We spoke in our last lesion about how Noah obeyed God, even in a situation which must have been both frightening and uncomfortable. Thinking about him there in the ark brings to mind how frightened my dog gets in a Kansas storm. The poor thing carries on and cries so badly that he must be comforted and held until the thunder and lightning stop. When I imagine an ark, full of thousands of frightened and howling animals, and for forty days, my heart goes out to Noah. Can you imagine it?
Chapter 8 opens with the statement that God remembered all those that were in the ark. When we think about how high the waters were, we can only wonder how long it might have taken them to recede on their own. But God, in His love, sent a wind over the earth to speed up the process. God is good. Verse 2 tells us that the waters from above and below were both shut off so that, as verse 3 tells us, the waters receded.
Read verses 4-5. We see in verse 3 that it took 150 days for the waters to abate. That is five months. Then, the bottom of the ark rested on the top of the mountains of Ararat. We are even given a date (relative to Noah’s age) for when this occurred (verse 4). Verse 5 gives us a date for the next achievement in the waters receding… when the tops of the mountains were seen. Notice these dates are two and a half months apart. Genesis 7:11 tells us that Noah was 600 years, 2 months, and 17 days old when he entered the ark. So Noah has now been in the ark seven and a half months.
Read verses 6-7. Noah waited 40 days. How long has it been now that he has been in the ark? Noah sent out a raven. How long did this raven continue flying back and forth? Read verses 8-9. What happened with this bird? In verse 10, how long did Noah wait to try again? In verse 11, what happened with the dove on the second try? In verse 12, how long did Noah wait to try again? And what happened with the dove on the third try? How long has Noah been in the ark now?
Genesis 7:11 tells us that Noah was 600 years, 2 months, and 17 days old when he entered the ark. We have seen from the text that he was in the ark approximately 9- and one-half months when the dove did not return to him. This brings him to 601 years old as is confirmed in verse 13. The surface of the ground is now dry. In verse 14 we see that by the time Noah is 601 years, 2 months, and 27 days old, the earth was completely dry.
Noah was in the ark for one year and 10 days. He did many checks to see how far the water had gone down and whether or not the ground was dry but he never left the ark. He was obedient to God until the end. God had told Noah to enter the ark and he stayed in there until God told him to come back out. And we know he probably was not comfortable there!
In verses 15-17 God tells Noah to come out of the ark and to bring everyone else with him. And everyone is to be fruitful and fill the earth… man and animal and bird. There is repopulating to be done. And please notice, in verses 18-19, everyone in the ark came out, one after the other, just as God had told them.
The next verse tells us of the very first thing Noah did when he came off the ark. He worshipped God. He built an altar, took some of those clean animals and birds of which he had brought extra pairs, and he sacrificed an offering to God. Noah had seen something monumental from God and he wanted to worship. This had been a mighty and wonderful event and Noah wanted to worship.
As we have studied the creation here in the early parts of Genesis, we have seen how mighty and amazing God is. We have seen His wonderful traits and been in awe of His limitless characteristics. This must have been what Noah felt when he came out of the ark. God is so awesome and worthy of our worship that we bow before Him just because of who He is. Let us add one final trait to the list in our journal… God is majestic.
In verse 21 we see God’s pleasure at Noah’s offering. Throughout the Old Testament you will see acceptable offerings referred to by God as a ‘pleasing aroma’. We know from this reference that Noah’s offering pleased God. God says that He will never again curse the ground because of humans and will never again destroy all living creatures. Yet notice God does acknowledge here that man has a sinful nature from his childhood (Psalm 51:5).
Verse 22 brings a promise from God. Every change of seasons is now a reminder of God’s decision to not curse the ground and destroy all living creatures. Write verse 22 in your journal.
As we begin chapter 9, we see God blessing Noah and his sons. God tells them not only to be fruitful and multiply but also to fill the earth. These are actually two tasks which really cannot be accomplished in a single location. Hold this thought as it will be important in a later chapter.
Verses 2 and 3 are really interesting. From this point forward, all the birds, fish, and animals would fear mankind. This had apparently not been the case prior to the flood. Can you imagine a world where man could snuggle with any wild animals he chose? God was now establishing the food chain and all the birds, fish, and animals have just become food. Prior to the flood, everyone had been vegetarians but now God has created carnivores. God told Noah before that he could eat the plants, but now he can eat everything. Life in the new world would be different.
In verse 4, Noah is warned about eating any meat with the lifeblood still in it. This is later laid out in the Old Testament Law (Leviticus 17:11; Deuteronomy 12:15-16) and is still a strict law for the Jews now. In Old Testament sacrifices, the blood of the animal was drained out on the altar for the offering just as Christ’s blood on the cross covers our sins today. Under Old Testament Law, blood was the only atonement for sin (Hebrews 9:22). The lifeblood of an animal was a symbolic representation of Christ’s blood and had to be drained from any meat before it was eaten.
Verses 5-6 tell us that God will demand an accounting from anyone who kills a human being. God takes murder very seriously and murderers will answer to Him directly. Humans are made in the image of God and are to be treated with the respect that affords. God promises consequences and later defines it in The Law (Exodus 21:12, 14; Leviticus 24:17). Then, in verse 7, God tells them again to be fruitful and multiply.
Read verses 8-11. Here we see the covenant that God promised Noah before the flood. Never again will all life be destroyed by a flood. Never again will a flood destroy the earth. God makes this covenant with Noah, his offspring, and every living creature on earth. This covenant is not contingent on anything in return from mankind. When you consider the magnitude of the first rainstorm, this was probably a very meaningful covenant to Noah and his family.
Read verses 12-17 carefully. God gives a sign… a rainbow in the sky. We know that this rainbow is now part of science. It occurs naturally whenever it rains. And, whenever God sees the rainbow, He remembers the covenant between Himself and all living creatures. Never again will waters become a flood to destroy all life. This is the covenant God promised to establish in Genesis 6:18 (prior to the flood). This is an everlasting covenant (for all generations to come) and the rainbow is its sign (Deuteronomy 7:9).
Responding to God: Praise God for His love and His goodness. Worship Him as a Majestic and Holy God who always keeps His promises. In what areas does your life need a new start? Ask God for forgiveness and restoration in these areas. What changes are needed? Ask the Holy Spirit to work in your life and lead you in the direction you should go and to help you to be sensitive to His timing on important moves. Record any commitments you have made to God in your journal.
Further Research: To learn more about acceptable offerings in the Old Testament, use a concordance or online Bible to search for occurrences of the word ‘aroma’.
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