The world was corrupt and sinful in God`s sight and was full of violence. God saw how corrupt the earth has become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. God regretted making people on this Earth, and His heart was deeply troubled. 

 

 

God wants to put an end to all people, as the word is filled with violence, and destroy all people and earth. Noah was a righteous man, following the laws of God.  Noah found favor in the eyes of God, So God told Noah to make a boat of Cypress wood, make many rooms in it, and coat the inside and outside with pitch to prevent water from leaking in. 

 

 

God informed Noah to pick 7 pairs (male and female) of every clean animal, and 2 pairs (male and female) of every unclean animal and house them in the ark. And together with Noah and his family of total 8 people, they entered the boat and closed the doors.

 

 

After that, God allowed it to rain non stop for 40 days and 40 nights, and flooded the world Earth. However, Noah`s Ark was safe. The water increased greatly on the earth, and covered the mountains, and every living creature perished. It continued raining for 5 months.  God remembered Noah and the wild animals and livestock that were in the boat, and God sent a wind over the Earth, and the water receded. 

 

 

Genesis 8 : 6, 11.  After forty days Noah opened a window in the ark and sent out a raven, and it kept flying back and forth until the water had dried up from the earth.

Then he sent out a dove to see if the water had receded from the surface of the ground. The dove could not find anywhere to perch because there was water over

all the surface of the earth; so it returned to Noah in the ark. He waited another 7 days and again sent out the dove from the ark. When the dove returned to him in the evening, 

there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf. Then Noah knew that the water had receded from the earth. He waited 7 more days and sent out the dove again, and this time i did not return to him. After another 2 months, Noah opened the roof of the ark and saw that the earth was completely dry.

 

 

After another 2 months, Genesis 8: 15, 17  Then God said to Noah o come out of the ark, and with his wife and his sons and their wives, to bring out every creature in the ark so that they can multiply on the earth and be fruitful and increase in number on it. Then Noah built an altar  Lord, and sacrificed burnt offerings on it. God was pleased and promised to Noah that never again will God curse the ground with flood again, and God used the symbol of the rainbow as His promise. Why did Noah sent out the dove many times? The reason is to check if the earth is already dry. Once the dove came back with a branch of olive, it shows that it is dry but the tree is still not strong enough for the dove to perch. Finally when the dove did not return the third time it showed that the trees have grown much bigger and stronger and can allow the dove to perch on it, and make a nest. 

 

 

The promise from God is seen on Genesis 8:12-13 where God said

"This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, 

and it will be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth." 

 

 

The interesting points to think about this story is, 

1. Why did the dove bring back the branch of olives,  

2. Why didn`t the dove return back anymore.