The story of Noah’s Ark is a beautiful, inspirational one – but there has always been the question of whether the story actually happened, or if it was a parable meant for teaching and nothing more. Since the Bible is filled with parables, it’s easy to see how some might not believe in the fact of Noah’s Ark. On the other hand, there is scientific evidence that suggests Noah’s Ark was, indeed, very real. So what really happened?
Let’s start with the story:
At one point in the history of the world, the minds of man were filled with nothing but wickedness. They were violent, so much so that God regretted creating man. He decided it was time to destroy the earth, and everything in it – animals, birds, and of course, the people.
Noah was a very righteous man trying to live in the proper way. He was the only one who still held goodness dear. Since Noah was trying so hard, God chose to spare him and his family. He commanded Noah to build an Ark – the measurements of which would rival today’s ocean tankers – and to put his family on the boat. He was also told to store up enough food for everyone, and to carry animals onto the boat as well, pair by pair. Only these would be saved.
The Great Flood came, but Noah and his family were locked safely inside the Ark. The water rose more than 22 feet over the tallest mountain, and the result was the death of everyone and everything on the earth. Only those in the Ark survived.
A year after the flood, Noah was asked to leave the Ark. It had settled on top of Mount Ararat, and as the water receded, the ground began to appear. Noah was charged with repopulating the world after God had destroyed it.
Many people believe in that the Great Flood actually happened, but many others don’t. They protest that there wasn’t enough water to cover the earth, that the Flood did happen but covered only one small area and not the entire world, or that it would have been impossible to keep all those animals on the boat for that entire time.
Since the 1600s there have been recorded, reported sightings of the Ark. Much scientific evidence suggests that the world was indeed the victim of massive flooding at some point – but then again, history shows that happened more than once, in the midst of the natural rhythm of earth’s ever-changing face.
Most recently, satellite imagery seemed to prove something – apparently the remains of a massive ship – were on the top of Mount Ararat. As late as 2004, National Geographic was reporting that archeologists were planning to excavate the area, but since then, no results have been reported.
Was Noah’s Ark a very real story? Or was it a parable meant to teach? Was it partially true, in that there was an Ark built, but in that the flood itself only covered a small portion of the earth, and not all of it?
Regardless, the story we can take away from Noah’s Ark is how important it is to be righteous and honorable.