← Don't Miss This Study
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Hi there. Welcome to Don't Miss this, a scripture study podcast with Dave Butler and Grace Freeman.
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Each week we point out things in the scriptures that we love and think you don't want to miss.
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Thanks for listening.
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These are the reasons that I know I'm not good enough.
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Here's where I'm lacking.
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I just don't feel like God's talking back to me. I feel like God's being silent.
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I need someone to make things come alive. They feel really dead. I need someone who knows everything. I need someone who has all power. I need someone, someone who's a comforter.
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We're so close minded. We just like see what's right in front of us and we don't have the bigger picture.
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What does it look like to live a life walking together with God?
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I need you to start seeing things differently. I need your eyes to change.
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Begin to see again. Begin to hear God's voice again. Begin to feel what God wants you to feel again.
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In my imperfections, in all the things I'm insecure about, not only can I overcome them and live a better life, but it is going to become a life that's better than anything I could dream up. And all I have to do is accept the invitation to walk with them.
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Hi, I'm Dave Butler.
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And I'm Grace Freeman.
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Welcome to don't miss this, our weekly scripture study class. You guys, we're in such an awesome chapter today. It just has so many good things. And I think the coolest part about it is what we have in the Pearl of great price in addition to what we have in Genesis. In fact, we are going to start in. We have no timepiece today on our timeline. But don't forget we have a timeline, a free timeline you can download and print out. And we're adding kind of stories along. That's how the timeline is set up. These are the stories of the Old Testament to put them in order. And as you fill out more of that timeline, it gets more and more I think cool to see. Oh, this is where the story is, has been going. This is where it started. This is where it's going. This is where everything fits in order. So we don't have a piece, a timeline piece for today. I think we have two next week if I remember right. But that could be a lie, everybody.
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I don't get your hopes.
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I could be fibbing you. But there's two coming up soon. So go to don'tmistastudy.com and sign up for the newsletter to download that and and get that. But today you're just going to need your journal. So get out your journal. And here in the Genesis 5 Moses 6 chapter, is this blank. There's a page in here that's left in the digging deeper page of particular notes. This is what it says. It says, read Genesis 5, 22, 24, and Moses 6, 21 through Moses 7, 69. So you're going to use this in this lesson, and you can come back and use it in next week's lesson too. And notice the number, the difference in the number of verses in the information that you receive in each, particularly about Enoch and then what is restored in the pearl of great price that is not found in this Genesis account. So we'll be in Genesis 5, but Genesis 5 doesn't have a whole lot of information in it. But we have Moses 6 and Moses 7 that are the Joseph Smith translation of Genesis 5. And in those, we get so much more information about Enoch, about the plan of salvation, about Jesus as Savior, called by name and pointed out as the Savior that we don't get in the Genesis 5 account. So as you have both of those books opened up, Genesis 5 and Moses 6, that's one big thing that we want you to notice is what is in Moses 6, and then the next time Moses 7 that we get in addition to what is in Genesis chapter five. So there's some really cool things. Now. It starts off with a genealogy, which is going to bore some of you immediately.
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Half the people here said, but I think there's something.
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There's a couple things we want to say about this genealogy. One, you have a genealogy in Genesis chapter four, which is the line of Cain. And then you get one in Genesis chapter five, which is the line of Seth. And if you start following those genealogy lines, one of them leads to the flood, eventually Cain's, and then one of them leads to the ark. And that is Seth's line. So those are being set up to teach a lesson that's coming in the future to say, this is where this, if you center your life on this, this, and this, that you're going to find in Genesis 4, this is where it might lead. And if you center your life on what you find in the line of Seth, this is where this is eventually going to lead. So it's kind of more than a genealogy pointing out two different ways of living. And one of those paths leads to life, and one of those paths leads to death. That actually happens. People really did die in the flood, and people really did die. I mean, really did live on the ark. But it's also a metaphorical way of teaching that this kind of pattern of life leads to death, and this pattern leads to really living. And you're going to see some of that taught in Moses 6. So I think that's a really cool way to understand the genealogies and why they might be put inside Scripture. But there's other parts of that that we want to point out, too. I have three things I want to say about the genealogies. I've already done one.
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Everyone can't believe. Everyone can't believe that you're getting things out of the genealogy. This is the first time in the history of the world that this has happened. So everyone pay attention. It's good.
