The Door of the Ark
A Devotional Series from Genesis
Online Bible Audio/Readings Links (ESV)
6/7 Reading Portions: Deuteronomy 11; Psalms 95-96; Isaiah 39; Revelation 9
Genesis 6:16
“Make a roof for the ark, and finish it to a cubit above, and set the door of the ark in its side. Make it with lower, second, and third decks.”
LOVE
Yesterday, as we considered God’s command to Noah to make a roof for the ark, being reflective of our loving response to God’s love through Christ, the commandment to set a door in the ark’s side also reflects our loving activity to others. How so?
As far as salvation goes, the door in the ark represents our eternal salvation. After Noah entered the ark through the door he was commanded to set in the ark’s side, YHVH God shut the family in by that door. It is written,
And those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him. And the LORD shut him in. Genesis 7:16
It is called eternal life, not temporary life. And if salvation is offered by God and applied by God, it is most certainly secured by God. Nevertheless, the command to Noah to set a door into the side of the ark was a prophetic foreshadow of how we are to reflect God’s love to a lost and dying world. After the Lord Jesus was crucified and risen, He appeared to His disciples. Jesus said to them:
“Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, even so I am sending you.” John 20:21
God saves us by His grace in order to make us like His beloved Son (Rom 8:29). Since Jesus fulfilled the great commandment of the law, and the second great commandment perfectly. This righteousness is imputed to our lives. Jesus stated what these two commandments are:
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 22:37-40
The greatest demonstration of loving God upon earth is to love others by sharing with them the truth of God’s love through Christ. Jesus saved us when we were weak, ungodly sinners who were enemies of God (Rom 5:6, 8, 10). When we love Christ, we will have a love for others. And that love will move our hearts to testify of Christ to the lost. This is what it means to set a door in the side of the ark; to provide access to the salvation in Christ that we richly enjoy. Jesus said:
“Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut.” Revelation 3:8
Hallelujah! What a Savior!