Trusting God

Is this the image that comes to your mind when you think about Noah’s flood? Today, I hope to challenge you to look at this biblical account with new eyes.

In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. And the rain was on the earth 40 days and 40 nights. 

Genesis 7:11-12

Did it really happen that way?

Was there really a literal world wide flood that consumed the entire face of the planet, killing all living creatures that were not in the Ark? 

I’ll admit, that could be a little hard to imagine. 

The first question is, how is it that the entire earth was flooded with just 40 days and 40 nights of rain. That’s a lot of water but is it really enough to cover the highest mountain tops, fifteen cubits above. That’s about 22 and a half feet above the mountain tops. (Genesis 7:20)

Was it just 40 days and 40 nights of rain?

I want to challenge you to look at the Scriptures with new eyes. Our worldview has been clouded with the teachings of the world and it’s time that we recognize that and begin to trust God and the truthfulness and authority of His Word. 

Let’s look at the opening passage again. 

In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. And the rain was on the earth 40 days and 40 nights. 

Genesis 7:11-12

Notice the last half of verse 11. 

“on that day all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.”

What does God mean by that? 

Have you ever really seen that part before?

One of the most important things about studying the Bible is that we must allow scripture to interpret scripture. It’s so easy to take a verse or passage out of context and twist it to make it mean whenever we wanted it to mean. Unfortunately, over the years that is what a lot of people, teachers, and pastors have done and it’s caused a lot of confusion.

So, if we’re not clear about what a passage means, let’s look and see if we can find a clear passage that helps it make sense. The passage I would refer you to for this particular dilemma is back in Genesis chapter 1 starting in verse 6.

Then God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.” Thus 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. And God called the firmament heaven. So the evening in the morning were the second day. 

Have you ever truly considered this passage and what it means? 

I believe that it is one that helps us to interpret the passage in chapter 7 about how the flood came to cover the entire earth, killing everything on it. 

Let’s take a closer look. 

Then God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.” 

What is a “firmament”? 

When I was much younger, with very little biblical knowledge, I assumed this meant land. Which really makes no sense because in the very next passage, it talks about how God made dry land appear and gathered the water together into seas. (Genesis 1:9-10)

The original Hebrew definition says it’s an expanse; literally, the “visible arch of the sky”.

So, wait a minute. There was a canopy of water above the earth? 

Yes. 

Take a look at this passage in 2 Peter 3. 

1 Beloved, I now write to you this second epistle (in both of which I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder), 2 that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior, 3 knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, 4 and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.” 5 For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, 6 by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. 7 But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

The world that God created in the beginning was a completely different world than the one we live in today. That world was quite literally destroyed by the flood.

So when God’s Word says “all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.”

I believe, according to these and other supporting passages, that the water that was beneath the land and gathered into the seas, exploded out of the earth like a massive world-wide volcano and the canopy of water that surrounded the earth let loose and completely destroyed the earth. Then it rained 40 days and 40 nights.

There is much evidence of this all around the world. 

If your curiosity has been stirred, I would encourage you to seek out other sources that will help you in your understanding and study of the truth of God’s Word. 

Here is just a couple:

 Answers in Genesis and Institute for Creation Research

As I close, I pray that the picture in your head has changed just a little.