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The second thing is Genesis 5. You start here in the beginning, and you're introduced to somebody whose name is Seth. We actually met him at the end of Genesis 4, but we didn't say anything about him. And if you look in your study journal, we actually defined Seth for you. It's a Hebrew name that means a pointed or substitute. And that substitute is not meant to be in place of kind of wording, but an addition. And if you remember what happened is Abel dies in Genesis chapter four. And normally we focus on just that rivalry between the brothers. And we don't think much about Adam and Eve and how that impacted them as parents, that they lost one of their children and they lost that child in. In a. In horrific and a terrible way. And imagine the heartbreak and the loss that they would have felt. And then Genesis 5 starts, end of Genesis 4 and Genesis 5, this boy named Seth in verse 3, a son in his own likeness after his image and called his name Seth. You'll recognize those phrases. Those are phrases that come from the Garden of Eden, right when Adam and Eve were created in the likeness and in the image of their heavenly parents. So it's taking you back to the language of creation and taking you back to the language of grace and life. And Seth is being presented in these genealogies at the beginning of this genealogy as a reminder that good things continue after tragedy, that life continues, that God is not done creating and God is not done doing good. And Abel is grieved and Abel is named, and the sadness is talked about with that. But that's not the end of their story. Life continues. It's just a reminder that God is going to keep giving life and keep giving goodness in addition to restoring all that was lost. It's just a hint that he's a restorer and A continual God of grace. And so Seth is to give us the line of Seth and to show, look how that continues on, is a way of saying, oh, our mistakes, other people's mistakes don't end life and they don't end goodness. God will find a way to continue to allow, I mean, continue to bless and give more and more goodness and, and life. So that's another thing that Bible scholars talk about with the genealogy of, of Seth. And the last thing I want to point out, and this is going to get us into our other chapter, is as you go through this genealogy and five, you're going to notice that it follows a pattern that the days of Seth, this is verse 8, were 912 years and he died. And then Enos lived 90 years and begat Canaan. And he begat Canaan 815 years. And then verse 11 and he died. And Canaan lived 70 years and begat Mahalaleel and then he died. Right? And it just goes through.
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And that was so brave that you said that name, because I skip it. I can't. I can't read out.
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Is anyone impressed?
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I am.
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And so let it be known, he just keeps going. And you find this pattern that they lived this many days and then had a child this many more days and died. Then they lived this many days, had a child, they lived this many more days, and then they died. And you go through. And then you get down to Enoch, which starts in verse 21. And Enoch lived 65 years and begat Methuselah. And he walked with God after he begat Methuselah 300 years and begat sons and daughters. And all the days of Enoch were 365 years. And Enoch walked with God and he was not, for God took him. And as you read, you're get into this pattern and wrote and rut. If you, if you're reading it from the beginning of the verse, like he lived this many years be got a child, then he died this many years a child, and then he died. And Enoch interrupts that and it stops that. And it puts a spotlight onto Enoch because it said, hold on, wait a second. Somehow that guy didn't die. There's something we want to know about Enoch that he overcomes death, right? Both actually in actuality, overcomes physical death. We believe that he was taken up by the Lord, but metaphorically, he overcomes death. He overcame a problem. Death represents the problem of the fall. And somehow this man named Enoch overcame it. Because his story doesn't end in death. So it leaves People really interested in the life of Enoch because they say, wait a second, why is he different? Why does he not die? Why does he overcome death? And that seems to be the teachings of Moses, chapter six. The teachings of Moses, chapter six, focus in on Enoch and show us how does he overcome this problem of death, the problem of the fall. And that's what that chapter answers. And that's one of the reasons we're so happy that we have it, because we have how many verses about enoch in here? Four. We have four verses about Enoch in Genesis chapter four. And I mean Genesis chapter five, we have 116 verses about Enoch and his life in Genesis. Oh my goodness. In Moses 6 and 7, I'm confusing myself. Did everyone follow that? Okay, the Genesis 5 has four verses about Enoch, Moses 6, the pearl of great price in 7 has 116 verses about him. And I'm so happy we do. Like, maybe we would have liked 116 verses about everybody else. But I'm particularly interested in having 116 verses about this person who overcame the problem. Because all of us have something that's affected by the fall in our lives and we want to overcome it. And, and all we got in Genesis was and he walked with God and overcame it. Which is the simple answer. Right? That's, in the end going to be the simple, the way to simplify everything that we're going to learn today and next week into one sentence. But let's actually look and find out what that looks like.
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Well, I think that's one of my favorite things about the genealogy, is to be honest. Usually you can probably tell by what I've said so far on this podcast, but usually when I see genealogies, I just. My brain skips them. I'm just gonna be so honest, I start seeing the pattern. I skip until the pattern's over, because to me, it's just like words and it's just names that I can't pronounce and I don't wanna say out loud. So it's just a skip for me. And in one of the study Bibles that I was reading, it talked about how maybe those mean a little bit more to us than we realize, because maybe the genealogies are teaching us something about God in, like, the fact that God names his children. And all along God's story has been people. He doesn't forget anyone. He notes them by name. Even if it's just one sentence, even if it's just one glimpse. God knows his people. He knows them by name. And all of those are a story. All of those names have a story. And what I love so much about Enoch is that it's evidence of that, that what was one little tin of a chapter in Genesis is now a whole entire person's story. And how beautiful that we have a God that will list the names but knows their story. And that's a glimpse of that to me.
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Yeah. Because. And it makes me think about people that we see and people that we pass by. And maybe you only spend four verses with somebody in line at the grocery store, or four verses with somebody at work or whatever it may be. But you should know that person has 116 verses that God knows about, and a rescue story that God knows about, and a restoration story that God knows about. There's so much more to people's stories than just what we initially get.
