Gen 8 — But God Remembered Noah

In the past two chapters, Genesis 6 and 7, we have heard about the increasing corruption of mankind, God’s decision to destroy all flesh, and his promise to make a ark of deliverance for Noah and his family, and for the animals that were in the ark. Now we come to the moment of the flood subsiding. We have seen the flood, every creeping thing, every man that was not in the ark died and was blotted out from the earth. But then we read verse one, these wonderful words, but God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the livestock that were with him in the ark.

It reminds you, does it not, of that situation that we sometimes experience in our own lives. Maybe you have been extremely sick for days, maybe weeks, and you have not been able to get out of bed. You are just stuck in your house and everything is terrible. But then at some point, the sickness is lifted. At some point you are able to get up out of your bed and go outside and feel the fresh air and hear the birds.

That is exactly what we are being described, given here in this description, in this text. Can you imagine being confined to that ark with all the waters and the thunder and the lightning and the horrible death that is all around you? Being confined to this ark.

But God Remembered Noah

But then “God remembered Noah” and God caused the waters to stop. He caused the fountains of the deep and the windows of the heavens to be closed and the waters began to recede from the earth and Noah was able to open the window of the ark and stick his head out and see what it was like out there and see for the first time the sun falling upon his face. And coming out into this new world that God had created. It was a dark time. It was a time of a terrible storm, a storm of not only physical storm of water and rain and destruction, but a storm of wrath, a storm of God’s wrath and judgment.

But now everything is changing. It is like the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. He was in the grave for three days and three nights. But then he rose again on the first day of the week. God remembered Noah and all that were with him in the ark. And God is now fulfilling his promise that he made. Remember the promise? It was a covenant promise that God had made with Noah back in chapter six.

Remember in chapter six, God says, look, the world is corrupt. Man is full of sin and is corrupting the earth with violence, so I am going to destroy all mankind. But then God says, Genesis six, verse 17, behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh, which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die, but I will establish my covenant with you.

I will establish my covenant with you, which is what? What is the covenant promise? It is not only to provide an ark, but to preserve the family within the ark. I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into this ark of salvation and deliverance. You, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you, and you will be kept alive. Verse 19, to keep them alive with you.

That is the promise that God made to Noah, even before the floodwaters came. And Noah believed in the promise of God, he obeyed the Lord, he built the ark, he gathered all of the creatures with him into the ark. And now, now that the ark has passed through the waters of judgment, God is remembering that covenant promise. Not that God forgets, but that he is now fulfilling the promise that he made.

He is fulfilling the promise of 618, this covenant that God made, this covenant of deliverance and salvation. Which is not the same as the covenant that we will look at next week in Genesis chapter nine, which is the covenant of common grace with all mankind and with all creation. Genesis nine verse nine says, behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you and with every living creature that is with you. That is a different covenant. After the flood, God is now making a covenant of common grace with the whole world. That is a universal covenant that includes both believers and unbelievers. There is no distinction made between the elect and those who are outside of the ark. This is a universal covenant of common grace with all mankind to preserve the world until the day of the Lord.

But this covenant in Genesis 6:18 is a special covenant of grace that is only for God’s people. It is a covenant of salvation. It is not made with all the world. If it were made with all the world, then how could they perish in the flood? This is a covenant of grace. This is a continuation of God’s covenant with Adam and Eve after they sinned. This is a precursor to the covenant that God will make with Abraham to deliver his people and to make them into his own special holy nation.

God remembered Noah means that God is now fulfilling the promise that he made in Genesis 6 verse 18. And by remembering Noah, God also is fulfilling his promises to all of those who are represented by Noah, his family, as well as all of the livestock and the beasts and the creatures that are with him in the ark. Noah is pictured here as a covenant head, and God’s promise to Noah has implications for those whom he represents. Just as Christ, when he was in the grave, He was saving his people, and then when God remembered Christ and raised him from the dead, he remembered all of those who are in union with Christ, all those for whom he accomplished that saving work. Christ is the greater Noah, and God remembered his promises to Christ, and God saved all of those whom Christ represents in union with him.

