INTRODUCTION:

1. Genesis 8:4 says, "And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat."
2. Ararat was a country, not a mountain. Ararat is mentioned four times in the Bible. Twice it is translated "Armenia."
3. The Bible says King Sennacherib's sons, after murdering their father, "escaped into the land of Armenia" (II Kings 19:37; Isaiah 37:38).
4. The word translated "Armenia" is Ararat. Ararat is a mountainous region in eastern Armenia.
5. A geologist named Dr. Andrew Snelling said he thinks it is unlikely that the ark landed on Mt. Ararat (which is in modern-day Turkey) because of the geologic nature of that mountain. Mt. Ararat was formed as a result of a volcano.
6. Dr. Snelling said, "We can’t be sure of whether there was already a mountain there prior to the volcanic eruptions, but from all our knowledge of volcanoes and of the eruptions that have been witnessed, it would have to be concluded that it is likely there were no mountains or hills there previously. Indications are that the lavas making up the Mt. Ararat volcano today are of considerable thickness, much higher and thicker than the Ark itself. This would mean that should the Ark have landed at the place currently known as Mt. Ararat, on Day 150 of the Flood (Genesis 7:24), it would eventually have been buried under thousands of feet of hot burning lavas" (interview with Ken Ham, "Where Is Noah’s Ark?").
7. Referring to Genesis 8:4, John Phillips said, "All around (the mountains of Ararat) was a dead and silent world shrouded from north to south, from east to west, as far as eye could see, by a watery waste. Behind, a drowned world; before, a world washed clean; the only visible object a lonely ark rocked in the cradle of the deep" (Exploring Genesis).
8. In the providence of God, the ark landed in a very central location -- close to Asia, Africa, and Europe. The ark settled in a strategic place that was ideally suitable for the inhabitation of the whole of the earth.

1. THE LORD'S REMEMBRANCE OF NOAH
2. THE LORD'S COMMAND TO NOAH
3. THE LORD'S COVENANT WITH NOAH

I. THE LORD'S REMEMBRANCE OF NOAH (8:1)

1. This does not imply that God had forgotten Noah and the other occupants of the ark. Men are forgetful, but God is not forgetful.
2. When Joseph was in prison in Egypt, he said to the chief butler, "But think on me when it shall be well with thee, and shew kindness, I pray thee, unto me, and make mention of me unto Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house" (Genesis 40:14).
3. But when the chief butler got out of prison he forgot all about Joseph. Genesis 40:23 says, "Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph, but forgat him."
4. But God is not like that forgetful butler. God is not forgetful.
5. God always remembers His children. With reference to His children, there is only thing that God forgets, and that is our sins.
6. In Hebrews 8:12 and 10:17 we read these precious words, "And their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more."
7. Whenever the Bible says God remembers, it means, God protects and God delivers.
8. God protected and delivered Noah and his family from the flood.
9. Even the raven (8:7) signifies God's protecting love and goodness.  God told Elijah, "I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there" by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan (I Kings 17:3, 4).
10. Job 38:41 says, "Who provideth for the raven his food? when his young ones cry unto God, they wander for lack of meat."
11. Our Lord said, "Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls?" (Luke 12:24).
12. "And after the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated.  And the ark rested..." (Gen. 8:3b, 4a).
13. "And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark..." (8:6) and he "sent forth a raven" (8:7), and the raven did not return.
14. The raven feeds on carrion, dead and decaying flesh. The fact that the raven flew about and never came back into the ark suggests that it was satisfied with what it found to feed upon.
15. Next, Noah "sent forth a dove" (8:8).  The dove is a sensitive, discriminating bird.
16. Our Lord said His followers were to be "wise as serpents, and harmless as doves" (Matt. 10:16).
17. Noah "sent forth a dove" (8:8), and the dove did return (8:9).
18. Noah then waited seven days, "and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark" (8:10).  This time the dove returned with an olive leaf, so that "Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth" (8:11).
19. From this historic event, the olive branch became the symbol of peace, and the dove the emblem of the Holy Spirit, the messenger of peace.  When our Lord was baptized, the Holy Ghost descended upon him "in a bodily shape like a dove" (Luke 3:22).
20. Noah then waited another seven days and sent out the dove again, and this time the dove did not return again to him anymore (8:12).
21. At this time, "Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and, behold, the face of the ground was dry" (8:13).  It had been a long time since Noah had seen dry ground (8:14).

