February 1, 2026 | Lorain Fellowship NKJV Genesis 5:18-32 The Way to Escape Death — Walking with God 18 Jared lived one hundred and sixty-two years, and begot Enoch. 19 After he begot Enoch, Jared lived eight hundred years, and had sons and daughters. 20 So all the days of Jared were nine hundred and sixty-two years; and he died. 21 Enoch lived sixty-five years, and begot Methuselah. 22 After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters. 23 So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. 24 And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him. 25 Methuselah lived one hundred and eighty-seven years, and begot Lamech. 26 After he begot Lamech, Methuselah lived seven hundred and eighty-two years, and had sons and daughters. 27 So all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred and sixty-nine years; and he died. 28 Lamech lived one hundred and eighty-two years, and had a son. 29 And he called his name Noah, saying, “This one will comfort us concerning our work and the toil of our hands, because of the ground which the Lord has cursed.” 30 After he begot Noah, Lamech lived five hundred and ninety-five years, and had sons and daughters. 31 So all the days of Lamech were seven hundred and seventy-seven years; and he died. 32 And Noah was five hundred years old, and Noah begot Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Two Manners of Life Learning and Walking with God Fast and Slow Learning The next person on the line of life is Enoch. He had the same name as Cain’s son. To understand the experience that he represents, we need to compare these two Enochs, one on the line of life and the other on the line of knowledge. We have seen that, in human history, the line of knowledge began with Cain. After Cain murdered his brother, he was sent away from the presence of the Lord. He begot a son named Enoch, which means “instructed” (Potts, p. 83). Soon after Enoch was born, Cain built a city and named it Enoch, after his son. On the line of life, there is also a man named Enoch: “Jared lived one hundred and sixty-two years, and became the father of Enoch” (Gen. 5:18). The son of Jared on the line of life has the same name as the son of Cain on the line of knowledge. Each of these lines has an Enoch, meaning “instructed,” because there is learning on both lines. The first Enoch, Cain’s son, represents the learning on the line of knowledge. He is an Enoch of doctrine. The second Enoch, Jared’s son, represents the learning on the line of life. He is an Enoch of experience. The Enoch on the line of knowledge came quickly. He was the first generation after Cain. But the Enoch on the line of life came five generations after Seth. There is a process of learning signified by Enoch on both lines. However, the learning on the line of life is much harder and slower to obtain. The Slow Process of Learning The genealogical record in Genesis 5 shows us that it takes a long time to learn on the line of life. Adam lived one hundred thirty years and then begot Seth. Seth lived one hundred five years before he begot Enosh. This description in the Bible continues with Enosh, Kenan, Mahalalel, and Jared. Each person lived many years before begetting a son who was recorded. But on the line of Cain, there are no years mentioned. Cain begot Enoch, and then built a city. Enoch begot Irad, Irad begot Mehujael, Mehujael begot Methushael, and Methushael begot Lamech. Then Lamech begot three sons. There is just one name after another without any years being counted. Both the line of knowledge and the line of life have an Enoch, but learning on the line of knowledge takes less time. Spiritual learning on the line of life is a slower and more difficult process. It requires paying a price. Learning for Responsibility The Lord Jesus said, “From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more” (Luke 12:48). What we have received from the Lord should result in our bearing responsibility before Him. An instructed person in the line of life is a responsible person. The stage of Enoch is the stage of paying a price to have the true learning with the realization that this learning is for bearing responsibility. Learning on the line of life is very demanding because it is a higher learning. It is easy to carry out spiritual activities, but to have the learning required to bear responsibility is not easy. It is the result of a process. First, the Lord must show us that we are nothing. Then, He must show us that we can gain His unfathomable riches. Then, we realize how marvelous He is and are filled with praise. After this, we descend and exhibit His humanity. Enoch represents the stage of learning on the line of life. This learning comes by paying a price. Only by paying a price can we bear responsibility on the line of life. Real learning causes us to bear responsibility. Are we bearing responsibility related to reading and studying the Bible? Do we properly bear responsibility in serving the church? Are we