The vast reservoirs of water beneath the earth's surface and the waters in the atmosphere were all unleashed in torrents to flood the entire earth. This involved much more than the 40 days and nights of rain. Not only did Noah have to wait until the rain stopped, but he had to be sure that the earth was dry. Genesis 8 records the 1 year and 17 days that Noah's family and all the animals were on the Ark.
All who entered the Ark did so on God's command (7:16) and the LORD shut them in (7:17. It was not until the earth was completely dry that the LORD commanded them all to leave the Ark (8:16). From the mountains of Ararat, all air breathing life began to disseminate on earth.
In an act of thanksgiving for their safety, Noah worshiped God. He built an altar for offering sacrifices to the LORD. Blood sacrifices had been mentioned since Genesis 3:21, but this is the first mention in the Bible of a formal altar. God had prepared for this in advance by having these particular animals enter the Ark in seven pairs, rather than just two (7:2-3).
God then made a promise. He had destroyed the earth because the overwhelming evil of human intentions and actions. The LORD said He would never again "strike down every living creature as I have done" (v.21). That part of the promise protects the earth. The second part of the promise provides for the earth. To this day God sovereignly regulates "seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night" (v.22). Indeed, our food sources and life itself depend upon the LORD being faithful to this commitment made to Noah.
The hymn writer took this portion of Genesis 8 when he wrote the second verse of Great is Thy Faithfulness:
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above,
Join with all nature in manifold witness,
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love."
His trustworthiness and faithfulness to us are evident every day, all around us, if we will only take notice and respond in worship and obedience.
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