13 And it cometh to pass in the six hundredth and first year, in the first 'month', in the first of the month, the waters have been dried from off the earth; and Noah turneth aside the covering of the ark, and looketh, and lo, the face of the ground hath been dried. 14 And in the second month, in the seven and twentieth day of the month, the earth hath become dry.
15 And God speaketh unto Noah, saying, 'Go out from the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons' wives with thee; 16 every living thing that 'is' with thee, of all flesh, among fowl, and among cattle, and among every creeping thing which is creeping on the earth, bring out with thee; 17 and they have teemed in the earth, and been fruitful, and have multiplied on the earth.' 18 And Noah goeth out, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him; 19 every beast, every creeping thing, and every fowl; every creeping thing on the earth, after their families, have gone out from the ark.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Genesis 8:13-19
Commentary on Genesis 8:13-19
(Read Genesis 8:13-19)
God consults our benefit, rather than our desires; he knows what is good for us better than we do for ourselves, and how long it is fit our restraints should continue, and desired mercies should be delayed. We would go out of the ark before the ground is dried; and perhaps, if the door, is shut, are ready to thrust off the covering, and to climb up some other way; but God's time of showing mercy is the best time. As Noah had a command to go into the ark, so, how tedious soever his confinement there was, he would wait for a command to go out of it again. We must in all our ways acknowledge God, and set him before us in all our removals. Those only go under God's protection, who follow God's direction, and submit to him.