II. THE LORD'S COMMAND TO NOAH

1. In chapter 6, the LORD commanded Noah to build an ark, and Noah obeyed (6:22).
2. In chapter 7, the LORD commanded Noah and his family to come into the ark, and Noah and his family obeyed (7:1-9, 16).
3. Now here in chapter 8, the LORD commanded Noah, "Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons' wives with thee" (8:16, 17).
4. And again, Noah obeyed (8:18).
5. Hebrews 11:7, and I Peter 3:20, and II Peter 2:5 refer to the obedience of Noah.
6. On Sunday nights we sing choruses, and we often sing "Obedience" (by Mike and Ruth Green).

Obedience is the very best way to show that you believe;

Doing exactly what the Lord commands; doing it happily.

Action is the key; do it immediately! Joy you will receive.

Obedience is the very best way to show that you believe.

We want to live pure, we want to live clean, we want to do our best;

Sweetly submitting to authority, Leaving to God the rest.

Walking in the light, keeping our attitude right, On the narrow way;

For if we believe the Word we receive, we always will obey.

O-B-E-D-I-E-N-C-E, Obedience is the very best way to show that you believe.

III. THE LORD'S COVENANT WITH NOAH

1. Back in Genesis 6:18, the LORD said to Noah, "But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee."
2. Then after the flood, the LORD established His covenant (9:8-19).
3. This covenant that the LORD established with Noah (sometimes referred to as "the Noahic Covenant") has several distinguishing features. First, it is an unconditional covenant.
4. Secondly, it was made to Noah and all his descendants ("your seed after you" -- 9:9) as well as “every living creature” and the earth in general (9:8-11).
5. Thirdly, the covenant was sealed with a token (a sign, a symbol), the rainbow (9:12-17). In Scripture, we see many visible signs illustrative of spiritual truth -- the Passover lamb, the brazen serpent, Gideon's fleece, etc.
6. In the New Testament, the Lord gave the church two ordinances -- baptism and the Lord's Supper -- and these are visible signs illustrative of spiritual truth.
7. But the very first sign God gave was the rainbow (9:12-17).
8. The LORD's covenant with Noah is an unconditional covenant because it does not depend upon anything Noah or his descendants had to do to fulfill the covenant. The promise is based upon God’s faithfulness alone.
9. Genesis 6:8 says, "But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD." This covenant that the LORD established with Noah was based upon God's grace.
10. Whenever we see a rainbow in the sky we are reminded of God’s faithfulness and His amazing grace.
11. And it is because of God’s faithfulness to always do what He says He will do that we can know today with certainty that there will never be another worldwide flood as there was in the days of Noah.
12. No matter how wicked mankind becomes (and men have become just as wicked as they were in the days of Noah), God will never send another worldwide flood.
13. “Neither will I again smite all living as I have done” (9:21b). There would be no repetition of the deluge that had just overflowed the world and destroyed all of its inhabitants, except Noah and his family.
14. However, this does not mean that God will never again destroy the earth. The next time God destroys the earth it will be by fire (II Peter 3:10-13).
15. The Bible teaches that our God is a holy and righteous God who has a holy hatred for sin and who will not allow sin to go unpunished forever.
16. That is why He will soon set this world on fire.
17. And that is why it is so terrible that the homosexuals have adopted the rainbow as the emblem of their defiance and perversion.
18. Immediately after the June 26, 2015 Supreme Court decision to legalize so-called homosexual marriage, the White House was illuminated with the colors of rainbow.
19. America is in trouble with God.

CONCLUSION:

1. Noah's first act after getting off the ark was to build an altar and to offer sacrifices.
2. Genesis 8:21 says, "And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake..."
3. The reason for this gracious promise is the sacrifice of Noah (8:20), the priest and representative of mankind, with which the Lord was well pleased.
4. Noah built an altar unto the LORD, and he offered up his sacrifice unto the LORD. This is the first mention of the altar in Scripture. We also have here the first mention of the burnt-offering.
5. By building an altar and offering a sacrifice, Noah was testifying to his gratitude to God for deliverance.
6. And by doing this, Noah was testifying to his need of sacrifice in approaching God. Of course, this pointed to Mount Calvary, 2,300 years beforehand.
7. And by building an altar and offering a sacrifice, Noah was testifying to the consecration of his life to the service of God as symbolized by the burnt offering (Genesis 8:20-22). (Genesis, W.H. Griffith Thomas)
8. Is your all on the altar of sacrifice laid?
   Your heart does the Spirit control?
   You can only be blest,
   And have peace and sweet rest,
   As you yield Him your body and soul. -- Elisha A. Hoffman