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B
And we get to see that. We get to see evidence of that with Enoch, because if you go to Moses 6, you get a zoom in. And his real story, it starts. I'm going to start in verse 27. So Moses 6, 27, what's happened is you get Enoch and he's just kind of living his daily life. It starts in verse 25. And Enoch lived 65 years and he begat his son, which I won't say his, because, you know, I already told you I'm insecure about that. And all of a sudden, the Spirit of God descends from heaven and abode with Enoch. And all of a sudden in verse number 27, he hears a voice and it says, enoch, my son, prophesy unto this people and say unto them, repent. Because these people are going through something difficult. They're falling away. The glimpse of, like, what they're experiencing and why God wants them to repent feels so familiar to me in a really sad way. But when you read it, you like. It just like feels like the news that we read today in the world that we see today. For their hearts have waxed hard and their ears are dull of hearing and their eyes cannot see afar off. And it makes me want to pause and be like, oh, it does feel like that's the same goal Satan has today is to make hearts hard, to close off ears, to make them unable to hear the Spirit. I like that I feel like is something that, like, my soul is so drawn to lately because of how many people I feel like I talk to that are like, I just don't feel like God's talking back to me. I feel like God's being silent. And it feels like a similar world that they were living in and their eyes cannot see afar off. We are so close minded, we just like see what's right in front of us and we don't have the bigger picture. It feels so similar to me that I think instantly my soul starts connecting with the soul of Enoch because God's like, someone needs to step in, someone needs to do something. Someone needs to look at these people and say, there's a better way of living. Go.
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Yeah, no, I was gonna say that. When you think about those three things, I was thinking about two different things as you were talking. One is these people when it says that they are dull of hearing. To me that sounds like somebody who hears so much stuff that I'm not affected by it anymore. And I've seen so many things that I just don't see any. I see, but I don't see. I hear but I don't hear. And that describes like doom scrolling on a phone and just through just massive amounts of information that we have that you're just like, oh, someone has stopped seeing, stopped hearing and stopped feeling. And it seems to me that that's the call back. Begin to see again. Begin to hear God's voice again. Begin to feel. What God wants you to feel again is sort of what it feels like. It's calling people back to. I found this line from a poet, her name is Mary Oliver. And she said this here are instructions for living a life. Pay attention, be astonished, tell about it. And that would be the opposite of verse, whatever. We were just in verse 27.
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It is so cool. That poem is so incredible for the story of Enoch. Honestly, I would write it in my scriptures. I would write those lines in my scriptures because you're gonna see that pattern for Enoch. That's what happens. He lives in a with too much information. People's ears are dulled, people's eyes are closed off. He's living in that same world. He's one of. He's not like one of them in the sense that he has a hard heart, but he's surrounded by that. He's living in the same world as them. And all of a sudden the Lord looks at him and he says, I need you to be different. I need you to stand up, I need you to be different. And I need you to tell them about a better way of living. And almost right now you're like, yeah, like go get him, Enoch. Like you can do it. Like you want to like support him because you know we need that. And what happens is Enoch's response is so human. Enoch's response is so real. He goes through in verse 31. And when Enoch heard these words, he bowed himself to the earth before the Lord and spake before the Lord, saying, why is it that I have found favor in your sight? I am just a lad and all the people hate me, and I am slow of speech. Wherefore am I thy servant? Why on earth would you choose me, God, there are so many better people. People don't like me. People don't wanna listen to me. I'm not even good at talking. There are many better people than me. And maybe Enoch's story feels so familiar to me because I so often have the same response that God looks at me and he's like, I need you to do this. And my first instinct is to go to that list that I have of all the reasons why I'm not good enough. And I don't even know when we, like, start making those lists or like, when I did, probably junior high. Nothing good ever happens in junior high, so it's probably the beginning of it. They're like, we have these go tos that we say, these are the reasons that I know I'm not good enough. These are the reasons I know there's someone better out there. And how real of Enoch. The immediate reaction we expect Enoch to have when God calls him is like, yes, God, here am I. Send me. I've got it. And instead, he shows up, as human as he could be and says, I think that there's someone better. I don't feel good enough for that. But the thing that I think is so interesting is he says at the very end, his question back to the Lord is, wherefore am I your servant? Do you really want me as a servant? Because God, usually if a servant's not good enough, they just get fired. And someone chooses someone better. If you're just looking for a servant, I'm not gonna make the job. I'm gonna get fired. I'm gonna mess this up. I'm gonna not be good enough for you. You should fire me and choose a better servant. But God was not calling him as his servant. God was calling him in verse 27 as his kid. And you don't give up on a kid when they fall short. You don't give up on a kid when they're insecure. You don't give up on a kid when they don't feel good enough. You help them see things differently. And that is how the Lord shows up to an insecure boy named Enoch. He says, wait, Wait, wait. I was not calling you as my servant. I see you as my son. And then something so beautiful happens is all of a sudden he explains to Enoch his calling. And we're gonna get to that in a second. But this part is the part that I'm so obsessed with. He gives him a glimpse in 32, 33, and 34. And we're gonna go there. But, like, right immediately after that is something that is so