The Dry Land Emerges Again

Now there is something interesting about this whole passage, which is that this whole passage here in Genesis chapter 8 is being described in terms of the undoing of the dissolution of creation that happened in the time of the flood. So in Genesis 7, we have a description of creation returning back to the formless and void in Genesis chapter 1.

The flood dissolves all the boundaries between the land and the waters. The earth is returning to a state of chaos and destruction and disorder. Then in chapter eight, we have, as it were, a new creation. The description here of the waters receding and the land emerging reminds us of Genesis chapter one, verse nine.

Remember in the third day of creation in Genesis chapter one, Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place and let dry land appear. And it was so. And God called the dry land earth. And the waters were gathered together and He called them seas. And He said, let the earth sprout and bring forth vegetation.

This is all in day three of creation. So also here in Genesis chapter eight, we have a direct echo of the third day of creation as the waters are receding and being gathered together into the seas and the land is emerging and the land is producing vegetation once again. The flood had dissolved creation and returned it back to its state of chaos. But now after the flood, God is renewing the creation and making, as it were, a new creation out of the old. The same sovereign God who created the world out of nothing in Genesis chapter one is now recreating the world out of its formless and void and bringing about the new creation.

Another interesting echo as well is the fact that the spirit of God is hovering over the waters. We saw that in Genesis one verse two. It was formless and void and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. So also here in our text in Genesis 8 verse 1 part B, God made a wind to blow over the earth to cause the waters to subside. In Hebrew the word for wind and the word for spirit are the same word. God is causing the spirit to hover over the waters of chaos and to bring about order, to bring about this recreation, this new creation that is emerging from the old. There is continuity though, is there not?

It is not as though there is no, it is not as though God is annihilating the earth and then creating something new out of nothing. This is a purification and cleansing of the earth because of man’s sin and corruption. And God is then purifying the earth and bringing about a new creation that is really a renewal of the old. But it is described as if it is a new creation. Same thing applies at the end of the Bible, in Revelation 21 verse one, that is the silent meditation for today.

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. For the first heaven and the first earth had passed away and the sea was no more. Again, it does not mean at the end that God is going to completely annihilate this world and then create a new one out of nothing, but rather that there is a new creation that is a renewal of the one that had passed away. We can see that from the fact that it says the sea was no more. The fact that it says the sea was no more implies some degree of continuity. Yes, tremendous change, but also some degree of continuity between the old and the new. That is what we are seeing in our text.

We are seeing a prefiguration of Revelation 21:1. We are seeing a foreshadow of the very end that will happen when Christ returns and he brings a new world out of the old.

The Dove and the Olive Leaf

Another interesting point that we see in our text is this whole discussion here of the raven and the dove. What is going on with that? The raven and the dove. Well, first of all, the raven is sent out and it goes to and fro until the waters were dried from the earth, but it has no place to rest. This signals to us the fact that the renewal is not yet complete. It signals to us the fact that there is something that is waiting, that still needs to happen. And so the dove then is sent out. The dove also seeks a resting place, and at first is not able to find one, but then when the dove is sent out a second time, it returns with an olive leaf as the first concrete sign that the world is now returning to a habitable state.

And the olive branch, of course, throughout history has been a symbol of peace, of peace after warfare. This signifies reconciliation between God and the renewed earth, and that the creation is no longer under the curse of God that was expressed at the time of the flood. Now, of course, in another sense, the world still remains under the curse, but in terms of the picture, in terms of the symbolism of what our text is describing, is it is describing the eschatological fulfillment at the end, the new creation at the end. God is satisfied, his wrath has been satisfied, and now he is bringing out a new creation. Out of the old. We will see that again next week with the symbol of the rainbow, for the Hebrew word can refer to a literal bow and arrow. But the rainbow is like a warrior’s bow no longer aimed at mankind in wrath; it is turned upward as a sign of peace. The rainbow is a sign of God’s peace, and God no longer being in a state of warfare and judgment against humanity.

