Genesis 8
Waiting for the Lord

Genesis 8

The Flood Subsides

1 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.”

Unpacking Genesis 8

Genesis 8 brings us to the end of the flood. In Genesis 6, the Lord told Noah to build an ark, warning him that He was about to judge mankind for their sins. Noah trusted God and obeyed. In chapter 7, Noah finished the ark, and the Lord sent the animals to him in pairs. The Lord told Noah to bring his family into the ark when everything was ready. Noah trusted God and obeyed. The storms came. The waters from the deep burst open. Only Noah and his family were saved. We’ve probably heard this before.

Then we come to Genesis 8. Verse 1 says, “But God remembered Noah.” This doesn’t mean God suddenly remembered He left Noah on the ark! This is talking about God’s benevolent care for Noah and his family. Isaiah 49:15-16 reflects a similar idea of “remembering” by saying, “Can a woman forget her nursing child and have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, but I will not forget you. Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; your walls are continually before Me.” Similarly, the Lord remembered Noah.

While this might be a touching moment, we must realize how long Noah has been on the ark. Sometimes people think Noah and his family were on the ark for “40 days” because that is how long the rains came down. However, when you add up the timeline presented in chapters 7 and 8, you get something like a year. That’s a long time!

Moreover, the phrase “God remembered Noah,” in verse 1, suggests that Noah may have been on the ark for a year without any further communication from the Lord! If that’s the case, they’ve spent a year going up and down with wave after wave, looking out at a world that is formless, void, and covered in water—all while having radio silence from God. They had all that time to reflect on His judgment. They had all that time to think about what they lost: friends, family, and home. They had much to think about but not much communication from the Lord. Yet, they were right where God wanted them.

To make matters difficult, verse 1 says a wind started to blow over the earth. This wasn’t a short gust. This wind kept blowing until the waters began to subside. It probably caused massive seas and waves. The ark has probably been tossed around a bit. Noah and his family were probably terrified. But they are still in the center of God’s plan for their lives.

Verse 2 says that the fountains of the deep stopped pouring out water, and the floodgates of heaven were closed. In verse 3, the waters receded continually for 150 days. In verse 4, on the 17th day of the seventh month, the ark rested on a high piece of land. The waters continued to recede for two more months, and the mountaintops became visible in verse 5. In verse 7, Noah sent out a raven. He sent out a dove in verse 8. In verse 10, he does the same, and she brings back an olive leaf. Things are looking good!

Then in verse 12, Noah sends out the dove again. This time she does not return. Bummer. I guess that’s the end of doves because they can’t procreate without a mate! Not really. There were seven pairs of each clean animal on the ark. Since doves were clean animals, Noah had plenty to spare.

Noah goes through all this difficulty waiting patiently for the Lord. Things don’t begin to change until verse 13. Even then, Noah still doesn’t hear from the Lord. In verse 13, on the first day of the month, Noah opens the door, looks out, and sees dry ground! You’d think they would all rush out, but they don’t. Noah and his family stay on the ark and wait for clarity from the Lord.

Finally, the Lord gives it in verses 15 and 16. He tells Noah to leave the ark, which he does.

Then we come to verse 20, which introduces us to the main event this whole flood has been leading up to. In the next set of verses, the Lord makes a covenant with Noah that explains why you and I are here today.

In verse 20, Noah built an altar to the Lord. The Lord sees Noah’s worship and says to Himself in verse 21, “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.”

Notice the three things the Lord says to Himself in this passage:

For one thing, the Lord promises to “never again” curse the ground on account of man. This doesn’t mean He has removed “the curse” from Genesis 3. They are different Hebrew words. The Hebrew word for curse used here basically means treating something lightly. However, Hebrew words can have different nuances depending on their grammatical form. The grammatical form used here gives the word the sense of loathing or despising something. That’s just what the Lord has done with the earth. He was willing to destroy everything in the world to bring about judgment upon man. Yet, in verse 21, He promises never to do this again.

You’d think the Lord made this promise because mankind finally got his act together. That’s not the case at all. In verse 21, the Lord says, “…for the intent of man’s heart is evil from his youth….” Mankind is still sinful. We are still sitting at the table of evil that Adam and Eve wanted to feast from. Evil is in our hearts, it is in our thoughts, it is in our motives. We may not always choose what is most evil, but without the grace of God, the orientation of our life is away from God’s righteousness rather than towards it.

Notice also that the little word “as” is in verse 21. The Lord says, “I will never again destroy every living thing, as I have done” [emphasis added]. On the one hand, God is saying He will not destroy the world again by a global flood. On the other hand, He also says that the Lord will not pour out the world-annihilating judgment our sin deserves. God should wipe every generation from the earth with a flood. He doesn’t because of His mercy. Mercy is not getting the full measure of what our sins deserve. From Noah onward, God deals with us as He does with Noah: with patience and mercy. Not because it is something we deserve but because of His promise.

This then points to a second key promise within the Word of God. The first was in Genesis 3:15, where God promised to provide a Savior for our sins. Now we see that God also promises not to pour out the world-annihilating-judgment our sin deserves. This is an inherent promise of mercy. From this point onward, God extends mercy to mankind that they do not deserve, whether they know Him or not.

In fact, verse 22 gives us the duration of this promise. Genesis 8:22 says, “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.” Therefore, the Lord’s promise extends throughout time as we know it.

The Lord makes another promise in verse 22. Specifically, that life will continue with stability and predictability as long as the world exists in its present form. We don’t have to fear some destruction of the world like in the movies. God will sustain humanity until the day of His judgment. That Day of Judgment will come (see Isaiah 24), so we must be prepared!

The flood was an awesome display of God’s power. It shows us that He cares about sin. He will judge sin. His wrath must be satisfied. It also shows us that He currently deals with us with mercy. This mercy points us to the cross, where Jesus satisfied the Father’s wrath for the sins of His people. This is the only way we can truly experience God’s grace and mercy for all eternity.

The flood also shows us that we need to trust God in the dark nights of lonely silence. We will face difficult times. We may go up and down with the waves of life, unsure of what will happen next. In those times, God has not abandoned us. He is with us, watching over us, and He will accomplish His righteous plans for our situation. Like Noah, we can persevere in our trust in Him.

Study and Discussion Questions

Listening to the Key Chapters Podcast on this chapter provides further insights into the following questions.

1. In Verse 1, God remembered Noah. How does the study explain what this phrase means? When we compare verse 1 with verse 15, how frequently did the study suggest the Lord was in direct communication with Noah? What would life on the ark have been like for Noah and his family?

2. Noah was on the ark a lot longer than 40 days. According to the study, approximately how long were he and his family on the ark? What does this tell us about his patience and trust in the Lord?

3. Why do you think Noah didn’t leave the ark in verse 13 once the ark rested on dry ground?

4. What did Noah do when he got off the ark? Why do you think he did this? Would you have done this? What does this indicate about Noah’s character?

5. In verse 21, the Lord never promises again to curse the ground on account of man. Does this mean the curse is over? How did the study explain the word for “curse” here in verse 21 versus the word “curse” back in Genesis 3:17?

6. In verse 21, the Lord says the intent of man’s heart is evil from his youth. Has man’s heart condition changed since Genesis 6:5? What does this show us about God’s mercy?

7. According to the study, what was the purpose of the flood? Was it to reform man? Or was it for something else?

8. In verse 21, the Lord promises to never again destroy every living thing in the manner He has done. What is this an inherent promise to provide?

9. What are the two key promises recorded in Genesis 8:21-22 and Genesis 3:15? How are these promises fulfilled in Christ? How can you trust these promises, even today?