Wednesday AM Bible Study; September 24, 2025 – Genesis 7:1-8:21
Theme: Genesis 7-8 gives us the basic outline of the events of the flood.
(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).
Click HERE for the audio version of this Bible Study.
Click HERE for the livestream archive of this Bible Study.
The story of the flood in the book of Genesis is the story of the most devastating year and 10 days in all of world history thus far. In it, we’re told how the entire 1,656 years of the history of the antediluvian world came to an end—and how every human being on the surface of the earth was killed. Only the eight people in the ark survived to go forth and repopulate the planet. Is this remarkable story true? Noah and his three sons are treated as real historical men who were a part of the genealogy of the people of Israel (1 Chronicles 1:4); and Noah and his son Shem are recorded in the genealogy of our Lord (Luke 3:36). The Lord Jesus treated the story as true history; and used it to explain to His disciples the nature of things at the time of His second coming. In Matthew 24:37-39, He told them;
“But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be” (Matthew 24:37-39).The writer of Hebrews spoke of it as true history. He mentioned it as an example of faith; saying in Hebrews 11:7;
By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith (Hebrews 11:7).The apostle Peter used it as a key part of his doctrine of the pre-existence of Christ; saying this about our Lord in 1 Peter 3:18-20;
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water (1 Peter 3:18-20);and he used it as a part of his doctrine of divine judgment; when he wrote in 2 Peter 2:5 that God
did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly (2 Peter 2:5).It’s important that we take the time to understand this story as actual history and follow the chronology of events carefully, as the Bible gives them to us.
* * * * * * * * * *
Let’s begin by considering … THE EVENTS BEFORE THE FLOOD (7:1-9). After God had revealed to Noah that He would bring judgment on the whole earth for sin, He gave instructions to him for the construction of the ark (6:13-21). We’re told at the beginning of God’s instructions to Noah only that he was 500 years old when he gave birth to his three sons. So; it may be that he and his sons were engaged in the construction of the ark for approximately 100 years until he had reached his 600th year of life. Noah was faithful in the task that God had given him; because it tells us at the end of Genesis 6, “Thus Noah did; according to all that God commanded him, so he did.” God had brought to Noah all the animal life that was to be preserved in the ark. And at a certain point, we read,Then the Lord said to Noah, “Come into the ark, you and all your household, because I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation. You shall take with you seven each of every clean animal, a male and his female; two each of animals that are unclean, a male and his female; also seven each of birds of the air, male and female, to keep the species alive on the face of all the earth. For after seven more days I will cause it to rain on the earth forty days and forty nights, and I will destroy from the face of the earth all living things that I have made” (7:1-4).Why was it that only two of each kind of unclean animal were brought into the ark, while seven of the clean animals were brought in? This was probably because Noah—even in his time—had some understanding from God regarding which animals were ceremonially ‘clean’ for offerings, and which were ‘unclean’ and not appropriate for offerings. Given that offerings were made after the flood, an abundant supply of ‘clean animals’ (three pairs plus one for immediate offering after the flood) was provided. And why were there seven days of notice before the flood began? It could be because that much time was necessary to get all of the animals secured into position in the ark. But in addition to this, it may be that a time of mourning was necessary for Noah’s grandfather, Methuselah. If we add up the number of his years, we discover that Methuselah—the oldest man who ever lived—died in the same year that the flood came (at age 969). It could be that God, in His mercy, spared old Grandfather Methuselah from the experience of the flood just before it began; and that a seven-day period of mourning was permitted first (see Genesis 50:10). Verses 5-9 go on to tell us;
And Noah did according to all that the Lord commanded him. Noah was six hundred years old when the floodwaters were on the earth.
