And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters asswaged;
The fountains also of the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained;
And the waters returned from off the earth continually: and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated.
And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat.
And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month: in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen.
And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made:
And he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth.
Also he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground;
But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him into the ark, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth: then he put forth his hand, and took her, and pulled her in unto him into the ark.
And he stayed yet other seven days; and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark;
And the dove came in to him in the evening; and, lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf pluckt off: so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth.
And he stayed yet other seven days; and sent forth the dove; which returned not again unto him any more.
And it came to pass in the six hundredth and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from off the earth: and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and, behold, the face of the ground was dry.
And in the second month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, was the earth dried.
And God spake unto Noah, saying,
Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons’ wives with thee.
Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee, of all flesh, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth.
And Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him:
Every beast, every creeping thing, and every fowl, and whatsoever creepeth upon the earth, after their kinds, went forth out of the ark.
And Noah builded an altar unto the Lord; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.
And the Lord smelled a sweet savour; and the Lord said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake; for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.
While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.
Genesis 6 and 7 dramatically recount the events leading up to and including the catastrophic flood. In Genesis 8, the narrative shifts from devastation to restoration, focusing on God's deliberate actions to dry the earth and initiate a new beginning for Noah, his family, and all living creatures. This chapter reveals God's faithfulness, mercy, and enduring commitment to His creation, even in the face of human wickedness.
God Remembered
The chapter opens with a powerful and comforting statement: "But God remembered Noah…" (Genesis 8:1). This simple phrase is laden with meaning. After the overwhelming destruction, it assures us that God had not forgotten His promise to Noah and the animals in the ark. God's remembrance signifies His active intervention and the commencement of the earth's renewal. He remembered the animals as well, fulfilling His promise to keep them safe and begin creation over again.
The Waters Recede
God initiated the receding of the floodwaters by sending a wind to evaporate the water (Genesis 8:1). The sources of the flood, both from below and above, were stopped. After 150 days, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat (Genesis 8:4), marking a turning point in the narrative. While the exact location remains unspecified, the mountains of Ararat, likely in eastern Turkey and its surroundings, symbolize the first solid ground in a world submerged by water. This event foreshadows a new beginning for mankind. Just as God gathered the waters together in the original creation to reveal dry land, He does so again here (Genesis 8:1, 3, 13-14).
The floodwaters continued to recede, and eventually, the tops of the mountains became visible. Noah wisely used birds – first a raven, then doves – to assess the situation and determine if any dry land was nearby (Genesis 8:6-12). The raven's initial flight proved inconclusive, but the dove's subsequent journeys provided crucial information. The dove's return with a freshly plucked olive leaf (Genesis 8:11) was a sign of hope and renewed life. The third dove's failure to return indicated that it had found a suitable place to land and live, signaling that the earth was becoming habitable once more. Noah then removed the covering of the ark to confirm that the ground was dry (Genesis 8:13).
Waiting on God's Timing
Despite the visible signs of dryness, Noah patiently waited for God's command to leave the ark. This demonstrates Noah's faith and obedience. Nearly two months passed before God instructed Noah to disembark with his family and all the animals (Genesis 8:15-19). This reinforces the importance of trusting in God's timing and plan, even when we may be eager to move forward. After a full year spent in the ark, the remnants of life emerged to begin again. God wanted Noah to know about this new beginning. The flood was not merely a purge of evil, but a chance to return to God’s original goal. So we see a repetition of some of the blessings of chapter 1, as the animals—and people—were commissioned to spread over the earth and be fruitful and multiply (Genesis 8:17).
An Act of Worship
Noah's first act upon leaving the ark was to build an altar to the Lord and offer sacrifices of clean animals (Genesis 8:20). This is the first recorded altar in Scripture, signifying a profound act of worship and gratitude to God for His deliverance. It also clarifies why God instructed Noah to take extra pairs of clean animals into the ark (Genesis 7:2). Noah, overflowing with thanks for the way that God had saved him, made an offering of some of the clean animals.
God's Promise and Covenant
The aroma of Noah's sacrifice pleased God, leading Him to make a profound commitment: "I will never again curse the ground because of man…neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done" (Genesis 8:21). This promise is a testament to God's mercy and grace. While acknowledging the inherent evil in the human heart, God establishes a covenant to preserve life on earth. When he saw Noah’s worship, God was pleased and promised to never again curse the ground because of human beings (Genesis 8:21). God would providentially preserve the earth and its ecology for the sake of humanity.
God's promise extends to the continuation of the natural cycles of life. He declares that "while the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease" (Genesis 8:22). This assurance provides stability and hope for future generations, underscoring God's faithfulness to His creation.
God’s promise gives us hope that when we respond to him in faith, he can renew something that has been lost. He can restore that which has been destroyed, rebuilding that which lies broken because of our sin.
Genesis 8 marks a pivotal point in the narrative, transitioning from judgment to restoration. It highlights God's faithfulness, mercy, and enduring commitment to His creation. The chapter offers a message of hope and renewal, reminding us that even in the face of devastation, God can bring forth new beginnings.
