Exceedingly Great Reward

"By faith, Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away.  For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.  And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him."

Hebrews 11:5-6

 

This faith hero is different from the others in the fact that he only has 4 verses, besides these in Hebrews, devoted to him.  Most of the other examples of faith have at least one, if not many chapters detailing their lives.  Why so little about Enoch?  Why include a man barely mentioned in Scripture in the hall of faith alongside major Bible characters?  This is the account of Enoch in Genesis 5:21-24.
"When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah.  And after he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters.  Altogether, Enoch lived 365 years.  Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away."

At first glance, this seemed pretty self explanatory to me.  Enoch never died because he walked with God.  It is a precursor to Jesus and the Gospel.  And that is true.  Everything in scripture points to Jesus.  He is the center of the Bible, the center of the whole universe.  But I prayed that God would reveal to me something else about Enoch.  Then, I read the next verse after Hebrews 11:5.  God is a pretty effective writer, so I have to think that He ordered the Bible specifically and put these two verses together for a reason.  Hebrews 11:6 could've easily fit in at the beginning of the chapter I think.  Up there with the definition of faith.  So why put it here?

It says that Enoch pleased God.  So, by definition of the next verse, Enoch must have believed that God exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.  The only problem is, we don't have any information past that.  No background on how God rewarded Enoch (other than the fact that he never died).  When I read that God rewards us, I often think of things that I want for my life on this earth.  And that's not wrong.  God wants to give us blessings while we're here on earth.  But I believe the reason we don't hear about that stuff in Enoch's life is because that's not the ultimate reward to be had.

Maybe, the reason the only information we have about Enoch was that he walked with God is because walking with God is the reward.

Not a better home or job.  Not a life without homework.  Not a life free from trials and tragedy.  Although these things would be nice, they are not the ultimate reward.  Relationship with God is.  Maybe that's what God was trying to show us through Enoch.  That the rest of the rewards in his life didn't compare with the fact that he walked with God and then got to spend eternity with Him.

The Lord said this to Abram in Genesis 15, just as Abram was entering the promised land.
"After these things, the Word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision saying, 'Do not be afraid, Abram.  I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward."
Abram followed God to a place he had never been, to a place where nothing was certain.  In the midst of Abram's confusion and fear, God speaks to him the most solid thing we can ever hear.  That no matter what happens, He is with us.  Life is so uncertain.  One day can completely change the course of your life as you know it.  We have no idea what kind of blessings God is going to give us in this world or what trials we're going to go through.  But we can be sure of one thing.  If we seek Him, we will get our exceedingly great reward. 
We get to walk side-by-side with the God of the Universe.

Faith To Believe God Loves You

"By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead."

Hebrews 11:4

The story of Cain and Abel is found in Genesis 4.  They were the sons of Adam and Eve, the first humans God created.  Cain worked the ground and Abel took care of the flocks.  Both boys brought God offerings, as well they should.  But in Genesis, and in Hebrews, it says that Abel's offering was better than Cain's.  Why?  Both of them brought offerings to the Lord, and God does not play favorites.  Why does He say that Abel's was better?  These are the words written in Genesis 4:3-5.

"In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering He did not look with favor."

It says Cain brought some of his fruits to the Lord, but Abel brought fat portions from the firstborn of his flock.  It doesn't say Cain brought bad fruit to God.  It doesn't say that he kept the best for himself, only giving God the leftovers.  So why, then, was Abel's better?  I think the answer is deeper that simply what each man brought the Lord.  I think the answer lies in the condition of their hearts.  

Think about buying presents for Christmas.  A man sets aside an equal amount of money for each person he is buying for.  He is buying a present for his wife, and then he is buying a present for his aunt that he hasn't seen in 10 years.  He goes to the store and begins shopping.  He picks out a matching set of earrings and necklace for his aunt that he's hoping she doesn't hate but he isn't really worried about it because he barely knows her and after Christmas, she will leave and he probably won't see her again for another 10 years.  Now, he goes to get the gift for his wife.  He has special ordered a necklace for her that has her favorite scripture on the back.  It took him a long time to find the right necklace that his wife pointed out to him in a magazine a few months ago.  He remembered how her eyes lit up talking about how amazing it would be to wear that with her favorite scripture on it everyday.  He purchases both gifts and heads home.

Both gifts cost the same.  Both were jewelry.  What was the difference?  

The love he put into them.

The gift for his aunt was last minute, and didn't take much thought.  He got it because he had to.  On the other hand, the gift for his wife was long thought out and lovingly planned.  He wanted to make sure she knew how much he cared.  

The same is true with Cain and Abel.  The wording of the verses reveals this.  It says Cain brought some of his fruits to the Lord.  The word "some" in that passage makes me think that it wasn't something he thought a lot about.  He just did it because he was supposed to.  Abel, however, brought God fat portions from the firstborn of his flock.  He took time to find the best for God.  The reason Abel's sacrifice was better than Cain's was because Abel's came from a place of love and relationship with his Creator.  Cain's came from a place of obligation to Someone he didn't know or love.  

Abel had faith to know and love God and to know that his sacrifices were more than rituals.  His offerings were his way of showing love to the God who loved him.  Cain must have lost faith that God loved him somewhere along the way.  

Gifts of love are only born out of being loved by the One you're giving them to. 

Unless you know that God loves you, there is no way your offerings to Him will be anything more than ritualistic "have to's", instead of the loving "want to's" that come from knowing God and having faith in His love for you.  He loves us!  Believe it, receive it, act extravagantly on it!

Lord, I pray you would help us to have faith to believe that You love us, no matter what is happening around us.  No matter what trials come into our lives, I pray that we would never lose faith in Your love.  Because to lose faith in Your love, means the death of our relationship with You and us slipping into religious complacency.  May that never be, Lord!  Continually reveal Your love to us in new ways.  Let us never lose sight of Your blessings in our life.  We love You!  But only because You first loved us!  

In Jesus' Mighty Name

Amen