Alex Forrest

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Enoch Walked with God: Why that Matters to Us

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It is striking to read in context.

enoch

Genesis 5 is one of those chapters of the Bible that gives genealogical data. If we’re honest, it’s easy to gloss over these chapters because they tend to follow a similar formula: “When ____ was _ years old he became the father of ____. After… he lived __ years and had other sons and daughters.”

The biblical description of Enoch in Genesis 5:21-24 strays from the formula. Verse 22 adds one key phrase: “Enoch walked with God after he fathered Methuselah…” (emphasis added). The other entries in this genealogical formula simply say a guy “lived x years after he fathered…”

But Enoch didn’t just live. Enoch walked with God. 

The end of Enoch’s story really strays from the formula. Every other guy in this list lived 900-something years and “died.” Enoch’s story was different:

Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him. (ESV)

Now that’s a different ending. That jumps off the page a bit, doesn’t it?

In a very short description of the life of Enoch, we’re twice told he walked with God. When we see something repeated like that in the Bible we know there is a heavy emphasis.

What does it mean, exactly, that Enoch walked with God? What was it that made him different from his fathers? What was different about the way he related to his creator? [Read more…]

Genesis 2: God Rested

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Rest

The Beginning of the Creation Account: God Speaks

The main point of the creation account in Genesis 1 is that God created everything.

Sounds obvious, but let it sink in for a minute. We often try to read too much into the mechanics of creation or the timeline and the nitty gritty details. Let’s keep our eyes on the ball for a minute.

“In the beginning God created…”

These words presuppose that God was already existent in the beginning. He exists outside of time; He is transcendent. Everything we know and experience came into existence by the power of His word.

There’s plenty to meditate on right there. But I want to spend sometime exploring the end of the creation account in Genesis 2:1-3.

The Conclusion of the Creation Account: God Rests.

It’s easy to read past this because it’s all pretty familiar. After finishing His work of creation, God rested.

It sounds pretty natural to you and me. You’ve finished a long, hard day at work. Maybe you completed a special project or maybe it was just difficult to get your kids in bed, but now you’ve arrived at that point when the day is done and you sit back on the couch to rest.

Why? Because you’re tired!

But God doesn’t get tired, of course. Consider Isaiah 40:28:

Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.

It’s not like God realized He was tired on the seventh day. “Wow creating a universe really took a lot out of me. I need a day off to recharge.” Obviously not the case, right?

So why did God rest? 

I don’t have a pat answer, but it’s something that bears reflection. Spend some time prayerfully thinking about this. Here are a few thoughts:

Satisfaction. Perhaps the rest God engages in here has something to do with the satisfaction that comes from a job well done. The text is clear — the work of creation was finished, and it was good. When He rested, I think God was enjoying what He made.

Creation was beautiful and delightful. It is marked by both incredible order and incredible beauty. Before the world was plunged into sin, everything was perfect and wonderful, and it brought joy to the Creator.

Even now we still encounter breathtaking design and beauty in creation and these point us to the character and nature of the Creator. As the Psalmist writes, the heavens declare the glory of the Lord.

God loves and enjoys his creation. That’s why he went to such great lengths to redeem it. The beauty and perfection of creation will be experienced when God restores all things in Jesus.

Pattern. Plenty has been written (and debated) about the pattern set forth on this seventh day.

Whatever you believe theologically about the Sabbath, it’s pretty clear that we need rest. Obviously, unlike God, we physically need rest from our daily activities.

God did not have to design us with a need for rest and sleep. I think one reason He made us to need rest is to remind us of our dependence on Him. We are never more physically vulnerable than when we are at rest and asleep. So physically sleeping is an act of faith and trust in God.

Furthermore, our need for rest teaches us humility. We do not have limitless strength — only God does. And when we rest the world continues on just fine without us. We are not what philosophers would call necessary beings — only God is necessary.

