But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the livestock that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided. – Genesis 8:1

This passage contains some fascinating imagery. The first is the anthropological term “remember”. With an omniscient God there can be no forgetfulness. And yet still The Scriptures speak about our God in this way very often (Gen 19:29; 30:22; Exo 2:24; 1 Sam 1:19). In many of these and other texts, remembrance is a covenantal act (Gen 9:15-16). Here God is remembering Noah because of the covenant He has made with him (Gen 6:18). These covenantal “remembrances” deliver from affliction, sorry and pain. Ultimately, remembrance will revolve around Jesus Christ (Luke 22:19).

The second piece of imagery in the text is the “wind” (literally spirit) over the earth. This is the very same set of images used at the beginning of creation (Gen 1:2). Even the reemergence of the earth from the waters point us back to creation (Gen 1:9). In many ways this texts brings the book as whole back full circle in God’s attempt to restore creation. Ultimately it will be in Jesus Christ that the finality of this “new creation” is established (2 Cor 5:17).