Revival. It’s a word we can often associate with great evangelists such as Billy Graham, or perhaps we think of the Great Awakenings that took place in the 1800s in America. Perhaps we could even classify things such as Martin Luther’s 95 Theses as a revival, asking the church to refind its heart when it’s lost its ways. But did you know revival existed in the earliest stages of history? We see this happen during the time of Enos.
Enos, sometimes spelled Enosh is a son of Seth, Adam’s third son. Enos appears to have lived during the first spiritual revival recorded in human history. Being the grandson of Adam, one wouldn’t think he needed a reminder about the truth. Sadly, it seems people were straying from the truth even in the earth’s earliest stages.
Today we’ll look at Adam’s grandson and what may have happened during humanity’s third generation on earth. We’ll also analyze what spiritual revival is and its importance.
Who Was Enos in the Bible?
We only get a few verses about this man in the Bible. As modern readers who prefer getting to the point quickly, we may fight the temptatin to skip over all the “begats,” but in Enos's case, we certainly shouldn’t. Let’s analyze the few verses that speak about him.
Genesis 5:6-11: Enos or Enosh is the son of Seth. For those who don’t know who Seth is… Adam and Eve had three sons. Cain and Abel, first. Cain, out of jealousy, killed Abel, and God exiled him. God showed his mercy to Adam and Eve by providing a third son, Seth. From these verses, we learn that Enos lives for over 900 years. According to Josephus, people back then were quite literally “built different.” Genetic mutations and degradation hadn’t set in, and people could live far longer. He fathers a man named Kenan and then dies. A big question people often ask is how did the earth populate so fast. But we can imagine that if these figures lived for hundreds of years, and their wives experienced fertility for much longer than a woman does nowadays, that could lead to several offspring.
Genesis 4:26: Our central focus for today. During the time of Enos, “people began calling on the name of the Lord.” We see our first instance of people turning back to God after the events in Eden (Genesis 3).
Luke 3: Seth receives a mention in Jesus’ genealogy in Luke 3, which means that Enos fits into the family of Jesus.
What Did Enos Do in the Bible?
What did Enos do? Not much. At least, the Bible doesn’t tell us much about him. Even Jewish historian Josephus, who tends to have little footnotes for each of these people, gives us nothing.
So the focus of today isn’t necessarily on Enos. Although we celebrate that he played a part in Jesus’ genealogy, we’ll focus more on the revival that happened around him.
The Bible doesn’t indicate how many people lived on earth during Enos’ time, but we can imagine hundreds, if not thousands. That may sound like many descendants, but we must remember that Adam, Seth, and Enos stuck around for almost 1000 years. That’s a lot of babies.
Although Adam and Eve knew God, it appears that sometime in the hundreds of years, perhaps people didn’t cry out to him as much. Perhaps they saw no need. Perhaps Satan had gotten a foothold for several years.
The Bible never tells us why people begin crying out to the Lord in Genesis 4:26.
Now here we should make a distinction about what they could have been doing. They could hve either been calling themselves God, which would make them idolaters. This could fit in well with the flood that occurs in Genesis 6.
Alternatively, people may have for a short period, called on the Lord’s name and follow in his footsteps.
Many commentaries believe the latter: in Enos’ time, people began to attribute the name of YHWH to God with high reverence. Commentaries bolster this point by noting that the name YHWH was found in Babylon before God revealed his name to Moses at the burning bush.
However, as we can see from the subsequent events in Genesis, this revival only seems to last for a short period. A few generations later, evil corrupts humanity to the point where God sends a worldwide flood.
With this in mind, let’s analyze the concept of spiritual revival and what it means for us today.
What Is Spiritual Revival?
Have you ever felt a “spiritual high”? Perhaps you went to a church retreat—or experienced God in a unique way in worship—and you go home feeling lighthearted and on fire for God. You may have experienced are the tendrils of a spiritual revival.
Defining “spiritual revival” is pretty intuitive—a revival of our spirituality or our hearts for God. In this, you feel a surge of energy to pray more, do more for the kingdom, and grow deeper in your relationship with God.
Israel, throughout its history, experienced several instances of spiritual revival. One of the most popular ones happens when the Israelites returned from exile in Babylon. They cried out when they heard the Law read once again.
We have to consider the fact they went 70 years into captivity. Some of them had never even experienced Israel.
Spiritual revival gives us the unique opportunity to remember why we started our relationship with God in the first place. We feel refreshment of the soul, and we can continue on the path set before us with more vigor.
What Are the Dangers of Spiritual Revival?
Spiritual revival has its uses, but we do have to be wary of that “spiritual high.” We know that eventually it evaporates, and heaviness and weariness can set in once more.
If we only chase spiritual high to spiritual high, we can get addicted to the revival process. The goal of revival is to replenish us so that we can live normal life. If we only live in revival, we forget how to grow with God during the difficult seasons of life.
I often think of Jesus’ parable of the sower and the seed. Some seeds sprout up but don’t have a firm enough foundation. So they wither in the scorching sunlight. The image illustrates what happens to a believer when they only live for revival. Revival is good and beautiful and can strengthen us when we need it most. But it is only meant for a time. We also need to rely on God in the dry and scorching seasons.
What Can We Learn from Enos and His Era?
Although Enos only shows up in genealogies, we can learn a few things from what happened around him.
However, first we have to remember what happened after him. Two chapters later (really one chapter, since Genesis 4 is only 26 verses), humanity has fallen into an irredeemable corrupt state. Things have gotten so bad that God has to wipe the slate clean. It says that humanity gave into every temptation and depravity. As bad as our world has gotten… somehow, Genesis 6 was far worse.
Although people began to call upon and revere the name of YHWH, they forgot it just as soon. In the same way, if we only live for revival, we can just as soon forget God once the spiritual high disappears.
Second, we must remember the ultimate spiritual revival, which came through Enos’s line.
Enos exists in the line of Jesus. Jesus sends the ultimate spiritual revival, where he provides a way to turn our hearts of stone into hearts of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26).
Even when our high from a beautiful time of worship or a retreat evaporates, we can rest in the fact that we have the Holy Spirit alive and active within us. Even when feelings fade, our God will not. Let’s rest in our firm foundation and praise God inside the revival and outside of it.
Photo Credit: Getty Images/AdrianHillman
Hope Bolinger is an acquisitions editor at End Game Press, book editor for hire, and the author of almost 30 books. More than 1500 of her works have been featured in various publications. Check out her books at hopebolinger.com for clean books in most genres, great for adults and kids. Check out her editing profile at Reedsy.com to find out about hiring her for your next book project.
This article is part of our People of Christianity catalog that features the stories, meaning, and significance of well-known people from the Bible and history. Here are some of the most popular articles for knowing important figures in Christianity:
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