bearing responsibility related to gospel preaching? Are we responsible in our praying? Are we responsible in our shepherding? If our answer to one of these questions is “no,” then in that aspect of our Christian life we are not yet Enoch; we are not yet instructed. We have not paid the price to learn the spiritual things. All these aspects of our Christian life require paying a price. When our spiritual life is merely inspirational, we must still be in the earlier stages of the line of life. The earlier stages should cause us to grow until we are willing to pay the price to learn. To be Enoch is to be mature and responsible to God. When we are at the stage of Enoch, God’s desire becomes our living. Footnotes: Gen 5:211a Methuselah - Gen. 5:25-27 Meaning when he is dead, it will be sent. This name has a prophetic significance. By naming his son Methuselah, Enoch prophesied of the coming of the flood in the year that Methuselah died, which was Noah’s six hundredth year (7:6; 5:25-29a). Enoch had received the revelation from God that He would judge the entire ungodly generation of mankind (cf. Jude 14-15). This motivated Enoch not to follow the current of the age but to walk with God (vv. 22, 24) and thus live a godly and holy life (cf. 2 Pet. 3:10-12). Gen 5:221awalked - Gen. 5:24; 6:9; Micah 6:8; Mal. 2:6 To walk with God is to take Him as our center and everything, to do things not according to our own concept and desire but according to His revelation and leading, and to do everything with Him. This implies the denying of our self and everything that is of our self (Matt. 16:24-25) that we may be one with Him. Gen 5:241atook - cf. 2 Kings 2:11 Enoch was the first person to be raptured. By this he escaped death, the ultimate issue of man’s fall (Heb. 11:5). This first mentioning of the rapture establishes the principle of the rapture: our being raptured depends on our being mature in the divine life by our walking with God. Enoch walked with God day and night for three hundred years. According to Heb. 11:5-6, he did this by faith, believing that God is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. After three hundred years of seeking God and walking with Him, Enoch was taken by God, thus obtaining the reward of not seeing death. A Sketch of Genesis Lamech “And Methuselah lived one hundred and eighty-seven years, and became the father of Lamech” (Gen. 5:25). Lamech means “the wild man” (Easton). How could a faithful man who is waiting for the Lord’s coming be a wild man? God wants a wild Lamech—not the Lamach in the line of self but the Lamech in the line of life who is beside himself for God’s will. We need Lamechs in our church life today. Many are desirous, pursuing, and lovely, but meek. They are more like lambs than lions, never wanting to offend people. They cannot speak strong words for the sake of God. We need to be more like John the Baptist, who was not afraid of people or authority. He was strong and bold in order to be faithful to God’s commitment. Not caring who opposed him, he willingly sacrificed his life (Mark 6:17–18). He was beside himself for the Lord to the uttermost. We don’t have much time. Today is the day to be wild for the Lord! We shouldn’t wait until we are older, know more, and have become leaders in the church. We need to be beside ourselves today. We need to be crazy for Christ and the church! We shouldn’t be afraid to use the sword of the Spirit to pierce even to the dividing of soul and spirit (Heb. 4:12). May we all be beside ourselves for the Lord’s desire. May we be so crazy that we cannot eat or drink until His will is done. To accomplish His will, the Lord needs Lamechs who are willing to be crazy for Him. They are like the seven thousand in Israel who did not bow their knees unto Baal (1 Kings 19:18). Not only should we be like Enosh, Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared, Enoch, and Methuselah, but we should also have the expression of Lamech. We should not only have the good report but also the evil report from the religious people. If this is our case, we are blessed. May we all be so wild that we tell the Lord, “If You don’t work, I won’t let You rest.” We must become Lamech! We must be strong, not caring for anything but the Lord’s interest. The Lord will only have His way in the church when He gains a group of people like this! Noah “Lamech lived one hundred and eighty-two years, and became the father of a son. Now he called his name Noah, saying, ‘This one will give us rest from our work and from the toil of our hands’” (Gen. 5:28–29). Noah means “repose” (Hitchcock). The more we are like Lamech, the more we trust the Lord and are peaceful in spirit. Although we labor with sweat and tears, we have the assurance that it is not us but the Lord who does the work. The will of God can be fulfilled through those who have such restful assurance. When people see us, they should see those who labor and toil outwardly yet are restful inwardly. This is Noah.