1 “And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that were with him in the ark; and God made a 2 wind to pass over the earth, and the waters assuaged; the fountains also of the deep and the windows of heaven were 3 stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained; and the waters returned from off the earth continually; and after the 4 end of an hundred and fifty days the waters decreased. And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day 5 of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat. And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month; in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen. And it came to pass at the end of forty days, 6 that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made; and he sent forth a raven, and it went forth to and fro, until 7 the waters were dried up from off the earth. And he sent 8 forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from 9 off the face of the ground; but the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him to the ark, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth; and he put forth his hand, and took her, and brought her in unto him into the ark. And he stayed yet other seven days; and again he sent 10 forth the dove out of the ark; and the dove came in to him at eventide; and, lo, in her mouth an olive leaf plucked off; so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth. 11 And he stayed yet other seven days; and sent forth the dove; 12 and she returned not again unto him any more. And it came 13 to pass in the six hundred and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from off the earth; and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and 14 looked, and, behold, the face of the ground was dried. And in the second month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, was the earth dry. 15 “And God spake unto Noah, saying, Go forth of the ark, 16 thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons’ wives with 17 thee. Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee of all flesh, both fowl, and cattle, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the 18 earth. And Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and 19 his sons’ wives with him; every beast, every creeping thing, and every fowl, whatsoever moveth upon the earth, after 20 their families, went forth out of the ark. And Noah builded an altar unto the Lord; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt-offerings on the altar. 21 And the Lord smelled the sweet savor; and the Lord said in His heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake, for that the imagination of man’s heart is evil 22 from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done. While the earth remaineth, seed-time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.”
SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS.
(1) Review carefully the main features of the last two lessons. (2) What did the Lord do? Vs. 1, 2. Note 1. (3) When did the waters begin to decrease? V. 3. (4) When and where did the ark find a resting-place? V. 4. Note 2. (5) When were the tops of the mountains seen? V. 5. (6) In what manner did the waters decrease? Vs. 3, 5. See margin. (7) At the end of forty days more, what did Noah do? (8) What other bird did he send forth? and what did this bird do? Vs. 8, 9. (9) At the end of seven days more what did he do? V. 10. Note 3. (10) What emblem did the dove bring back? What did it mean to Noah? V. 11. (11) How long before he sent the dove again? With what result? V. 12. (12) When did Noah look out and find the ground dry? Vs. 13, 14. Note 4. (13) What command did he now receive from the Lord? Vs. 16, 17. (14) How did he regard that command? Vs. 18, 19. (15) How did Noah now show his gratitude to God and faith in Christ? V. 20. Note 5. (16) Did the Lord accept the offering? What did He say in His heart? V. 21. (17) What did He say should not cease so long as the earth remains? V. 22.
Suggestive Readings.—“Patriarchs and Prophets,” pp. 111-116, or “Christian Education,” pp. 190-197.
NOTES.
1. God remembered.—He never forgets His own. He may seem to at times; but He can not. They are connected with Him by the great life current. Fountains of the deep, etc.—It was at this time that earthquake, storm, tidal wave, and convulsions of nature buried continents, upheaved continents and islands, buried vegetation for coal, and broke and formed strata innumerable.
2. Ararat.—The meaning of the word is “holy land,” or “high land.” A mountain, or range of mountains in Armenia, north of Assyria. The particular elevation is in question. The highest, a volcano, is 17,750 feet, and is covered with perpetual snow.
3. Seven days.—On or after the Sabbath. What is more reasonable to suppose than that Noah especially sought God on that day?13
4. On the tenth month, etc.—Compare with chapter 7:11. The flood began on the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, of Noah’s six hundredth year. Noah went into the ark on the tenth day. He came out on the twenty-seventh day of the second month of Noah’s six hundred and first year. Hence he was in the ark one year and twenty-two days.
5. An altar.—So the children of God should do everywhere, and God will bless those who thus remember Him.
6. To confirm.—“If God’s revealed will is so difficult to be understood, certainly men should not rest their faith upon mere suppositions in regard to that which He has not revealed. God’s ways are not our ways, neither are His thoughts our thoughts. Human science can never account for His wondrous works. God so ordered that men, beasts, and trees, many times larger than those now upon the earth, and other things, should be buried in the earth at the time of the flood, and there be preserved to evidence to man that the inhabitants of the old world perished by a flood. God designed that the discovery of these things in the earth should establish the faith of men in inspired history.”—Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 1, p. 90.
ADDITIONAL STUDY.
(1) Does the Lord ever forget His children? Isa. 49:15, 16. (2) How long was Noah in the ark? (3) What in this lesson shows that Noah regarded the weekly division of time, and therefore the Sabbath? (4) Note that Noah came forth from, as well as went into, the ark at the command of God. What lesson do you learn from this? (5) Why did Noah make an offering of every kind of clean beast and fowl? Why offer clean beasts and fowl? (6) What evidence does the earth itself give of a universal flood?