drawn to me lately. Because the Lord speaks unto Enoch and he changes the way he sees. He says, this is what I need you to do. I need you to put clay all over your eyes and wash them so you can see. I need you to start seeing things differently. I need your eyes to change. And he gives him a physical thing to do to change it. And when I was reading this, I was like, oh, that makes so much sense, because Enoch needs to see himself differently. Enoch sees himself insecure. He sees himself as not good enough. God wants to change the way Enoch sees. And so I was expecting the next verse to go through and say, and then Enoch saw what he could do. But that's not what happens in the Scripture. And I think the lesson is so much bigger than that, because what happens is Enoch does it. He says, okay, I'm going to put clay over my eyes. I'm going to wash them. I'm going to see differently. And then look at what he sees in verse 36. And he beheld the spirits that God created. Enoch saw God's kids. When Enoch was the most insecure, God looked at him and said, I need you to stop seeing yourself. I need you to open your eyes, and I need you to see my other kids. And I think that this might be one of the most fascinating and important lessons on insecurity and self confidence that I've ever found in Scripture. Because what God's advice is, and there are other places in Scripture, and I think it should be known that God is discussing with one of his kids. You see it in Moses, like, at the very beginning. I think, honestly, it might be Moses 1. I don't know. I don't remember exactly. But God's kid feels insecure. And God wants to tell them, like, you're my kid. And then God is gonna help them see how much potential they have. He showed Moses, you're gonna be stronger than water. And Moses did get a glimpse into who he was. But this time for Enoch, it was different. He said, in your insecurity and you not feeling good enough, I need you to stop seeing yourself. So Much. And I need you to look around and see my kids. And what I really fully believe is true is the second you stop thinking about yourself and you start seeing all the people around you, you are built in to this new sense of self confidence that you didn't even know was possible. The list of your insecurities disapp, not because you necessarily overcame them, but because they started becoming irrelevant when you realized that you can still make a difference in other people's lives, that God really can work through you. And there are people who need you, who need God, who you can help. And that to me is the story of Enoch, is that God saw someone in their imperfections and said, I am not so worried about your imperfections as I am worried about the other kids that you can bless. So stop looking at yourself. Stop being so worried about yourself and look around. It just like makes me want to like, grab myself when I was like 12 and so insecure and 16 and so insecure and last week when I was so insecure and be like, wait. When you walk into a room and you are so worried about what everyone thinks about, you take those. Take those thoughts away and start thinking to yourself, how can I help the people in this room and watch your insecurities disappear?
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A
That's so awesome. That's so good. That was verse, that line right there. I want me to make sure everybody got that. That the beginning of 36, and he beheld the spirits that God had had created. I think we're coming back to that initial line that we learned from Enoch. If you go to the end of verse 39, it says, it came to pass that when they heard him, no man laid hands on him, and for fear came on them all that heard him, for he walked with God. That's a phrase that I think you might want to mark in all of these pages. We keep coming up to that phrase that says that he walked with God. And. And whenever we hear Enoch, if you've been around church for a while, or you hear the name of Noah, or you hear Esther, or you hear Moses, you think to yourself, they have a hero story. They're such amazing, awesome people. And I love that we have in all of their stories, their reverse resume or whatever you want to call it, they're just like, let me tell you all, usually when we write a resume, we make ourselves sound better than we actually are so that we can get the job. And this is the opposite one. He is telling you every reason that he's unqualified to do the work of of God. And everybody kind of does that. We'll watch that through the whole Old Testament. But then they still do amazing things. In fact, if you look right here, he says to him in verse 34, my spirit is upon you. All thy words will I justify. The mountains will flee before you, the rivers will turn from their course, and you shall abide in me and I in you. Therefore, walk with me. Amazing things are going to happen, Enoch, because we're going to do them together. And that seems to be the invitation of Moses, chapter six. He has his. All of his eyes and all of his focus set on why he's not good enough and God's inviting him to see him. And the work that he's calling him to get your eyes off of you, get it on to other people and get your eyes on to me. Because when we walk together, we are going to do amazing things together. And, and, and maybe that's great, maybe that we find out in the Book of Mormon that's one of the reasons that God gives us maybe our weaknesses and our weakness, because then we'll rely on him. And when we start to rely on him, then, I mean, what if Enoch was. Did have a great resume? Maybe he would have tried to do it by himself. Maybe he would have tried to, you know, instead, he's going to try and do it with God. He's going to. That insecurity is actually going to be what invites God into his story. And then amazing miracles are going to happen in 34. So that's a phrase that it just, it seems to be like central and key to this is walk with me. That's God's invitation to Enoch, I want you to do this life with me. One of the things I loved teaching my kids when they were baptized was when you get baptized, that is your way of signifying to Jesus that you want to do life together with him. That's what that moment means, where you just like, I don't want to walk through this life by myself. I want to walk it through with him. And that phrase, walk with me is. Is a kind of a covenant relationship phrase. It's a way of saying, I'm going to do everything I do in my life together with God. Can I just give a couple verses that I think are show what it looks like to live a life walking with Him. We're gonna go back in the chapter a little bit.
