Genesis 8 - The Flood Subsides

For this chapter, I want to share these 2 magnificent photos of Mt. Ararat from https://volcano.si.edu/volcano.cfm?vn=213040

Summary https://marksbiblejourney.blogspot.com/2019/10/genesis.html

"God stops the rain from the flood, and the floodwaters begin to subside.  After over seven months since the flood began, Noah's ark struck land on the mountains of Ararat.  After the waters of the flood completely subsided, God instructs Noah and his family along with all the creatures to come out of the ark.  Noah, his family, and these animals are to repopulate the earth.  Noah builds a sacrificial altar to the Lord.  Noah offers up burnt offerings to the Lord.  The Lord is pleased and tells Noah that He will never curse the ground again, and He will never kill every living thing on earth again."

 

Reading from the Amplified Bible (AMP) version..

• “And God remembered and thought kindly of Noah and every living thing and all the animals that were with him in the ark; and God made a wind blow over the land, and the waters receded.” v.1

• “On the seventeenth day of the seventh month [five months after the rain began], the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat [in Turkey].” v.4

• “At the end of [another] forty days Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made; and he sent out a raven, which flew here and there until the waters were dried up from the earth.” v.6-7

• “He waited another seven days and again sent the dove out from the ark.” v.10

• “Then he waited another seven days and sent out the dove, but she did not return to him again.” v.12

• “And God spoke to Noah, saying, “Go out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and their wives with you.” v.15-16 

• “And Noah built an altar to the Lord, and took of every [ceremonially] clean animal and of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar. ²¹ The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma [a soothing, satisfying scent] and the Lord said to Himself, “I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intent (strong inclination, desire) of man’s heart is wicked from his youth; and I will never again destroy every living thing, as I have done.” v.20-21

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My personal observations and reflections...

• GOD REMEMBERED-- Noah, and every living thing, and all the animals that were with him in the ark.. This speaks to me in a way that, God will never forget us (His people) in our time of “waiting”.. What He said, He will never forget-- His promises will always come on time, and His great purposes will always prevail. How does it feel living inside the 4 corners of that huge ark, tending to the animals, floating above the great waters, just obeying and trusting God while waiting in the dark? Sometimes, I feel like that’s a picture of my faith life, while waiting for God.. Just like Noah, I pray that I will be patient and faithful and obedient, no matter what happens..

• GOD MADE A WIND BLOW OVER THE LAND. And just like that, THE WATERS RECEDED. God is always in CONTROL, in everything and in every way. He is the God of the whole world and universe! 

“While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, Cold and heat, Winter and summer, And day and night shall not cease.” (v.22)

That’s the ONLY REASON you and I are alive right now, He controls all the elements, and He even HOLDS our very own lives. If we own anything, but we don’t, God owns everything. I was reminded of a particular moment where God’s Son Jesus also did the same! Hushed and calmed the raging storms just like that, with a voice of command (Mark 4:35-41 / Matthew 8:23-27). Awesome!

• MOUNTAIN. Why on a mountain? I believe there’s a great significance to that! It’s like God’s mighty dwelling place. God told Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac on the mountain (Mount Moriah), God called Moses to go up the Mount Sinai in order to receive the Ten Commandments, Jesus was crucified in Mount Calvary (Golgotha).

“For the LORD has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His habitation. "This is My resting place forever; Here I will dwell, for I have desired it.” Psalm 132:13-14
"His tabernacle is in Salem; His dwelling place also is in Zion." Psalm 76:2
"Blessed be the LORD from Zion, Who dwells in Jerusalem. Praise the LORD!" Psalm 135:21
"In the last days the mountain of the LORD’s temple will be established as the highest of the mountains; it will be exalted above the hills, and all nations will stream to it." Isaiah 2:2

• ANOTHER 40 DAYS. WAITED ANOTHER 7 DAYS (twice). What can I say, everything is perfectly orchestrated by God! After the waiting, comes another waiting, and that’s how our faith life journey will look like too, I think. Continuous waiting and TRUSTING of God.

• DOVE. This too, makes me think of the Holy Spirit! What is the significance? White doves makes me think of purity. As well as these (parallel) verses found in the Book of Gospels:

"After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him," Matthew 3:16

"Immediately coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens opening, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him;" Mark 1:10

"and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came out of heaven, "You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased." Luke 3:22

• FRESH OLIVE LEAF. Another one! Of all leaves, why the olives. According to https://olyvenbosch.co.za/biblical-mystery-of-the-olive-tree/, 

1. “The Hebrew word for “olive tree” is es shemen, which literally means ‘tree of oil.” It is from a primitive root meaning “to shine.” It means “richness, anointing, fat, fruitful, oil, ointment, olive.” It is related to the word shemesh, “to be brilliant,” and which also is the Hebrew word for the “sun,” that brightly shining orb in the sky.” 
2. “Says the Encyclopedia Judaica, “There are trees in Israel estimated to be 1,000 years old that still produce fruit. In old age the tree becomes hollow but the trunk continues to grow thicker, at times achieving a circumference of 20 feet” (“Olive,” vol.12, page 1363). Says the authoritative source, “It is an evergreen, and the righteous who take refuge in the protection of God are compared to it.” Interestingly, if the trunk is cut down, the shoots from its roots continue to grow, ensuring its continued existence.”  
3. “The olive was one of the most valuable trees to the ancient Hebrews. It is first mentioned in Scripture when the dove returned to Noah’s ark carrying an olive branch in its beak (Gen.8:11). Since that time, the olive branch has been a symbol of “peace” to the world, and we often hear the expression, “extending an olive branch” to another person as a desire for peace.”

For me, those are pretty awesome details!          

• GOD SPOKE TO NOAH. Notice how Noah and his family, and all animals got out of the ark upon God’s go-signal and order. God will always guide us, giving us clear instructions and go-signals but we need to wait and listen to Him, and surrender our lives to honor and glorify Him. We can do that by His grace and enabling and strengthening—I’d rather be in Team God than in the losing team (Satan).

• ALTAR TO THE LORD. According to https://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/altar/, “an altar is a place where sacrifice is offered. Altars were places where the divine and human worlds interacted. Altars were places of exchange, communication, and influence. God responded actively to altar activity.”

Altars and sacrifice (burnt offerings) also makes me think of Jesus, the ULTIMATE SACRIFICE that will be offered by God for His own creation, humanity (John 3:16).

• NEVER AGAIN. Because God has something far greater PERMANENT, His Son Jesus who will take away all the penalty of our sins, once and for all.

Read the Bible here:

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+8&version=AMP