THE LORD SHUT HIM IN
Genesis 7:1 And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation. 2 Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female. 3 Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth. 15 And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life. 16 And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the LORD shut him in. 17 ¶ And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lift up above the earth. 18 And the waters prevailed, and were increased greatly upon the earth; and the ark went upon the face of the waters.
The Hebrew word used here to convey the Lord’s having “shut him in,” is the exact same word used in Genesis 2:21 where it is stated the Lord “closed up” the flesh of Adam after the rib was extracted to ‘build’ Eve. And as he brought forth a bride out of the first Adam, so he completed the operation of God (Colossians 2:12), and brought the church, the Bride of Christ, out of his pierced side! John 19:34 But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water. And as here he shuts in the ark that which was necessary to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth, so he has sealed with that holy Spirit of promise (Ephesians 1:13), all believers in Christ to survive the flood waters of God’s judgment against the outside world! Isaiah 26:20 Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. 21 For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.
For every person, every beast, every plant, every color, every material, every event and every THING in the scripture is about the revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ! John 5:39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.
Luke 24:25 Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: 26 Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? 27 And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.
Luke 24:44 And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. 45 Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, 46 And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:
And did you notice that there are two “they’s” in verses fifteen and sixteen in our above listed Genesis seven passage? But when it comes to revealing the Lord’s shutting the door it only states, and the LORD shut him in. The narrative switches from referring to the entire content of the ark to only Noah! And in this we can clearly see a personal type and picture of the Lord Jesus!
For Noah is strongly related to Christ! They both have the same type of days! Matthew 24:37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
They both saved their house, while condemning the world! Hebrews 11:7 By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith. Hebrews 3:6 But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.
They were both preachers! 2 Peter 2:5 And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly; Mark 1:38 And he said unto them, Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth.
Both were sustained upon the waters! Genesis 7:17 ¶ And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lift up above the earth. Mark 4:1 ¶ And he began again to teach by the sea side: and there was gathered unto him a great multitude, so that he entered into a ship, and sat in the sea; and the whole multitude was by the sea on the land. 2 And he taught them many things by parables, and said unto them in his doctrine,
Christ is the Master of the waters and winds! Mark 4:38 And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? 39 And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 41 And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him? It would therefore seem that we would fare far better in the storms of life if we ceased from our pointless efforts of rowing and traded our oars in for a pillow to rest in the Lord! Isaiah 30:15 For thus saith the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not.
And it was the very Spirit of Christ in which Noah preached! 1 Peter 3:18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: 19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; (That is, Christ, by the Holy Spirit went and preached through Noah to the peoples of his day.) 20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.
Christ, by the Spirit, inspired Noah’s preaching, during those hundred and twenty years while he built the ark, unto the souls of those of that world, who are now in an eternal prison!
And since Noah is a strong personal type of the Lord Jesus, we look for the presence of the Lord within that ark. And we don’t have to look very far. For in verse two of chapter seven of Genesis (listed above), we find Him! There were to be seven of every clean beast to keep seed alive in that ark. But it takes two, a male and female, to produce seed, and there are three couples in the number seven. But that leaves one clean beast alone. And he is without a mate. So what is his purpose, since he can do nothing to physically procreate? He didn’t come into the ark to continue his species on earth, but to satisfy the Lord God of Heaven! Isaiah 53:11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied:
Genesis 8:18 And Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him: 19 Every beast, every creeping thing, and every fowl, and whatsoever creepeth upon the earth, after their kinds, went forth out of the ark. 20 And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. 21 And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake; for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.
For here we find Noah in the building business again! He had first built an ark. Now he builds an altar! And just what does he sacrifice on it but that seventh, lone, clean beast! That seventh lamb didn’t just go into that ark to spare his life from the flood waters. He went into that ark as one selected to die!
Within the ark he was the one odd sheep. But he was a sheep like the other six! Hebrews 2:17 Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. Yet he was not received by any other! John 1:11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
And he was looked at differently as a single male among the other mated sheep! Isaiah 53:3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
He was appointed for death before he ever entered the ark! 1 Peter 1:19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: 20 Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, Revelation 13:8 … the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
And his existence in the ark provided everyone else within it their own life! John 5:26 For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; John 10:28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. 29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. John 14:19 Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.
For he is also pictured by the lamb on the night of the passover in Egypt. The death angel of the Lord was to pass over all Egypt and kill every first born in the land. Exodus 12:23 For the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the LORD will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you.
And who was it to provide the blood but a lamb that also had to be shut up? For they were to take the lamb on the tenth day of that month and shut it up until the fourteenth day, then kill it and place the blood over the doors of their houses. Exodus 12:3 Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house: 6 And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.
Let us also notice in verse three, of our above passage, that there were also the clean fowls who were taken in by seven’s. Now look humbly to the account of the very Son of God as he is presented to the God of Israel as the first born on his eighth day of human life. Luke 2:21 And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb. 24 And to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons. The Lamb of God could not afford a lamb of the flock. He had to be accepted by God by the blood of two young pigeons!
And as was stated, this was in accordance to the law! Leviticus 12:8 And if she be not able to bring a lamb, then she shall bring two turtles, or two young pigeons; the one for the burnt offering, and the other for a sin offering: and the priest shall make an atonement for her, and she shall be clean.
He taught that it is hard for the rich to enter into the kingdom, so he made himself physically poor in order to make his Bride spiritually rich! 2 Corinthians 8:9 For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.
Then in verse eighteen of our context we find a phrase which appears a total of four times, And the waters prevailed. We find this phrase also in verses 19, 20, and 24. This Hebrew word is also translated, they were stronger, as found in 2 Samuel 1:23. The waters of judgment were stronger than the sins which had spread violence throughout the earth.
And so shall the judgment of fire that next destroys the earth! That old world was born of water! So it perished accordingly! 2 Peter 3:5 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: 6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:
But the world of the glorious kingdom of God was born of fire! Acts 2:2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. Matthew 3:11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:
And so it shall perish with fire! 12 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. 2 Peter 3:7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
Matthew 24:44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. gb
