- Series:History, Transcript English
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.”
Imagine that the tide went out much farther than it had ever done before. Imagine that you lived in a world full of evil, but this day it seemed like something big was about to happen. One man and his family had been building an enormous vessel while warning people of the coming judgment of God. You had joined in the laughter with everyone else. But now, there was a rumbling like thunder, the sky had strangely darkened, and water was falling like it had never fallen before. The largest tsunami the world has ever seen was heading your way.
Fanciful fiction? The Bible tells us that it is a real event from the history of the world.
In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened. And rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty nights. (Genesis 7:11-12)
The detail of the timescale suggests a real event. The waters rose while rain continued for 40 days. The rain stopped, but the waters continued to rise due to geological upheaval for a further 50 days. Then the waters prevailed: for a further 60 days, making a total of 150 days. Gradually, the waters abated for 110 days and then receded from the land for 110 days.
These are real events, and the Apostle Peter reminds us that it is the scoffers who remain deliberately ignorant of the facts that God made, and later flooded, this world.
Lord, we do not want to be found among the deliberately ignorant. Teach us to trust and follow Your word in all its aspects. Amen.
Author: Paul F. Taylor
Ref: Taylor, P.F. (2008), In the Beginning, (Belfast, UK: Ambassador Publications), p. 28. Image: Adobe Stock Images, licensed to author.
