Genesis 8
8
1But God showed concern for Noah. He also showed concern for all the wild animals and livestock that were with Noah in the ark. So God sent a wind to sweep over the earth. And the waters began to go down. 2The springs at the bottom of the oceans had been closed. The windows of the sky had also been closed. And the rain had stopped falling from the sky. 3The water on the earth continued to go down. At the end of the 150 days the water had gone down. 4On the 17th day of the seventh month, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. 5The waters continued to go down until the tenth month. On the first day of that month, the tops of the mountains could be seen.
6After 40 days Noah opened a window he had made in the ark. 7He sent out a raven. It kept flying back and forth until the water on the earth had dried up. 8Then Noah sent out a dove. He wanted to see if the water on the surface of the ground had gone down. 9But the dove couldn’t find any place to rest. Water still covered the whole surface of the earth. So the dove returned to Noah in the ark. Noah reached out his hand and took the dove in. He brought it back to himself in the ark. 10He waited seven more days. Then he sent out the dove again from the ark. 11In the evening the dove returned to him. There in its beak was a freshly picked olive leaf! So Noah knew that the water on the earth had gone down. 12He waited seven more days. Then he sent out the dove again. But this time it didn’t return to him.
13It was the first day of the first month of Noah’s 601st year. The water on the earth had dried up. Then Noah removed the covering from the ark. He saw that the surface of the ground was dry. 14By the 27th day of the second month the earth was completely dry.
15Then God said to Noah, 16“Come out of the ark. Bring your wife and your sons and their wives with you. 17Bring out every kind of living thing that is with you. Bring the birds, the animals, and all the creatures that move along the ground. Then they can multiply on the earth. They can have little ones and the number of them can increase.”
18So Noah came out of the ark. His sons and his wife and his sons’ wives were with him. 19All the animals came out of the ark. The creatures that move along the ground also came out. So did all the birds. Everything that moves on land came out of the ark, one kind after another.
20Then Noah built an altar to honor the Lord. He took some of the “clean” animals and birds. He sacrificed them on the altar as burnt offerings. 21The smell of the offerings pleased the Lord. He said to himself, “I will never put a curse on the ground again because of human beings. I will not do it even though their hearts are always directed toward evil. Their thoughts are evil from the time they are young. I will never destroy all living things again, as I have just done.
22“As long as the earth lasts,
there will always be a time to plant
and a time to gather the crops.
As long as the earth lasts,
there will always be cold and heat.
There will always be summer and winter,
day and night.”
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Genesis 8: NIrV
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Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version®, NIrV®
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Genesis 8
8
Noah Leaves the Ark
1God’s heart was moved with compassion as he remembered # 8:1 God had not forgotten and then suddenly remembered them; his heart of compassion focused on Noah and all that survived in the ark. Mercy triumphs over judgment (see James 2:13). Noah and all the animals, large and small, # 8:1 Or “wild and domesticated animals.” that were with him in the ark. # 8:1 Being in the ark assured their salvation. Being in Christ likewise assures our salvation. And God caused a wind # 8:1 Or “[his] Spirit” or “breath.” See Ps. 148:8. to sweep across the earth again # 8:1 God repeated what he did at creation; his Spirit hovered over the face of the waters. And it happened again thousands of years later, as God’s Spirit hovered over and filled 120 believers at Pentecost, giving them new creation life. and the waters subsided. 2He closed the subterranean fountains and the floodgates of heaven and held back the rain. 3After 150 days, the floodwaters gradually receded from the earth and the waters began to subside. 4And on the seventeenth day of the seventh month, # 8:4 At the institution of the Feast of Passover, the Lord made the seventh month into the first month, the month of great importance for Israel (see Ex. 12:2). Passover was the fourteenth day of the month. Three days later would be the seventeenth day of the month; the very day Jesus rose from the dead. The final resting place of our ark of salvation was the top of the mountain. Jesus was raised on high, seated at the right hand of the Most High. What inspiration lies within the Bible! the ark came to rest # 8:4 This is a play on words, for Noah’s name means “rest.” God’s covenant of peace with Noah would remain (see Ps. 32:6; Isa. 54:10). on the highest peak in Ararat. # 8:4 Mt. Ararat is believed to be on the border of Turkey, Armenia, and Iran, known as Urartu in Assyrian inscriptions. See 2 Kings 19:37; Isa. 37:38; Jer. 51:27. Ararat means “the curse is reversed” or “high and holy land.” The resting place of God’s sons and daughters is where “the curse is reversed” (the cross and empty tomb), in the “high and holy land” of being seated with Christ in the heavenly realm (see Eph. 2:6). 5The waters continued to recede until the tenth month. And on the first day of the tenth month, all the mountaintops appeared. # 8:5 The mountaintops became visible seventy-three days after the ark rested. This new age now begins with eight people. Eight is the biblical number of a new beginning.
