Those who went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God commanded him; then Yahweh shut him in.
Parallel Translations
-
Those who went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God commanded him; then Yahweh shut him in.
-
And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the LORD shut him in.
-
And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God commanded him; and the LORD shut him in.
Cross-references (10)
Passages linked to Genesis 7:16 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Matthew 25:10 While they went away to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast, and the door was shut.
- Luke 13:25 When once the master of the house has risen up, and has shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ then he will answer and tell you, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’
- Genesis 7:2-3 You shall take seven pairs of every clean animal with you, the male and his female. Of the animals that are not clean, take two, the male and his female. Also of the birds of the sky, seven and seven, male and female, to keep seed alive on the surface of all the earth.
- Psalms 91:1-10 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of Yahweh, “He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in whom I trust.” For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler, and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers. Under his wings you will take refuge. His faithfulness is your shield and rampart. You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that wastes at noonday. A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it will not come near you. You will only look with your eyes, and see the recompense of the wicked. Because you have made Yahweh your refuge, and the Most High your dwelling place, no evil shall happen to you, neither shall any plague come near your dwelling.
- 2 Kings 4:4-5 Go in and shut the door on you and on your sons, and pour oil into all those containers; and set aside those which are full.” So she went from him, and shut the door on herself and on her sons. They brought the containers to her, and she poured oil.
- Deuteronomy 33:27 The eternal God is your dwelling place. Underneath are the everlasting arms. He thrust out the enemy from before you, and said, ‘Destroy!’
- Psalms 46:2 Therefore we won’t be afraid, though the earth changes, though the mountains are shaken into the heart of the seas;
- John 10:27-30 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give eternal life to them. They will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father who has given them to me is greater than all. No one is able to snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”
- 1 Peter 1:5 who by the power of God are guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
- Proverbs 3:23 Then you shall walk in your way securely. Your foot won’t stumble.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (13 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
Saved on this device only — never synced or sent anywhere.
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 16. And the Lord shut him in. This is…
16. And the Lord shut him in. This is not added in vain, nor ought it to be lightly passed over. That door must have been large, which could admit an elephant. And truly, no pitch would be sufficiently firm and tenacious, and no joining sufficiently solid, to prevent the immense force of the water from penetrating through its many seams, especially in an irruption so violent, and in a shock so severe. Therefore, Moses, to cut off occasion for the vain speculations which our own curiosity would suggest, declares in one word, that the ark was made secure from the deluge, not by human artifice, but by divine miracle. It is, indeed, not to be doubted that Noah had been endued with new ability and sagacity, that nothing might be defective in the structure of the ark. But lest even this favor should be without success, it was necessary for something greater to be added. Wherefore, that we might not measure the mode of preserving the ark by the capacity of our own judgment, Moses teaches use that the waters were not restrained from breaking in upon the ark, by pitch or bitumen only, but rather by the secret power of God, and by the interposition of his hand.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Or, shut it upon him.
Or, shut it upon him.
So that God’s secret power defended him against the rage of the mighty waters.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Gen 7:16 And they that went in, went in…
Gen 7:16 And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the LORD shut him in.
Ver. 16. And the Lord shut him in.] A mean office, one would think, for God to shut the door after Noah. He could not well do it himself, the door doubtless being great and heavy, and others that were without would not do him so much service. God therefore doth it himself, and therefore it could not but be well done indeed. In a case of necessity, we need not question God’s readiness to do us any good office, so long as we keep close to him in a holy communion. {2Ch 15:2} In a letter of B. Hooper’s, to certain good people, taken praying in Bow churchyard, and now in trouble, thus he writes; - "Read {a} the second chapter of Luke; there the shepherds that watched upon their sheep all night, as soon as they heard Christ was born at Bethlehem, by and by they went to see him. They did not reason, nor debate with themselves, who should keep the wolf from the sheep in the meanwhile; but did as they were commanded, and committed their sheep to him, whose pleasure they obeyed. So let us do. Now we be called, commit all other things to him that calleth us. He will take heed that all things shall be well: he will help the husband, comfort the wife, guide the servants, keep the house, preserve the goods: yea, rather than it shall be undone, he will wash the dishes, and rock the cradle. Cast therefore all your care upon God," &c. Thus he.
