Walking with God

Cross-references Parent Topic a Related Topics b Additional Materials c

Before the Flood

The concept of "walking with God" seems to have a unique significance before the Flood that it didn't afterward - perhaps because the Garden of Eden was destroyed by the flood waters.

In the garden, God would physically walk with the first two humans. This seems to have been a daily event; for when when they heard God coming (moments after they had sinned) they immediately understood what was happening (Genesis 3:8).

Genesis 3:8 They heard the voice of Yahweh God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of Yahweh God among the trees of the garden.

Even after they were driven out of the garden, it seems that there was direct communication between God and people. The interaction between God and Cain seems to indicate this (Genesis 4:6-7, 9-16). Note that nothing in the text suggests that Cain just heard a voice coming from "somewhere"!

Genesis 4:6-7, 9-16a Yahweh said to Cain, "Why are you angry? Why has the expression of your face fallen? If you do well, will it not be lifted up? If you don't do well, sin crouches at the door. Its desire is for you, but you are to rule over it." ------ Yahweh said to Cain, "Where is Abel, your brother?" He said, "I don't know. Am I my brother's keeper?" Yahweh said, "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood cries to me from the ground. Now you are cursed because of the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. From now on, when you till the ground, it won't yield its strength to you. You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer in the earth." Cain said to Yahweh, "My punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold, you have driven me out this day from the surface of the ground. I will be hidden from your face, and I will be a fugitive and a wanderer in the earth. It will happen that whoever finds me will kill me." Yahweh said to him, "Therefore whoever slays Cain, vengeance will be taken on him sevenfold." Yahweh appointed a sign for Cain, lest any finding him should strike him. Cain went out from Yahweh's presence, and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

The exact phrase, "walked with God," occurs only in reference to Enoch (Genesis 5:22, 24) and Noah (Genesis 6:9). Both of these had a special close relationship God, and both had a special "calling" by God - one to not die, and the other to preserve human life through the Flood.

Genesis 5:22, 24 and Genesis 6:9 Enoch - Enoch walked with God after he became the father of Methuselah three hundred years, and became the father of sons and daughters. ... Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him. Noah - This is the history of the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time. Noah walked with God.

In these passages, this phrase "walked with God" could be translated as "walked with the God." The focus is not on an abstract concept, like "deity," but on a specific individual with personality. These are the only passages in the Bible, in which this specific phrase is used to describe the relationship of people to God. It does not occur after the Flood!

It seems that something happened at the time of the Flood, which resulted in a change in the way one's relationship with God would be described. No specific reason is given, but it is quite likely that the "something" that changed was the destruction of the Garden of Eden by the flood waters. The place where God originally walked with humans was no more.

After the Flood

Walking Before God

After the Flood, the phrase used to describe the relationship of godly people with God is, "walking before God." This phrase occurs numerous times, but not the phrase "walking with God."

"Walking before God" can be found in the following verses: Genesis 17:1; 24:40; 48:15; 1 Kings 2:4; 8:25; 2 Kings 20:3; 2 Chronicles 6:16; Psalm 56:13; 116:9; Isaiah 38:3. Depending on the context, it may be used to describe the actual relationship between the individual and God; or it may be a command (given by God), a desire (by the individual), a potential reality (that may or may not occur), etc.

Genesis 17:1; 24:40; 48:15; 1 Kings 2:4; 8:25; 2 Kings 20:3; 2 Chronicles 6:16; Psalm 56:13; 116:9; Isaiah 38:3 Genesis 17:1 (command to Abraham) - When Abram was ninety-nine years old, Yahweh appeared to Abram, and said to him, "I am God Almighty. Walk before me, and be blameless. Genesis 24:40 (Abraham, statement of fact) - He [Abraham] said to me, 'Yahweh, before whom I walk, will send his angel with you, and prosper your way. ... Genesis 48:15 (Abraham and Isaac, statement of fact) - He[Jacob = Israel] blessed Joseph, and said, "The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God who has fed me all my life long to this day, ... 1 Kings 2:4 (the kings of Israel, a conditional statement) - [A promise given by Yahweh to David] If your children take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail you, said he, a man on the throne of Israel. 1 Kings 8:25 (Solomon, praying that the above-stated promise to David will apply to him) - Now therefore, Yahweh, the God of Israel, keep with your servant David my father that which you have promised him, saying, There shall not fail you a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel, if only your children take heed to their way, to walk before me as you have walked before me. 2 Kings 20:3 (Hezekiah, describing himself) - Remember now, Yahweh, I beg you, how I have walked before you in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in your sight. ... 2 Chronicles 6:16 (Solomon, praying that the above-stated promise to David will apply to him) - Now therefore, Yahweh, the God of Israel, keep with your servant David my father that which you have promised him, saying, There shall not fail you a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel, if only your children take heed to their way, to walk in my law as you have walked before me. Psalm 56:13 (David, expressing his intention, having been delivered from death by God) - For you have delivered my soul from death, and prevented my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living. Psalm 116:9 (anonymous, possibly David, expressing his intention, having been delivered from death by God) - I will walk before Yahweh in the land of the living. Isaiah 38:3 (Hezekiah, describing himself) - Remember now, Yahweh, I beg you, how I have walked before you in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in your sight.

