11_08012011

As In the Days of Noah and Lot:

God Shut the Door

2Pe 2:5-8

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;

And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly;

And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked:

(For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;)

I alluded to this scripture before when I speaking of Lot, but when during my normal course of reading the Bible, I came upon this passage again, I realized these are two figures of the OT put forward as examples for us about deliverance in days of judgment that will soon break upon the world. When I read the story of Lot freshly, I saw something that I had noticed previously in the writings of Noah, but seeing it in both I was freshly heartened.

Practical Things

I have a family, and seeing these things ahead for all that dwell here on earth, I look for practical answers. As I detailed in part-one of this writing; I am a Noah, having the job of apprehending from the Lord the practical’s of “how long, how high, what and who” of building an ark. This leaves me looking to the Lord for practical instructions of physical things, but in the course of writing the second installment about “The Mobs of Lot” I realized how delicate my ark really is.

In World War Two, for the D-Day invasion the allies built the Mulberry Harbor pontoon bridge. The bridge was constructed in England of concrete sections and the sections floated like small concrete boats to the shores of France to construct an offloading point in support of the landings. What a technically feat and a wise invention that was! Looking at my own ark I am humbled at its particulars; a wooden house, with locks only strong enough to keep honest people honest, backing a busy street. I have followed the Lords instructions, in Godly Fear and obedience, but seen a coming flood and fire upon the land, I feel uneasy because my pitiful wooden boat won’t hold up to what I see before me.

The Last Thing Needed

There is a parallel between Noah and Lot, God mentioning them together for our benefit and giving us instruction from them.

Gen 7:13-16 (select)

In the selfsame day entered Noah, and Shem, and Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah's wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, into the ark…(and) two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life…and the LORD shut him in.

Gen 19:6-10 (select)

And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him…

And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly… But the men put forth their hand, and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door.

What could this mean for us? The literal and practical instructions from the Lord to me is now transitioned back to the figurative and conceptual; they will manifest again, but in our very hour of need. At this my wicked heart and fleshly mind cries out and tries to rebel: “I want more to do! I want more literal and practical; I want more flesh! I’m building my salvation here!” Shut up!

Really, was I building my own salvation? If I claim it was God from the beginning, then how can it be both? It was God who warned, God who provided, God who instructed, and God who spoke; whom I followed as a servant. Now it has to be all God again! It does not matter what has been done by my hands; if God himself doesn’t shut the door, the water comes in and ruins the ark, the mob breaks through and has their way.

Psa 127:1 

Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.

You see the passage from 2 Peter, which I quoted at first, speaks of God’s part. I kept back, but hear it now, as God’s part:

2Pe 2:4-9 (select) 

For if God… 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;

And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly;

And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked:

(For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;)

The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations (putting to the proof), and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:

Without God’s part, no ark is strong enough; without God’s path, no path is safe enough. There are many who through natural wisdom are seeing the same things and are taking steps to prepare, just like a Noah. There are many who are seeing and taking flight from the cities into the country, just as a Lot. They are building their own arks, putting up their own provision; they are plotting their course and mapping their own steps and are ever ready to roll: they have hung their steel doors, which they will close.

Unless God closes the door, no door is strong enough; unless God becomes their path; their way is not sure. More than this, God even might make a show of them, that all things apart from Him are vain, tearing the doors of iron and pouring out all their provisions.

I leave off with this word:

                        Rev 3:7-8 (select)

…These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth… I know thy works…

God must shut this door on an ark He built or in a house in which He dwells: and if He shuts the door, “no man,” no mob, no false Messiah, no friend, no foe can open it.