“But God Remembered Noah” (9:1-22)
Neal Pollard
On the 17th day of the second month in his 600th year, they entered the ark (7:11). This is followed by 40 days of rain and flooding. The water prevailed on earth for 150 days. The ark rested on the 17th day of the seventh month (8:4). From that day until the cover is removed on the first day of the first month of Noah’s 601st day (8:13), there were 163 days in which the water recedes. During that period, the mountains are seen on the first day of the 10th month of his 600th year (8:5) and the raven is sent on the 10th day of the 11th month (8:6). From the day the cover is removed until they exit the ark, there is 57 days spent waiting. The 27th day of the second month of his 601st year, they do finally leave (8:14). The total time of the flood, then, is 313 days and their total time in the ark is 370 days.
This past fall, we went on our first cruise as part of a Bibleland Passages tour. We spent 12 nights at sea in very comfortable accommodations, all the food you could eat, and even amenities like fitness centers and theaters. When we moved to Bowling Green, we stayed in the Hammers’ RV for a month in the KOA. Though the quarters were cramped, it was very comfortable and had indoor plumbing, running water, and air conditioning. Can you imagine spending just over a year in a floating barge without electricity, running water, climate control (apart from nature), and so many conveniences we simply take for granted today?
Noah and his family waited on the Lord as He, the great and original scientist (the very maker of the laws of science), not only destroyed the earth but provided a feasible timetable to make it habitable again (2) for the eight souls who would leave the ark up on Mt. Ararat (4). It was a gradual, but steady process (5) until the ground was dried (13-14).
Moses begins the chapter with a summary, including the idea that “God remembered Noah” (1). On His timetable, He affects the conditions necessary for Noah and the rest of his family to repopulate the earth. It is equally beautiful that Noah remembers God, sacrificing “of every clean animal and of every clean bird” (20). The Lord accepts Noah’s worship and vows never to duplicate this act, despite man’s evil inclinations (21). Instead, God would perpetuate “seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and night and day” (22). No wonder Moses would encapsulate this great patriarch’s faithful life as a man who walked with God (6:9). And what a humbling truth that God walked with Noah, all the way through these cataclysmic events and brought them safely through the water (1 Pet. 3:20).
While you will not ever face any global floods, you will be deluged with difficulties in this short life. Do not think that God could ever forget you, even as you are tossed about in the sea of struggle! God will remember you, rescue you, and reward you as you keep walking with Him! The waters of weeping will dry up and you will again stand on solid ground–whether in this life or in the eternity which follows! Trust that!
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