Among those that belong to Him I will assume that we can agree that there is nothing that God cannot do! He can raise people from the dead, He can send a great fish to secure a Prophet, He can rain down fire, send various plagues; flood the entire world, etc…

If the co-authors of the New Testament (breathed by God, written by man, with the human authors personality) mention some of the above as fact, as actual events; then why do we as believers share, discuss, or teach that these things are essentially stories? Why do we teach or tell kids that Noah’s Ark was a bathtub that simply had two oversized giraffe heads poking out of the top?

Could that be why the unbelieving world finds some of our doctrine unbelievable? How big was this thing anyway? During Community Group this week along with questions that came up related to a different post…Noah’s primary post-flood mode of transport became a topic of discussion as well.

While the AIG (Answers in Genesis) group is actually building a full size version of this vessel, but how big was it?

[15] This is how you are to make it: the length of the ark 300 cubits, its breadth 50 cubits, and its height 30 cubits.
(Genesis 6:15 ESV)

But how long is this “cubit” (noun - an ancient linear unit based on the length of the forearm, from elbow to the tip of the middle finger, usually from 17 to 21 inches). So using the guidance given to Noah by the LORD how big? John Woodmorappe wrote a text called Noah’s Ark: A Feasibility Study, and in that study he concludes that:

Even using a short cubit of 18” (46 cm) for the Ark to be conservative, Woodmorappe’s conclusion is that “less than half of the cumulative area of the Ark’s three decks needs to have been occupied by the animals and their enclosures.” This meant there was plenty of room for fresh food, water, and even many other people.

But what does that mean? This means that the vessel that had a “Heavenly” set of plans was huge (about 450’). Think about these well known ships in contrast:

• Santa Maria           approximately 100’ long
• USS Wyoming      approximately 400’ long
• MSS Titanic          approximately 800’ long +
• Queen Mary II       approximately 1150’ long

It should also be interesting to note that not until the late 1800’s was there a ship built that actually matched the capacity of Noah’s Ark. The dimensions of the Ark are similar to modern day cargo ships, and while Western world wooden ships did not get much longer than 330’ but the Greeks and the Chinese built ships the size of the Ark in the 1400’s.

Could they have been smarter and more technologically advanced than we are today, minus the iPad and iPhone? Why not…Noah was closer to the Fall than we are, therefore less generational corruption could have potentially occurred. Finally, the Bible never tells us that Noah and his sons built the Ark alone, but they could have. He could have hired skilled workers as well, I mean a few skilled workers today can frame a house fairly quickly, can build a pool very quickly, and even build a highway – ok that last one is not a great example but you get the picture.

The point is that our God is awesome, He is real, and He can do ALL things in and out of His Creation! Do we live like He is that kind of God?

Father –
Please give us the hearts to believe Your Word as fact as the authors of the Sword did. Father, example after example is given to us from You to give us a glimpse of Your power. I pray that we would embrace the Truth in a way that we never have, I pray that we would live like we believed Your Word tomorrow in a more impactful, more powerful way than we did yesterday, than we did today – give us that strength, give us that courage to do Your will. In JESUS name!!!!! Amen

Adrian “AG” Green