Former Blackout Artist

“When the dove returned to him in the evening, there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf….” ~ Genesis 8:11

After Noah gathered the animals and his family inside the ark that the Lord commanded him to build, the sky turned into a torrential waterfall for the next 40 days. Moses records that the floodwaters were 15 cubits (22 feet) above the highest mountains on earth, and that the rainwater flooded the earth for 5 consecutive months. In all, Noah and his family would spend an entire year inside this large boat he had built.

Four years ago, my wife and I set sail together on our very first cruise. The ship was luxurious! A floating city, it was. The sleeping cabins were nice, the food was wonderful, the seas were calm and the weather was perfect. But I gotta tell ya – I was ready to get off that boat seven days later. I couldn’t imagine spending a year on a luxurious ocean liner, let alone a wooden boat stuffed with every animal known to mankind. In the worst natural disaster in human history, no less!

Can you imagine what that was like? And you know that Noah’s sons (Shem, Ham, and Japheth) were probably tasked that entire year looking after the creatures and shoveling tons of animal dung overboard! And the smell! I’m guessing no one was looking forward to seeing dry ground more than Noah’s three sons.

So the rain finally ended and the water gradually began to recede. But it would still be several months of much the same. Then finally, one day the dove Noah released to go find dry land returned with an olive leaf in its beak! Yes! Yes! Praise God! There’s light at the end of the tunnel! A week later he sent the dove out again and it did not return. We can see Noah rushing to tell his wife Namaah, “Won’t be long now, Ma! That bird done flew the coop and found a new home!”

But Noah stayed on the boat and waited patiently for God to give him the okay before disembarking. And what was the first thing he did once he finally got his family and the animals off the boat? He built an altar to the Lord and sacrificed some of the clean animals and birds as a burnt offering to Him.

The Bible then states in verse 21 that “The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: “Never again will I curse the ground because of humans, even though every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures as I have done.”

Noah’s obedience to God, was largely expressed by his unwavering patience and willingness to listen. While we count the days until our Savior’s return, may we strive to be as patiently obedient and eager to listen to God like Noah was. Amen.