"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'" (Genesis 7:1).
This invitation to Noah, if we consider the ark (as the scripture authorises us to do, cf. 1 Peter 3:20-21) as a type of Jesus, will be best explained by those parallel passages, Isaiah 26:20; then Matthew 11:28, and then Revelation 22:17.
• The first of them is the call of God the Father: "Come My people, enter into thy chambers ... ."
And what are those chambers, but the covenant of redemption in Christ Jesus?
• The second is the invitation of Christ Himself: "Come unto Me, and I will give you rest ... ."
See also Isaiah 28:12; Jeremiah 6:16.
• And the third is the call of God the Holy Ghost: "And the Spirit and the Bride say come ...," proving the gracious part which that Eternal Spirit bears in the work of redemption.
Reader! is it not refreshing to the soul to discover testimonies in every part of scripture, carrying with them such decided evidences to the truth as it is in Jesus?
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"And the waters prevailed, and were increased greatly upon the earth; and the ark went upon the face of the waters" (Genesis 7:18).
Doth not this verse suggest that as the Ark rose higher and higher, in proportion as the waters prevailed; so, when the waters of tribulation abound, consolation also by Christ aboundeth? cf. 2 Corinthians 1:5.
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What a precious consideration is it to the faithful, that amidst all the judgments of God upon the wicked, the Lord is never inattentive to the interests and safety of His people.
• Before the flood sweeps away the sinner, an ark shall be provided for the saint.
• Before that the wicked shall be driven, with everlasting destruction, from the presence of the Lord, Jesus will make us His jewels and be glorified in them that believe.
In that decisive hour, Lord, may it be my portion to be found in Thee.
Reader! pause over this wonderful deliverance, in the instance of Noah and his family, and consider whether in the ark you do not behold a type of the Lord Jesus, preserving His Church and people.
• Doth not His Godhead appear in the fulness and all-sufficiency of His salvation?
• Is not the almightiness of His merits and death demonstrated in bearing up the whole weight of redemption when the wrath of God, like the torrents and tempests descending upon the ark, destroyed every thing but this place of safety?
• And who doth not see that in the blood and righteousness, the doing and suffering, of Christ Jesus, the eternal safety of the believer alone is found.
O! for an ardent faith to believe the record which God hath given of His Son.
Let us not dismiss the contemplation of this interesting subject until that we have taken another and another view of the ark of safety.
While God, as a kind Father, foreseeing the storm approaching, doth not think it enough to call His children from the field, but takes them by the hand to bring them home into the house; so, the same mercy which provides the shelter of the Saviour, provides help to the sinner to embrace it.
The call of grace is not to Noah, 'Go thou into the ark,' but 'Come'; evidently teaching that while God the Father hath so loved the world as to give His only begotten Son for salvation, He gives also His Holy Spirit to render that salvation effectual.
Holy and Eternal Spirit, while Thou kindly enablest me to hear the voice of entreaty, calling me to enter into the ark Christ Jesus; and while Thou, as graciously, art pointing to Him as the Way, the Truth, and the Life; oh! add another blessing to the undeserved favour, and make me willing in the day of Thy power; work in me, both to will and to do, of Thy good pleasure.
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