6After forty more days Noah opened the window he had made in the ark 7and released a raven. It flew back and forth from the ark until the earth was dry. # 8:7 In other words, the unclean raven apparently did not return to the ark.
8Then he sent out a dove # 8:8 Or “sent out a dove from him,” an awkward construction in English. The next verse shows that Noah took the dove back into the ark with his hand to see if there was any clay or mud on its feet. to see if the waters had receded from the surface of the ground. 9But the dove found no place to rest, so it returned to Noah in the ark because the waters still covered the face of the earth. Noah put out his hand and grasped the dove and put it back into the ark. 10He waited another seven days and released the dove from the ark again. 11Before evening, the dove came back to him—and there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf! # 8:11 The contrast of the raven and the dove is an allegory. The raven symbolizes the law, which was sent out first, but gave no assurance that waters of judgment had lifted. The dove, returning with an olive branch, a symbol of peace, symbolizes the gospel of grace given to us by the Holy Spirit. The gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ brings a better hope to the believer—judgment has retreated. Every time the “Dove” of God comes, he brings a fresh olive branch—fresh oil for the sons and daughters of the Most High. So Noah realized that the waters had finally subsided from the earth.
12Then he waited another seven days and sent the dove out again, but this time it did not return to him in the ark. # 8:12 The Dove (Holy Spirit) cannot rest where there is corruption and death. For generations, the Dove, seeking a place to rest, flew over Abraham, Moses, the prophets, and the kings unable to find a resting place. Until at last, at the river Jordan, the Dove came from the open heavens and rested on the perfect man, Jesus, the Son of God (see Matt. 3:16). Has the gentle Dove found a nest in your heart? In order to have the gifts (see Gal. 5:22–23) and power of the Dove, you must seek first the nature of the Lamb.
13In Noah’s six hundred and first year, on the first day of the first month, the waters were dried up from the earth. Noah lifted the hatch, looked out, and saw the dry ground. 14On the twenty-seventh day of the second month, the earth was dry. 15Then God said # 8:15 Noah was obedient to God, refusing to move until he heard the Word of the Lord. Just as he waited for the command to enter, he waited for the command to disembark. to Noah, 16“Come out of the ark, you and your wife, your sons, and their wives. # 8:16 Noah waited over six weeks in the ark on top of Ararat for the waters to completely recede, and for the ground to dry. This took great discipline, for no one likes to wait. But God’s timing is always perfect. Noah was in the ark for a total of one year and seventeen days. 17Release all the animals with you and set them free—birds, animals large and small—every living thing. And they will multiply and abound and flourish on the earth and in the sky.” 18So Noah and his family left the ark; 19and every animal large and small, every bird and crawling thing came out of the ark by families. # 8:19 That is, by species. Noah and his family would never forget the moment they pushed open the door of the ark and walked out into a new world. Eight human beings found a new beginning with God. Like a new Adam and a new Eve, they began all over again. What a spine-tingling moment it was! The bright sunlight, the fresh air, the gentle breeze—God had seen them through!
God’s Promise to Noah
20Noah erected an altar dedicated to Yahweh. # 8:20 The first thing Noah did when he got out of the ark was worship Yahweh. Noah realized the great love of God that was upon his life and offered himself to God. The kindness of God is also seen in Jesus. God is always ready to renew a relationship with people when they turn to him. Then he selected ritually clean animals and birds of every species and offered them as burnt sacrifices on the altar. 21And when Yahweh smelled the sweet fragrance of Noah’s offerings, his heart was stirred, # 8:21 Or “he said to his heart.” and he said, “Never again will I curse the earth because of people, even though the imagination of their hearts are evil from their childhood; nor will I ever again destroy every living creature as I have done. I promise this:
22“As long as earth exists
there will always be seasons
of planting and harvest,
cold and heat,
summer and winter,
day and night.”
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