The Water Goes Down

Genesis 8:1–5
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The first 8 words are very special (v. 1). “And God remembered Noah, and every living  thing.” Inside the ark were the only people living on the entire earth. As they would look out the window they would see nothing but water everywhere. After 40 days it stopped raining then for 150 days (about 5 months) the ark floated on top of the water while the water was going down. After 7 months of being in the ark, the ark stop­ped floating and settled on top of a very high mountain called Mount Ararat (vv. 3-4). After a time, they saw the tops of the mountains (v. 5).

Our text tells us that God sent a “wind” over the earth and that the waters then receded (v. 1). Without this “wind,” Noah and the animals would have been in the Ark indefinitely. The world would have remained a big floating ball of water. The world would have continued to look as it did at the end of day 1 of creation.

Imagine living in the Ark for a whole year with Noah, his family, and all the animals. If you think your skin is light after spending the winter bundled up in clothes and out of sun, imagine what Noah and his family must have looked like. It is hard to imagine what it was like for Noah and his family being in the ark with all the animals (for more than a year before leaving the ark). Just to have food for everyone for that length of time is hard to comprehend. How happy they must have been when they could see the tops of mountains and knew they wound be on dry land.

Application

God knew all about Noah and He knows all about me today. Jesus says in Matthew 10:30 “But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.” Just think, He even remembers the number of  hairs on my head and He loves me. Romans 5:8 tells me that He loved me while I was a sinner and loved me so much that Christ died for me.