Genesis 8:16

Let us fix our gaze on those who have perfectly served his magnificent glory. Let us take Enoch, who was found righteous in obedience and was taken up without there being a trace of his death. Noah was found faithful by reason of his service; he proclaimed a new birth to the world, and through him the Lord saved the living creatures who entered in harmony into the ark.

Those whom he had brought in “one by one” in order to maintain chastity on the ark, he now brought out “two by two” so that they might “be fruitful and multiply in creation.” Even with respect to the animals that had preserved their chastity in the ark God said, “Bring forth with you every living thing that is with you of all flesh—birds and animals and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth—that they may breed abundantly on the earth.”

Now let us inquire by what order they entered into the ark, how long they remained there, and in what order they went out; how in the first instance Noah entered, and after him his sons; then his wife, and the wives of his sons; and when they went out, in what order they went forth. For it is written: 'Noah went forth, and his wife, and his sons, and the wives of his sons' (Genesis 8:18). And the letter indeed signifies, in the entrance, the abstinence from generation, and in the going out, the use of generation. For at that time the father entered first with his sons, and the sons with their parent, and afterwards his wife, and the wives of his sons; that is, the sexes were not mixed in entering, but were mixed in leaving. Therefore, as if in the very order of entering, he emits a certain voice, declaring that that time is not for intercourse or pleasures, which would bring destruction upon all... But later, the proper practice and care for marriage followed after the flood subsided.

Then all creation was cleansed as if of some blemish, removing all defilement caused in it by human wickedness. Its countenance was made resplendent; God then finally commanded the just man to disembark from the ark, freeing him from that awful prison with these words, “Then the Lord God said to Noah, ‘Disembark, you and your sons, your wife and your sons’ wives with you, as well as all flesh, from birds to cattle; take off with you every reptile that crawls upon the earth, and increase and multiply on the earth.’ ” Notice God’s goodness, how in everything he encourages the good man. After ordering him to disembark from the ark along with his sons, his wife, his sons’ wives and all the wild animals, then lest great discouragement should gradually overtake him by this further development and he become anxious at the thought that he would be on his own, dwelling alone in such a vast expanse of earth, with no one else existing, God first said, “Disembark from the ark, and take off everything with you,” and then added, “Increase and multiply, and gain dominion over the earth.” See how once again this good man receives that former blessing that Adam had received before the fall. The same words were as man heard when he was created: God blessed them in the words “increase and multiply, and gain dominion over the earth.” So too this man now hears the words “increase and multiply on the earth.” In other words, just as the former man became the beginning and root of all creatures before the deluge, so too this just man becomes a kind of leaven, beginning and root of everything after the deluge. From this point on, what is comprised in the makeup of human beings takes its beginning, and the whole of creation recovers its proper order, both the soil reawakening to productivity as well as everything else that had been created for the service of human beings.

For as Noah’s ark preserved alive everyone whom it had taken in when the world was going under, so also Peter’s church will bring back unhurt everyone whom it embraces when the world goes up in flames. And as a dove brought the sign of peace to Noah’s ark when the flood was over, so also Christ will bring the joy of peace to Peter’s church when the judgment is over, since he himself is dove and peace, as he promised when he said, “I shall see you again and your heart will rejoice.”

God said to Noah, "Go forth from the ark, you and your wife, your sons and your sons' wives with you; bring out with you all the living creatures that are with you of all flesh, both birds and animals, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, so that they may abound on the earth, be fruitful and multiply on the earth." So Noah went out, with his sons and his wife and his sons' wives. In many ways and through many symbols, the mysteries of Christ's Church are often repeated. Thus, Noah's departure from the ark to a land purified by the flood, along with those humans and animals he had brought with him, symbolically corresponds to the time when the faithful, washed in the fountain of baptism, also go forth to perform good works in public, with Christ as their leader, just as spiritual Noah, and immediately grow and multiply through the increase of spiritual virtues. "Go, therefore, into the world," he says, "teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 28:19); which is figuratively to say: bring into the ark all kinds of living creatures to be washed by the waters; and straightaway, he added: "Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you" (Ibid., 20), as if to say, in a figurative manner: And let the creatures that go out of the ark after the flood enter into a renewed face of the earth, flourishing with new flowers, and there let them multiply and increase. Now, the fact that they leave the ark on the twenty-seventh day of the month, which is a perfect cubical number, as we have previously stated, signifies the perfection of faith consecrated in baptism, which can in no way waver, but remains always invincible and steadfast against all the snares of the devil. Notably, according to the literal sense, they were in the ark for a full solar year, entering it on the seventeenth day of the second month, and emerging after a year on the twenty-seventh day of the same month. For if today, for example, the moon were the seventeenth over the Calends of April, the next year on the day before the same Calends, the moon would be the twenty-seventh, having completed three hundred and sixty-five days, which completes a solar year. Therefore, they were in the ark for a whole year—that is, until the sun, having traversed the ecliptic circle, illuminated all regions of the world through its twelve months, just as the water covering the entire world washed it clean, so by cooperating over the same period of time, the sun, passing around the whole world, irradiates it with the light of its brightness. Now, just as the Fountain of Life is figuratively called the Lord, so also the Sun of Righteousness. He is called the Fountain because he regenerates; the Sun, because he illuminates us, according to the Psalmist's words: "For with you is the fountain of life; in your light, we see light" (Psalm 35:10). And for a full solar year, Noah was in the ark with those living creatures and humans to be saved through the flood, because the Lord washes his Church throughout the duration of this age, and all regions of the world, with the waters of the saving laver, and enlightens it with the grace of his Spirit.

When Noah was ordered to enter the ark and was entrusted with the safeguarding of the seed of the earth, he was given this command, which reads, “Go forth from the ark, you and your wife, and your sons and your sons’ wives with you.” He had separated them from their wives, so that with the help of chastity they might escape the deep and that worldwide destruction. However, after the cessation of the flood, the command was “Go forth from the ark, you and your wife, and your sons and your sons’ wives with you.” Here, see how marriage was again permitted for the sake of increase.