Michael Kelley, Guest Contributor

“The animals going in were male and female of every living thing, as God had commanded Noah. Then the Lord shut him in.”
Genesis 7:16

All kinds of questions come up when you read the story of Noah in Genesis 6 and 7. 

Most of the answers are left to the imagination.

For example:
“Pairs of clean and unclean animals, of birds and of all creatures that move along the ground, male and female, came to Noah and entered the ark, as God had commanded Noah” (Genesis 7:8-9).

They came to Noah? What was that like? Was it orderly? Were the animals friendly to one another? Lots of questions, but ones that the Bible is not particularly concerned with answering. The overall point seems to be that God told Noah it would happen, just as He did with the flood, and so it was.

Even our scripture from today’s devotion might cause us to wonder:
“The animals going in were male and female of every living thing, as God had commanded Noah. Then the Lord shut him in” (Genesis 7:16).

“The Lord shut them in.” What a wonderfully mysterious and imagination-stirring little sentence that is.

How did He shut them in? What did Noah and his family see, if anything? What did it sound like as the door was closed? We don’t know.

We do know that however it happened, whatever it looked like, whatever it sounded like – it was secure. Why? Because the Lord had shut them in. Sealed the door. So, you can be confident that when the Lord shuts you in, you are in.

Amid all the tumultuous activity outside the boat – the thunder and the rain; the wind and the waves blowing the boat this way and that; the noise and shaking as the water rose and rose and rose… indeed it was a comfort to those inside to know that it was the Lord who shut the door. And because the Lord shut the door, it was secure.

It must have been gloriously comforting to know that God had shut them in. And it still is:
“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one” (John 10:27-30).

How secure are the sheep? How safe are those whom Jesus has claimed? Completely secure. We are firmly within His grip. And on top of that, the Father’s hand is closed around His. God has shut us in. 

“And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory” (Ephesians 1:13-14).

Feel it today, Christian friend – feel deeply the comfort of knowing you belong to Jesus. Though you will inevitably face trials of many kinds, you are safe. Because through Jesus, God has laid claim to us, and we are His. Forever.

He has shut us in.

DIG DEEPER
Read “Nothing is More Secure Than God” by Bryant Wright