And rest gives us the opportunity to pull back from the struggles, noise, and grind of day-to-day living. To borrow a cliché, in rest we have an opportunity to “stop and smell the flowers.” The Creator desires us to also derive satisfaction and joy from the work of His hands, and in the work He gives us to do with our hands. In rest we can also pause to enjoy the Creator himself, which is the highest calling and privilege of all.

Application and Reflection

What should we do with the seventh day of creation? What should it mean for us that God rested?

Spend some time prayerfully meditating on the passage — what it says about God, about creation, and about you.

Consider how you can pursue seasons of rest in your own life, recognizing your limitations and your dependence on God. How can you be more intentional about rest?

 

Re-imagining Ruth, Part 2: Goodbye

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“Go,” Naomi said quietly, almost in a whisper.

Ruth Image A

(Continued from Re-Imagining Ruth Part 1)

After stopping to gather her nerve, she began again. “Go home. Go back to your mother’s house.”

The tears began as she drew them near and blessed them. “May the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. The Lord grant that you may find rest in the house of your husband.”

Though she loved them, Naomi knew she had to release them. She embraced them and kissed each of them on the forehead. And she wept. There were more tears after all.

Orpah and Ruth had also known this moment would come. They also wept now that it was upon them.

It was Orpah who spoke first. “No, we will return with you to your people.”

Naomi appreciated the gesture, but knew it would be impossible. She shook her head. “Turn back, my daughters. Why would you go with me? I have nothing to offer you. I wish that I had more sons who could marry you, but I have been left with no one. You have a chance for a future, but I’m too old to have a husband.”

Her voice had been rising as she spoke, as the raw emotion began to bubble forth. So she paused to collect herself.

The younger women didn’t know what to say. It was true. Naomi was not a young woman – she was well beyond the years where she could bear more children. No, the line and family of Elimelech would die with her.

They also all knew that, while Orpah and Ruth were young, they were older than most maidens. They could not afford to wait and squander their own hopes by following her to Bethlehem.

The silence of the young women led Naomi to continue.

“Even if I was younger, even if I took a husband tonight and bore sons, you could not wait for them to grow up. Would you follow an old woman and refrain from marrying? Would you wind up like me?”

Her tone and sarcasm betrayed her bitterness. “No, my daughters. It is exceedingly bitter to me – for your sake – that the hand of the Lord has gone out against me.”

Naomi wept again. These were words she had passed through her mind frequently, but had not yet passed her lips. The Lord had abandoned her and taken from her everything – everyone – she loved. She had no doubt the Lord had punished her family when they left home and moved to Moab.

Perhaps they had abandoned Him. Naomi didn’t know, and she wasn’t even sure if she cared anymore. Those were difficult days in Israel, days of famine and unrest, so Elimelech and Naomi did what they felt they needed to do. They did what seemed right to them at the time. (Judges 17:6, 21:25) But now Naomi was sure the Lord had cast them away.

The three women embraced. Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye. Of course Naomi was right – there was little sense in traveling with her to a foreign land at this season of her life. She would return to her parents’ house. They would care for her and help her find a husband with whom she could build a new life.

So with sorrow, she turned back and left, walking quickly to escape the emotional scene.

Naomi was not prepared for what happened next.

To be continued… 

Re-imagining Ruth, Part 1

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Ruth Image A

It was time. 

Naomi stopped and stood still, staring down the road in front of her at nothing in particular.

The sun was well on its way up the sky, but the heat was not yet overwhelming, and the sound of livestock in the distance went unnoticed. The scene was familiar, but Naomi was looking beyond all of that. She had dreaded the moment that was now upon her.

She wasn’t sure she could endure another goodbye. She wasn’t sure there were any tears left.

Her husband had gone to his ancestors a few years ago. Her two sons had only recently followed him. Their untimely deaths had deeply shaken Naomi. As she mourned them she only wished to join them in Sheol. There was nothing left for her. With the period of mourning now over, she had embarked on today’s journey shortly after dawn.

