GENESIS – An Expositional Overview of the Beginning of God’s Revelation: Chapter EIGHT

Contributing commentaries by Sonny Islas and James Fire

Chapter Eight – by Sonny Islas

Contributing commentaries by Sonny Islas and James Fire

Audio teachingon GENESIS 8-9 by Lambert Dolphin –

Commentary onGENESIS by Ray Stedman

GENESIS 8 – Noah’s Deliverance by Sonny Islas                                                               

In Chapter 8 we find this is where God remembers Noah and causes the great world flood waters to recede. This is Noah and his family’s complete rescue – God’s mission accomplished.

GENESIS 8:1
“Then God remembered Noah”

This sounds like God forgot but we know that God doesn’t forget anything. He has an unlimited memory bank. This is called an anthropomorphism (a non-literal picture of God in human terms we can understand). We have another anthropomorphism in:

GENESIS 6:6
“And the Lord was sorry (regretted, repented) that He had made man on the earth.” 

This sounds like God made a mistake, but He doesn’t make mistakes – He makes humans and they make mistakes.

“Remembered” means that He is now turning His attention to Noah and His next move, which is to let Noah and his family out of the ark (in other words, He’s going to finish what he started). “Remembered” also points God’s loving care and concern for His creation and His promise.

God never forgets His people, no matter what situation they may find themselves in – whether they are safe and sound or in deep trouble. He always watches over us and is always working for our good (ROM 8:28).

Again, PSALM 29:10a says,
“The LORD sits enthroned over the flood…” both this flood and the personal floods of our own lives!

GENESIS 8:1
“And God made a wind to pass over the earth and the water subsided (the deluge decreased).”

Here we see God using His power over the wind to dry up and rearrange the waters in order for the ark to settle safely. At this time the whole earth’s geography (landscape) was changed into what we see today.

Regarding the Red Sea – The LORD used His power over the wind and water for the deliverance of Israel as well.

EXODUS 14:21 says:
“Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea into dry land, and the waters were divided.”

There is Someone very special and powerful in the New Testament who also had divine power over wind and water – The LORD Jesus!

MARK 4:41 
“And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, "Who can this be (Yahweh the Son!), that even the wind and the sea obey Him!"

Job spoke of God in similar terms (note particularly vs. 8):

JOB 9:4-8

4 He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength: who hath hardened himself against him, and hath prospered? 5 Which removeth the mountains, and they know not: which overturneth them in his anger. 6 Which shaketh the earth out of her place, and the pillars thereof tremble. 7 Which commandeth the sun, and it riseth not; and sealeth up the stars. 8 Which alone spreadeth out the heavens, and treadeth upon the waves of the sea.

I believe that Jesus performed this miracle to remind them of the way He commanded the wind to bring down the world flood and part the Red Sea. They had to connect the dots.

Today we may find ourselves not on but in flood waters and desperately need for God to move things around by His wind (the Holy Spirit), His wisdom, and His word. God has the power to cause our worries, troubles and trials to subside and recede as well. He is God over both wind and worry.

“Mountains of Ararat”

There is a 20 min. video for you to view after this brief teaching. It’s a short documentary on how they found Noah’s Ark in the mountains of Ararat. 

The REAL Noah's Ark FOUND by Archaeologist Ron Wyatt! - Short Documentary

GENESIS 8:5-9
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. 6 And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made: 7 And he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth. 8 Also he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground; 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.

“...the tops of the mountains were seen...”

This may mean nothing to us here in this cozy place, but this was pure relief for Noah and his family. Try living in a giant, stinky, animal stall without a sewage system for a year!

“...Noah opened the window of the ark...” - At times we may find ourselves trapped in a smelly place, but we too must keep in mind that in that smelly place there is a window and if we just take the time to open and look out of it, we’ll let out some stench and see some progress!

“...he sent out a raven...” Ravens are known to be scavengers, so it’s a possibility that it began feeding on dead floating carcasses and that’s why it never came back.

“But the dove found no resting place for the sole of her foot, and she returned.”

On the other hand, the dove is a clean bird and would never land on dead carcasses, not even to catch her breath – so she came back.

Spurgeon made a spiritual point of this verse by saying,

“The world is said to be progressing, advancing, improving; but we cannot discover it. The same sin, the same filthiness, the same universally abounding unbelief, that our fathers complained of, we are obliged to complain of still; and we are weary with the world, weary with the nineteenth century (21st for us), and all its boasted civilization. There is nothing upon which the sole of our foot can rest.”

GENESIS 8:11
“Then the dove came… [with] a freshly plucked olive leaf” in her mouth.

The dove with the olive leaf in her mouth is a symbol of peace and goodness - seeing that God’s divine and right judgment on the entire world was over.

One thing I’ve noticed is that there are lots Christian shirts, banners and posters with a dove holding an olive branch in its mouth, but the scripture plainly says, it’s an olive leaf – not a branch. By the way, a dove is unable to pluck a branch anyway. We need to pay closer attention to the details of God’s Word. The same goes for the Nativity where many have the three (?) wise men present when clearly the bible says that they came to Jesus at his home when he was a child (MATT 2:10-11), not at the stable as newborn babe. 

GENESIS 8:17

“be fruitful and multiply on the earth”

This was a new beginning, a start-over command and blessing from the LORD for both the animals and in GENESIS 9:7 for Noah and his family.

The command and blessing are to be fruitful and multiply not to abort and control the population. Population control on any level is clear rebellion to God’s command to be fruitful and multiply! The idea of overpopulation in the world is a commonly held and promoted lie, established by those who want to reduce the population of Earth for their own plans, as outlines in the Georgia Guide Stones.

GENESIS 8:20
“Then – Noah built an alter to the LORD”

This was an act of worship and gratitude on Noah’s part. When we truly appreciate our salvation, our deliverance from the grip of sin, Satan, hell and the world we will automatically worship! 

Genuine thankfulness, produces genuine worship, moves us to worship. So, when I hear that people have a hard time worshiping God, it’s because they don’t understand what Jesus did for them on the cross! It’s that simple.

Noah took of every clean bird and an animal which points to our worship having to be clean, pure, real and acceptable. As we saw in GENESIS 7:2-3, God had Noah take extra (7 pairs instead of 2 pairs like the unclean animals) of the clean birds and animals for this purpose – animal sacrifice.

 GENESIS 8:21
“And the LORD smelled a soothing aroma” 

When our sacrifice of worship is real, God takes notice and smiles. He may also like the smell of carne asada – something us Mexicans and God have in common!

“Then the LORD said in His heart [talking to himself] – “I will never curse the ground for man’s sake – although he’s evil from childhood”.

This points to God’s love and faithfulness! The four seasons continue, and food continues to be produced because of God’s goodness. God's grace is manifold and expressed in so many ways, despite the fact that the wickedness of mankind is increasing exponentially. He remains faithful to consistently show grace, just as He admonishes us to follow His example:

Jesus said,
MATTHEW 5:44-45
“But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”

He is however the Holy Judge, and there is coming a day when His grace will be rescinded by a planet of rebels who reject salvation in Christ.

For The Four Primary Offices of GOD TTUF study (He is CREATOR, LORD, JUDGE and REDEEMER), follow this link.