New Study: Men and Women in the Bible Who Pleased God

    As with familiar verses, Bible students can have a tendency to skim over the mentions/stories of familiar people in the Bible simply because they 'already know them.' Well, I’m at the stage in my studies, where I’m rereading passages and revisiting people who have long been familiar to me, yet I have found that when I take the time to dig into their text and context, I continue to discover more reasons to value the importance of their mention and I continue to find new determination and encouragement in my walk. I would like to encourage you to also discover their value, so I’m beginning this new study of familiar persons in the Bible; specifically persons of whom it is said: they pleased God.

    What does it take to please God? Some think it an impossible task, so they don’t even begin to seek an answer to that question. Is it impossible? Without faith, yes (Hebrews 11:6). But with faith, one can be pleasing to God! Faith starts us on a journey with God, obedience keeps us to the path we walk with Him, and gratitude keeps our grasp firmly on Him!

    Let’s begin our study with the first man of whom it was said, he pleased God: ENOCH

    Genesis 4:26 mentions that after Adam’s grandson was born (Seth’s son, Enosh) that “men began to call on the name of the LORD”, meaning they began to seek Him, turn to Him for guidance, and faithfully follow His instruction; Enoch was four generations (or 387 years) later.

    Now, Enoch is best known for his death – or the lack thereof (we’ll get to that in a moment) – but I would like us to dig into what Enoch did during his lifetime, because it is worthy of our attention.

    Enoch was sixty-five years old when he had his first son, Methuselah (Genesis 5:21), and after his birth, Enoch walked with God three hundred years and had more sons and daughters (Genesis 5:22). During those three hundred years, Enoch prophesied about Jesus and the coming judgment. Think about that for a moment. Roughly 4700 years before Jesus was born, Enoch prophesied of Jesus’ return and His judgment on ungodly men who departed from God and denied His instructions.

“Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.” (Jude 14-15 NKJV)    

Side study: Take time this week to read the whole epistle of Jude – because the times in which Enoch prophesied (consider Genesis 6:5) were not much different from the time in which Jude wrote, nor were they any different from the times we live in now.

    Enoch continued to walk with God, living to see the first 48 years of his grandson's life, then 634 years before the flood, because of his faith – because he pleased God - Enoch was taken by God and did not see death.

“By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, “and was not found, because God had taken him”; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God.” (Hebrews 11:5 NKJV).

What can we learn from Enoch’s life?

    In a time when few called on the LORD, Enoch walked with Him. After having his first child, Enoch turned to God, believed in Him, diligently sought Him, and warned others that their ungodly words and ways would have real consequences – in doing this, he pleased God.

    If we have been blessed with children (or have any people to whom we can be an example), let’s do our utmost to seek God, turn to His Word for guidance (2 Timothy 3:16-17, 1 Timothy 4:12-16), pray to Him for wisdom (James 1:5) and obey His instruction (James 1:21-27) so that we can guide our children (through example and word) in what is good and right.

    Let us determine to faithfully walk with God each and every day of our life, and learn from Him so that we can lovingly warn those around us (Ephesians 5:8-17, also consider Hebrews 3:12-14). Let’s look for opportunities to teach others so that they, too, can believe that God is, and that He is both a rewarder (to those who diligently seek Him, Hebrews 11:6) and a judge (to those who continue in ungodliness, consider Titus 2:11-15).

    If we do these things, we, too, can have this testimony, that we pleased God.

You can do it! So can I!!