Post 17 "Happenings After the Flood"

I'd like to do a summary with verse references for Chapter 8 to get us going here:
*God remembered Noah v1
*The ark rested v3
*Waters decreased v5
*Mountain tops appear v5
*Raven sent forth - flies to and fro v7
*Dove sent v8
*Dove returns empty v9
*Dove sent again v10
*Dove returns with olive leaf v11
*Dove sent again - does not return v12
*Waters dried v13
*God tells Noah to leave the ark v16
*Noah leaves ark v18
*Noah builds altar and makes burnt-offerings of the clean beasts and fowls v20
*God resolves to not curse the ground for man's sake v21
*God said seasons would remain as long as the earth remains v22

In summary, Chapter 7 begins with God telling Noah to Come thou and all thy house into the ark. Chapter 8 begins with And God remembered Noah and every living thing... Chapter 9 (in the next chapter) begins And God blessed Noah...

In the last part of Chapter 8 we see God's understanding of the state of man and shows His compassion for man. for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth: neither will I again smite any more every thing living as I have done.

Special note: We will find as we go through the old testament that God reveals his attributes in a gradual way. He taught mankind and Israel in particular about himself and his ways. He did this right up to the day Jesus came. Then Jesus in a most gentle way presented the ways of God in his person and teachings. When a person accepts Jesus as Savior, their body still has a tendency to desire worldly things. Gently a new Christian is taught the things of God. The Spirit of God, which lives in the heart of every believer, helps in this process. Scripture has a new and brighter light shining on it and passages are now understood which were not clear before. It is important to not get discouraged as a new Christian. As a newborn must grow and learn, and sometimes fall, so must a new Christian learn and allow their faith to grow as they study God's word. By faith, we accept those things we do not yet understand clearly.