How do you deal with unanticipated delays? Have you ever seen supposed deadlines come and go, while you’re left waiting—for the birth of a child, for the job offer, for the completion of a project? Today’s reading provides a helpful reminder that, no matter how carefully we mark time, life seems to unfold at its own pace.
Imagine life for Noah and company at this point in the story. Surely cabin fever has set in long ago. If Ben Franklin is right that fish and company stink after three days, imagine the stench—both literal and figurative—one hundred fifty days later. Imagine how spirits must have lifted as the ark connected with solid ground. We’ve made it, they must have thought.
But not yet. The storyteller is careful to note just how long it takes from the landing on Ararat (8:4) to disembarking (8:18): forty days, plus several more weeks (the text is a little unclear). More than just elapsed time, the waiting comes in stages. First, the raven, then the dove, then the return of the dove, then the dove once more. False starts, indeed.
What is Noah waiting for? On one level, he’s waiting for dry ground, a place to set his feet and begin the task of re-starting the human race. And so, in his eagerness, he sends out aviary scouts—first a raven, then a dove. On a simpler level, though, he’s waiting for the go-ahead from God. More than his own reconnaissance and sifting of the evidence, Noah waits mostly for the terse command, “Go!”
But that’s not all. Almost as a footnote, the writers include an important moment of détente. Noah worships God; God resolves “never again” to “destroy every living creature.” Maybe Noah was really waiting for a new world in which God accepts us, warts and all, and loves us still.
- When has your timing not necessarily coincided with God’s timing? How did you respond? What did you learn?
- What signs or indicators do you look for as you seek the “right timing” in your life decisions?
- What other details did you notice in today’s reading?
Prayer: We’re not always great at waiting, O God. Teach us once again to take our time, to test the waters, and finally to listen, and listen carefully, for your voice. Amen.
Breath Prayer: And he waited // seven more days.
