After the flood

 After the flood, God kept his promise to Noah and all the animals on the ark; he closed the huge underground caverns of water that had broken open, and he stopped the rain. He sent a powerful wind to accelerate the evaporation of water. (There are two views on the extent of the flood. Some believe it was universal, covering all the earth. Others believe it was local and destroyed life only in populated areas.)

After 150 days, the ark landed somewhere on the mountains of Ararat (southeast of the Black Sea bordering on today’s Turkey, Armenia, and Iran). Noah and his family stayed in the ark for another two and a half months until the waters had receded enough for them to see the tops of other mountains.

To make certain it was safe to leave the ark, Noah released two birds. First he released a raven that flew until it found a place to land and did not return. Second, he released a dove that returned because it could not find a place to land. Noah waited seven more days, then released the dove again. When the dove returned with an olive leaf in its beak, Noah knew there was dry land. But to be absolutely certain, Noah waited another seven days and released the dove a third time. This time the dove did not come back.

Noah was now 601. It had been ten and a half months since the beginning of the flood, and Noah felt it was safe to remove the top covering of the ark. He could see dry land, but he waited another two months until the earth around him was completely dry.

Just as God had ordered Noah to board the ark, God ordered Noah to leave the ark and release all the animals to repopulate the earth. After he had set the animals free, Noah built an altar and sacrificed some of the approved animals and birds to thank the Lord for delivering him and his family from the flood. The Lord accepted Noah’s sacrifices and was delighted with them. Though Adam’s sin had permanently corrupted humankind, the Lord swore he would never totally destroy the world again. He promised there would always be a cycle of seasons to sustain life.