Genesis 7:7. And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives with him went into the ark to escape the waters of the flood.
Genesis 7:16. And those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him. And the Lord shut him in.
What do you think it was like inside the ark?
My church used to have a mural (a large painting on the wall) of Noah’s ark outside of the nursery. It was very cute. All the animals were smiling, riding along in the big boat with their happy heads sticking out the sides. There are toys of Noah’s ark for children to play with too. Fisher Price makes a Little People version complete with the ark, Noah, and several animals. And of course you’ve probably sung the children’s song Arky Arky too. Who hasn’t?
But life inside of Noah’s ark probably wasn’t much fun. It was dark (there was only one window). I’m sure it was smelly. Not to mention scary. There is a rain storm happening outside and water is gushing up from the Earth and will this boat even survive? This isn’t a fun, cute children’s story. It’s a very sad story.
Do you remember why God is flooding the Earth? Because people have become so wicked that God is starting over with Noah. Noah is like a new Adam. But instead of being put into a beautiful garden with trees, sunlight, streams, and fresh air, God has put Noah into a big floating box without trees, sunlight, streams, or fresh air.
And then God shuts him in. Once inside the ark there is no escape. Noah and his family are locked inside for over a year. But this is how Noah and his family will live. This is how they will make it through the judgment of God.
Do you remember what we said on Day 31 about Jesus and the ark? Jesus is our ark. When we trust in him and his death for us on the cross, we enter into him. What does that mean? It means we are joined to him so that everything he goes through we go through too. This includes his death on the cross. Just like Jesus died, we have to die too. That’s what Noah is teaching us too. Noah had to go through the flood in order to survive the flood. There was no escaping it. Jesus had to go through dying on the cross in order to survive death. But God shut Noah in an ark so that he could survive the flood, and God put Jesus in himself so that Jesus could survive the cross and live again. And God puts us into Jesus so that we can survive death and live again too!
I know this is a little bit hard to understand, but trust me it’s true – when we trust in Jesus, God shuts us into Jesus, just like he shut Noah into the ark. God puts us into Jesus’ death so that we don’t have to die for our own sins. In a very real way, when Jesus died on the cross, so did everyone who trusts in him. And when Jesus rose from the dead, so did everyone who trusts in him. This is why the Apostle Paul can say these word to us Christians: For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
Noah’s life was hidden in the ark. Your life is hidden in God. Noah’s family went with him into the ark. We have gone with Christ, the greater Noah, into the ark of God and his love. To find safety from death we must all enter into the death of Christ by trusting that his death saves us. When we do, God will shut us in. Forever. Forever united to the death of Jesus so that we might live forever with Jesus.
Questions: Have you been shut into God’s ark of salvation, Jesus? Do you know for sure that you are saved from sin and death? What happens when a Christian dies? How does dying actually become life?
TLICfamily 