seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Genesis 7:17 For forty days the flood kept coming on the earth, and as the waters increased they lifted the ark high above the earth. 18 The waters rose and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the water. 19 They rose greatly on the earth, and all the high mountains under the entire heavens were covered. 20 The waters rose and covered the mountains to a depth of more than fifteen cubits.[a](b) 21 Every living thing that moved on land perished—birds, livestock, wild animals, all the creatures that swarm over the earth, and all mankind. 22 Everything on dry land that had the breath of life in its nostrils died. 23 Every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out; people and animals and the creatures that move along the ground and the birds were wiped from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark.
24 The waters flooded the earth for a hundred and fifty days.
24 The waters flooded the earth for a hundred and fifty days.
a. Genesis 7:20 That is, about 23 feet or about 6.8 meters
b. Genesis 7:20 Or rose more than fifteen cubits, and the mountains were covered
This commentary is from studylight.org.
Literally hundreds of people groups have their own accounts and legends of the flood. One of the most remarkable is the Babylonian account, which is similar to the Genesis account in many ways and is clearly drawn from it. Since all mankind came from Noahs sons, all mankind remembers the flood.
Of the more than 200 cultures that have their own account of the flood the following aspects of the story are common:
88% describe a favored family
70% attribute survival to a boat
95% say the sole cause of the catastrophe is a flood
66% say that the disaster is due to mans wickedness
67% record that animals are also saved
57% describe that the survivors end up on a mountain
70% attribute survival to a boat
95% say the sole cause of the catastrophe is a flood
66% say that the disaster is due to mans wickedness
67% record that animals are also saved
57% describe that the survivors end up on a mountain
In the Scopes Monkey Trial, Clarence Darrow humiliated William Jennings Bryan by asking him if he believed every word in the Bible. When Bryan said he did, Darrow asked him how the fish drowned in the flood. Bryan didnt know the answer, gave a great, confused speech, and died the next day. If only he would have known the Bible better, he would have known it says this about the breath of the spirit of life. The fish did not die in the flood; only animals with the breath of life in them died, the animals on dry land.
Some suggest that God put some or many of these animals into a period of hibernation for this period, meaning that less food, space, and damage control was be needed.
God provides many animals today with an amazing instinct for hibernation. It would be no difficulty for Him to miraculously impart a unique instinct for these particular animals.
God provides many animals today with an amazing instinct for hibernation. It would be no difficulty for Him to miraculously impart a unique instinct for these particular animals.
The easy English commentary offers this.
Many years later, Jesus Christ used this event to teach people. It tells us about the end of the world. (See Matthew 24:37-39.) Before the flood, people lived in an ordinary way. They ate and they drank. They married wives. They did not know that the flood would come. Then the flood came and it killed them. Jesus said that the end of the world will be like that. People who do not know God will live in an ordinary way. They will eat and they will drink. They will marry wives. They will not know that Jesus will come back again. And what happens then will be like the flood. But anybody who continues to trust God will be safe. (See Matthew 24:13.)
Can you imagine? I remember pictures of the devastation after Katrina. I know there weren't a lot of red solo cups back then. But, the stench of all those bodies must have been horrific.