Read full note →
{a} Act. and Mon., fol. 1347.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Or, shut the door after him, or upon him,…
Or, shut the door after him, or upon him, or for him, i.e. his good and safety, against the fury either of the waters or of the people. This God did in some extraordinary manner.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And the waters prevailed, and were increased greatly upon…
And the waters prevailed, and were increased greatly upon the earth,.... Still they became greater and more powerful, as to bear up the ark, so to cast down houses, trees, &c. by the continual rains that fell, though perhaps they were not so violent as before, and by the constant eruptions of water out of the earth:
and the ark went upon the face of the waters; it floated about upon them, in an easy gentle manner; for there were no storms of wind or tempests raised, which might endanger it. (If much of the water came from volcanic activity, and if earthquakes accompanied the breaking forth of the fountains of the deep, many tidal waves would result. This would completely destroy and remains of the old civilisation and as well give the ark a rough sea to drift in. The ark's dimensions would give make it almost impossible to upset. Ed.)
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 16. The Lord shut him in.] This seems…
Verse 16. The Lord shut him in.] This seems to imply that God took him under his especial protection, and as he shut HIM in, so he shut the OTHERS out. God had waited one hundred and twenty years upon that generation; they did not repent; they filled up the measure of their iniquities, and then wrath came upon them to the uttermost.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain The Lord shut him in, by an angel besmearing…
The Lord shut him in, by an angel besmearing the door with pitch, to prevent the waters from penetrating, while Noe did the like in the inside. (Calmet) --- Thus God supplies our wants when we are not able to provide for ourselves, and though he could do all by himself, yet he requires us to co-operate with him, and often makes use of secondary causes. (Worthington)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain and the Lord shut him in--literally, "covered him round…
and the Lord shut him in--literally, "covered him round about." The "shutting him in" intimated that Noah had become the special object of divine care and protection, and that to those without the season of grace was over (Mat 25:10).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 16. The Lord shut him in — Noah in…
16. The Lord shut him in — Noah in the ark was encompassed by the arms of the covenant-keeping God. While the elemental war raged so fiercely above and beneath, he was shut in with Jehovah. The use of the two divine names is here most suggestive and impressive. It was Elohim, the mighty God, the Creator, who brought the flood of waters upon the earth; but it was Jehovah, the God of the promise and of the covenant, the Unchanging One, (ο ων και ο ην και ο ερχομενος,) who now covered him with his wings. Thus will God close the door of the Church when the final storm of judgment shall fall upon the world. They “went in unto the marriage and the door was shut.” Mat_25:10. This verse, blending, as it does, the two divine names in one sentence, conclusively demonstrates the unity of the narrative, showing that in its present form it proceeded from a single mind.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (16) The Lord (Jehovah) shut him in.—The assigning to…
(16) The Lord (Jehovah) shut him in.—The assigning to Jehovah of this act of personal care for Noah is very remarkable. In the Chaldean Genesis (p. 283), the Deity commands Xisuthrus to shut himself in.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain And they that went in, went in male and…
And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God (Etohim) had commanded him. This evidently closed an Elohistic passage, according to Colenso, as the ensuing clause as manifestly belongs to the Jehovistic interpolator; but the close connection subsisting between the two clauses forbids any such dislocation of the narrative as that suggested. "On the supposition of an independent Jehovistic narrative, Bishop Colenso feels it necessary to interpolate before the next statement the words, "And Noah and all his house went into the ark (Quarry, p. 379). And the Lord (Jehovah) shut him in. Literally, shut behind, him, i.e. closed up the door of the ark after him (ejkleise thn kibwton exwqen aujtou, LXX); doubtless miraculously, to preserve him both from the violence of the waters and the rage of men. The contrast between the two names of the Deity is here most vividly presented. It is Elohim who commands him about the beasts; it is Jehovah, the covenant God, who insures his safety by closing the ark behind him.
HOMILIES BY J.F. MONTGOMERY Ver. 16.
Read full note →
The believer"s safety.