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B
And let me say this, while you're saying this, while you're finding it really quick, is if you interact with youth, if you teach with youth, if youth are in your, like, family and that's how you're studying, that is the youth theme for this year. And I think, like, this is some. This story is one that should not be missed if you are teaching and talking to teenagers. I think it's one of the coolest things because that is, like, the life they are living is the world wants them to be insecure so bad. Satan wants to breathe, like, insecurities into their life. Like, that is his goal at that age. And I love that that you theme Walk with Me is like, like, started and seen so beautifully and so, like, in a way that is so exciting. In Enoch's story that starts with someone insecure, like, I just think that you can build this so well to make it so relatable for a teenager and say, okay, if this is your youth theme, let it be the theme of your year. Get them excited about it right now so they actually want to live it throughout the year. Because it's like, it's honestly such a good story. It's so relatable for teenagers. And I think it's so important that for them to. To realize, like, wait, in my imperfections, in all the things I'm insecure about, not only can I overcome them and live a better life, but it is going to become a life that's better than anything I could dream up. And all I have to do is accept the invitation to walk with him.
- [26:45]
A
Yeah. And I think there's some people who think to themselves, like Enoch was doing, these are the reasons that I am unqualified. And God's turning and saying, no, these are the very reasons that you need me. These don't disqualify us from each other. These are why you need need me. So walk with me means, like, I'm going to do my life together with God. That's actually our word of the week. Let's just say that right now that you'll put out on your posters. So this might be the lesson that you want to teach your kids after church. And it comes from Moses 6. 34 to, you know, and thou shall abide in me, and I, and you. Therefore walk with me. The Hebrew, that word is on this poster, too. I like some of these words here. It says, to walk along, continually be conversant is what that Hebrew word could mean. Be at ease, follow, go forward. It reminds you of Matthew 6. Is it Matthew 6 where take my yoke upon you. Or is it 11? Okay, anyway, yeah, take my yoke upon you. That's that same Kind of invitation right where he just says, let's do this life together. I actually love that the word is walking. That Jesus doesn't say. The Lord doesn't say to him, run with me. He says, walk with me. I'm going to go your pace, Everybody can walk. If I said Tomorrow, let's do 75 hard, let's all run a marathon, let's all start training, let's do CrossFit, people are like, no, I can't. You have to give me like a year to earn up. I remember when Jenny invited me to the CrossFit gym and I said, no, I have to practice for a month before I go because everybody's going to be so advanced and they're going to be so much better than me. And I love that the invitation is walk with me. Because anybody can walk. Everybody can start at a three mile an hour pace and walk with the Lord and he's going to walk at our speed. I'm sure God can run, I'm sure God can fly. But he says the invitation is to walk with me, which is him saying, I'm going to meet you at your place and I'm going to walk at your speed where you are and we're going to do your life together and watch the amazing things that will happen. So this is a great chapter to I think, study and talk about and think about what does it look like to live a life walking together with God. And I think you're gonna find a lot of that throughout. You know this chapter. Let's start at the beginning of chapter six with that lens in my verse one. And Adam hearkened unto the voice of God that I would mark that. That's something. That's what it looks like to walk with God. It means to listen to him. It means to glorify the name of God. Verse 2. It means to like be grateful, to recognize his, his goodness and his power and his majesty. I love verse 3. God revealed Himself unto Seth. I like that this chapter is showing one on one personal experiences together with the Lord. You see it with Seth, you see it with Adam, you see it with Enoch here. And I think part of walking with God is that we're conversing. What was that in the Hebrew? To be conversant, to be at ease, to take him your problems like Enoch does. That's one of the ways it looks like to walk with God. He says, hey, here are the things I'm afraid of. I actually think that's so brave. Instead of pretending, he just said to The Lord, here's where I'm lacking. And the Lord says, great, I want you to bring your problems, bring me your insecurities, and watch what I can do with them. So you're just going to find all throughout Moses, chapter six, so many different things of what it looks like. Verse four, it looks like calling upon the name of the Lord. It looks like sacrifice you're going to find in. In these verses. And there's so much in here of what it looks like to walk together with the Lord.
- [30:47]
B
And I think it could be really powerful to just pause if you're doing the poster for your study. I think two really cool questions you could ask so simply are, who are you walking with? And why would you want to walk with him? Like, who is inviting you on a walk? And why is that going to be intriguing? Is it the fact that he's kind? Is it the fact that he's forgiving? Is it the fact that he's slow? Is it the fact that he's gonna take you somewhere you've never been before? What about him makes you wanna go on that journey? And also then going into the fact of, like, okay, now let's dive into what does the walk really look like. Obviously it's not like putting on your ankle weights and like, going to the track by your house. Like, it's like, it's a different kind of walk. So what does that really look like? How do you do it? Which you find in Moses 6, which is so.
