Genesis 8
8
The Flood Ends
1But God did not forget about Noah. God remembered him and all the animals that were with him in the boat. God made a wind blow over the earth, and all the water began to disappear.
2Rain stopped falling from the sky, and water stopped flowing from under the earth. 3-4The water that covered the earth began to go down. After 150 days the water was low enough that the boat touched land again. The boat stopped on one of the mountains of Ararat. This was the 17th day of the seventh month. 5The water continued to go down, and by the first day of the tenth month, the tops of the mountains were above the water.
6Forty days later Noah opened the window he had made in the boat. 7Then he sent out a raven. The raven flew from place to place until the ground was dry and the water was gone. 8Noah also sent out a dove. He wanted it to find dry ground. He wanted to know if water still covered the earth.
9The dove could not find a place to rest because water still covered the earth, so the dove came back to the boat. Noah reached out his hand and caught the dove and brought it back into the boat.
10After seven days Noah again sent out the dove. 11And that afternoon the dove came back to Noah. The dove had a fresh olive leaf in its mouth. This was a sign to show Noah that there was dry ground on the earth. 12Seven days later Noah sent the dove out again. But this time the dove didn’t come back.
13After that Noah opened the door#8:13 opened the door Literally, “removed the covering.” of the boat. He looked and saw that the ground was dry. This was the first day of the first month of the year. He was 601 years old. 14By the 27th day of the second month, the ground was completely dry.
15Then God said to Noah, 16“Leave the boat. You, your wife, your sons, and your sons’ wives should go out now. 17Bring every living animal out of the boat with you—all the birds, animals, and everything that crawls on the earth. These animals will make many more animals, and they will fill the earth again.”
18So Noah went out with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives. 19All the animals, everything that crawls, and every bird left the boat. All the animals came out of the boat in family groups.
20Then Noah built an altar to honor the Lord. Noah took some of all the clean birds and some of all the clean animals and burned them on the altar as a gift to God.
21The Lord smelled these sacrifices, and it pleased him. The Lord said to himself, “I will never again curse the earth as a way to punish people. People are evil from the time they are young, but I will never again destroy every living thing on the earth as I did this time. 22As long as the earth continues, there will always be a time for planting and a time for harvest. There will always be cold and hot, summer and winter, day and night on earth.”
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Genesis 8: ERV
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© 1987, 2004 Bible League International
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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