There are only two people in the Bible who are believed to have never experienced physical death. They were simply whisked away from the realm of mortal existence and taken into eternity. The account of the prophet Elijah’s life and ministry is recorded in 1 and 2 Kings. Then, when his ministry was completed, and entrusted to Elisha, Elijah was taken up into heaven in a whirlwind (2 Kings 2.11).
Then there is Enoch. He is listed in the genealogy that starts with Adam and ends with Noah. This is recorded in Genesis 5.21-24, only four verses. At the end of his earthly life we are simply informed “he was no more, because God took him away” (Genesis 5.24 NIV). This has led to much speculation about what this statement really means. But the common understanding is that, just like Elijah, Enoch did not experience a natural death.
Somehow, when Enoch’s name comes up in biblical trivia quizzes, it would seem that he is worth remembering merely because of the fact that he did not die and was miraculously taken away by God. Yet, there is something more important about Enoch than that. Because the account of his life is tucked in the middle of a genealogy, we could easily miss what was truly important about him.
The writer of the letter to the Hebrews points our attention in the right direction: “It was by faith that Enoch was taken up to heaven without dying—‘he disappeared, because God took him.’ For before he was taken up, he was known as a person who pleased God” (Hebrews 11.5 NLT). Did you get that? “He was known to be a person who pleased God.”
If we read closely the four verses in Genesis 5, we will discover that twice he is described with the words, “Enoch walked faithfully with God” (Genesis 5.22, 24 NIV), all his 365 years on this earth. Long before he was taken bodily into heaven, Enoch’s heart was already taken (figuratively) by the Lord. “The phrase suggests a special intimacy with God and a life of piety” (Gordon J. Wenham). And the fact that it is said twice of Enoch suggests that his devotion to the Lord was exceptional. The evidence of his dedication was unmistakable. He was known as one who pleased God.
Let the words of an old hymn be our prayer: “Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee … Take my will and make it Thine, it shall be no longer mine. Take my heart, it is Thine own, it shall be Thy royal throne.”
In Christ, I’m taken.
—Keith Y. Jainga