And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters asswaged;
The fountains also of the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained;
And the waters returned from off the earth continually: and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated.
And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat.
And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month: in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen.
And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made:
And he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth.
Also he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground;
But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him into the ark, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth: then he put forth his hand, and took her, and pulled her in unto him into the ark.
And he stayed yet other seven days; and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark;
And the dove came in to him in the evening; and, lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf pluckt off: so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth.
And he stayed yet other seven days; and sent forth the dove; which returned not again unto him any more.
And it came to pass in the six hundredth and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from off the earth: and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and, behold, the face of the ground was dry.
And in the second month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, was the earth dried.
And God spake unto Noah, saying,
Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons’ wives with thee.
Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee, of all flesh, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth.
And Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him:
Every beast, every creeping thing, and every fowl, and whatsoever creepeth upon the earth, after their kinds, went forth out of the ark.
And Noah builded an altar unto the Lord; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.
And the Lord smelled a sweet savour; and the Lord said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake; for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.
While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.
Genesis 6 and 7 dramatically recount the events leading up to and including the catastrophic flood. In Genesis 8, the narrative shifts from devastation to restoration, focusing on God's deliberate actions to dry the earth and initiate a new beginning for Noah, his family, and all living creatures. This chapter reveals God's faithfulness, mercy, and enduring commitment to His creation, even in the face of human wickedness.
God Remembered
The chapter opens with a powerful and comforting statement: "But God remembered Noah…" (Genesis 8:1). This simple phrase is laden with meaning. After the overwhelming destruction, it assures us that God had not forgotten His promise to Noah and the animals in the ark. God's remembrance signifies His active intervention and the commencement of the earth's renewal. He remembered the animals as well, fulfilling His promise to keep them safe and begin creation over again.
The Waters Recede
God initiated the receding of the floodwaters by sending a wind to evaporate the water (Genesis 8:1). The sources of the flood, both from below and above, were stopped. After 150 days, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat (Genesis 8:4), marking a turning point in the narrative. While the exact location remains unspecified, the mountains of Ararat, likely in eastern Turkey and its surroundings, symbolize the first solid ground in a world submerged by water. This event foreshadows a new beginning for mankind. Just as God gathered the waters together in the original creation to reveal dry land, He does so again here (Genesis 8:1, 3, 13-14).
The floodwaters continued to recede, and eventually, the tops of the mountains became visible. Noah wisely used birds – first a raven, then doves – to assess the situation and determine if any dry land was nearby (Genesis 8:6-12). The raven's initial flight proved inconclusive, but the dove's subsequent journeys provided crucial information. The dove's return with a freshly plucked olive leaf (Genesis 8:11) was a sign of hope and renewed life. The third dove's failure to return indicated that it had found a suitable place to land and live, signaling that the earth was becoming habitable once more. Noah then removed the covering of the ark to confirm that the ground was dry (Genesis 8:13).
Waiting on God's Timing
Despite the visible signs of dryness, Noah patiently waited for God's command to leave the ark. This demonstrates Noah's faith and obedience. Nearly two months passed before God instructed Noah to disembark with his family and all the animals (Genesis 8:15-19). This reinforces the importance of trusting in God's timing and plan, even when we may be eager to move forward. After a full year spent in the ark, the remnants of life emerged to begin again. God wanted Noah to know about this new beginning. The flood was not merely a purge of evil, but a chance to return to God’s original goal. So we see a repetition of some of the blessings of chapter 1, as the animals—and people—were commissioned to spread over the earth and be fruitful and multiply (Genesis 8:17).
An Act of Worship
Noah's first act upon leaving the ark was to build an altar to the Lord and offer sacrifices of clean animals (Genesis 8:20). This is the first recorded altar in Scripture, signifying a profound act of worship and gratitude to God for His deliverance. It also clarifies why God instructed Noah to take extra pairs of clean animals into the ark (Genesis 7:2). Noah, overflowing with thanks for the way that God had saved him, made an offering of some of the clean animals.
God's Promise and Covenant
The aroma of Noah's sacrifice pleased God, leading Him to make a profound commitment: "I will never again curse the ground because of man…neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done" (Genesis 8:21). This promise is a testament to God's mercy and grace. While acknowledging the inherent evil in the human heart, God establishes a covenant to preserve life on earth. When he saw Noah’s worship, God was pleased and promised to never again curse the ground because of human beings (Genesis 8:21). God would providentially preserve the earth and its ecology for the sake of humanity.
God's promise extends to the continuation of the natural cycles of life. He declares that "while the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease" (Genesis 8:22). This assurance provides stability and hope for future generations, underscoring God's faithfulness to His creation.
God’s promise gives us hope that when we respond to him in faith, he can renew something that has been lost. He can restore that which has been destroyed, rebuilding that which lies broken because of our sin.
Genesis 8 marks a pivotal point in the narrative, transitioning from judgment to restoration. It highlights God's faithfulness, mercy, and enduring commitment to His creation. The chapter offers a message of hope and renewal, reminding us that even in the face of devastation, God can bring forth new beginnings.