By the first day of the first month of Noah’s six hundred and first year, the water had dried up from the earth. Noah then removed the covering from the ark and saw that the surface of the ground was dry. By the twenty-seventh day of the second month the earth was completely dry.
Then God said to Noah, “Come out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and their wives. Bring out every kind of living creature that is with you—the birds, the animals, and all the creatures that move along the ground—so they can multiply on the earth and be fruitful and increase in number on it.”
Genesis 8:13-17
In this chapters 5-8, we see that humanity has fallen so much due to sin. Everything mankind did was evil (Genesis 6:5) and violent (Genesis 6:11). This grieved the Lord (Genesis 6:6) and He decided to wipe out mankind due to their sin (Genesis 6:7).
If we add up all the years from Adam until Noah in Genesis 5, the time for man to become so corrupt only took 1656 years. It’s been about 4000 years since the flood. 4000 years worth of additional sin and suffering from the effects of it. Are we really less corrupt than those that died in the flood?
By the time of the flood, there was only one person that God found righteous. That person was Noah and he walked with God (Genesis 6:9). God told him about his plan to flood the earth and told Noah to build an ark to save himself. Noah built it because he believed God. It was an act of faith, as mentioned later in the Bible in Hebrews 11:7.
The verses highlighted at the top show how faithful Noah was. After the flood, as the water was receding, Noah stayed in the ark. He even sent a raven and a dove to check the status of the water.
After being in the ark for almost a year, Noah could see that the land was dry (Genesis 8:13). However, Noah did not leave the ark. He did not use his own wisdom and understanding to restart his life outside the ark.
Instead, Noah waited for the Lord to tell him that it was ok to leave the ark. After all, it was God who told him to build and go into the ark. God doesn’t tell Noah to leave the ark for almost two months and by faith, Noah waited.
In your life today, you may be asking God for direction or waiting for God to answer a prayer. Opportunities may not be what they seem. Do not rely on your own wisdom or understanding. Instead, rely on what God says and have faith.
For we live by faith, not by sight.
2 Corinthians 5:7