He Was Not, For God Took Him

Mystery stories are fun, but I’m not a fan of the genre. I guess I prefer my suspense in movies rather than reading it. But, we moderns love mysteries! We salivate over discovering who did what to whom and when.

And yet, when we read about mysteries in the Bible, we have to be careful. And that’s because “mystery” in the Scriptures isn’t a puzzle to be solved or an idea to be completely exhausted, but a truth so big we humans will NEVER exhaust. In other words, when the Scriptures talk about “mystery” it isn’t a gauntlet laid down to test the powers of our rational thought, but an invitation to awe, wonder, and humility. Why? Let’s explore, shall we?

Look at our lesson today in Genesis 5:1-24:

This is the book of the generations of Adam. When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God. Male and female he created them, and he blessed them and named them Man when they were created. When Adam had lived a hundred and thirty years, he became the father of a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth. The days of Adam after he became the father of Seth were eight hundred years; and he had other sons and daughters. Thus all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years; and he died.

When Seth had lived a hundred and five years, he became the father of Enosh. Seth lived after the birth of Enosh eight hundred and seven years, and had other sons and daughters. Thus all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years; and he died.

When Enosh had lived ninety years, he became the father of Kenan. Enosh lived after the birth of Kenan eight hundred and fifteen years, and had other sons and daughters. Thus all the days of Enosh were nine hundred and five years; and he died.

When Kenan had lived seventy years, he became the father of Mahalalel. Kenan lived after the birth of Mahalalel eight hundred and forty years, and had other sons and daughters. Thus all the days of Kenan were nine hundred and ten years; and he died.

When Mahalalel had lived sixty-five years, he became the father of Jared. Mahalalel lived after the birth of Jared eight hundred and thirty years, and had other sons and daughters. Thus all the days of Mahalalel were eight hundred and ninety-five years; and he died.

When Jared had lived a hundred and sixty-two years he became the father of Enoch. Jared lived after the birth of Enoch eight hundred years, and had other sons and daughters. Thus all the days of Jared were nine hundred and sixty-two years; and he died. When Enoch had lived sixty-five years, he became the father of Methuselah. Enoch walked with God after the birth of Methuselah three hundred years, and had other sons and daughters. Thus all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.

Wow, long lives there! All except for Enoch, but we’ll get to that in a bit. What are we to make of all these long lives? Our modern scholars will say things like “Oh, this isn’t literal” or “They were being poetic.” Amazing, we moderns are suspicious of mystery. It makes us uncomfortable and so we try to justify what we read with what we feel we know and “de-mythologize” the Scriptures to tame them and make them less off-putting. But these long lives mentioned are a mystery meant not to make us get our slide rules out and conquer the mystery. No, we are invited by these incredible words to marvel, to stand in amazement, to wonder.

You see, dear one, my spiritual need and your spiritual need and all humanity’s spiritual need have one thing in common: pride. We humans are gripped with this illness and the only remedy isn’t humiliation, but wonder. To stand slack-jawed before a mystery so big, so vast, so eternal and come to the end of all our rational powers combined. We need this wonder if we are ever going to be willing to follow God. Oh, Enoch, I almost forgot. If you want to wonder some more, look at the last verse of our passage and wonder “What happened to Enoch?” He got to live only 365 years and then “he was not, for God took him.” All the others died, but the end(?) of Enoch’s life doesn’t seem to be an end at all. How mysterious!

Today, is there wonder in your life? Are there mysteries you regularly put yourself in front of, knowing it is the power of wonder that builds your faith? You have the perfect opportunity this weekend to confront mystery and wonder by standing in the Church and witnessing bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. Don’t be so foolish as to miss this!

P.S. Sunday’s Faith Encouraged LIVE is about Monasticism in America, and how to get ready for a visit to a monastery. By the way, every Orthodox Christian should make a visit to a monastery if they can. Participate Sunday night at 8 PM on AncientFaith.com