Old Testament saints on the line of life: Abel, Seth, Enosh, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Israel, etc

Throughout the Bible we see these two lines, the line of the tree of life and the line of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. There is a line that goes throughout the Bible – the line of life, the line of the tree of life – on which there are many positive persons who had a proper relationship with God and a deep seeking after God.

Even though Adam and Eve fell and were sent away from the tree of life and the garden of Eden, God provided a way for man to come back to Him and be properly related to Him. Seeing this way, many people in the Old Testament sought after God, walked with God, and were one with God!

This morning we were considering some of these dear ones in the old times which the Bible mentions to be on the line of the tree of life, and here is the first batch of people on the line of life (tomorrow hopefully is the second part):

• Abel contacted God in God’s way (Gen. 4:4). Cain contacted God in his own way according to his own preference and knowledge, but Abel contacted God in the way God ordained for man to contact Him. We want to be this kind of people, who see what is God’s ordained way to contact Him and then even deny ourselves and our own knowledge to take God’s way!
• Seth and Enosh called upon the name of the Lord (Gen. 4:26). These two continued on the line of life and they had one particular characteristic mentioned in the Bible – they both called upon the name of the Lord! Enosh means frail, fragile, weak; he might have realized how frail he is, how mortal humanity is, and he called on the name of Jehovah! We are weak, fragile, and mortal, but we can call on the name of the Lord (Rom. 10:12-13).
• Enoch walked with God and he was not, because God took him (Gen. 5:22-24). The Bible doesn’t say much about Enoch, just that he walked with God for 300 years and then he was not, because God took him! He just loved being in God’s presence, and he loved God! It doesn’t say that he worked for God or did great works for God – he walked with God! We don’t need to do great things for God primarily; we just need to be those who walk with God!
• Noah walked with God and also worked together with God (Gen. 6:8-9, 14). As Noah walked with God, he found favor in the eyes of God and God showed him what was on His heart. God showed him how to build the ark to save himself, his family, and the animals, from God’s judgement. Noah simply loved to walk with God, and God opened His heart to Noah; then Noah built the ark according to God’s instructions. We need to do and work everything according to the vision we receive in our walk with the Lord.
• Abraham lived in the appearing of God and called upon the name of the Lord (Acts. 7:2; Gen. 12:7-8; 17:1; 18:1; James 2:23). Abraham was NOT a giant of faith, but due to God’s repeated appearing, he eventually went out of Ur of Chaldea and into the land of Canaan which God promised to give him and his seed. The God of glory appeared to Abraham time and time again, and each time Abraham was transfused and infused with God’s element – this element enabled Abraham to live by the faith of God! Just like Abraham, we need to live a life in the appearing of God and a life of calling on the Lord’s name!
• Moses lived in the appearing and the presence of God, and he was one with God (Exo. 3:2; 33:11, 13-15; 25:9). God prepared and trained Moses to be the deliverer of His people from Egypt, but eventually Moses became disappointed when he failed – and he went to the wilderness for 40 years. God appeared to him there and showed him that Moses needs to be one with God and work for God not according to his way, his knowledge, his energy, or his activities. Moses learned to live in God’s appearing, he lived in God’s presence, and he was one with God in whatever he did. We need to learn this also…
• The children of Israel journeyed in the presence of the Lord (Exo. 13:21-22; Num. 14:14). Even in the wilderness there were people who were on the line of life – the people of Israel journeyed for 40 years in God’s presence, they followed the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night, they ate manna (the heavenly food), and they drank of the water from the cleft rock (Christ). They enjoyed God as the tree of life (manna) and the water of life (the water from the rock). Praise the Lord, even in the wilderness of this world we can be those journeying with God and enjoying God as life!
• Joshua lived and worked in the presence of the Lord (Josh. 1:5-9). He started as a young leader of Israel, but all he did and worked was in the presence of the Lord. No matter how weak or even how afraid we may be, we can be in the Lord’s presence and live there, work there, and have our being there! In the Lord’s presence we can fight for God and we are empowered to win the battle for Him!
• Gideon fought in and with the presence of the Lord (Judg. 6:12, 16). Even though Gideon started by putting God to test to strengthen his faith in God, he stood one with God and fought in the presence of God – even with the presence of God! It was not the “hand of Gideon” that delivered the people of Israel, but it was God’s presence that accompanied him that delivered them… in everything we do, we need to be in God’s presence, fight in God’s presence, and even fight with God’s presence – His presence is all we need!

Lord, we choose to be people on the line of life! Fill us with life today, and keep us feeding on Christ as the tree of life. Make us those who call on Your name! We love Your presence, Lord, and we want to just walk with You! In all we do and say, we want to be one with You. We treasure Your presence, Your appearing, and we need You to continue to appear to us! Lord, Your appearing infuses and transfuses us! Keep us on the line of life!