Tuesday: The End of the Flood
Genesis 7:22-24 describe the overwhelming and comprehensive effect of the waters, which “destroyed all living things” (Genesis 7:23, NKJV) and “prevailed on the earth one hundred and fifty days” (Genesis 7:24, NKJV). It is against this background of total annihilation and hopelessness that “God remembered” (Genesis 8:1). This phrase is situated in the center of the texts covering the Flood, an indication that this idea is the central message of the Flood story.
Read Genesis 8:1. What does it mean that God “remembered” Noah?
Image © Review & Herald Publishing at Goodsalt.com
The verb zakhar, “remember,” means that God had not forgotten; it is more than just a mental exercise. In the biblical context the “God who remembers” means the fulfillment of His promise and often refers to salvation (see Genesis 19:29). In the context of the Flood, “God remembered” means that the waters “stopped” (Genesis 8:2) and that Noah will soon be able to leave the ark (Genesis 8:16).
Though no direct command is yet given to leave, Noah takes the initiative and sends first a raven, and then a dove, to test the situation. Finally, when the dove does not come back, he understands “that the waters were dried up from the earth; and Noah removed the covering of the ark and looked” (Genesis 8:13, NKJV).
Noah’s behavior is rich in practical lessons. On one hand, it teaches us to trust God even though He does not yet directly speak; on the other hand, faith does not deny the value of thinking and testing. Faith does not exclude the duty to think, to seek, and to see if what we learned is true.
And yet, Noah goes out only when God, finally, tells him to do so (Genesis 8:15-19). That is, even when he knows it’s safe to leave, Noah still relies on God and waits for God’s signal before going out of the ark. He waited patiently within the ark. “As he had entered at God’s command, he waited for special directions to depart … At last an angel descended from heaven, opened the massive door, and bade the patriarch and his household go forth upon the earth and take with them every living thing.” — Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 105.
| Read Genesis 8:1, Genesis 19:29, and Psalm 106:4. What does the expression “God remembers” mean? What does this truth mean for us, now — that is, how has God shown you that He “remembers” you? |
(29)
At last I get a chance to talk about birds. This is what the Bible says:
In Australia we have 5 species of Covids (2 Crows and 3 Ravens). They are all very similar and most of the time I identify them by where they live. In our area we have mainly Australian Ravens, but we also have a pair or two of Torresian Crows. I get into trouble with Carmel for trying to explain to people the difference.
Ravens and Crows are highly intelligent. They can reason out how to get food out of difficult situations and have been known to use tools (sticks and stones) in their problem-solving. In spite of the fact that they like roadkill, it is very rare to see a dead Raven on the roadside. When a car approaches they walk sedately to the side of the road and wait for it to pass before going back to their meal. Ravens are strong fliers and can cover long distances to find food if necessary.
Doves (and pigeons) are gentle birds and nowhere nearly as intelligent as crows. We have 25 species of native doves and 4 introduced species. Most of them are seed-eaters and the rest are fruit eaters. They are good fliers but typically most of them only fly short distances when disturbed. Some of them are quite sedentary. A couple of years ago we found a Wampoo Fruit-Dove in a native fig tree near here. It stayed for 3 months and ate every fig in the tree. It aggressively chased other fruit-eating birds our of the tree while it was resident there. We also have tiny little doves called Diamond Doves. They are about the size of an overgrown sparrow.
Why did Noah chose a Raven and a Dove? I guess, in part he was hedging his bets (wrong metaphor for an Adventist forum, eh!). The Raven is a survivor in difficult circumstances. It will eat just about anything and can fly long distances. A Dove is a bit more limited. It only eats seeds and/or fruits, and it is unlikely to travel long distances. The fact that the Raven did not return, is understandable. It was at least an indicator that food and landing places were available. The Dove on the other hand, returned the first time because conditions were not right for it, but the second time it did not return, indicating that it was finding food.
I suspect that Noah knew the behaviour of birds when he chose a Raven and a Dove as his test birds to see if the waters had receded.
Thank you Maurice for the Ornithology report. I have often wondered why the Raven and then the Dove.
Amene thanks for ur comment
Im from Ethiopian
Miscellaneous mathematical musings from this lesson...
(1) Maybe when you live 600+ years your life is not so rushed and it is easier to be patient? 601-year-old Noah and his family spent about a year on the Ark. So doing some quick calculations here.... 1/600 x 80-year lifespan is .13 years or about 49 days. Hmmm, ok, so today's equivalent of 49 days would still feel like a long time (for me) to be locked into a sort of log cabin submarine-zoo in a cataclysmic flood.