Now, of course, that means, in a temporary sense, that means that common grace is restraining God’s judgment until the end. But the symbolism that is described here in our text is the symbolism of the end itself being brought forward into history at the beginning.

Noah as a Second Adam

Noah here is also being pictured as a second Adam, as the head of a new humanity that is emerging out of the old. Noah, of course, does not go back to the garden, but he does go out of the ark into a world that is now being described as having Edenic new creation symbolism. He is emerging out of the ark as the head of a new humanity after judgment.

God even commands Noah to go. Notice how in chapter 8 verse 16 it says, God said to Noah, go out from the ark, you and your wife and your sons and your sons’ wives with you. That is a direct, the direct opposite command from the one that we saw last week in chapter 7 verse 1, before the flood. Then the Lord said to Noah, go into the ark. You and all your household, for I have seen that you are righteous before me. Go into the ark to survive this judgment, but now on the other side of judgment, as we emerge into the new world, go out from the ark, you and your wife and your sons’ wives with you.

And this is expanded even more in chapter nine, verse one, when God blesses Noah and his sons and says to them, be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth, which of course is an echo of the cultural mandate, the dominion mandate that was given to Adam in Genesis chapter one. And so Noah here is being described as a second Adam, as the head of a renewed humanity. Noah prefigures Christ as the head of a new people who are submerged with him in the waters of judgment and are brought out into resurrection life to inherit the world after judgment.

Another interesting thing that we need to think about is, not explicit in our text, but just when you step back and look at the whole picture of what has happened here, is that there has been a conflict that has been raging between the two offspring up until this point. The offspring of the serpent, which we saw in the line of Cain, and the offspring of the woman through the line of Seth down to Noah.

And these two offspring are in competition with one another over the question of who owns this world. The seed or the offspring of the serpent claims that this world belongs to them. They are going out and building cities to make a name for themselves. They are even engaging in all kinds of idolatry and sin. There is even a demonic aspect to it that we talked about with that whole thing about the sons of God and the daughters of men. There is something going on in this world among the offspring of the serpent, among those that are unbelievers, that is related to the question of who owns the world.

The serpent’s seed, though, has been destroyed in this flood. The serpent’s offspring is condemned and dispossessed, just like we will see later on when Israel goes into the land and they dispossess the land by bringing God’s judgment upon the false inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, who are worshipping idols. Who claim that the land belongs to them and to their gods. But now the seed of the woman, the offspring of God’s people, is vindicated in their claim. No, this land belongs to God and we are inheriting it in His name.

This whole process of the flood and then the emergence of Noah after the flood as the head of a new humanity. Is a prefiguration of not only the end, at the very, very end when Christ returns and all the wicked are removed from this earth and we as God’s people inherit the new creation, but it is also a prefiguration of the preliminary kingdom of God that is going to be established in the days of Moses and Joshua when they go into the land. And take the inheritance that God promised them and they remove the wicked inhabitants of the land just as God here in the flood removes and blots out all of the wicked from the earth.

Noah and his family now go forth from the ark in order to do what? To be fruitful and to multiply and to take dominion over the earth, to own the earth and to bring it at God’s feet as tribute to Him. That is why Noah builds an ark. Verse 20, then Noah built an altar to the Lord, not an ark, an altar to the Lord and took some of every clean animal and some of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar. Noah builds an altar before he even begins the work of leaving the Ark and beginning to build his own family and building cities and all of that, building his own home. All of that is going to happen later, but the first thing he does is an act of worship after exiting the Ark.

