Many, including theologians, scoff at the story of Noah’s ark and say that it is simply allegorical and not to be taken as a literal account. Well, let me say first off that we have the history of it clearly detailed in the Scriptures and that is all I need to believe that it happened.

However, connecting some of the dots in the Bible account of the world-wide flood is an interesting exercise.  You may have asked yourself, where did all the water come from to flood the earth and destroy all men and animals except those in the ark?  Could that much rain fall in 40 days and 40 nights?

Come back to day 2 of the creation story for a tick and consider a little detail you may have skipped over without much thought.  Just six verses into Genesis 1 it says:

“Then God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.” ⁷Thus God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so. ⁸And God called the firmament Heaven. So the evening and the morning were the second day.”

“God called the firmament Heaven” This is not Heaven, the home of God!  This is the atmosphere where the birds and the clouds fly! But the interesting thing is what is ABOVE and BELOW this “heaven.”  Or atmosphere!  Water! 

This may sound whacky but keep an open mind for a minute: If you hear what is said here, it emerges that this earth was surrounded by the atmosphere that we are familiar with. After all it’s still there today!  However it takes a bit of an open mind to visualise water ABOVE the atmosphere. It seems, from what is actually said here, that there was a layer of water above the atmosphere which encased the earth and created a perfect “greenhouse” if you like. 

Perhaps the fact that:  “… the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the earth… but a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground.” (Genesis 2:5,6) tells us why the antediluvians mocked Noah when he declared that rain was going to fall and flood the earth.  Got you thinking? Keep thinking. Tomorrow we’ll see ANOTHER seemingly insignificant detail that explains how the earth was completely flooded and all human life destroyed in such a short time.

Meanwhile, enjoy the very clearly stated fact that God so loved the world (including you) that He gave His only Son to take the penalty of your sins upon Himself and clear you of the debt you owe Him on account of a lifetime of sin! What a Saviour we have! Have a great day!