Adam he
had learned the dark story of the Fall, and the cheering one of God’s
grace as seen in the promise; and he relied upon the Redeemer to come.
But after the birth of his first son, Enoch reached a higher experience;
he was drawn into a closer relationship with God. He realized more
fully his own obligations and responsibility as a son of God. And as he
saw the child’s love for its father, its simple trust in his protection; as
he felt the deep, yearning tenderness of his own heart for that first-born
son, he learned a precious lesson of the wonderful love of God to men
in the gift of His Son, and the confidence which the children of God
may repose in their heavenly Father. The infinite, unfathomable love
of God through Christ became the subject of his meditations day and
night; and with all the fervor of his soul he sought to reveal that love
to the people among whom he dwelt.
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Enoch’s walk with God was not in a trance or vision, but in all the
duties of his daily life. He did not become a hermit, shutting himself
entirely from the world; for he had a work to do for God in the world.
In the family and in his intercourse with men, as a husband and father,
a friend, a citizen, he was the steadfast, unwavering servant of the
Lord.
His heart was in harmony with God’s will; for “can two walk
together, except they be agreed?”
Amos 3:3
. And this holy walk was