Worship in the New Creation

Because this new creation exists for the glory of God. Just as the original creation was set up to be a special holy realm for God to dwell, to be this glorious cosmic temple for God to dwell in the midst of his people. So also this new creation is being consecrated to God by the offering of sacrifice. Not sacrifice for the purpose of atonement, but rather the burnt offering sacrifice. A burnt offering symbolizes total consecration to God. It is the same as what Paul talks about in Romans 12 verse one that I read for the revelation of God’s will to offer your bodies as living sacrifices where you are giving yourself to God to honor Him and to give yourself to His glory. So also Noah is consecrating as the head of this new creation, he is consecrating it all to God and to His glory and saying this is a burnt offering to God.

Another key connection with the original creation is the reference there to the Ark resting. Notice in verse 4, the Ark came to rest on the mountains of Herarat. Just as the original creation culminated in God’s Sabbath rest on the seventh day, and that symbolized that everything was now being consecrated to God, so also, Noah here is culminating that Sabbath rest by the offering of sacrifice to God. Now again, all of this is a prefiguration of the end, when Christ returns, Revelation 21. It is not the actual end. This is not really the new creation.

And this new humanity that is arising now out of Noah and his sons and their wives is going to end up being just as corrupt as the old one. Aside from those that are elect and that become the godly line from Noah down through Shem down to Abraham. Which we are about to see actually, it is only just turned the page over into chapter 10 and 11. We are already seeing now that Noah has a son named Shem and Shem is going to be the father of Abraham. So there is going to be a repetition of the same conflict that there was before.

The ungodly line has not been completely wiped out. But in terms of the symbolism that is happening here, the symbolism is the new creation. And this teaches us a lot about the gospel, does it not? It teaches us so much. We have already seen this number one key point, which I emphasized last week, which is that although the judgment is devastating for those that are outside of the ark, the judgment is actually redeeming. It is actually saving for those that are in the ark.

Christ is our ark, and we experience that judgment in Him. And because we experience it in Him, for us, the judgment is actually saving, and gives us deliverance and vindication and the hope of eternal life. That is one of the main things we see in this whole narrative of the flood, is this idea of redemptive judgment. That we are not simply saved from judgment, as if Christ bears the penalty that we deserve so that we do not have to, although that is true, but that we are saved through judgment, that we bear the penalty in Christ, that we bear it in a way that is saving and redemptive for us so that we emerge on the other side of resurrection life. That is one key point.

Resurrection and the New Creation

So this whole narrative of the flood, Noah’s Ark, the flood itself, the emerging out from the waters of the flood into the new creation, it teaches us something significant about the gospel. It teaches us this principle of redemptive judgment in union with Christ. But there is another point as well, which is it teaches us that the day of judgment will not be a total annihilation of the world, but rather it will be a purification and cleansing of the world in order to bring about a renewal of creation. God did not create the physical world and the animals back in Genesis 1 only to destroy them. He will renew the world and all of its creatures, even the physical world itself.

Now, how is that going to be? I do not think any of us can fully understand what that means. Even that language there that we saw in Revelation 21 verse 1, and the sea was no more. Not sure we should take that absolutely literally. I think it is given there to even indicate to us that you cannot really imagine what this new creation is going to be like.

But it is going to be a new creation. After this whole world is wrapped up and God finishes the work, and the judgment has happened, the wicked have been cast into hell, and the righteous have been brought into the new creation, we are not going to be simply floating around on clouds and being like angels. We are going to be inhabiting this world, this creation that God made.

Creation is important to God. Remember, he pronounced it good back in Genesis 1 after he saw everything that he had made. He said, it is good. The creation is important to God. Why else is there so much discussion here in this whole narrative of the flood about make sure you bring the animals into the ark with you? Why does it emphasize so strongly in verse one of our text? God remembered Noah and all the beasts that were with him in the ark. It does not just say God only cares about man. He says He remembers all of the creatures He made as well. Creation is important to God. He pronounced it good at the beginning and He is going to renew it at the end.