Parable of the ten virgins speaks of a final separation. "The door was shut." "There our thoughts are turned to those without; here, to those within. The time was come when the choice must be made. "Come thou and all thy house into the ark." The broad and narrow way. The confinement of the ark or the freedom of home; and, in view of the flood, the frail vessel or the mountains. Trust in Christ or trust in self (cf. Rom_10:3) He chose the way of faith. God shut him in (cf. Isa_26:3) He knew he was safe. The world saw no good in it. The pause of seven days (ver. 10) illustrates the present state. Believers rejoicing in their safety; the world unconvinced of danger.
I CHRIST OFFERS SAFETY TO ALL. The ark was prepared that all might be saved. The condemnation was because they did not care. (Joh_3:19) There was room and welcome for all who would come (cf. Luk_14:22) Noah did not preach impossible things. When Jericho was destroyed Rahab was saved. When Sodom, Lot. God bids all seek and find refuge in Christ. (Rom_3:22)
II CHRIST IS A REFUGE FROM THE CONVICTION OF SIN. How many are living without serious concern. Not rejecting the gospel; they hear it, and approve, and think that all is well. Like St. Paul, "alive without the law." God"s commandments not understood; his holiness not known. Let such a one be led to see how God"s law reaches to the springs of life and feeling, and to feel the working of the "law of sin" in his members; then what a flood. "Who will show us any good?" Good deeds cannot give peace. Worldly good as wormwood. Conscience repeats, He has been knocking, and I have not opened. (Pro_1:26) Yet, hark! his voice again: "Come unto me." It is not too late. Even now, if thou wilt, the Lord will shut thee in.
III THE SAFETY OF THOSE WHO BELIEVE, whom God shuts in. Who shall lay anything to their charge? Who shall condemn? Who shall separate?. (Rom_8:33-35) The flood is without. Noah is weak and helpless as the world. His safety is God"s refuge. The Christian is surrounded by evil influences, messengers of Satan. Temptations to worldliness or to spiritual pride; cares and anxieties hindering prayer; suggestions of unbelief, and hard thoughts of God; the fainting of nature because so little progress made. But in Christ is safety. Coming to him daily as we are; with weak faith, with many perplexities, with the marks of many falls. His word is, "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee." In the trials of life "we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. M.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain And the Lord shut him in
Gen_7:16
And the Lord shut him in
Read full note →
The door was shut
I.
IT TEACHES US, AS GOD IS THE AUTHOR SO IS HE THE FINISHER OF OUR WORK. God implants in the mothers heart the desire to teach her children of Himself, but He must apply the instruction. Paul may plant and Apollos water, but God must give the increase. The seeker after salvation may pray, and read the Word, and attend the means of grace, but God only can save the soul.
II. IT TEACHES THAT THEY WHO DO HIS WILL SHALL NOT GO UNREWARDED. Noah built the ark, so God insures his safety therein. Those who put their trust in God shall never be confounded.
III. IT TEACHES THAT THOSE WHO DO GODS WILL ARE PRESERVED FROM ALL DANGERS. The Lord shut him in, so that he might not perpetrate any rash act. Had he possessed the power of opening the door, he might have jeopardized the safety of the whole family by bringing down the vengeance of God. Noahs had been a critical position but for this. Think of him as he hears the rush of waters; the shrieks of the drowning; the cries of the young and old. If you had been in his position, with the knowledge you could open the door and take some in, would you not have been tempted to do so? But God shut him in, and when He shutteth no man can open. So shall God fortify the soul at the great day of final judgment. Mothers, fathers, children, shall see their relatives cast out, and yet be preserved from one rash word or unbelieving act.
IV. IT TEACHES THAT THOSE WHO DO GODS WILL MUST NOT EXPECT IMMEDIATE REWARD. Noah becomes a prisoner, for five months he had no communication with God--for twelve months he resided in the ark. But God remembered Noah, and brought him out into a wealthy place.
