O. Genesis –Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered.
1. Assuming this means 15 cubits above the mountain tops, since 15 cubits or 25-30 feet would not approach the height of mountains.
2. Provided for clearance from the bottom of the ark over the mountain tops
3. Does this really mean that Mt. Everest
· The Bible is completely accurate and there was a 6 mile layer of water on the earth and it subsided enough in 150 days that the ark came to rest at the 3 mile high Ararat.
o If this is the case take note that man cannot currently survive those altitudes without compressed oxygen tanks due to the thin air. (could the air have been displaced with the flood waters essentially forcing the atmosphere to expand?) Additionally, the temperature extremes would be almost unbearable. So if the ark was floating at 6 miles above the earth without cabin pressurization it’s likely that all the living creatures inside would have died without divine intervention. (or these conditions changed the environment at that level)
· Everest, K2 , McKinley and other peaks that exceeded Ararat were unknown at the time of the flood or the writing
· Mountains were not as high at this time and have since “grown” to the level they are today
4. We have no idea to what extent man had migrated throughout the earth or what the technological advancements were, we know from scripture that men or at least some men lived several hundred years. Intuitively it seems that if men are living that much longer than they are today the retention of knowledge would have been at a much higher level.
5. What about remote animals that only reside in certain places upon the earth, such as Kangaroos, Tortoises, Pandas…how would these animals have come to the ark and then delivered back to these remote locations after the flood?
· Do we know for a fact that these animals were remote before the flood, maybe all animals were evenly disbursed throughout the earth.
· How do we know that the land masses were not all together prior to or after the flood
· If all the animals were brought to Adam to be named that would indicate that all animals had a centralized origin, therefore, if Galapagos for example was an island like it is today how was it originally populated?
P. Genesis –And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man:
1. Purpose of the flood is accomplished
2. Imagine the carcasses floating all around the ark
Q. Genesis – All in whose nostrils [was] the breath of life, of all that [was] in the dry [land], died.
R. Genesis –And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained [alive], and they that [were] with him in the ark.
1. The only eight souls on the entire earth were confined to this ark.
2. What were they thinking as they looked out over an endless sea, no land in sight. Doubt and despair most certainly entered their minds wondering if dry land would ever again appear and were they doomed to live out their last days on this ark.
3. Noah certainly remained steadfast and provided the moral and encouragement that his family needed from him.
4. Think about the fact that his sons’ wives just lost all of their family members so they are probably mourning their loss. If they did have any children prior to the flood they were swept away for only these eight remained.
S. Genesis –And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days.
1. 150 days = 5 months, 5 is the number most often associated with grace
Chapter 8I. Noah leaving the Ark Genesis 8:1-19
A. Genesis 8:1 – And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that [was] with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters asswaged;
1. remembered - זכר zakar, verb, to remember, recall, call to mind
2. We get to a very basic question about all of these events. Why would God have purged the entire planet rather than just physically remove those wicked beings who corrupted it?
3. Another example of God who can do anything any way He wants to do it follows the natural path to accomplish His works.
4. He follows the natural order that He established using weather, gravity, seismic activity to accomplish His plan and His purpose.
5. He could have just physically removed each and every wicked being from the earth with His hand, but He has a plan and confines Himself to the rules which He established.
B. Genesis 8:2 – The fountains also of the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained;
1. The water source were stopped, three sources
· Fountains of the deep - stopped
· Windows of heaven - stopped
· Rain from heaven - restrained
2. Simultaneous with the strong wind
C. Genesis 8:3 – And the waters returned from off the earth continually: and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated.
1. returned - שוב shuwb,verb, to return, turn back
2. 150 days from when? The start of the flood
3. where did the water return to?
D. Genesis 8:4 – And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat.
1. Flood began 2nd month 17th day, 5 months earlier, ~150 days
2. Flood rested had to have been on a stable surface most likely even keel
3. Waters abated at the very least 15 cubits, likely that the waters abated much more than this
4. Notice that this phrase “mountains of Ararat” does not necessarily indicate that the ark came to rest on the Mt. Ararat
5. mountains - הר har, masculine noun, plural form of hill, mountain, hill country, mount. Indicates that the ark came to rest in the vicinity of Ararat, not necessarily on Ararat itself.
E. Genesis 8:5 – And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month: in the tenth [month], on the first [day] of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen.
1. Waters continued to abate fast the 150 days until the 10th month or a little over two months after the ark came to rest
2. If the tops of the mountains weren’t seen until the 10th month that would place the ark at a resting position higher than most of the mountain tops.
3.
F. Genesis 8:6 – And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made:
1. forty days from when? The 7th month or the 10th month?
2. Noah would have no ability to see the horizon if the window was cut into the ceiling. We have these pictures of an ark with a deck that allowed the family walk upon the ark while it was floating. This does not appear to be an accurate depiction, we know that God shut the door at the commencement of the flood waters thus creating the likeness of a protective womb with Noah, his family and all of the chosen creatures safely inside.
G. Genesis 8:7 – And he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth.
1. Noah first sends out a raven, which is an unclean bird and a scavenger that will feed on most anything
2. Noah realizes that if the raven returns then there must be absolutely no land as of yet.
3. It appears that the raven never returned to Noah but went “to and fro”
H. Genesis 8:8 – Also he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground;
1. Noah’s next step was to release a dove, a clean bird that is much more selective about where it will land and what it will eat.
2. If the raven would have returned he probably would have foregone this action.
3. No indication how long after he released the raven that he released the dove.
I. Genesis 8:9 – But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him into the ark, for the waters [were] on the face of the whole earth: then he put forth his hand, and took her, and pulled her in unto him into the ark.
1. Dove - יונה yownah a dove or pigeon; also the name of Jonah the prophet
2. The dove is also symbolic of the Holy Spirit
· Matthew - And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:
3. By the actions of the raven and the dove Noah could determine that there was land, but none that was clearly suitable
J. Genesis – And he stayed yet other seven days; and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark;
1. Seven is the number that is commonly associated with spiritual perfection
2. By waiting 7 more days he was in a way asking God’s blessing
K. Genesis – And the dove came in to him in the evening; and, lo, in her mouth [was] an olive leaf plucked off: so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth.
1. olive - זית zayith, olive, olive tree. In Greek - ἐλαία elaia, feminine noun, an olive tree or the fruit of an olive tree. Pronounced just like אליה 'Eliyah in Hebrew which means my God is Jehovah" or "Yah(u) is God, also the name of one of the greatest prophets of the Old Testament Elijah.
2. The fact that he first external item brought back into the ark was an olive branch is clearly symbolic of the fact that “My God is Jehovah” and He was in control since he shut the door
L. Genesis – And he stayed yet other seven days; and sent forth the dove; which returned not again unto him any more.
1. Waited another seven days
M. Genesis – And it came to pass in the six hundredth and first year, in the first [month], the first [day] of the month, the waters were dried up from off the earth: and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and, behold, the face of the ground was dry.
N. Genesis – And in the second month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, was the earth dried.
1. 2nd Month 27th day where a month is based on the moon and a lunar calendar is ~354.7 days this is 10 days greater than a lunar calendar which means it is ~365 days since the flood commenced on the 2nd month 17th days of the month, or 1 solar year
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