BIBLE BITS: Genesis 6-9

BIBLE BITS is an entry in accordance with my personal "Through the Bible in a Year" readings.  These will be little insights that I consider from each daily reading.  They will be posted when I have time and feel they are worth posting.  They are hardly exhaustive, just little bits of the Biblical text to ponder.  God bless your own pondering of the Scriptures.

BIBLE BITS from Genesis 6-9

Noah entered the ark on the 10th day of the 2nd month of his 600th year.  The waters came a week later--Noah's 600th year on the 17th day of the 2nd month (Genesis 7:11).  The waters remained on the earth for 150 days (after 40 days and nights of deluge), then they subsided.  

As the waters receded, Moses noted the time according to the days of Noah. (I will use dates of month / day / age of Noah to make it easier to ponder.)

The ark rested on Mt. Ararat. -- 7/17/600 (Genesis 8:4)

The mountain tops were visible. -- 10/1/600 (Genesis 8:5)

The waters were dried from the earth.  Presumably, the land was still saturated.  Noah removed the covering from the ark. -- 1/1/601 (Genesis 8:13)

The land was dried out. -- 2/27/601 (Genesis 8:14)

Then Noah left the ark.  Noah and his family were on the ark for over a year!  Why wait from 1/1/601 until 2/27/601 (almost two months!) to leave the ark?  Because only on the 27th day of the 2nd month of Noah's 601st year did the Lord tell Noah to leave the ark.  (In addition, Noah and his family sat in the ark for a week before the rains came.  Did he feel like a fool, just waiting there?)

I suppose Noah could have left the ark when he saw dry land.  The waters may have filled the valleys, but the mountain tops were dry for months before Noah actually left the ark.  I am sure he and his family were eager to be free from the confines of the ark, from the care of the animals, from the smell, etc....  They could have left the ark months, or at least a few weeks, before they did.  But Noah did nothing unless God told him so.  That is amazing faith.