(Genesis 8:1-22) But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the cattle that were with him in the ark; and God caused a wind to pass over the earth, and the water subsided. 2 Also the fountains of the deep and the floodgates of the sky were closed, and the rain from the sky was restrained; 3 and the water receded steadily from the earth, and at the end of one hundred and fifty days the water decreased. 4 In the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the ark rested upon the mountains of Ararat. 5 The water decreased steadily until the tenth month; in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains became visible.
6 Then it came about at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made; 7 and he sent out a raven, and it flew here and there until the water was dried up from the earth. 8 Then he sent out a dove from him, to see if the water was abated from the face of the land; 9 but the dove found no resting place for the sole of her foot, so she returned to him into the ark, for the water was on the surface of all the earth. Then he put out his hand and took her, and brought her into the ark to himself. 10 So he waited yet another seven days; and again he sent out the dove from the ark. 11 The dove came to him toward evening, and behold, in her beak was a freshly picked olive leaf. So Noah knew that the water was abated from the earth. 12 Then he waited yet another seven days, and sent out the dove; but she did not return to him again.
13 Now it came about in the six hundred and first year, in the first month, on the first of the month, the water was dried up from the earth. Then Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and behold, the surface of the ground was dried up. 14 In the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dry. 15 Then God spoke to Noah, saying, 16 “Go out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and your sons’ wives with you. 17 Bring out with you every living thing of all flesh that is with you, birds and animals and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, that they may breed abundantly on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.” 18 So Noah went out, and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives with him. 19 Every beast, every creeping thing, and every bird, everything that moves on the earth, went out by their families from the ark.
20 Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar. 21 The Lord smelled the soothing aroma; and the Lord said to Himself, “I will never again curse the ground on account of man, for the intent of man’s heart is evil from his youth; and I will never again destroy every living thing, as I have done.
22 “While the earth remains,
Seedtime and harvest,
And cold and heat,
And summer and winter,
And day and night
Shall not cease.”
Seedtime and harvest,
And cold and heat,
And summer and winter,
And day and night
Shall not cease.”
TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:
In the scripture below, I just realized that God never told Noah to send out the birds. I can only imagine that Noah and his family were dealing with cabin fever. And in all likelihood, they were getting on each other's nerves. Whether Noah sent out the birds because other family members pressured him to do something, or whether he was wasn't sure if God remembered them or not and he was taking matters into his own hands, or whether Noah was just bored and killing time - God had a plan and was carrying it out.
Even while we might feel neglected at times, God is never just sitting back and doing nothing.
While Noah was busy sending out birds, God was seeing to it that the earth was habitable for all life on board. THEN God spoke to Noah, sending them out of the ark with a blessing of purpose. I'm sure that Noah built the altar for the Lord out of sheer gratefulness. Not only were they off the ark, but they had a fresh new start... At least for the moment, they would have felt safe because there weren't any human enemies around. It was only them.
Of course, mankind still had and has a sin-nature. That didn't change. Whether we are surrounded by people or completely alone - wherever we are - there is a sin nature within ourselves.
Noah's sacrifice was pleasing to the Lord, and God promised to never again destroy the earth with a flood. But I believe all this history helps to demonstrate several things to us.
The flood itself is proof of God, as a lot of archaeologists and geologists are now realizing and admitting. All the different sediment layers, and where fossils have been found, can only be explained by something as rapid as a flood, and a flood that is subsiding and receding.
This history also demonstrates that God has allowed mankind to figure out our purpose for being here in several different "climates". And no matter what our conditions - we fail every time when we try to do it our own way. The universe is huge, and we cannot comprehend it... how in the world do we think we can control it? Yet, we still try.
Our current situation might feel like we are stuck in an ark... waiting for paradise, or a positive outcome, or maybe just waiting for answers... Our only hope is looking to God, and trusting in Him that He will deliver - whatever it is that we need - at the proper time.
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