(2) Between Day 150-Day 371 a lot of geological upheaval happens outside the Ark. On Day 150 the rain had stopped falling, a wind passes over and the waters begin to recede (Gen. 8:1). Then there are earthquakes, volcanoes, continents shift, an Ice Age begins, the Atlantic floor rises and the Pacific region subsides so that hydroplates accelerate downhill, major mountains form, earth rolls, poles shift, plateaus and large continental canyons form. I'm not an official scientist...this is just what I've heard of the "continental drift". Most scientists say this upheaval took long epochs of time, but here the Bible seems to indicate that the geological recovery phase to an inhabitable planet, with reestablished vegetation, was about 7 months...so that means it rained for about 5 months and settled back down for about 7 months...I wonder if more geological shifts continued to happen after the family got out of the Ark? Did they hear and feel all of these tremendous noises and shifts? I know I am affected even by the full moon cycles and this was so much bigger!
(3) On Noah's 601st birthday he decided to take the roof off and poke his head out. Though he could look around at the situation, he still had to wait for God to open the door to a new earth. This might symbolically correlate to the 1,000 years we're in heaven face-to-face with God and other believers, "our family" (Rev. 20:2,4-5) while Satan and his followers are going through final judgment and we're waiting for the time God will make a New Earth (Is. 65:17; Rev 21:1-3) for us to inhabit once more.
Thank you so much for this precious message.
Occasionally when I am studying Daniel and Revelation with someone, they will question how we get 360 days to a prophetic year instead of 365. The story of Noah actually confirms for us that in Bible times each month had exactly 30 days, thus giving us 360 years in a Bible year.
First, where do we get a day for a year in Bible prophecy?
The first time we find a day for a specific year in prophecy is in Numbers 14:34,
According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, for each day you shall bear your guilt one year, namely forty years, and you shall know My rejection.
Later, in Ezekiel 4:5-6 this year/day principle is repeated.
For I have laid on you the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days; so you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Israel. And when you have completed them, lie again on your right side; then you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days. I have laid on you a day for each year.
So now, how does the story of Noah and the flood help us establish one year equaling 360 days to a year in Bible prophecy?
In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. Genesis 7:11NKJV
And the waters prevailed on the earth one hundred and fifty days. Genesis 7:24 NKJV
And the waters receded continually from the earth. At the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters decreased. Then the ark rested in the seventh month, the seventeenth day of the month, on the mountains of Ararat. Genesis 8:3-4 NKJV
Here we see clearly that from the 17th day of the second month to the 17th day of the seventh month is exactly 150 days. Every month had 30 days equaling 360 days for a hear. With this in mind, the 42 months of Revelation 13:5 would be 1260 prophetic days or 1260 years.
Hi, Mr. Ashton: Thank you so much for explaining about the birds. My friend had Homing Pigeons/Rock Pigeons, he would take a couple of them, about 50 miles away from home, would leave them out in open air. They were home even before he was back home. I read on the internet that they use a system called "magnatoreception" for their navigation.
I commend today's lesson for two inter-related points in particular that impact our journey of Christian growth - whether we are aware of it or not.
1) Being mindful of bible words (eg "God remembered") and the meaning/s or shades of meaning that the bible writers were originally attempting to convey (eg zakhar) compared with the meanings we are at risk of drawing upon by default. Unfortunately the process of language and language transmission inherently incorporates interpretation, which is why misunderstandings arise so easily even between friends and family - language within the context of relationship/s. Consequently, a straightforward reading of a bible word, phrase or text is vulnerable to misinterpretation without consideration of whether the bible writer might have been attempting to convey something slightly different or more than what automatically comes to our mind when reading. The Holy Spirit will assist us with this (John 16:13; 2 Timothy 2:15).
2) Awareness that "... faith does not deny the value of thinking and testing. Faith does not exclude the duty to think, to seek, and to see if what we learned is true." The reference to "see if what we learned is true" refers to what we know - of think we know - that we believe and maybe even are convinced is true. What the lesson is acknowledging is the 'effort' ("the duty to think, to seek") that is necessary in the growth and development of faith. While faith is a gift, it is a gift that necessarily needs to be "worked-out" via growth and development. 2 Timothy 2:15 is a reflection of this as is Hebrews 5:11-14.
