Can a man return when relationships have withered? Time has passed. Words of appreciation are no longer spoken. There is no service, no gifts. How can he touch the family when they are so far away?
Without reconciliation relationships will die!
Enoch should have known that the warmth of family ties had smoldered into ashes—like the fire he woke up next to last morning. For a person his age such a journey is easy enough but the grip of uncertainty weighs heavily with each step.
‘Who is that strange man coming toward us?’
A grandson warns. Mothers scurry away calling their young ones to shelter. Lovers sit up and withdraw into the shadows.
His voice is weak and raspy.
‘I am weary from this journey.’
Perhaps he is too late. Did he eat something that has upset his stomach? Should he even have come on this journey?
Enoch questions.
‘What can I do, O God? You have promised to be with me in everything.’
It is not easy but belief conquers.
A word from God comes into his mind.
‘The wrath of man does not fulfill the righteousness of God.’
He makes a desperate decision.
‘Humble yourself in the eyes of the Lord and he will lift you up.’
The battle is the Lords!
‘I am Enoch. Is there a place for me to shelter here?’
There is little honor for Enoch tonight. Other things throughout the evening leave little room for him. He becomes a watcher, half dazed with fever, on the edges.
Some big thing is about to happen. He has never seen such a frenzy of preparation, elaborate dress, final rehearsals. Carefully choreographed dance and drama, disciplined levels of perfection and human endeavor.
The food. The drink. The fragrances make Enoch sicker.
The arrogance. They present themselves as Gods. His righteous spirit grieves to see the passion, the dedication of purpose. All in the name of God.
Alertness eludes Enoch. They provide a comfortable bower for rest. His needs are met. Just barely.
Has God deserted him?
A mind cries out.
God answers with a peaceful rest.
‘I have led you this far, do not doubt. You have a mission to let all people know that judgment is coming. The world is spiraling downward. There is no turning back.’
God has decided to destroy every living thing that lives on the face of the earth. However, those who obey God will escape.
Will he find faith on the earth?
Nokh wrestles with the call and then falls into a deep exhaustion of rest. Peace flows. He walks through the green pastures of the soul, refreshed by still waters.
At this point in his life Nokh understands that he is a complete person—with no division. He is like a tower standing alone, weathering the storm, and not crumbling.
Just as God is one—Enoch is one. Flesh. Blood. Bones. Desire. Knowledge. Touch. Taste. Smell. Sight. Sounds.
He wakens. Two days later. His fevers abate. Evening stars shine brightly. As clear as he has ever seen them. The failing moon slips away toward the lands of the setting sun.
Patience replaces anger. Forgiveness sooths. God will have his way.
Family surround him with previously withheld comforts. The attention startles him.
Was it all a bad dream? They tell him he missed the best festival worship of the year.
What Enoch does not know is the newest teaching of the leaders of this false worship of the festival.
The keepers of the great silver-moon celebration have made an issue of tolerance. They say,
‘We must accept one another. There is no right or wrong. Let each person do what is right in his own eyes. Tolerance is godliness.’
Now Enoch understands. Their attentions tonight are not about him. They still reject his belief. They turn away from his God—to a God of their own making.
Enoch’s God is a God of judgment.
Their God is love.
Enoch is one messenger among many. He is accepted for his dedication to what he believes.
His message is rejected.