After forty days and nights of rain, Noah and his family remained in a world of water, tucked away in the ark. They were safe, but they were also ‘in between’—waiting for the water to recede and for a new life to begin. Then, a turning point came:
‘God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters assuaged … And the ark rested in the seventh month … upon the mountains of Ararat.’ Genesis 8:1, 4.
The name ‘Ararat’ is associated with ‘holy ground’ or the idea that ‘the curse is reversed’.
Like Noah, we face seasons where the ‘floodwaters’ of life rise—times of waiting and uncertainty, where we may feel like we are drifting and forgotten. Mount Ararat teaches us that God has a specific time and place for our ‘ark’ to rest, and on high, holy ground that represents a nearness to him. It reminds us that God never forgets us.
We learn from Noah to meet this deliverance with thanksgiving, as the first thing he did when he stepped onto land was to build an altar:
‘And Noah builded an altar unto the Lord … and offered burnt offerings on the altar.’ Genesis 8:20.
God’s response to Noah’s worship was to make a covenant with him and every living creature, setting a rainbow in the sky as a message of peace. It reminded Noah and his family that they were under his protection. Even though he acknowledged that ‘the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth’ (Genesis 8:21), God promised that the waters would never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. This showed his unconditional mercy.
Mount Ararat is a reminder that:
On Ararat, we see a place of safety where God brings a weary family to rest and begins something new.
But the peaks of Scripture are not always places of comfort. Next time, we will visit another mountain—Mount Moriah—where God called a father to face the ultimate test of surrender.