And God said, “Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water.” So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so. God called the expanse “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.
Genesis 1:6-8
Genesis 1:6-8 speaks of the expanse and barriers that God created concerning the earth. He created an atmosphere surrounding the physical sphere of the earth and then surrounded the earth with a blanket of water, a sort of mega-cloud that covered the whole earth. It’s amazing to think that the clouds we see floating in the sky today are filled with tons of water. According to the USGS an average cloud, which is just a little more than 1/2 mile x 1/2 mile x 1/2 mile, weighs an estimated 1,105,500 tons. That’s a whole lot of water. So imagine with me what it was like on the second day when God put an expanse between the water on earth and the water in the sky — He floated water above the earth and surrounded the earth with a cloud. The earth surrounded by this water blanket would have created an interesting weather pattern. It would have the effect of protecting us from the sun’s UV rays. It would also have the effect of homogenizing or equalizing the climate throughout the earth. This means that the early animals and plants of the earth enjoyed a beautiful warm climate where ever they went on the planet. Scientists have found Wooly Mammoths frozen in the ice of Siberia with tropical vegetation in their digestive tracts and vegetation 200 feet below the ice near the South Pole. Given the account in Genesis, and God’s comment to Job in Job 38:9, these discoveries make sense.
Another barrier of protection provided by God is the earth’s magnetic field. The magnetic field shields us from destructive charged particles that originate from the sun. The German mathematician Carl Friedrich Gaussmagnetic was the first to measure the magnetic field of the earth, starting in 1845. Since that time we’ve measured it continually and we’ve found that it’s deteriorating. (see National Geographic)
A third protective barrier provided by God is the earth’s ozone layer. This layer protects us from the sun’s radiation. (see EPA) While there’s much debate as to the reason why, no one argues that the ozone layer is deteriorating.
Many scholars believe, as do I though I’m not a scholar, that God’s means of creating the great flood was to cause a great rain, thus removing nearly all of the protective blanket of water surrounding the earth. It was around this time that we see a reduction in the life spans recorded in the Bible which makes sense because people no longer enjoyed God’s most effective protective layer, the canopy of water. It could be that the deterioration in the earth’s magnetic field and the earth’s ozone layer are also contributing factors to the reduction in lifespan.
According to Chuck Smith, if you look at the genealogy recorded in Chapter five of Genesis, you’ll see that Adam was still alive when Lamech, Noah’s father, was born. So Noah well could have heard the account of the Garden of Eden from Adam himself. And Noah’s son Shem was alive at the time that Abraham was born. So the communication of this part of the Biblical record is more direct than most people realize.
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