God shutting the ark's door means God Himself sealed Noah and his family inside His place of safety, a picture of Christ sealing believers into His ark of safety.
Les Feldick shows that 'the LORD shut him in' means Jehovah—God the Son in the Old Testament—was the One who closed the door after inviting them inside. This pictures salvation: once a believer is in God's ark of safety, the waters of judgment will never touch him.
Genesis 7:16 — This is the verse in which the closing action is explicitly attributed to God—'the LORD shut him in.'
The one verse that directly answers this question is Genesis 7:16. After Noah and his family entered the ark, the King James text reads: 'And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the LORD shut him in.' Scripture attributes the closing to God Himself. The verse places this action immediately after Noah's obedience—God had commanded, Noah went in, and then the LORD shut him in.
Les Feldick treats Genesis 7:16's phrase 'the LORD shut him in' as crucial and tantamount to New Testament doctrine. He explains that in the King James text, LORD with capital letters refers to Jehovah, and Jehovah in the Old Testament is normally God the Son—Christ in His Old Testament personality. The Lord Jesus, therefore, is both the One who said 'come' to Noah and the One who shut the door after Noah entered. Les also uses the ark as the believer's 'ark of safety.' The floodwaters are waters of judgment on the unbelieving multitudes; for those inside, the ark is a place of safety because the pitch sealed out the waters of judgment. In the same way, once a believer enters salvation, the water of judgment will never touch him. Finally, Les shows the security of this shut-in condition: Noah's family did not go out through the side of the ark. When they left, they went out through the top. Spiritually, 'once you and I enter into the ark of safety, there's only one way out. Which way is it? It's up.'
Les Feldick points to the wording 'and the LORD shut him in.' In his teaching, the LORD (Jehovah) is God the Son—Christ in His Old Testament personality. It was the Lord Jesus who said 'Come into the ark,' not 'go.' He is therefore the same Person who invited them in and who closed the door. The shutting is God's action, not a human latch or effort.
Les uses the ark as an 'ark of safety.' The floodwaters were judgmental on the unbelieving multitudes, but for Noah's family the ark was a place of safety. The door was open with the gangplank down, and anyone could still have come in—but none responded. Les then carries the picture forward: 'When we enter into salvation, we enter into God's ark of safety. And the water of judgment, the fires of judgment, will never touch the believer.'
For Les, the closed door is a picture of God's keeping. The same Lord Jesus who called them in is the One who shut them in. And once inside, there is no going out through the side. In his words, 'once you and I enter into the ark of safety, there's only one way out. Which way is it? It's up.' A believer is not going back into the old life; the only exit is upward.
The LORD Shut Him In
Les highlights Genesis 7:16's phrase 'the LORD shut him in' and explains that LORD (Jehovah) points to God the Son—the One who invited them into the ark and then closed the door.
The Ark Is God's Ark of Safety
Les compares the floodwaters to judgment and the ark to God's ark of safety; the pitch sealed out the waters of judgment so that the family was kept in perfect safety, as the believer is safe once in Christ.
The Only Way Out Is Up
Les notes that Noah's family left through the roof, not the side, and applies it spiritually: once a believer enters the ark of safety, the only way out is up—not back to the old life.
The Hidden Meaning of "Pitch" in Noah's Ark | Genesis 6 Bible Study
And I'll tell you before we get any further, the flood was not just a 40 days of rain. It was far, far more than that. So this ark is going to have to be built with real stability. It's going to have to be built to not only survive for a few days, but it's going to be in the water for almost a year. And so consequently, Noah must have been very meticulous in building this box or this ark.
Moses, the Ark, and the Second Coming: Unlocking the Prophetic Pattern
So when they saw that he was this kind of a child, she hid him three months. Then, when she could no longer hide him, in verse 3, she took for him an ark of bulrushes. Now remember, an ark is an ark. And remember when we were way back in Genesis, I told you that the Hebrew word ark is also translated in the last verse of the last chapter of Genesis as what? A coffin. So it was just simply a box.
Christ's Invitation: Come
Les emphasizes that the Lord Jesus said 'come,' not 'go,' when calling Noah into the ark—so the same Christ who invites believers is the God who shuts them in.
Moses, the Ark, and the Second Coming: Unlocking the Prophetic Pattern
She places him in a box, but just like Noah's instructions with the ark back at the flood time, God gives the same instructions here. I don't know if you've ever noticed it before. And she took for him an ark of bulrushes, in other words, made this rectangular box and daubed it or caulked it with slime and with pitch.
Moses, the Ark, and the Second Coming: Unlocking the Prophetic Pattern
And so she caulks it or she literally seals it with pitch, which is again a picture of the atonement, because everything here is pointing to the work of the cross. Everything in the Old Testament is looking forward to the time when Christ would become the Savior of mankind, when He would bring in the true atonement.
Genesis 7:16: And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the LORD shut him in.
This is the verse where God Himself is said to shut Noah and his family into the ark.
It means God personally closed the door of the ark after Noah and his family entered. For Les Feldick, it pictures God Himself sealing believers into His ark of safety.
The text says 'the LORD shut him in.' Les emphasizes that the name LORD (Jehovah) points to God the Son, so Christ is the One who invites and closes the door.
Les points out that Noah's family did not leave through the side; they went out through the roof. In the spiritual realm, once you enter the ark of safety, the only way out is up—not back into the old life.
Les uses the ark as a type of salvation: the flood waters are judgment, but those inside are safe. The door being open meant anyone could still come in, but none responded; God finally shut it. For believers, they are shut into Christ and the coming judgment cannot touch them.
Watch the Teaching: Noah’s Ark & Your Salvation: A Deep Bible Study on Eternal Security