Open the Door

 DEVOTION

GENESIS

OPEN THE DOOR

Gen 8:13-19

13 By the first day of the first month of Noah's six hundred and first year, the water had dried up from the earth. Noah then removed the covering from the ark and saw that the surface of the ground was dry. 14 By the twenty-seventh day of the second month the earth was completely dry. 15 Then God said to Noah, 16 "Come out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and their wives. 17 Bring out every kind of living creature that is with you — the birds, the animals, and all the creatures that move along the ground — so they can multiply on the earth and be fruitful and increase in number upon it." 18 So Noah came out, together with his sons and his wife and his sons' wives. 19 All the animals and all the creatures that move along the ground and all the birds — everything that moves on the earth — came out of the ark, one kind after another.

NIV

It is amazing just to think about how much water there was to cover all the mountains of the earth and then all that water receded, so the land was completely dry. The surface of the ground was dry, meaning it was a wasteland as the Hebrew word implies. This could have only happened due to the hand of God. However, we also notice that Noah saw the earth was dried up and still did not leave the ark. We also believe he might not have been able to leave as God had shut him and his family and all the living things that were with them when God shut the door. If this door was large enough for the elephants, or wooly mammoths, giraffes, and all the larger dinosaurs, then it would make sense that Noah could not open the door and leave the ark until God opened it. This brings us face to face with the majesty of heaven and earth, the Almighty Sovereign God, who can shut up and open up everything, and everyone who has the breath of life in them. Now it was time for God to open the door and for Noah and his family and every living animal in the ark to leave and go throughout the land and multiply and be fruitful and increase in numbers. We are back to that stay until we are told to go, and we can no longer stay, but we must go because of the command of God. Noah and his family now had to leave the safety of the ark. This ark had been their home for at least five months. Of course, there was most likely still some food supplies left as well as any extra personal supplies they at put in the ark. They could have brought the fire with them for cooking, because the earth may not have produced enough food for them. We are going to see something about food later, but for now let us consider that God had their lives completely within his hands, just as he does with ours. Once again, we believe we are not the captain of our own lives. We have been given life by God as he knit us together in our mother’s womb. He has chosen to what family we would be raised in, just as he chose Joseph and Mary to raise Jesus. He directed our footsteps even if we were unaware to bring us to the place where we could find him, or recognize our sinful state and repent, changing our thinking about our life and God. He has always been involved since, providing our needs, as he did so with Noah, only that time it was with an ark, but this time it was with a cross. However, God also has provided all our other needs, housing, transportation, food, clothing, everything we need to live on the face of the earth and be fruitful. Noah could not have survived without the hand of God, nor can we survive without his hand upon us. We are confident without God ordering our footsteps, shutting us up in the cross, we would perish with the rest of mankind who have made their own gods, refusing the God of glory. Thank you, Lord, for all you do for us, in us, and through us, just as you did for Noah, the man who found favor with you. Thank Almighty God that we have found favor with you. We have no idea where in life we would be if you had not opened that door for us.