Yes, the Day of Judgment will be. A powerful judgment, even upon the creation itself, just like the flood was. An absolute decreation where the creation was brought back to its formless and void state before it was organized through the six days of creation. Yes, there is going to be a massive upheaval. 2 Peter 3 talks about it as being that the elements will melt with fervent heat and everything is going to be brought back to a state of chaos, as it were. But not, according to the Bible, both in the New Testament and here in our text in Romans 8, but not a total reduction to absolute nothingness. For then that would mean that God did not really come through on his promises at the beginning.

The promise was, I will be with you. I will establish my covenant with you. God made a promise even to Adam before the fall that if he had kept the test, if he had passed the test, that he would be able to bring this whole creation into the eternal Sabbath rest that God had destined for creation. God cares about the physical creation. He pronounced it good.

God himself even became incarnate as a man with a true body. A body that could experience pain, a body that was physical. He even bore our sins in his body on the cross. If God himself would become a part of this creation in some way through this miracle of incarnation where the second person of the Trinity took a true human nature into union with himself, then that shows us once again that creation is important to God. And furthermore, when Jesus finished the work of redemption, when his ark was buried under the waters of judgment, he rose again from the dead bodily.

He was not finished with his human body, as though he could leave it to decay in the grave, but his soul ascends up into heaven and that is what the Gnostics taught. The Gnostic heresy in the early church, in the first centuries of the church. They taught that Jesus’ body was just an appearance. It was a temporary thing that he took on in order to come and talk to people.

But he left his body and then he went back up into heaven. And so that is the same hope that we have is that one day we can leave our bodies and be reunited with the divine in a non-physical way. No, the Bible teaches that God created all things, He called it good, that God Himself became incarnate as a man, that in that human nature He suffered and bore our sins in His body on the cross, and then three days later He rose again from the dead, physically, bodily. When the disciples came to the grave, there was no body there, because Christ’s body was raised from the dead. And that is our hope, that He is going to raise us as well. He is going to raise us from the dead and give us resurrection bodies, glorified bodies, just like the body of Christ.

And in those glorified bodies, we will dwell with God in the new creation with all of its physicality. The Bible teaches this. Romans 8, verses 18-23 says, I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it. In hope that God subjected the creation to the curse with a purpose in view. In hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves who have the firstfruits of the Spirit groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

And there are so many questions that arise from this. You could ask all these Strange questions like, will we recognize the geography of the present creation? Will there be literal animals in the new creation? And the Bible does not tell us all the answers to these specific questions. It says, eye has not seen, ear has not heard, neither has it entered into the heart of man what God has prepared for those who love him. It will be something far beyond what we can imagine.

And yet, we do know that this fundamental theological point is that the creation itself, even the physical creation, is important to God. And that should be our hope, and that should be a key understanding of what the gospel is all about. The gospel is, in some way, bodily and physical. That is a glorious hope for us. That gives us great assurance and strength as we live in this life, as we journey and pilgrim in this passing evil age, as we deal with all the difficulties of this life, even bodily difficulties and struggles and suffering. It also calls us, does it not, to realize that God wants us to obey him and to serve him and to honor him with our bodies. As Paul said in Romans 12, one, we should offer our bodies Our whole being as living sacrifices to the Lord, just like Noah did when Noah built an altar to the Lord.

We have been redeemed. We have been saved. Is that not amazing? We have passed through the flood. We have been delivered from the wrath of God. How can we not give Him thanks? How can we not offer ourselves, even our bodies, to the Lord in thankfulness? For His deliverance, for saving us and bringing us through the floodwaters of judgment into the new creation. The new creation has not yet come. We are still waiting for that day.

We are still living in this fallen world that is headed for destruction. But it has already been accomplished in principle on the day when Christ rose again from the dead. That was the beginning of the new creation. It has already started, like a little like a little explosion. It is just right now at the very beginning phases, but it is going to overtake the whole world one day. Even our own bodies will be caught up in that glorious reality of the resurrection that has already been sparked in the resurrection of Christ from the dead.