The Realities of the Flood Pt 5: An epic deluge of water and death.
Good evening.
I hope this post finds each of you doing well. We will discover how the flood came to this earth and note what God said about it all. To set the scene that will unfold, recall that Noah and all of his family were safely in the ark. In addition, all of the animals were safely on board. God shut them in.
Genesis 7:11-12 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.
There appear to be two sources of the water: fountains of the deep and the very first major rainstorm, referred to as the windows of heaven. Some geologically interesting theories as to the make up of these water sources can be found in the two books I recommended in the previous post.
If God is capable of creating a universe that is incredibly vast, He certainly would have no issue finding the water to flood the whole earth. The fact remains, that God is the only one who knows where all the water came from and He deemed it sufficient to point out two sources for the water.
One inch of rain over 1 square mile of land delivers 17.4 million gallons of water, or about 2.3 million cubic feet of the wet stuff. A strong summer storm in Ohio can easily dump 1 to 2 inches of precipitation. A torrential rain like that described in Genesis 7 would have unleashed staggering quantities of water upon the earth.
The text below tells us that the rains and the fountains of the deep continued gushing forth water for 40 days. The deluge of water stopped when the water was 15 cubits higher that the mountain peaks. (about 22 1/2 feet over the highest point.
Genesis 7:17-20 And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lift up above the earth. And the waters prevailed, and were increased greatly upon the earth; and the ark went upon the face of the waters.
And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered.
Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered.
It is hard to imagine what Noah and his family witnessed. No doubt, they heard the panicked screams of animals and humans as they faced certain death by drowning in the rapidly rising waters.
At some point, the waters were high enough to lift the ark and it began to float away. Soon enough, the noise made by animals and humans died out and instead the eerie solitude of silence broken only by sounds of wind and water lapping the hull of the ark, was all that was heard.
It is entirely plausible that debris and bodies floated upon the surface. When Noah or other members of his family looked out the window, they saw only a vast ocean covering the face of the earth and no familiar or recognizable landmarks.
Noah undoubtedly realized that God protected him and his family, just as He promised to do. He would have had ample time to reflect on the offensiveness of man's sins leading up to the judgement by flood.
Yet, there would have been plenty of "normal" activities taking place in the ark. All the animals needed to eat, have water and to receive clean bedding. Noah and his family needed to eat their meals and have periods of rest.
Genesis 7:23-24 ends with these words: "and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark.
And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days.
I hope this post finds each of you doing well. We will discover how the flood came to this earth and note what God said about it all. To set the scene that will unfold, recall that Noah and all of his family were safely in the ark. In addition, all of the animals were safely on board. God shut them in.
Genesis 7:11-12 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.
There appear to be two sources of the water: fountains of the deep and the very first major rainstorm, referred to as the windows of heaven. Some geologically interesting theories as to the make up of these water sources can be found in the two books I recommended in the previous post.
If God is capable of creating a universe that is incredibly vast, He certainly would have no issue finding the water to flood the whole earth. The fact remains, that God is the only one who knows where all the water came from and He deemed it sufficient to point out two sources for the water.
One inch of rain over 1 square mile of land delivers 17.4 million gallons of water, or about 2.3 million cubic feet of the wet stuff. A strong summer storm in Ohio can easily dump 1 to 2 inches of precipitation. A torrential rain like that described in Genesis 7 would have unleashed staggering quantities of water upon the earth.
The text below tells us that the rains and the fountains of the deep continued gushing forth water for 40 days. The deluge of water stopped when the water was 15 cubits higher that the mountain peaks. (about 22 1/2 feet over the highest point.
Genesis 7:17-20 And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lift up above the earth. And the waters prevailed, and were increased greatly upon the earth; and the ark went upon the face of the waters.
And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered.
Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered.
It is hard to imagine what Noah and his family witnessed. No doubt, they heard the panicked screams of animals and humans as they faced certain death by drowning in the rapidly rising waters.
At some point, the waters were high enough to lift the ark and it began to float away. Soon enough, the noise made by animals and humans died out and instead the eerie solitude of silence broken only by sounds of wind and water lapping the hull of the ark, was all that was heard.
It is entirely plausible that debris and bodies floated upon the surface. When Noah or other members of his family looked out the window, they saw only a vast ocean covering the face of the earth and no familiar or recognizable landmarks.
Noah undoubtedly realized that God protected him and his family, just as He promised to do. He would have had ample time to reflect on the offensiveness of man's sins leading up to the judgement by flood.
Yet, there would have been plenty of "normal" activities taking place in the ark. All the animals needed to eat, have water and to receive clean bedding. Noah and his family needed to eat their meals and have periods of rest.
Genesis 7:23-24 ends with these words: "and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark.
And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days.
The flood waters continued at the high levels for 150 days. The only living things were in the ark.
The next chapter begins with a note of optimism. God would begin the process to reverse the flood and drain away the massive amounts of water. God had not lost track of Noah, nor had He forgotten about him. God strong winds to begin the evaporation process and He restrained the fountains of the deep and the windows of heaven from producing any additional water.
The next chapter begins with a note of optimism. God would begin the process to reverse the flood and drain away the massive amounts of water. God had not lost track of Noah, nor had He forgotten about him. God strong winds to begin the evaporation process and He restrained the fountains of the deep and the windows of heaven from producing any additional water.
Genesis 8:1-3 And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle
that was with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth,
and the waters asswaged;
The fountains also of the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained;
And the waters returned from off the earth continually: and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated.
The fountains also of the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained;
And the waters returned from off the earth continually: and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated.
When I see the detailed pictures of structures like the Grand Canyon, I am struck by the horizontal striations that dominate its sides and cliffs. One can easily see that a massive amount of water carved the Grand Canyon in short order, in geologic terms. The amount of sedimentary material, rocks, stones and silt eroded and carved out structures all over the earth.
The narrative tells us that it took another 150 days for the floodwaters to recede. Where did all the water go? Again, some may have been flash frozen in the polar ice caps; some evaporated and become part of the water cycle; some formed permanent lakes and oceans.
For a more detailed explanation from a geological perspective, please read "The Flood" by A. Rehwinkel, and "The Genesis Flood" by Morris and Whitcomb.
In the next post we will read about Noah leaving the ark and try to imagine what scenes met his eyes. It represents a fresh start for humanity and God establishes a fresh covenant with Noah. It also represents a new era where the climate is going to be different that it was before the flood, and God was going to establish some new laws.
Bob
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