7:16 the Lord shut. God’s works of grace are both sovereign and particular. In a Babylonian flood account the hero shuts the door; God is the chief actor throughout the biblical account. In shutting the door, God also distinguishes between the righteous and the wicked (6:18–20 note). Elsewhere in Scripture doors provide safety for God’s people in times of judgment. Behind closed doors while God rained judgment on the wicked, Lot (19:10), Israel (Ex. 12:23), and Rahab (Josh. 2:19) found safety. Jesus uses this symbol of separation in describing the safety of the righteous in the day of the Lord’s coming (Matt. 25:10–13).