Read with Me
Genesis 8:6-12 (HCSB)
After 40 days Noah opened the window of the ark that he had made, and he sent out a raven. It went back and forth until the waters had dried up from the earth. Then he sent out a dove to see whether the water on the earth’s surface had gone down, but the dove found no resting place for her foot. She returned to him in the ark because water covered the surface of the whole earth. He reached out and brought her into the ark to himself. So Noah waited seven more days and sent out the dove from the ark again. When the dove came to him at evening, there was a plucked olive leaf in her beak. So Noah knew that the water on the earth’s surface had gone down. After he had waited another seven days, he sent out the dove, but she did not return to him again.
Listen with Me
The window that Noah had made in the ark only looked out in one direction, and it only afforded a look at a small section of the area in which the ark had been grounded. So, to satisfy his own curiosity as to how the recession of the waters was progressing, Noah decided to send out a bird.
The first bird Noah sent out forty days after the mountain peaks became visible was a raven. Ravens are strong flyers and are able to soar on breezes and stay aloft easily. From time to time, Noah could see the bird at a distance coasting over the water, but it didn’t return to the ark.
Noah then selected a dove. Doves are not the strong flyers that ravens are, so, after looking for a nearby dry surface to settle on and not finding any, the dove returned to Noah. That told him that the ground was still covered with water all around the ark for some distance at least.
A week later, Noah sent the dove out again. This time it returned with an olive leaf in its beak. This was a clear sign that somewhere near the ark a tree had begun to grow. This was a huge sign of hope.
A week later, Noah sent the dove out again, but this time it did not return. Knowing that there were no predators outside the ark, the only living thing on land being those with him on the ark (plus one raven), Noah, knew that there had to be dry ground nearby. That showed a progressive, and quite rapid, lowering of the water.
Even though the evidence was strong that the land was drying, Noah was not going to leave the ark until God himself gave him the word. He had been patient for nearly a year, so a few more days or weeks were not a big deal. He would continue to be faithful.
Pray with Me
Father, I am amazed at these small historical details that You provided to Moses as you helped him to write down these records for us. I am also amazed at Noah’s patience. I know that I would want to get off the ark as soon as I had any assurance that there was dry ground somewhere nearby. But Noah was obedient, and that obedience gave him the patience that was necessary to keep him inside until YOU gave him the green light to leave. Help me to take a lesson from this, Lord, so that I can stay completely in step with You. Amen.