Walking With God (a different emphasis)

There are two passages that are similar to the pre-Flood verses, in that a form of the phrase "walk with God" (or something equivalent) is used. In both cases, the Hebrew wording is somewhat different than what is found in the pre-Flood accounts. In Micah 6:8, the primary emphasis is on the character qualities that God requires in his people. In Malachi 2:6, the priest Levi, who had access to the presence of God in the "Holy of Holies" (in the temple), is described as walking with God, again with a focus on the character qualities present in his life.

Micah 6:8 and Malachi 2:6 Micah 6:8 - He has shown you, O man, what is good. What does Yahweh require of you, but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God? Malachi 2:6 - The law of truth was in his [Levi's] mouth, and unrighteousness was not found in his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and turned many away from iniquity.

Was God Ever Physically Present?

Does all this mean that God was never physically present after the Flood? No! He was visible seen (in part) on Mount Sinai (Exodus 24:9-10, but compare with Exodus 33:20). At times, he would physically appear, often as the Angel of Yahweh. However, this was no longer his normal way of communicating with people; after the Flood, he would more often than not communicate in ways other than through his physical presence - and now through the Good News given us by Jesus, through the apostles (Hebrews 1:1-2; 2:3).

Exodus 24:9-10; Exodus 33:18-23; and Hebrews 1:1-2; 2:3 Exodus 24:9-10 - Then Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up [on the mountain]. They saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was like a paved work of sapphire stone, like the skies for clearness. Exodus 33:18-23 - He [Moses] said, "Please show me your glory." He [God] said, "I will make all my goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of Yahweh before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy." He said, "You cannot see my face, for man may not see me and live." Yahweh also said, "Behold, there is a place by me, and you shall stand on the rock. It will happen, while my glory passes by, that I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and will cover you with my hand until I have passed by; then I will take away my hand, and you will see my back; but my face shall not be seen." Hebrews 1:1-2 - God, having in the past spoken to the fathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, has at the end of these days spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds. Hebrews 2:3 - [Concerning the good news of salvation] ... which at the first having been spoken through the Lord [Jesus], was confirmed to us by those who heard [the apostles].

God Walking Among His People

Two verses describe God as "walking among his people" - Leviticus 26:11-12 and 2 Corinthians 6:16 (which quotes the Leviticus passage). The Leviticus passage seems to suggest a physical presence (though not necessarily noticed by the people). The New Testament passage is significant, in that it demonstrates a continuity between Old and New Testaments. God is still present (even though we as individuals may not see him physically).

Leviticus 26:11-12 and 2 Corinthians 6:16 In Leviticus - I will set my tent among you: and my soul won't abhor you. I will walk among you, and will be your God, and you will be my people. In 2 Corinthians - What agreement has a temple of God with idols? For you are a temple of the living God. Even as God said, "I will dwell in them, and walk in [among] them; and I will be their God, and they will be my people."

Interestingly as the Israelites traveled through the wilderness (on their way to the land of Canaan), God told them to bury their excrement outside the camp, lest he see it, while walking through their camp (Deuteronomy 23:14)!

Deuteronomy 23:14 Yahweh your God walks in the midst of your camp, to deliver you, and to give up your enemies before you; therefore your camp shall be holy, that he may not see an unclean thing in you [i.e., in the camp], and turn away from you. [In this passage, the "unclean thing" is a reference to excrement.]

In the Future

A day is yet to come, in which we will once again walk with God physically, and will see him. That day will be when Jesus Christ returns for his people. Consider these verses: Matthew 5:8; Revelation 3:4; 22:3-4

Matthew 5:8; Revelation 3:4; 22:3-4 Matthew 5:8 - Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Revelation 3:4 - [Concerning the righteous at Sardis] ... They will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. Revelation 22:3-4 - ... The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.

Scripture Pages that Link to Here

Genesis 5:1-32

The reference to Enoch.

Genesis 6:9-22

The reference to Noah.

Unless otherwise noted, all notes and comments are © by Dennis Hinks.