WORKING IN THE BOOK OF ENOCH
Verse 11:1 caught my attention since work will still be a
standard in paradise:
And in those days I will open the
store chambers of blessing which are in the heaven, so as to send them down ⌈upon
the earth⌉ over the work and labour of the children of men.
Before taking my word as gospel realize this is my first
read. I read verse 14:13 talks about what seems to be hell and I interpreted as
such:
And I entered into that house, and
it was hot as fire and cold as ice: there were no delights of life therein:
fear covered me, and trembling got hold upon me
Then as I went further I found it was before God. So again,
one needs to read for themselves and understand this jumps back and forth
between Enoch’s present, past and future.
Now back to the work ethic from 11:1. God does not intend
for us to reside in heaven and just hang out, listening to the Holy Hosts sing
glorious tunes while we sip wine under a willow tree. I seems to me that we
still will labor for our rewards and that is fine. I have had two long
stretches of “unemployment” where both instances I worked harder than I ever
did “employed”. Just because we need to labor, does not mean it’s bad or a
punishment.
Work is good and healthy. The idea we need to “retire” and
live out our days on a golf course, while seemingly ideal ends up causing more
problems that a life a labor. My father is 83 and is vibrant and working still.
He came to visit and put one of our paid workers to shame by how long he worked
in the hot sun. It’s nice to relax from time to time, but the idea of living to
relax is foolish and not of God.
So take joy in the idea that we will be recognized by God
for the work we do!!