Genesis 7:6-24 tells us that Noah was six hundred years old when he entered the ark, along with his wife, his sons and their wives and the creatures that God has commanded him to bring into the ark. True to God’s word, it rained for a period of forty days and forty nights, as the fountains of the great deep were broken up and the windows of heaven were opened. All of the land creatures and people, except those who were in the ark, perished in the flood. What is interesting to note is that the Bible records after Noah and his family and the creatures that God had commanded him to bring into the ark, entered the ark, it was the Lord himself who shut Noah in (Genesis 7:16). Noah entered the ark by faith (Hebrews 11:7) and the Lord shut him in.
The ark had only one door and this was not shut by any man, but by the Lord himself? Why would the Lord himself shut Noah in? Hidden in this account is the treasure of learning about the plan of God for the salvation of all mankind. The shutting of the only means of Salvation by the Lord himself means that no man can open it by his own abilities or actions, and only those who enter in by the door will be saved from God’s judgment.
Points to ponder:
Jesus said, I am the door and if any man enter by him, he shall be saved (John 10:9). When God’s judgment falls on this earth, only those who have believed in Christ, and entered into God’s presence through Christ Jesus, the Door, by faith, shall be saved. And the Lord will shut those who are in Christ from condemnation (Romans 8:1) and second death (Revelation 21:8). The Lord shuts the door to save us. Have you entered into newness of life by believing in Christ Jesus and are you shut in Christ Jesus?
Genesis 7:16 (KJV)
16 And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the Lord shut him in.
