Ark Door
Plan - Preparation - Purpose, all around a Door?
I’m sure you may have guessed from my previous email that I was going to share with you, about the door of the Ark. I’ve loved diving into this door journey already and hope you are inspired and learn more. We will start our time in:
Genesis 6:14-22
14-16 “Build yourself a ship from teakwood. Make rooms in it. Coat it with pitch inside and out. Make it 450 feet long, seventy-five feet wide, and forty-five feet high. Build a roof for it and put in a window eighteen inches from the top; put in a door on the side of the ship; and make three decks, lower, middle, and upper.
17 “I’m going to bring a flood on the Earth that will destroy everything alive under Heaven. Total destruction.
18-21 “But I’m going to establish a covenant with you: You’ll board the ship, and your sons, your wife and your sons’ wives will come on board with you. You are also to take two of each living creature, a male and a female, on board the ship, to preserve their lives with you: two of every species of bird, mammal, and reptile—two of everything so as to preserve their lives along with yours. Also get all the food you’ll need and store it up for you and them.”
God's Plan
22 Noah did everything God commanded him to do.
This seems pretty straight forward with what the plan was for Noah's boat building project. God even told Him what the boat was for. But, as I read through this story, I started to think about what was not recorded.
- God didn't ask Noah how he felt about the plan
- We don't hear about what Noah's creditials were for building something, much less a huge undertaking such as this.
- For at least 120 years, Noah's sons had no children?
- The daughter's in law married into a family that they most likely didn't understand
- Noah had to keep his attention on the task at hand, no matter what was being said to him or about him
- Noah didn't know that God would be the one to shut the door of the ark, did he?
- Did he have thoughts about being able to actually close the door on people and not open it when the flood waters came?
These are just some of the things that came to my mind.
God said Noah was righteous, but He also knew he was just a man, with thoughts and emotions.
I encourage you to ponder these things as we look deeper into the Door of the ark and what it might tell us about the human heart.
God's Preparation
Noah was 480 years old when he started this building project. He was 600 when it came to use! There was no instant gratification, just one day at a time for a long, long time.
The plan was spoken to Noah with specific instruction for the materials needed. Starting with what wood to use. It was Teak wood or Gopher wood. This wood was a tropical hardwood tree, which would make sense as it would need to be waterproof for the ark.
Have you ever been given a plan in your life? Then realized that the preparation for it was out of your wheelhouse or would take some education and diligenge to make it happen.
God didn't tell Noah how to find the wood, how to cut the wood, or how to transport the wood. God just told him to build it, with specific dimensions, mind you.
Sometimes, I get inspired to start a project, but quickly start to realize I may not have the proper tool for it. I will get creative, I think, and attempt to do it without the proper tool, because I'm inspired and just want to get started. But, as I'm sure you know, the thing I'm making or building wouldn't stand up to a brisk wind by the time I'm done. I then have to re-evaluate what I have and then proceed to get what’s needed to bring the best project to fruition. Some of us are slow learners and have to be taught this over and over again, myself included.
In Genesis 6:9
...Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation; Noah walked with God.
I think it wasn't just that he was righteous, it was also that he was going to get the proper tools and build this ark according to what was asked of him. No, skimping, or “I don't feel like it today”! He knew that this was to be a testimony to what God had for the safety and rescue of himself, his family and the animals. Can you imagine Noah, saying, well....... Let's just use what we have on hand and then realize once the flood came, he had just sank his family?
Noah was very familiar with God as we see in verse 6. They walked and talked together in life all the time. Up to this point in Noah's life, he was just a regular guy, living his life as a son, a father, a husband, a friend, a church attender and he had neighbors he had to live by, that were evil.
Do we really get this? He just walked with God in his life day to day, and obeyed. He prayed for the people who didn’t listen and he shared God the whole time he was building.
I'm sure Noah had all sorts of thoughts about the people around him. He probably had to direct and re-direct his sons a time or two back to the plan. But, according to the passage, he kept in his lane, served and did what God told him to do and he did this with a good attitude!
This doesn't mean you stick your head in the sand and act like nothing bothers you. It means that we get choices all of the time as to what we make ourselves available to. I could give you a list on this, but I think you get what I mean. If you don't see God, hear God, smell God in what your doing, might wanna reconsider.
God's Purpose
Time to bring the door in!
What do we see when we think about the ark? or even better Who do we see when we think about the ark? You are right - Jesus! He is the ark.
I love these next verses that speak of those people who put there faith in Jesus.
Romans 3:24
they (Christ ones) are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:1
Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
These are just a few of my favorites.
We see there is salvation, eternal life and no condemnation if you have entered into Jesus. For many years, I knew Jesus was in my heart when I had asked him to be my Savior. This is very true! but it has a whole new level of truth and life, if I'm….in Him.
John 14:20
Jesus says: 20 When I come back to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.
How does this connect to the ark?
Genesis 6:18
18 But I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark,
Do you see what God's purpose was? He wanted to make a new promise with Noah. Our will is always apart of God's purpose!
We have to choose to enter into Christ just like Noah had to make a choice to enter into the ark. Noah could have built the ark and never got on. He would have died with every other person, but, he would have known alot about boat building. Our works don’t matter, it’s only by faith and then working out of that faith that gets the vote in God’s economy.
Genesis 7:10-16
10 One week later, when Noah was 600 years, two months, and seventeen days old, the rain came down in mighty torrents from the sky, and the subterranean waters burst forth upon the earth for forty days and nights. 13 But Noah had gone into the boat that very day with his wife and his sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and their wives. 14-15 With them in the boat were pairs of every kind of animal—domestic and wild—and reptiles and birds of every sort. 16 Two by two they came, male and female, just as God had commanded. Then the Lord God closed the door and shut them in.
This is such a great truth of safety and security in Christ our ark. There wasn't an anchor, there wasn't a helm for steering or compass for where the boat was going. This was a complete action of faith in what God promised Noah.
Ephesians 4:30
And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
To close this blog, as a Christ one, the sealing or closing of the door of your heart, is done by the Holy Spirit. God asks us to enter into His Son, then God closes the door between you and eternal death and you are now in Eternal Life. No one can open that door once it's shut.
The door is such a great reminder of the separation between us and the eternal death that is on the other side of that door.
My hope is that you have asked Jesus to be your Savior, your rescuer and to take the ride of Life, in Him. I know that this can be a moment when you may think about what people may say about making this choice. But, just like Noah, he stayed focused on God and didn't let other's opinions or mockery detour him.
I hope this has given you much to ponder this month and I also encourage you to go and read the whole story of this great rescue mission in Genesis 6-7.
Bon voyage and happy sailing!
Love In Christ, the Ark and the Door,
Dayna