After the storm had passed, the fury of the skies was no more, and silence fell upon the drenched world. But God had not forgotten Noah. He remembered every creature—wild and tame—within the great ark. A breath of wind swept across the earth, and slowly, the waters began to pull back.
The underground springs stopped gushing. The heavens closed their gates, and the rain that had once lashed from above came no more. Day by day, the water sank lower. By the time one hundred and fifty days had passed, the ark—once adrift—found rest atop the mountains of Ararat, like a weary ship kissing the first sign of land.
The peaks of distant mountains peeked out by the tenth month. Time moved slowly. Noah waited forty more days before opening a small window in the ark. From it, he released a raven. The bird flew back and forth, circling restlessly, never settling—until the waters were gone.
Then Noah tried with a dove. Gentle and hopeful, the dove flapped into the world, searching for dry ground. But it found none. There was still no place for its delicate feet. So it returned to Noah, and he reached out and brought it safely back inside.
He waited another seven days. This time, when the dove returned, it carried something wonderful—an olive leaf, fresh and green, held carefully in its beak. A sign. A promise. Life had returned to the earth.
Noah waited again. On the third journey, the dove did not come back.
By the first day of the first month of Noah's six hundred and first year, the earth was dry to the eye. He removed the covering of the ark and looked out upon land once drowned, now breathing anew. And by the twenty-seventh day of the second month, the earth was completely dry beneath the heavens.
Then God spoke, and His voice was full of peace:
"Come out of the ark, Noah. You and your wife, your sons, and their wives. And bring out every creature with you—the birds, the beasts, and every creeping thing. Let them go out into the world. Let them be fruitful. Let them multiply once more upon the earth."
So Noah stepped out into the light. Beside him were his family, and behind them, every creature in the ark followed, each kind in its own turn. The world awaited them.
Grateful, Noah built an altar. He took some of the clean animals and birds and offered a sacrifice to the Lord—a gift of thanks. The scent of it rose into the sky, and God was pleased. He whispered in His heart,
"Never again will I curse the earth because of mankind, even though their hearts may turn to evil. Never again will I destroy every living thing as I have done."
And then, a promise for the ages:
"As long as the earth remains,
Seedtime and harvest,
Cold and heat,
Summer and winter,
Day and night—
They shall never cease."
After the flood, the world was quiet—still dripping with memory. The skies cleared, and the air smelled of fresh beginnings. God looked upon Noah and his sons and spoke with authority and warmth.
"Go forth," He said, "be fruitful and multiply. Let your children fill the earth."
He continued, "From this day on, every creature—the soaring birds, the beasts that walk, the fish that swim—will fear and respect you. They are placed under your care. As I once gave you plants to eat, now every living, moving thing may be your food. But hear me well: you must not eat meat that still holds its lifeblood. Life is sacred."
The sky rumbled gently as He gave a stern warning. "And for every life taken—animal or man—I will demand an answer. No blood shall be spilled without justice. If anyone sheds the blood of another, their own blood shall be shed, for I made mankind in My image."
Then He looked Noah in the eye and said again, "Multiply. Fill the earth with life."
There, on the slopes of Ararat, God made a covenant with Noah, his sons, and all the creatures that had survived. He spoke like a king declaring peace.
"Never again," He promised, "will floodwaters destroy all life. This covenant I make is everlasting."
Then He reached into the clouds and painted a bow across the sky—a rainbow shimmering with light.
"This," He said, "is the sign between Me and every living soul: when the clouds gather and this bow appears, I will remember My promise. The waters will never again rise to erase the earth."
The rainbow hung bright over the mountains, a seal of hope for all generations.
Time passed. Noah and his family left the ark and began life anew. Noah, a man of the soil, planted a vineyard. When the grapes ripened, he made wine and drank deeply, too deeply. He lay uncovered in his tent, vulnerable and unaware.
Ham, his son—the father of Canaan—entered the tent and saw his father's nakedness. Instead of honoring him, he went outside and told his brothers.
But Shem and Japheth were different. They took a cloak, walked backward into the tent with their faces turned away, and gently covered their father's shame.
When Noah awoke and learned what had happened, he was heartbroken. In anger, he cursed Ham's son: "Cursed be Canaan. He shall be the lowest of servants to his brothers."
But to Shem, he gave a blessing: "Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem. May Canaan serve him."
And to Japheth he declared, "May your land grow wide, may you dwell in Shem's tents. But Canaan shall serve you too."
Noah lived for 350 more years after the flood. In all, his life spanned 950 years before he passed from the world, leaving behind a legacy sealed by a rainbow and written in the soil of a renewed earth.