Enoch and Noah

Notes

Readings.

"Patriarchs and Prophets," pp. 80-98.

1. "Enoch's walk with God was not in a trance or a 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?' And this holy walk was continued for three hundred years. There are few Christians who would not be far more earnest and devoted if they knew that they had but a short time to live, or that the coming of Christ was about to take place. But Enoch's faith waxed the stronger, his love became more ardent, with the lapse of centuries.

"Enoch was a man of strong and highly cultivated mind, and extensive knowledge; he was honored with special revelations from God; yet being in constant communion with Heaven, with a sense of the divine greatness and perfection ever before him, he was one of the humblest of men. The closer the connection with God, the deeper was the sense of his own weakness and imperfection."—Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 85.

2. "They [the antediluvians] possessed great physical and mental strength, and their advantages for acquiring both religious and scientific knowledge were unrivaled. It is a mistake to suppose that because they lived to a great age their minds matured late; their mental powers were early developed, and those who cherished the fear of God and lived in harmony with His will, continued to increase in knowledge and wisdom throughout their life. Could illustrious scholars of our time be placed in contrast with men of the same age who lived before the flood, they would appear as greatly inferior in mental as in physical strength."

"Adam had learned from the Creator the history of creation; he himself witnessed the events of nine centuries; and he imparted his knowledge to his descendants. The antediluvians were without books, they had no written records; but with their great physical and mental vigor, they had strong memories, able to grasp and to retain that which was communicated to them, and in turn to transmit it unimpaired to their posterity. And for hundreds of years there were nine generations living upon the earth contemporaneously, having the opportunity of consulting together and profiting each by the knowledge and experience of all."—Patriarchs and Prophets, pp. 82, 83. Note that Adam lived with Methuselah, Noah's grandfather, 243 years; with Lamech, Noah's father, 56 years; with Enoch, 308 years; and that Methuselah lived until the year of the flood. Thus the antediluvians not only had the indisputable evidence of the garden, with its cherubim-guarded gates, but the personal instruction of Adam through Methuselah until the time of the Deluge.

Additional Study.

1. How did Enoch know that he pleased God? Heb. 11:5. May we also have this evidence?

2. Of whom was Enoch a type?

3. What revelations did God make to Enoch concerning the future? Jude 14, 15.

4. By what did Noah obey the Lord in preparing the ark? Heb. 11:7. See also Rev. 14:12.

5. Of what was Noah a preacher? 2 Peter 2:5.

6. What false science is taught now the same as was taught by the unbelieving antediluvians?—The exaltation of nature above nature's God. 2 Peter 3:4.

7. Compare Noah's time and ours. Matt. 24:37-39; Luke 17:26, 27.