As she stood there in the road, Naomi knew that in a few minutes she would be alone.

Naomi finally turned around to look at the two young women standing silently just behind her. Orpah and Ruth, the wives of her sons, were all she had left. She had come to love these Moabite women as her own daughters. Their shared grief had only deepened the bond they shared.

Naomi had expected to be spending this season of her life caring for grandchildren, but these had never come. But Orpah and Ruth were young enough to have a chance at starting over. Naomi knew she had no such future. There was nothing left for her to offer them, and so she knew it was time for each of them to go home.

To Be Continued… (Re-Imagining Ruth Part 2)

 

This is the first installment of a series on the book of Ruth. 

As an experiment, I’m going to interweave a re-imagining of the story with some teaching from the book itself. We’ll move between storytelling and Bible study. The storytelling will attempt to be faithful to the biblical narrative, but I will exercise some creative license to fill out the story. 

Other articles may get mixed into the blog, but I’ll put a “Ruth” tag on all of these entries. I hope you’ll follow along and engage with us in the comments. 

Free e-book – Piper’s Exposition of Romans

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I like free stuff, don’t you?

Monergism Books is making a pretty cool Bible study resource available for free this month. You can pick up John Piper’s Exposition of Paul’s Epistle to the Romans (Part 1: Chapters 1-8) for free if you don’t mind reading it as an eBook. It is available in both Kindle and ePub formats.

I’m assuming this would be a useful tool for Bible study or a nice supplement if your church happens to be studying Romans.

While you’re there, if you scroll down you’ll see a bunch of other free e-books, mostly older works by guys like Calvin, Machen, and various Puritans.

Know of other useful resources at this kind of price point? Leave a comment below.

Bible Story Books for Little Kids

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If you’re a Christian parent, you’ve probably seen or been given a number of Bible story books for kids. There are scores of them out there, and they are of varying quality. I submit that Bible stories are not just moralistic tales like Aesop’s Fables, but far too many publications are oriented that way. Instead, the stories in the Bible begin to draw us into the Story of the Bible, which is the Gospel.

From the ones that I’ve seen, The Big Picture Story Bible is my personal favorite Bible story book for kids. The stories are written in a manner that is suitable for young kids. At present, my 5-year-old is very interested in these stories and looks forward to reading the next one each night. My 3-year-old is not quite there yet. Obviously each child is different – we’ve used this book for a couple years, but I’d say it’s tough for someone younger than 4. But for kids in that 4-6 range (maybe older?) this book is a great fit.

Obviously the stories are short enough for short attention spans. The thing I like about it, though, is that the biblical narrative, the “Big Story” is in view in each of the little stories. It fits together to introduce children to the narrative arc of the Bible, the story of creation/fall/redemption.

There’s also a Kindle version as well.

I’m definitely interested in hearing about other options as well. What have you found?

ESV Online

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For several years now (really since about the time it came out) I’ve used the ESV translation of the Bible, believing that it best combines a solid word-for-word translation of the original languages with good style and readability. The translation team was top-notch both in scholarship and devotion, and it is put out by what is, in my opinion, the strongest, most solid Christian publisher in the business: Crossway. A couple of years ago they released the ESV Study Bible, which is widely regarded as, well, pretty amazing. Adding to my love of the ESV is Crossway’s strong commitment to utilizing technology to get the ESV Bible out there in creative ways to make it as accessible as it can be.

With that in view, I strongly suggest you check out the new ESV Online, a suite of online tools to aid in Bible study that are incredibly useful and helpful. If you have purchased an ESV Study Bible you can see the notes and resources within this website as well. If you can’t tell, I’m very enthusiastic about these tools! They have released an iPhone/iPad app and promise an Android app soon. Here’s a 30-second introduction. Watch this and then go check it out!


The ESV Online (30 Sec) from Crossway on Vimeo.

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