- [31:27]
A
So a phrase that you might be familiar with that we heard a lot from President Nelson was the covenant path. That's a phrase that he liked to use a lot in our house when we talk about the covenant path, we've actually renamed it the Jesus path. So because it was kind of, like, hard to understand, the kids were like, I don't understand really what that means when we keep talking about, like, walk the covenant path. And I just renamed it because there is that path in Israel where that Jesus would walk on. They call the. The Jesus path or the Jesus trail is. Is what they called it. And so I've used that sort of as the analogy to say, oh, every time he says covenant path, he means Jesus path. It means to walk side by side with Jesus, wherever it is that you're going. A covenant, remember, is a connection, right? It's a relationship. And so what he says is, covenant path means I'm going to do school with Jesus by my side, I'm going to do marriage with Jesus by my side. I'm going to do work with Jesus by my side. That's what it means. And the rest of this chapter kind of outlines what, like the plan of salvation, which essentially is, is this. There is a problem that we all have, and then there is a plan for that problem. And the plan is Jesus. So whatever it is, it's going to lay it out in like a big. You know, the big terms, like the kind of, like the big problem we all have with the fall. And then now there's a plan that's going to solve that problem and it's gonna repeat it several times and teach us a lot about those two things. You might even wanna take a piece of paper and like, kind of write out the problem on one side and then on the other side, the plan. Because this is what God has planned for that problem that all of us are going to face. Because look how it lays it out as Enoch. And Enoch is teaching this to the people, right? This is what he's called. And I. I love this because if you look in 48, he said unto them, because Adam fell, we are. And by his fall came death. I'm in verse 48. Did I say that?
- [33:27]
B
Yeah, I just forgot.
- [33:28]
A
Did you say yeah, yeah. And I was like, oh. And it says, and we are made partakers of misery and woe. He's talking. The word is we there. All of us have this problem. Adam fell. And because of the fall of Adam, all of us are going to die. And we're all going to be partakers of misery and woe in this life. Like, mortality is going to bring all of those things. In addition, 49, Satan hath come among the children of men, and he tempts them. And men have become carnal, sensual and devilish. We have a part of us that, like, likes to do. Do things selfishly and likes to be gluttonous and likes to be lustful. And we're all shut out from the presence of God. We're all experiencing this problem together. He says, all of us are. We are all in it. And then verse 50 starts with these two words, But God. So, yes, there is this problem and all of us are experiencing it. But don't get overwhelmed, because God. But God has a plan. And. And his plan is in verse 50, to repent. And that word, repent, you'll find the definition of it in verse 52, which means to turn unto me and listen to my voice. Remember, these are the phrases that we're learning. Oh, to walk with me. Let's do this together by yourself. 48 and 49 are very problematic. But God is there to walk it with you. So turn to him. The word repent means walk life with me, come turn towards me and let's do this together. And then 52 starts to outline things that are sound really familiar. Like that. You're just like, oh yeah, those are principles and ordinances of the gospel. Gospel, which all they are are. Each of them are invitations to walk with him in different ways, right? Turn to him, listen to him. Look at 52. Believe. Repent of your transgressions. Be baptized even in water, in the name of mine only begotten son, who is full of grace and truth, which is Jesus Christ. That's what I was trying to say earlier. I was teaching my kids, like, when you're baptized, you're baptized in his name. You're accepting his fullness of grace and fullness of truth into your life. That's what the invitation is. It's the only name under heaven whereby salvation can come unto the children of men. It's reiterated. Enoch's like, I know, but I can't do this on my own. And. And he's saying here, I know, I know there's only one name that you're going to be able to do this through. And he's invited you to walk together with him.
- [36:15]
B
I think there's sometimes that we get so in our heads about repentance and maybe it's just like, maybe it's just me. And like, I get so, like, nervous or like worried about it. And like, sometimes it seems so intense or scary, like it just like, is in me. I don't know why. And like, I know and like, I hear the prophets and the apostles talk about, like, no, no, no. Like, repentance is a gift. But to be honest, I think one of the best ways, one of the best parts in scripture that's ever change the way I see repentance is these few verses. And it is. I. Like, I don't have a dog. My dad's allergic, so I've never had a dog before. But I love that it's talking about repentance as it's talking about a walk with God. Because when I think about going on a walk, for some reason, even though I don't have a dog, I always think about walking a dog. And so sorry if this is untrue about walking a dog, but in my head it's true. And I think so much about, like, if you're walking with a dog and they get too far, far away, your first Instinct is to call them to come back. And it's not because you're angry at them for wandering too far. It's not that, like, you're so, like, so upset with them and, like, you want to, like, scream at them to come back. It's like, oh, wait, wait. You're gonna get too far ahead that I can no longer help you. You're gonna get yourself into danger that I won't be close enough to, like, fix and, like, solve the problem with you. You're gonna get yourself into situation that I am going to be too far away to resolve with you. And when you yell at a dog to come back, you're, like, yelling at them to get back there, but it's not angry. And when they turn around, you're happy and you're thankful. And the only reason you want them to come back is because you know that they will be in a better place if they're next to you. And I love that it says, I need you to turn unto me and listen to my voice. Because it just reminds me that, like, oh, we're on to walk with him. He's not, like, wanting us to, like, be drawn onto his voice because he's going to yell at us. He wants us to come back to his voice because he knows where we're going on the walk. He knows what's ahead of us. He knows the dangers that we might face without him. And that's why I want to turn back to him, is because my life is better with him. The walk is better with him.