So Noah, with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives, went into the ark because of the waters of the flood. Of clean animals, of animals that are unclean, of birds, and of everything that creeps on the earth, two by two they went into the ark to Noah, male and female, as God had commanded Noah, two by two they went into the ark to Noah, male and female, as God had commanded Noah (vv. 5-9).And so; with these preliminary matters taken care of, we come to … DAY 1: THE RAINS BEGIN (7:10-16). We’re told;
And it came to pass after seven days that the waters of the flood were on the earth. In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. And the rain was on the earth forty days and forty nights (7:9-12).Before this time, we’re told that the earth was watered by a mist that rose up from the earth—most likely from a subterranean source; and that there was a great canopy of the waters that covered over the firmament of the sky—much like an enormous overcast. But on this first day—by the power of God—the two great water sources broke through upon the earth. From beneath, “all the fountains of the great deep were broken”; and from above, “the windows of heaven were opened”. The enormous treasures of water, that had been kept in store, spilled out upon the surface of the earth. This may be what was being described to us in Psalm 104:5-8;
You who laid the foundations of the earth, So that it should not be moved forever, You covered it with the deep as with a garment; The waters stood above the mountains. At Your rebuke they fled; At the voice of Your thunder they hastened away. They went up over the mountains; They went down into the valleys, To the place which You founded for them (104:5-8).Genesis 7:13-16 goes on to tell us that—on the 600th day of Noah’s life—on the 17th day of the second month;
On the very same day Noah and Noah’s sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons with them, entered the ark—they and every beast after its kind, all cattle after their kind, every creeping thing that creeps on the earth after its kind, and every bird after its kind, every bird of every sort. And they went into the ark to Noah, two by two, of all flesh in which is the breath of life. So those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him; and the Lord shut him in (7:13-16).This leads us to what must have been the most horrific 40 days of that one-year-and-ten-day period … DAYS 1 TO 40: THE EARTH IS COVERED (7:17-24). Thankfully, very few of the details are described to us. Verses 17-20 tell us;
Now the flood was on the earth forty days. The waters increased and lifted up the ark, and it rose high above the earth. The waters prevailed and greatly increased on the earth, and the ark moved about on the surface of the waters. And the waters prevailed exceedingly on the earth, and all the high hills under the whole heaven were covered. The waters prevailed fifteen cubits upward, and the mountains were covered (vv. 17-20).Fifteen cubits would be slightly over 22 feet. And so, the immensity of the amount of water that covered the earth is shown to us in that every mountain was covered by 22 feet over its peak. How it could be that the earth could be covered by so much water would be explained by the fact that so much of that water was stored in the canopy above and in subterranean sources from beneath. It may also have been that the topography of the surface of the earth was temporarily changed in order to cause it to be completely covered over.
And all flesh died that moved on the earth: birds and cattle and beasts and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and every man. All in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, all that was on the dry land, died. So He destroyed all living things which were on the face of the ground: both man and cattle, creeping thing and bird of the air. They were destroyed from the earth. Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark remained alive. And the waters prevailed on the earth one hundred and fifty days (7:21-24).This 150-day period would have included both the first forty days of the increase of the water upon the earth, and the 110 days of the waters then so saturating the earth that they prevailed over the whole surface. There would have been no way that anything breathing would have survived—except for whatever had been in the ark. It’s hard to imagine what it must have been like for Noah and his family to know that such a thing was happening. And yet, we come to … DAY 150: THE WATERS DECREASED (8:1-4). From the very beginning, God expressed favor to Noah and his family. He had said that He would establish His covenant with him, his sons, his wife, his son’s wives, and with every living thing in the ark. At the beginning of Chapter 8, at the end of 150 days, we’re told;
Then God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the animals that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters subsided. The fountains of the deep and the windows of heaven were also stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained. And the waters receded continually from the earth. At the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters decreased. Then the ark rested in the seventh month, the seventeenth day of the month, on the mountains of Ararat (8:1-4).Not only did God cause the sources of the water to cease, and for the waters themselves to recede, but He also caused a wind to blow over the earth that facilitated the evaporation of the water above and the drying of the earth below. God provided graciously that the ark came to rest on a solid—and probably level—section of the mountain groupings in Ararat. When we consider that Mount Ararat itself is approximately 16,850 feet in height, we gain a sense of the staggering amount of water that once prevailed over the earth—showing us that this couldn’t possibly have been a mere ‘local flood’, as some have suggested. The day on which the ark rested on Ararat is very specific—the seventeenth day of the seventh month. This would mean that (assuming a biblical 360-day year) five months had passed since the flood had begun—a total of 150 days. This leads us to another four and a half months of waiting in the ark; and to … DAY 257: THE MOUNTAIN PEAKS ARE SEEN (8:5). From its vantage point of having come to rest upon the mountains of Ararat, the ark would have allowed Noah and his family to scan the surface of the waters that covered the earth. And Genesis 8:5 tells us;
