This verse on Enoch begins just like all the others; he was a certain number of years old and then begat his son. However, a note in the next verse shows his life was indeed very different. All of us, indeed, have the same opportunity to really go above and beyond, and make a difference for the Lord; even if it seems small by some standards, because of our limitations it may be huge. Enoch, just like all the others, lived a certain number of years. Any of us, like all other believers, have been saved. Now, what will we do with it? Enoch walked with God, and prophesied.
We don’t know if there were any prophets before Enoch, or how much Enoch prophesied. We read a prophecy of his in Jude 14-15, that the Lord will return with His saints to execute judgment on this sinful world. (The number says ten thousand, but that was a number used in Greek to indicate a number so large it couldn’t be counted.)
Let us digress for a moment here. There is a Book of Enoch, but it is not on the level of Scripture. However, Jude, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, says that he prophesied. This prophecy wasn’t necessary to be revealed until then, in God’s eyes, though it may have been a tradition beforehand. Indeed, the apocryphal Book of Enoch could have borrowed the quote from Jude. Whatever else – if anything – Enoch foretold will only be known when we get to Heaven.
If Moses makes no mention of Enoch being a prophet, then how can we be sure? First, God doesn’t reveal everything right away. He tells us when it’s important for us to know. God chose, at this time, to let us know that Enoch had made at least one prophecy. One might also note that Lamech also prophesies about Noah, and that Enoch’s son, Methusaleh, bears a name which means “When he dies comes the emission,” or the Flood, according to John Gill’s and other commentaries. More importantly, however, the nature of the man’s life – one of a handful to be said to “walk with God” – shows he had a special relationship, different from those who merely lived and served. It’s quite likely that he was a prophet, and that some record even before that existed.