- [38:15]
A
Yeah. Yeah. And that's every invitation, and you keep seeing it. It's almost like this same concept is taught several times in. In this chapter. So one you might relate to more than the other ones, because then in the next column of scripture over, he's going to talk about Adam's conversation with the Lord. And you remember back in Moses, chapter five, when Adam and Eve had been cast out of the garden of Eden, and essentially they were asking, how do we get back? How do we overcome this problem? And the angel came and said, offer a sacrifice. And then they were like, what is this? And he's like, this is the answer to your question. How do we get back? It's going to be through the sacrifice of the only begotten of the Son. And. And this conversation happens in 55, 56, 57, where again, you. You just. You see, in 55, yes, your sin conceives in people's hearts and they taste the bitter. Like, there is going to be bitterness in life. But verse 57, teach this to everyone, repent, and they can inherit the kingdom of God. They can, can. They can. They don't have to experience death of the fall and the chaos of the fall. They can experience life and restoration and, and redemption. I love that. 57, in addition to 52, specifically mention the only begotten Son is Jesus Christ, who will come in the meridian of time. Sometimes we have to see Jesus in types and shadows in the Old Testament. And I love that the pearl of great price reminds us and shows us that they knew the name of Jesus Christ and they knew that a savior was coming and it was taught clearly and directly to them. And I think that's really important. He teaches this, kind of gives an analogy in 59 again for this same concept, but in this way it's the analogy of birth. And he says this by reason of transgression came the fall, and that fall brought death. So he's wrapping up all of the problems of mortality into one word, death. And he's like, obviously death is the problem. Death of relationships, death of faith, death of hope, death of those we love, all. You know, the death that sin brings, all those things, right? So what's the opposite of death? And he says it's birth. And he says, if my problem is death, because when it says I'm dead. Another way that you'll see this in scripture is I'm cut out of the presence of God. That's called death in Scripture. Where was it? It was in, oh, verse 57, you are out of his presence. Another synonym for that is you saw in verse 49, the children of men. You're going to notice throughout the Bible that we are called children of men. And that like is like, wait, hold on, I'm a child of God. And it was like, yeah, but in scripture, the phrase children of men are those who have been cut out of the presence or out of the family. Right? These are all synonyms with each other. And what's the solution to that? He says, it's being born again. And we get that symbolism in 59. So it's like the problem is death. And then he says, inasmuch as you were born into this world by water, blood and spirit, and that's how I made everybody a living soul. You are born again into the kingdom of heaven by water, blood and spirit. So anybody who's seen a birth knows that there is water, blood, and a lot of spirit in there. He's like, those are the elements that are involved in a birth of a new baby. And he says those same elements are what are needed for someone to be born again, to come back into the family, to. To. To. Not the opposite of death, right Is this birth. And he goes through. And he uses those three to teach what that process is. By the water we keep the commandment. By the Spirit, we are justified. By the blood we are sanctified. And I love at the end of 59, it says this even of spirit. And they're cleansed by blood, even the blood of mine only begotten that you might be sanctified from all sin. And this line is so good. And enjoy the words of eternal life in this world and eternal life in the world to come, even immortal glory. I love that he's saying, you can experience life and restoration and redemption right now. You don't have to wait until the next world to come. And it's through the spirit and blood of. Of the only begotten. He's being emphasized again. He's the only name. This is the only one. And I love that it's a. A birth because when we've had six kids, Jenny and I, and by Jenny and I, I mean Jenny, right, has had six kids, and all six times, no one has come to the hospital and congratulated the baby and said, you did such a good job. Way to go. It's Jenny who is the hero of that. Jenny's blood, sweat and tears brought life into all of those kids. And that's why this is such a great analogy. When we talk about being born again, we're talking about it is the labor and the blood, sweat and tears of someone else that is giving us life. So, Enoch, when you come and say, like, I'm not qualified for this, I'm not good enough for this, it's like, it's not your job. The job is someone else's to sanctify you, to cleanse you, to renew you, to give you life again. Your only job is to choose yes, to say yes to it. That's it. And that's why I think that analogy in 59 of being born again is so powerful.
