Who was... the father of Methuselah?

As a child I looked forward each summer to a weeklong visit to Perryville, Kentucky.  There was certainly nothing spectacular about the week - it was simply a wonderful time to visit and learn from my very wise, encouraging grandparents.  My granddaddy was a carpenter by trade - he taught me that if I drank coffee, my elbows would turn black and a few other things, too!  My grandmother was a Godly woman filled with grace and wisdom.  She taught the same ladies' Sunday School class for 50 years... she gave me a love for God's word and an awareness of the tender understanding of the privilege we have in prayer.

So our evening ritual included a yummy home cooked dinner, then Granddaddy retired to the couch, Grandmother took the big brown chair by the lamp, and I jumped in the recliner ready and excited to watch Wheel of Fortune and... of course, Jeopardy!  My grandmother was a college graduate who had taught school for many years, so her answers were often right on.  She would always answer the correct way as the contestants did.... What is... __________  or Who is ___________.  You know the "answer" is really the "question".  

I've recently been studying with a group of ladies about prayer.  Our journey has taken us in several directions, and as I have prepared this week, I have again been struck by the faith of so many saints we are privileged to meet through the Bible.  Hebrews 11 once again reminded me of so many of those faithful saints, and how they followed God simply by faith.  

Bible trivia games everywhere use the question of who was the oldest recorded person in the Bible... do you know?  It is Methuselah... he was 969 years old.  (Genesis 5:27)  Even better trivia,  do you know who his father was?  Again Genesis chapter 5 offers the genealogy...  His name was Enoch.

21 When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. 22 After he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked faithfully with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. 23 Altogether, Enoch lived a total of 365 years. 24 Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.

Twice in four verses we are told that Enoch walked faithfully with God... and just in case you're interested, God just took him away - Hebrews says he did not experience death.... Now that's a trivia question!!

Don't you just wonder.... why Enoch?  What did he do?  What was his prayer life like?  How did he treat others?  What characterized his attitude... his thoughts... his words... his actions?  

We know that Hebrews 11:1 defines faith as "confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see."

So once again, we begin a new week... simply walking with God... by faith... assured only that we can fully trust the God with whom Enoch walked....