God's Promise

In ancient times, the world was filled with wickedness and violence. Humanity had turned away from righteousness, and God didn’t like their action. Among the people, there was one man who remained faithful to God – Noah. He was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time. Seeing Noah’s goodness, God decided to spare him and his family from the coming destruction. God instructed Noah to build an ark with specific instructions.

 

As the ark neared completion, God instructed Noah to gather a pair of creatures that move along the ground. Each pair, male and female, would multiply their species after the flood. Additionally, Noah was to take seven pairs of every kind of clean animal and bird, which would be used as a food after the flood. When the ark was completed and the animals safely aboard, God commanded Noah and his family to enter the ark. Noah, his wife, his sons, and their wives – eight people in total – entered the ark, and God himself shut the door.

After the forty days of rain, the floodwaters began to recede. God remembered Noah and all the animals in the ark, and He sent a wind over the Earth to help dry the land. The ark floated on the surface of the waters for several months, eventually coming to rest on the mountains of Ararat. Noah waited patiently, sending out a raven and then a dove to see if the waters had receded sufficiently. The dove returned with an olive leaf, signaling that dry land was emerging. After several more weeks, Noah sent out the dove again, and this time it did not return, indicating that the Earth was dry. God made a promise with Noah and his descendants, promising never to destroy the Earth with a flood again. God set a rainbow in the sky, a symbol of His promise and a reminder of His mercy and faithfulness. This was recorded in Genesis 6:9-9:17