So they went into the ark to Noah, by twos of all flesh in which was the breath of life. Those that entered, male and female of all flesh, entered as God had commanded him; and the Lord closed it behind him.
—Genesis 7:15–16
A few years ago, I began reading John Bunyan’s Exposition of the First Ten Chapters of Genesis. I didn’t get far before Bunyan’s extreme allegorizing of the text almost made me wonder if he believed it was an actual historical account. Since then I have been very wary of any preaching that imposes symbolic meanings where Scripture doesn’t specify them. You might want to keep that in mind as you read what follows, and beware of the possibility that I might be taking the allegory too far. Of the substance of theology, I am sure. That it can definitely be drawn from this text, I am not so certain.
1 Peter 3:18–21 tells us that the Genesis flood serves as an allegory of the wrath of God against sin and the salvation of his elect in Christ. (I wrote about that three weeks ago.) From Peter we know that the flood and the ark are symbols of Christ’s death and resurrection and the necessity of being in Christ. Like the New Testament parables, we must be careful not try to drag meaning out of every detail, but I do think there is soteriological significance in the phrase “the Lord closed [the door] behind him,” or as the KJV has it, “the Lord shut him in.” Matthew Henry wrote,
3. Those that by faith come into Christ, the ark, shall by the power of God be shut in, and kept as in a strong-hold by the power of God, 1 Pet. 1:5. God put Adam into paradise, but he did not shut him in, and so he threw himself out; but when he put Noah into the ark he shut him in, and so when he brings a soul to Christ he ensures its salvation: it is not in our own keeping, but in the Mediator’s hand. 4. The door of mercy will shortly be shut against those that now make light of it. Now, knock and it shall be opened; but the time will come when it shall not, Luke 13:25.
—Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible (Hendrickson, 1991), 1:50.
Following Peter’s formula, we could say:
Those that entered the ark were shut in by the power of God; corresponding to that, those who are in Christ are kept in by the power of God. While the door was open, there was hope of survival, but when it closed, it was closed for good, there was no alternate means of rescue, and all who remained outside were destroyed; corresponding to that, all who reject Christ while he offers salvation in himself will one day find the door closed, and it will be too late. (See also Psalm 95:8–11, cf. Hebrews 3–4.)
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