Genesis 8:1–19 (ESV)
But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the livestock that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided.
The fountains of the deep and the windows of the heavens were closed, the rain from the heavens was restrained,
and the waters receded from the earth continually. At the end of 150 days the waters had abated,
and in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat.
And the waters continued to abate until the tenth month; in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains were seen.
At the end of forty days Noah opened the window of the ark that he had made
and sent forth a raven. It went to and fro until the waters were dried up from the earth.
Then he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters had subsided from the face of the ground.
But the dove found no place to set her foot, and she returned to him to the ark, for the waters were still on the face of the whole earth. So he put out his hand and took her and brought her into the ark with him.
He waited another seven days, and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark.
And the dove came back to him in the evening, and behold, in her mouth was a freshly plucked olive leaf. So Noah knew that the waters had subsided from the earth.
Then he waited another seven days and sent forth the dove, and she did not return to him anymore.
In the six hundred and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried from off the earth. And Noah removed the covering of the ark and looked, and behold, the face of the ground was dry.
In the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth had dried out.
Then God said to Noah,
“Go out from the ark, you and your wife, and your sons and your sons’ wives with you.
Bring out with you every living thing that is with you of all flesh—birds and animals and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth—that they may swarm on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.”
So Noah went out, and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives with him.
Every beast, every creeping thing, and every bird, everything that moves on the earth, went out by families from the ark.
Now what does it mean that God remembered Noah? Well, we have to realise that this is the turning-point in the flood narrative. “Remembered” here doesn’t mean God had forgotten Noah and suddenly remembered him—like when we misplace our keys, pat our pockets and say, “Oh, there they are!” In this passage, it means God turned his attention back toward Noah with the active care that comes from being the covenant God of his people. Scripture often speaks of God “remembering” someone and then acting—just as he later remembers his covenant with Abraham or hears Israel groaning in Egypt. Remembering, in this sense, is God giving his divine attention to the people on his heart.
So why all the detail about birds and timings—when the doors were opened, how long the ark was on the mountain, and so on? Again, this is a story with careful chronology—a history lesson, as we noted yesterday. These months, days, and repetitions show God patiently restoring creation. Just as he created the world in an ordered sequence—day one, day two, day three—so here it takes time and order for God to make the earth habitable again.
The fact that Noah releases a raven and then a dove shows he trusts God but still waits for a clear sign that it’s safe to re-enter the world. He doesn’t bolt at the first chance to get out; he waits for God to act first. This deliberate pattern shows God’s sovereignty over both Noah and creation’s restoration.
Finally, notice that the ark “came to rest” on the mountains of Ararat. The Hebrew word for rest is nuach, which links to Noah’s own name. It points to restoration—back into the shalom, the rest God took on day seven of creation. It’s a symbol that the earth is again made good and no longer bears the taint of sin in the same way.
So how does all of this matter to us? In at least three ways.
Firstly, God remembers us when we feel forgotten. It’s easy to feel adrift—floating on a sea of judgment, surrounded by things we can’t control. But God always remembers his people. He never abandons his promises. Even in the darkest times, when we can’t see it, he’s at work. He sent the rain; he sent the wind to dry it; and even while Noah was still shut in, he began restoring the earth. If we feel forgotten, this passage reminds us God remembers us—and not like misplaced keys, but with active, restoring love through Jesus.
Secondly, this is a challenge for us: Will we wait for God’s timing? Noah waited nearly a year in the ark—a long stretch of silence, confinement, and questions—yet he didn’t leave until the Lord said “Go out.” Do we share that patient obedience? Our culture craves instant gratification; are we willing to wait on the Lord, trusting his timing even when we sit in the dark without an immediate answer?
Thirdly this passage encourages us to worship after we face hardship. Many of us step out of hard seasons and feel bitter that we had to endure them. Noah steps into a cleansed, fresh world—and the first thing he does (as we’ll see next) is worship. When the floodwaters recede in our lives, will we praise God for remembering, rescuing, and restoring us through Christ?
Let’s pray.
Dear Father, thank you that you remember us—not because you forget, but because you are faithful and have chosen to think on us in covenant love through Jesus our Lord. We admit we sometimes feel adrift. Please remind us that your eyes are still on us. Teach us to wait patiently and to trust your timing. And help us to worship you, in Jesus’ name. Amen.