Also he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground;
Genesis 8:8 belongs to the inspired Old Testament account of Noah and the flood, which records real history. The flood was God's judgment in which He destroyed the world because of human sin and iniquity. God provided the massive boat, the ark, to save all who would heed the warning and turn from unrighteousness. Only eight persons were saved; all were tested by the truth Noah preached, and those who believed were saved.
Noah and his family anxiously watched the waters decrease because they longed to go forth upon the earth again. The raven was sent first, forty days after the tops of the mountains became visible, flying back and forth to and from the ark without bringing the information Noah desired. Seven days after the raven, Noah sent forth the dove from the ark to see whether the waters were abated and the earth had become dry. The dove found no place of rest or footing and returned to the ark, so Noah waited seven days longer before sending her again.
Even when the face of the ground was dry, Noah patiently remained within the ark because as he had entered at God's command he waited for special directions from God to depart. Noah's generation prefigures the present age, since human nature apart from the influence of God's Spirit is the same, and Christ's words about Noah show the account reveals the character of the world before His appearing.
Genesis 8:8 belongs to the inspired Old Testament account of Noah and the flood, which records real history. The flood was God's judgment in which He destroyed the world because of human sin and iniquity. God provided the massive boat, the ark, to save all who would heed the warning and turn from unrighteousness. Only eight persons were saved; all were tested by the truth Noah preached, and those who believed were saved.
Noah and his family anxiously watched the waters decrease because they longed to go forth upon the earth again. The raven was sent first, forty days after the tops of the mountains became visible, flying back and forth to and from the ark without bringing the information Noah desired. Seven days after the raven, Noah sent forth the dove from the ark to see whether the waters were abated and the earth had become dry. The dove found no place of rest or footing and returned to the ark, so Noah waited seven days longer before sending her again.
Even when the face of the ground was dry, Noah patiently remained within the ark because as he had entered at God's command he waited for special directions from God to depart. Noah's generation prefigures the present age, since human nature apart from the influence of God's Spirit is the same, and Christ's words about Noah show the account reveals the character of the world before His appearing.