V. IT TEACHES THAT THE HAND WHICH SECURES THE SAINT DESTROYS THE SINNERS. (R. A. Griffin.)
Shut in, or shut out
I. SHUT IN.
1. Separated from the world. They were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage; but to Noah the dance and the viol, the feast and the revel, called in vain. He could not now hoard up wealth, nor seek for fame among the sons of men. He was shut out, too, from all their possessions; even from his own farm he was now expatriated. Blessed is that man who, whatsoever he hath, hath it as though he had it not; he sets no store by earthly things, and does not lock up his soul in his iron safe. He is shut out from the things which rust and corrupt, so that they are not his god nor his treasure.
2. Shut in by God.
(1) Very close shutting, so as to keep out the water.
(2) The door was shut very fast, to prevent the entrance of enemies from outside.
(3) This divine shutting in of Noah was very necessary; for I suppose that no one else could have moved the gigantic door upon its enormous hinges. It was probably too massive to have been stirred by Noah or his united family.
(4) And the Lord did this not only necessarily, but graciously. I call your attention to the change of the names in the text--a very significant change indeed: They that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him; and the Lord--that is Jehovah--shut him in. Elohim, as the Creator and Preserver, takes care of living things to preserve them; but the Lord, even Jehovah, the covenanting God, interposes in great mercy to protect His chosen servant. It was Jehovah who entered into solemn league and covenant with His servant Noah that He would preserve him in the ark, and float him into the new world in it; and as Jehovah, the Covenanting One, He shut him in. There is no security like that which is given us by the covenant of grace.
3. Shut in with God. In Gen_7:1 we read, The Lord said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; and this clearly shows that the Lord was in the ark already. Oh what a joy it is to know that when a soul is buried to the world it lives with Christ. God is in Christ Jesus, and we are in Christ Jesus, and thus we have fellowship with the Father and with His Son Jesus.
4. Next, notice that Noahs happiness was all the greater because he was shut in the ark with all his family. This is a great joy, to have all your household brought unto the faith of Christ.
5. Noah and his household were shut in, to be perfectly preserved, and then to come forth into a new world.
II. SHUT OUT.
1. Who they were.
(1) A people that had been preached to.
(2) A people who had been prayed for.
(3) A people who had, many of them, been associated with Noah in his work.
2. What they did.
(1) Took delight in earthly things.
(2) Did not believe.
3. What came of it. Door shut. No hope. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Noahs ark
I. The first thing we have to consider is THE ARK. And here we must inquire the circumstances which gave rise to its being built. Sin was one cause; and the love of God towards Noah and his family, and His intention to preserve them from destruction.
1. Who commanded it to be built: God. And here we see marks of love, favour, and a determination to preserve him and his family while He destroyed the world.
2. Of what and how was it to be built? Of Gopher wood, to denote its strength and durability. Its dimensions, reckoning eighteen inches to the cubit, were 450 feet in length, 75 feet in breadth, 45 feet in height.
3. Its suitability. This is clearly seen by the number it held; for all that God had appointed entered the ark.
4. The shape of the ark is supposed to have been that of a chest or coffin. And, indeed, by the description here set down, the ark, in shape, was like to a coffin for a mans body, six times as long as it was broad, and ten times as long as it was high; and so fit to figure out Christs death and burial, and ours with Him, by the mortification of the old man, as the apostle applies this type to baptism (1Pe_3:20-21); whereby we are become dead and buried with Christ (Rom_6:3-4; Rom_6:6).
We must now look at this ark spiritually; and here we are led at once to see the Lord Jesus as set forth.
1. Christ, as the ark, is a place--to preserve life. He not only is the preserver, but He is the author of natural and spiritual life, and He alone can preserve that life, and Cause it to increase in the hearts of His people.
2. To support the soul. For the believer cannot live, in a spiritual sense, upon anything short of Christ. All his spiritual food is in Him.
3. To warm and cheer the heart.
4. A place of safety. For the name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous runneth into it, and are safe. Again, He is spoken of as a hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest, as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.
Again. In Christ the spiritual ark there is--
1. Pardon for every sin-convicted and repentant soul; for every broken-hearted subject.
2. In Him there is peace, which flows to us through His blood; which gives ease to the troubled soul, calms the agitated mind, and is the acceptable year of the Lord.
3. In Him there is righteousness, which all His people enjoy--
(1) By imputation.
(2) Internally.
(3) Externally.
