18 JUNE GENESIS 7

When God Shuts the Door

The ark was ready. The animals had been gathered. Noah and his family obeyed God’s instructions completely. And then, a remarkable act of divine finality took place.

Genesis 7:15–17 (AMP) "So they went into the ark with Noah, two by two of all living beings in which there was the breath and spirit of life. Those which entered, male and female of all flesh (creatures), entered as God had commanded Noah; and the Lord closed the door behind him. The flood was forty days and nights on the earth; and the waters increased and lifted up the ark, and it floated above the land."

The closing of the door by the Lord Himself marked the end of grace for that generation. God's patience had run its course, and judgment had begun. It was not Noah who closed the door, it was God. That moment symbolised divine finality. Peter reflects on this moment, noting God’s patience before the flood:

1 Peter 3:20 (NLT) "Those who disobeyed God long ago when God waited patiently while Noah was building His boat. Only eight people were saved from drowning in that terrible flood." God’s patience is long, but it is not limitless. There comes a time when grace gives way to judgment, and the door is shut. This principle echoes through the New Testament. Peter urges believers to be mindful of God’s delay, not as slowness, but mercy:

2 Peter 3:9–10 (NLT) "The Lord isn’t really being slow about His promise, as some people think. No, He is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed but wants everyone to repent. But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment."

The shutting of the ark’s door also symbolises safety. Just as judgment fell on the world outside, those inside were kept secure. Jesus uses the same metaphor to speak of intimacy and protection in prayer:

Matthew 6:6 (AMP) "But when you pray, go into your most private room, close the door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you." Closing the door is not only about judgment, but about relationship. It’s the separation of the sacred from the profane, the believer from the chaos. Jesus also speaks of doors in the context of invitation and fellowship:

Revelation 3:20 (AMP) "Behold, I stand at the door and continually knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him (restore him), and he with Me." Finally, Genesis 7:16 reminds us that God is both Judge and Saviour. The same door that shuts out destruction also seals in salvation.

To delay in responding to God’s invitation is to risk being on the wrong side of that door.