Origins: The Beginning (Genesis 1–11)Sample

By Danny Saavedra

“A male and female of each kind entered, just as God had commanded Noah. Then the Lord closed the door behind them.” Genesis 7:16 (NLT emphasis added)

Have you ever been locked in somewhere? I got stuck in an elevator once for a while at a hotel as a kid. It was terrifying. I had no idea what was happening outside, when I would be rescued, or how much time has passed. It felt like forever, waiting for someone to open those doors, waiting to see the world again.

In today’s verse, we read what I find to be one of the most interesting tidbits about the flood story: The Lord closed the door. Noah had no control over when that door would open or close. He had no control over when he would exit the ark. He also had no way of steering the ark or knowing where the ark was going. 

You see, the ark contained only one door, one way to salvation, and that way was through God and controlled by God. The Lord sealed Noah and his family in and kept them safe. He guided that vessel and brought Noah to salvation. Noah couldn’t save himself: he couldn’t take credit for the salvation of mankind, all he could do was trust in the Lord to save him. 

In John 10:9 (NKJV), Jesus said, “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved.” In John 3:36 (ESV), He tells us, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.” Like with the ark, God opened the doors of salvation by sending His Son: who is the way, the truth, and the life, the only path to peace, the only road to heaven. Once we walk through the door and enter into the ark of salvation, we are sealed by the Spirit: giving control over to Him to guide us, maneuver us, and safeguard us. 

Noah and his family walked in through the door by faith and He was with them. They entered and were saved from God’s righteous judgment and wrath. Likewise, in Christ, we are saved from the righteous judgment and wrath of the Lord; judgment we deserve, wrath we have earned a million times over. 

My friends, we don’t know the day or the hour, but He is coming. He has opened His ark of salvation through Christ for all to enter and be saved, and He has commissioned us to invite people in. Let us, with urgency and determination, go out and tell people of the salvation that’s available to them!

DIG: Why was there only one door on the ark? Why did God control it? 

DISCOVER: Did you know that, of all the flood narratives found in ancient religions, the Bible is the only one in which the deity shuts the door? How does this distinguish the Lord, the One true God, from other gods?

DO: With John 10:9 in mind, find someone this week to share the gospel with, someone in need of walking through the door. Tell them about the salvation that awaits them!