II. THE PERSONS IN IT. Noah and his family, and a portion of living creatures, while the rest were drowned. So it will be again; the world will presently be destroyed by fire, and only those who are in the spiritual Ark will be preserved. Who are the persons in this spiritual Ark, which is the Lord Jesus Christ? Believers in all ages of the world. They are made up of persons out of all countries, tribes, people, tongues, nations, under heaven. And as to their number, I would refer you to Rev_7:9-10. The ark was open six days, giving sufficient time for all to get in; and which sets forth the spiritual Ark which has been open now nearly six thousand years. But we must consider the creatures going into the ark spiritually.
1. There are many lion-hearted Christians, who are richly blessed with grace and faith, and are great in the divine life; who press through crowds, and ever-come every opposition, and enter fully and firmly into the spiritual Ark, the Lord Jesus Christ.
2. There are many lamb-like ones, gentle in their movements, who proceed by quiet steps, and whose progress is marked by nothing very particular; whose natures naturally are tame, and in whose hearts the grace of God does not shine so conspicuously, but equally effectual. Hence their movements towards the ark are progressive, but yet silent and oftentimes unobserved by others.
3. There are many who fly in the divine life, and, like the hare, pass everyone on the road; they are born again today, in Christ on the morrow, and many steps up the spiritual ladder, while others are only just brought into, and still continue under the convicting operations of the Holy Ghost.
4. There are many weak ones, whose strength at times appears to fails; they see others passing them, while they are so weak and feeble, that their progress to themselves appears to be at an end; but yet, if these weak ones will but look back, they will perceive they have already come a good distance in the divine life.
5. There are many who can only walk in the divine life, but yet their movements towards the Ark are characterized by their evenness, unbroken, and yet firm step: there is nothing out of the ordinary way; the work in their hearts is only to be seen in the path they take, the object they have in view, and the way their faces are turned, which is towards the ark.
6. There are many who go to the Ark broken-hearted and weighed down by their sins; their cry is, Unclean! unclean! Their face, their eyes, their heart, their language, all bespeak the anguish of the soul, and the conflict within. The Lord is nigh them that are of a broken heart, and sayeth such as be of a contrite spirit.
7. There are some who are going to the Ark, but it is only by sighing and groaning. If you look at one of these poor souls, you will hear them say, Lord, save, or I perish! God be merciful to me a sinner! Will the Lord hear? But yet the sighing of the prisoner comes up before God; their cry is heard above; and He says to them, Turn to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope; even today do I declare that I will render double unto thee.
8. There are some who can only creep towards the Ark, like the tortoise, and there are a great number of this class; and to enumerate the doubts, the fears, misgivings, tremblings of soul, hard thoughts, discouragements, diffidence, and distress, these souls pass through, would be more than I can do; their pace is so slow towards the Ark, that they fear they are making no progress; but they still are enabled to look that way, and sometimes when they look back they are surprised that they have come on so far. But hark! what is that I hear from one of them? I fear the Ark is closed; I fear all is over, and I am lost. But the inquiry comes, Shall I get in? Will the Ark door be left open until I am in?--Yes I yes! Let such souls mark for their comfort and encouragement, and to spur them on still to persevere, that the ark was not closed until the slowest creeping thing was in; so spiritually the door of Christ, the Ark, shall not be closed so long as there is a soul on the road.
III. WHO PUT HIM IN? And the Lord shut him in. Not Noah, for if he had shut the door perhaps he would have left something out; but God, who knew all about it, shut the door Himself; therefore, what He does is well done. So it is spiritually; God puts poor sinners into Christ, the Ark. How does He do it? By His Spirit, who shows unto them--
1. Their state as sinners, which He causes them to feel in a two-fold sense--in Adam and in themselves.
2. This teaching points out to them the greatness of their danger.
3. This teaching begets alarm and anxiety, for it breaks their hearts, subdues their will, causes tears of genuine repentance to flow from their hearts, and they cry out, God be merciful to me a sinner!
4. Then they see that He is the glorious Person who has blotted out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to His cross.
