1 But God remembered Noah and all the animals and all the livestock that were with him in the ark; and God caused a wind to pass over the earth, and the water subsided. 2 Also the fountains of the deep and the floodgates of the sky were closed, and the rain from the sky was restrained; 3 and the water receded steadily from the earth, and at the end of 150 days the water decreased. 4 Then in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the ark rested upon the mountains of Ararat. 5 And the water decreased steadily until the tenth month; in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains became visible.

6 Then it came about at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made; 7 and he sent out a raven, and it flew here and there until the water was dried up from the earth. 8 Then he sent out a dove, to see if the water was low on the surface of the land; 9 but the dove found no resting place for the sole of its foot, so it returned to him in the ark, for the water was on the surface of all the earth. Then he put out his hand and took it, and brought it into the ark to himself. 10 So he waited another seven days longer; and again he sent out the dove from the ark. 11 And the dove came to him in the evening, and behold, in its beak was a fresh olive leaf. So Noah knew that the water was low on the earth. 12 Then he waited another seven days longer, and sent out the dove; but it did not return to him again.

Genesis 8:1 – 12 (NASB) 

Some questions

This section has many dates, time frames and facts about the flood which give rise (no pun intended) to some questions about the flood:

• How long was everyone on the ark? Check out the graphic below from this article in creation.com for their calculation.
• How come the raven never returned when there was a long time before dry ground? “The raven in seeking food settles upon every carcass it sees, whereas the dove will only settle on what is dry and clean.” (planobiblechapel.org quoting Keil and Delitzsch)
• How could there be an olive tree (and other vegetation) after the flood? For starters, God is involved here. If He can create the whole universe, what is there He cannot do? This article attempts to provide some scientific evidence.
• How could the ark rest on Ararat some 2.5 months before other mountain tops were seen? It is possible the earth was changed significantly due to the flood. This article helps address this. 

God remembered Noah

What’s the main message of this passage? God remembered Noah (and all those on the ark). Of course He did, but God makes a point of highlighting this. 

RЯeflection

• There are many details of the flood which skeptics will challenge to discredit the historicity of the Bible. Do some research yourself. There are many sources of good Christian apologetic information – like those linked to above.
• In the end what matters is – God remembered Noah. Likewise for us. Thank God.