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The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master’s feeding trough, but Israel does not know; My people do not understand.”
Isaiah 1:3 HCSB
There are a lot of themes throughout the Bible that draw a consistent picture of the nature of God. Here in Genesis 7, the animals obeyed and had no problems “migrating” to the ark. Mankind was another story. Many people ask, “Why would God judge all these other people?” Those same people might ask God why he allows for so much evil in the world. The problem has never been God. It’s us.
Just like in Noah’s time, God opens the door to Salvation (the boat) and He decides when it will be closed. He gives us His instruction and counsel and waits patiently for our move. There comes a time, however, when the door will be shut. Notice that Noah doesn’t shut the door to the ark… God does. At that moment, the ark became Noah’s saving grace. It was his refuge. It was his Salvation. To everyone on the outside of the boat, it was their destruction.
As believers, we must take God’s commands seriously. His instruction, His timing, and most definitely His justice are all certain. He will punish sin and we should rejoice at the power of His flawless character. For those of us hidden in Christ, we stand on the boat of Salvation and wait patiently. We tell others about the hope of Christ that can be found through a ship called faith. We trust that we will not be the ones to close or open the door, but rather, it is Jesus who can “open doors that no one can shut, and shuts doors that no one can open.” Have you heard about this Salvation? Are you on the ship? Have you told anyone about it?… or are you trying to shut the door?