IV. THEIR GREAT SAFETY. Being in the spiritual Ark by faith, they are safe--
1. From the wrath of God against sin; for God, having received at the hands of the Lord Jesus a full satisfaction, He having made the great atonement for sin by the sacrifice of Himself, has obtained for His people an eternal redemption from the wrath of God, and the right to all the blessings contained in this redemption.
2. From the malice and rage of Satan, who hates the Lords people, and would destroy them if he could; but, blessed be God, they are kept by the mighty power of God.
3. From a wicked world; for the Lord again addresses them, No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper, and the tongue that riseth up in judgment against thee thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of Me, saith the Lord.
4. They shall be safe when God shall overthrow the world by fire, which will not be till all His people are in the Ark.
Lastly.
1. Learn for information that God has prepared an Ark, in the person of His Son, for the saving of poor sinners.
2. Are we in it?
3. Are we running to it? The steps which lead to and into it are conviction, repentance, and faith in Christ.
4. Happiness of getting into the ark.
5. Misery of being without when God shuts the door. (R. B. Isaac.)
The ark of refuge
I. A PLACE OF SAFETY. The door that excludes the faithless and unbelieving, includes in the safe refuge those who hear and obey Gods Psa_27:5). Noah and his family were safe, because they used Gods appointed way of salvation.
II. A POSITION OF PEACE. Noah and his family knew that in God was their help.
III. A PLEDGE OF HOPE. Expecting new world, where they should have full scope for their energies, and new blessings from God their Saviour. God, who had safely shut them in, and who had preserved them in peace from the universal ruin, would assuredly perfect their salvation. Is it not so with us? (W. S. Smith, B. D.)
The shut door
In the life of the late Hugh Miller, we find the following passage from Mr. Stewart, of Cromarty, whom Miller considered one of the very best and ablest of Scotlands ministers:--Noah did not close the door. There are works that God keeps for Himself. The burden is too heavy for the back of man. To shut that door on a world about to perish would have been too great a responsibility for a son of Adam. Another moment, and another, and another, might have been granted by Noah, and the door might never have been shut, and the ship that carried the life of the world might have been swamped. And so it is in the ark of salvation. It is not the church nor the minister that shuts or opens the door. These do Gods bidding; they preach righteousness, they offer salvation, and it is God that shuts and opens the door. Oh! what a sigh and shudder will pass through the listening universe when God will shut the door of the heavenly ark upon the lost!
Instruction derived from Noahs ark
I. In Gods dealings with Noah we see THE IMPORTANCE OF INDIVIDUAL PERSONAL FAVOUR. Noah, in all that wicked generation, was one alone. He was one singled out from many. In this singular dispensation of God, in His concern for the security of Noah and those belonging to him, we see paternal care, a fatherly goodness--we see provision made for objects certainly dear and highly valued. Now, to be the subjects of so much paternal attention is no small mercy.
II. IT IS WELL TO MARK SURROUNDING MISERY WHEN WE ARE PROTECTED AND SECURED. Have we not seen in many instances pale disease and pinching poverty hovering all around, while we have been protected, comforted, or even enriched! Look back and recount the mercies of God; call to mind seasons of affliction, of trial, of distress; when, as Noah from his ark, you have seen the descending torrents, witnessed the inundation of woe by which others have perished. God said to you, tear not, be still, my child, it shall not come nigh you. In epidemical diseases, in burning fevers, has not this been literally the case? While we pity these sufferers: while our hearts bleed over these unhappy, these devoted victims, we may, with gratitude, exult in our own security, and give glory to God for discriminating grace.
III. Where God is the protector, as here in the case of Noah, ALL ATTEMPTS OF ENEMIES TO INJURE OR DESTROY ARE PERFECTLY VAIN. When God shut Noah in the ark, He shut all his enemies out; and presently distanced both the young and the old by the descending rains and the separating waves.
IV. TO BE REMEMBERED OF GOD, AND TO BE REGARDED BY HIM IN TIMES
OF PUBLIC CALAMITY, IS AN EXCEEDINGLY GREAT MERCY. (The Evangelist.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 7:16 the Lord closed the door: The sovereign Judge…
7:16 the Lord closed the door: The sovereign Judge took responsibility for the annihilation of all outside the boat and the protection of those within (see also 6:16 and study note).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.