Bible Question:
Did it rain before the great flood - Noah and the Ark?
Bible Answer:
God tells us that when the world was created, rain did not fall to the earth.
Now no shrub of the field was yet in the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for the LORD God had not sent rain upon the earth, and there was no man to cultivate the ground. But a mist used to rise from the earth and water the whole surface of the ground. Genesis 2:5-6 (NASB)
Since God had not yet provided rain for the plants and trees, He provided a mist that rose from the earth that would cover the ground. Rain is never mentioned again in the Bible until the time of the flood. We cannot know if rain occurred between the initial creation and the flood since rain is not mentioned until Genesis 7.
After Genesis 2:5-6, rain is not mentioned again in the book of Genesis until God told Noah that He would send rain to cause a flood.
For after seven more days, I will send rain on the earth forty days and forty nights; and I will blot out from the face of the land every living thing that I have made. (NASB) Genesis 7:4
The flood started when the rain started to fall (Genesis 7:12), and the water from the oceans surged upward because of the shifting continents. The flood stopped when the rain stopped, and the water below the continents stopped flowing upwards (Genesis 8:2). After the flood, we read about rain throughout the Bible. Rain becomes a normal event.
Conclusion:
After the flood God placed a rainbow in the sky as a reminder that He would not destroy the earth again with water. Thank you, God, for the rain and for your mercy.
Suggested Links:
Was there rain before and after Noah’s flood in Genesis?What is the meaning of the rainbow?
What happened to the flood waters of Noah’s day?