Now, what I have said above could be completely wrong. So you do some 'thinking and seeking' and see what what you find to be true ... including the careful consideration of the basis upon which you find that to be true (Acts 17:11).
I read a really great study of Henry Morris, scientist and bible student, indicated that the angel uses the words “fountains of waters. . ." because of their association with the earlier judgment of the great deluge, when "all the fountains of the great deep [were] broken up” (Gen 7:11). “The angel’s cry,” said Morris, reminded men that as God had created all these things and then had destroyed them once before because of man’s sin, so He was still able to control all things and that another great divine judgment was imminent. Morris had developed the most explicit and broad connections between the phrase “fountains of waters” of Revelation and the biblical Flood.
Reflecting upon the angel’s use of “fountains of waters” in Revelation 14:7, David Fouts, professor of Old Testament, Bryan College, observes that to interpret the angel’s words as recalling the Flood is “certainly supportable in the context of judgment in Revelation 14.” He further wonders whether a parallel might be made between the angel’s use of “fountains of waters,” as discussed by Morris, “with the words of our Lord Jesus in Matthew 24:36–39, wherein end-time judgments are linked with that of Noah and the Flood.”
Most recently, in a Ph.D. dissertation titled “Theology of Judgment in Genesis 6–9,” Chun Sik Park analyzes, among other things, several biblical passages that he considers to be dealing with the theme of judgment in relation to the Flood, including Revelation 14:7. He offers the following conclusion regarding the Revelation passage: “Rev. 14:7 has a terminological link to the Genesis flood narrative (‘the fountains of the deep,’ Gen. 7:11; ‘the fountains of waters’).” Park insightfully unpacks the connection by focusing on two dimensions of the creative power of God: “While ‘all that is in them’ (Exod. 20:11) reflects God’s global creative power displayed at creation, the corresponding phrase ‘the fountains of waters’ (Rev. 14:7c) reflects God’s global uncreative power displayed at the flood.”
The combined research of these scholars suggests that the phrase “fountains of waters” in Revelation 14:7 points to God’s Flood, thereby endorsing its historical reality, in order to underscore the truth that the Lord is a God both of judgment and of mercy. He is patient “not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance” (2 Pet. 3:9). But all must take seriously the historical reality of God’s judgment as announced by the angel.
I am completely in agreement with this.
I read a really great study of Henry Morris, scientist and bible student, indicated that the angel uses the words “fountains of waters. . ." because of their association with the earlier judgment of the great deluge, when "all the fountains of the great deep [were] broken up” (Gen 7:11). “The angel’s cry,” said Morris, reminded men that as God had created all these things and then had destroyed them once before because of man’s sin, so He was still able to control all things and that another great divine judgment was imminent. Morris had developed the most explicit and broad connections between the phrase “fountains of waters” of Revelation and the biblical Flood.
Reflecting upon the angel’s use of “fountains of waters” in Revelation 14:7, David Fouts, professor of Old Testament, Bryan College, observes that to interpret the angel’s words as recalling the Flood is “certainly supportable in the context of judgment in Revelation 14.” He further wonders whether a parallel might be made between the angel’s use of “fountains of waters,” as discussed by Morris, “with the words of our Lord Jesus in Matthew 24:36–39, wherein end-time judgments are linked with that of Noah and the Flood.”
Most recently, in a Ph.D. dissertation titled “Theology of Judgment in Genesis 6–9,” Chun Sik Park analyzes, among other things, several biblical passages that he considers to be dealing with the theme of judgment in relation to the Flood, including Revelation 14:7. He offers the following conclusion regarding the Revelation passage: “Rev. 14:7 has a terminological link to the Genesis flood narrative (‘the fountains of the deep,’ Gen. 7:11; ‘the fountains of waters’).” Park insightfully unpacks the connection by focusing on two dimensions of the creative power of God: “While ‘all that is in them’ (Exod. 20:11) reflects God’s global creative power displayed at creation, the corresponding phrase ‘the fountains of waters’ (Rev. 14:7c) reflects God’s global uncreative power displayed at the flood.”
The combined research of these scholars suggests that the phrase “fountains of waters” in Revelation 14:7 points to God’s Flood, thereby endorsing its historical reality, in order to underscore the truth that the Lord is a God both of judgment and of mercy. He is patient “not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance” (2 Pet. 3:9). But all must take seriously the historical reality of God’s judgment as announced by the angel.
I am completely in agreement with this.