And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month. In the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains were seen (8:5).This would have indicated to Noah and his family that the waters were indeed receding. But there was still a long time of waiting. Another forty days passed before we’re told of … DAY 297: TWO SCOUTS ARE SENT OUT (8:6-9). Verses 6-9 tell us;
So it came to pass, at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made. Then he sent out a raven, which kept going to and fro until the waters had dried up from the earth. He also sent out from himself a dove, to see if the waters had receded from the face of the ground. But the dove found no resting place for the sole of her foot, and she returned into the ark to him, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth. So he put out his hand and took her, and drew her into the ark to himself (8:6-9).We’re not told whether or not the raven returned to the inside of the ark. Perhaps it rested on one of the mountain peaks that had begun to be seen. But the dove—a bird much less capable of long flight—returned. But then, verses 10-11 tell us of … DAY 304: AN OLIVE LEAF IS DISCOVERED (8:10-11). We’re told;
And he waited yet another seven days, and again he sent the dove out from the ark. Then the dove came to him in the evening, and behold, a freshly plucked olive leaf was in her mouth; and Noah knew that the waters had receded from the earth (vv. 10-11).This told Noah that plant life had begun to be restored somewhere on the surface of the earth—probably not far from the place on the mountains where the ark had settled. This indicated that—as Noah’s name means (Genesis 5:29)—“rest” and comfort had finally come. The return of this dove—and the olive leaf in its mouth—have since become a traditional symbol of peace. This leads us to … DAYS 311: THE DOVE DIDN’T RETURN (8:12). We’re told in verse 12,
So he waited yet another seven days and sent out the dove, which did not return again to him anymore (v. 12).This would have indicated that the dove had—indeed—found a place to rest her feet. Another six days or so passed—leading us to … DAY 317: THE COVERING IS REMOVED (8:13). Verse 13 says;
And it came to pass in the six hundred and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, that the waters were dried up from the earth; and Noah removed the covering of the ark and looked, and indeed the surface of the ground was dry (v. 13).It must have been an indescribably great relief to have finally removed the covering of the ark. Not only did it allow fresh air to come in—and almost a year of bad air to go out!—but it allowed for a view of the surface of the earth. It could clearly be seen that the waters had indeed receded, and that the ground was dried. But notice that Noah and his family didn’t leave the ark. They had been given no command by God to do so. And it may have been that if they had attempted to do so before God had given them the command, they would have perished by sinking in the still moist earth. They demonstrated patient obedience to God—and a faithful waiting on His perfect time—until they came to … DAY 370: WHEN GOD SAID TO GO OUT (8:14-19). We’re told in verses 14-19;
And in the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dried. Then God spoke to Noah, saying, “Go out of the ark, you and your wife, and your sons and your sons’ wives with you. Bring out with you every living thing of all flesh that is with you: birds and cattle and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, so that they may abound on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.” So Noah went out, and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives with him. Every animal, every creeping thing, every bird, and whatever creeps on the earth, according to their families, went out of the ark (8:14-19).It’s very difficult to imagine how sobering it would have been to leave the ark—and to walk around on the earth after every other living thing had perished. But at the same time, it must have been a great joy to know that God—in great mercy—had shown favor to them. That naturally leads us to … THE EVENTS AFTER THE FLOOD (8:20-22). We’re told in verse 20;
Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar (v. 20).This is the first mention, in all the Bible, of an altar for an offering to God. It was the first official act of the beginning of the present, post-flood age; and it helps us to understand why God would have commanded that one extra of every clean animal be preserved in the ark. God Himself anticipated—and prepared for—this first act of worship. We’re told in verses 21-22;
And the Lord smelled a soothing aroma. Then the Lord said in His heart, “I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake, although the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done.“While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, Cold and heat, Winter and summer, And day and night Shall not cease” (vv. 21-22).
* * * * * * * * * *
Now; we shouldn’t miss what a glorious picture this is of Jesus Christ Himself. He is to us an ‘ark’ in which we are kept safe from the just judgment of a righteous God for sin. And He is much more. As Dr. Henry Morris had put it so well;A year and seventeen days earlier, God had said to Noah: “Come thou and all thy house into the ark (Genesis 7:1). But now He said, “Go forth of the ark, thou and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons’ wives with thee.” These two commands are not contradictory, but complementary, reminding us of two complementary commands of Christ. First, He said: Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). This command (all the more meaningful in light of the fact that “rest” was the very meaning of Noah’s prophetic name) is but the preparation for His great command: “Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15). The Ark had been like the great sheepfold, with Christ the door, through whom the sheep “shall go in” to be saved, but also, through whom, they shall “go out, and find pasture” (John 10:9).1
________________________________________
1Henry M. Morris, The Genesis Record (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1976), p. 214.AE