March 22, 2023
Doors. We’ve all seen them, used them, and are aware of them. Doors can be used for security, separation, style, warmth, entrance and exit, and other purposes (such as tables, arbors, shelving, etc.)
Doors can be hinged on either side, be installed in a pocket format, be designed with a revolving purpose, be on any type of building, made out of wood, steel, fiberglass, glass, and a lot of other materials.
Doors – pretty handy, aren’t they?
When I travel, I love to take pictures of doors as I find them so interesting. Not just the design, construction, color, or purpose … but their connection to the people who use them.
Here is a closed door, and someone who wants to get in to whatever is on the other side. Or perhaps to escape where he currently is. Why? What are some of the reasons the door may be closed and why someone might want to open it or go through?
Doors are mentioned throughout the Bible. One resource stated the following about doors: “Most commonly the rendering of Hebrew pethach, “doorway,” deleth, “door” proper (the two distinguished in Genesis 19:6), or of Greek thura, which represents both meanings.
The doorway was enclosed by the stone threshold (1 Kings 14:17), the two doorposts on either side, and the lintel above (Exodus 12:7). Doors were frequently two-leaved, and folding ones are mentioned in connection with the temple (1 Kings 6:34).
The door proper was usually of wood, frequently sheeted with metal, and sometimes of one slab of stone.
Sometimes these are actual doors – physical and made by man, but often they are symbolic of some truth to which God wants us to gain our attention.
Such an example in John 10 [ESV] when Jesus says He is the “door” … the symbolism of the entry into a sheepfold. Some versions of the Bible use the more rustic word “gate” because of the animal context. In this passage, Jesus points out the exclusive nature of salvation by saying He is the (only) way to forgiveness and eternal life.
With this in mind, I want to draw your attention to a particular door in the Scriptures that is said to be closed. The story’s found in Genesis 6 & 7. Here the Lord instructs Noah to build an ark to save humanity before the outpouring of His wrath.
Genesis 6:16b “Put a door in the side of the ark and make lower, middle and upper decks.’
Genesis 7:16b “Then the Lord shut him in.”
God gave humanity a long time to repent of their sin and to turn to Him. They refused, so it was God who closed the door. He preserved those who had faith in Him, and He left those who were determined to live without Him to the face the penalty for their rebellion and disobedience.
Now the picture of the little boy communicates a lot to us. The door is both an entry and exit point. The closed door represents that something or someone is on the other side. It communicates that someone shut the door, and according to the Bible this was an intentional act on the part of God. There is someone, or in reality many people, who are left out … and according to our truth-telling God, they have chosen this for their life.
This pictures makes us cringe but hopefully ponder the action of God in doing so. How many chances do you give someone to crucify your Son? To spit, beat, and mock Him? To say NO to your offer of grace and mercy? To flaunt their love of sin in your Holy eyes? To bring their sin soaked soul, their love of self, their hatred for what is good and Holy, and vile nature into the presence of Heaven. How long, before you would shut the door?
In the time of Noah, God shut the door after many years and much effort of urging mankind to repent and to believe in Him. According to the book of Revelation, there will be another time in which God allows man to spend eternity gloating and suffering in their selfishness, sinfulness, stubbornness, and their separation from Him.
We all have an opportunity to act like Noah. To point people to Jesus, the door and the doorway to God the Father. Our friends and family will spend eternity outside away from the love of the Father and the rejoicing of God’s children. They will suffer, by their own choice, the wrath of God, for all eternity.
You can and should function like an open door. Be more open for others to explore God, to learn who Jesus is, to provide a way for those we care about to learn about holiness, happiness, and heaven.
Why? Because a time is coming when you – their door, will be closed. Not just closed but gone from their life (by death or the rapture). They can still access God through you, IF YOU STAY OPEN AND AVAILABLE TO THEM.
In 2023 BE a DOOR.