- [44:01]
B
I don't even know what to say, because that was so good. Like, I'm like, God, choice your hands.
- [44:07]
A
It's cool. It's so good. It really is going to be cry when you were just saying that.
- [44:11]
B
It was so cute.
- [44:11]
A
Okay, well, and let me just say this then. And so 59 and 60, if you want to get technical about what it's teaching, you're going to see two words in 60 that I think are really helpful to understand. Justified means to be declared guiltless is what that means. And we know that because we use that word when we're just like, I feel justified in what I've done. It means I don't have guilt if I'm justifying, right? But sometimes we say, I'm justifying myself. But don't worry, God justifies us. He's the one who declares us guiltless. And by the blood we are sanctified. Sanctified means to be made holy. Guiltless means. Right, like record clean. But it doesn't mean you're a holy sanctified person. And that's a process as we walk with God. Yes, we are forgiven of our sins, but our nature is also changed. And we're invited into that also in this chapter. Can I say one more thing?
- [45:09]
B
Yes.
- [45:10]
A
Because 61 is so awesome. He says this. Therefore it's given to abide in you talking about the presence of God, the Holy Spirit in your life, the record. And these are all, all different names for the Spirit, which is so awesome, right? The record of heaven. Have you ever thought of that name, that being a name of the Spirit before? He is the record of heaven. He is going to put into your heart what heaven is like. He's going to show you. Heaven is what he's going to do. The comforter, the peaceable things, the truth of all things, the quickener of all things which maketh alive. All. All things which knoweth all things which hath all power according to wisdom, mercy, truth, justice and judgment. Like that is who you're walking together with. That is what you are inviting into your journey is verse 61. And you can almost read that and say, I wonder what of those things might I really want or need right now? I need someone to make. Make things come alive. They feel really dead. I need someone who knows everything. I need someone who has all power. I need someone who's a comforter. And. And that is, that's. That's who you're inviting to walk with you. Or I should say, really, the invitation came from him to walk with me. He says, I'm inviting you to come and do your life together with me.
- [46:42]
B
That is the verse that if you are talking, if you're doing the poster, whatever lesson, to be honest, that is like one of the coolest verses I think, in this entire chapter to sit down and say, who do you need him to be on your walk? How do you need him to show up in your week, in your month, in your year? This year it's still kind of the beginning of the year to pause and think, who do you really need him to be? And that there is, like, I don't think anything that makes a walk more inviting than the person that's inviting you to it. And once you know what he will be on your walk, it's so easy to say, I will give my whole life to you. I will take every step with you, because if you can offer me that, like, that is even more than I could ever dream up.
- [47:19]
A
Yeah. Yeah. And that's what this whole chapter kind of seems to be about. It's like, here it is. You can either say it one of two ways, big theologically to say, oh, there's a fall and there's a problem with death and bitterness, or on a one. On like an individual scale of someone saying, I'm not good enough. Right. They're saying both are recognizing, I have a problem, and God is coming in and saying, but I have a plan. You have a problem, but I have a plan. And I am the solution to that problem. In fact, I love that verse 62 says, now behold, I say unto you, this is the plan of salvation unto all men, everyone. No matter what your circumstances are, no matter what your disqualifications are, no matter what your problem is, there is a plan of salvation unto all of you through the blood of mine only begotten who shall come in the meridian of time. There's a solution. There is a. There's a plan. Him who can make alive all things, who knows all things, who understands all things, who can justify and sanctify us, who can take the bitter and turn it into something good, who can perpetuate life and. And blessing again. That is what it means to walk together with him, to accept his gift of salvation and his gift of sanctification, to enjoy the eternal life now and in the future. And it goes through one person's story. But 68 says, Thou art one in me, a son of God, and thus may all become my sons and my daughters. This can be for any and everybody. Whatever the circumstance may look like right now in the problem, it can change. And you can become and you can change, and things can be different again. This is such a rich, rich chapter. Yeah, I mean, I just. I don't know one chapter that explains the plan of salvation and the role of Jesus in it. Like, oh, I had this problem and Jesus came with the solution better than Moses, chapter six. And it's awesome because it's additional. It was like, oh, there was all this that is revealed anew that we were missing from Genesis 5. The phrase was great. In Genesis 5, the reason that Enoch's not going to die is because he walked with God. That's what Genesis 5 told us. And that's the truth. Truth. And Moses 6 just outlines it and lays it all out for us to understand even more. So good.
- [49:55]
B
We're so lucky to have it.
- [49:56]
A
Yeah. Okay, you guys, Moses 7 next time, which is more stuff that we didn't have in Genesis and more about what it looks like to live that kind of life. So we'll be excited to do that next time. If you want to follow along in everything we're doing, you can find us on Instagram at Don't miss this study, at this week's Grace and at Mr. Dave but Butler.
- [50:15]
B
And if you want to subscribe to the app or get our weekly newsletter, all of the information can be found at don'tmissthisudy. Com.
- [50:21]
A
See you next week.