Come

Then the LORD said to Noah, “Come into the ark, you and all your household, because I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation.

Genesis 7:1 (NKJV)

            This particular verse has often been translated as “Go into the ark…” But literal translations such as Young’s read, “And Jehovah saith to Noah, ‘Come in, thou and all thy house, unto the ark, for thee I have seen righteous before Me in this generation.”

            God’s bidding was an invitation rather than a directive. Note the contrast between the two names of God used in chapter 6 and chapter 7. It is Elohim (the Creator God from Genesis 1) who gives directives to Noah on the building of the ark. But it is the LORD -Yahweh, the covenant God, who issues the invitation to enter the ark.

Charles Spurgeon notes, “Notice that the Lord did not say to Noah, ‘Go into the ark,’ but ‘Come,’ plainly implying that God was himself in the ark, waiting to receive Noah and his family into the big ship that was to be their place of refuge while all the other people on the face of the earth were drowned.”¹

The key word here is ‘come.’ God didn’t just shut the door to the ark and send Noah and his family off with a wave and best wishes for a nice trip. No, He, the God of the Covenant, preceded them into the ark even as He set them apart for a time.

It is tempting, when we pass through deep waters, to feel as though we are facing them alone. Nothing could be further from the truth. Isaiah 43:2 says, “When you pass into waters, I (am) with you, and into floods, they do not overflow you” (Literal Standard Version).

Where is God? He’s in the midst of it. He hasn’t abandoned us. The Lord is right beside us.

“The Lord Your God (Yahweh) is in your midst, a mighty one who will save” (Zephaniah 3:17).

“Come,” Jesus says. “Come when you are heavy laden. Come when you are hurting. Come when you are overwhelmed. Come, find mercy and grace. Come to me, for I will never leave you or forsake you. I am with you and I will be your place of refuge in the midst of deep waters.”

¹ https://www.truthaccordingtoscripture.com/commentaries/spe/genesis-7.php