Mark Tabata’s Weekday Devotionals
Tuesday June 23 2026
More Bible Studies Available @ http://www.marktabata.com. To Receive
Free Bible Studies And Updates Via Email, Contact Mark Tabata @ 606-216-1757 (SMS Only) or mailto:markatabata@gmail.com (Email). Follow me on Substack: http://substack.com/@marktabata. Also please visit my author page: http://amazon.com/author/marktabata
2 Peter 3:5-6-For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, 6 by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water.
Recently, I was interacting with some people on Facebook and came across an interesting discussion. Someone on a Bible friendly site had engaged the Christians there, raising several objections to the teachings of God’s Word regarding the subjects of Noah, the Ark, and the global Deluge.
Let’s briefly consider each of their arguments.
As we will see, they are easily answered and do not stand up to scrutiny.
How Could Noah Gather All The Animals?
First it is argued that Noah could never have gathered all of those animals. However, the Bible never teaches that Noah went out over all the Earth and herded the animals to the Ark. Instead, God brought the animals to Noah.
Genesis 7:15-And they went into the ark to Noah, two by two, of all flesh in which is the breath of life.
One uninspired Jewish history book gives us more detail on the matter.
Jasher 6:1-7-“1 At that time, after the death of Methuselah, the Lord said to Noah, Go thou with thy household into the ark; behold I will gather to thee all the animals of the earth, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, and they shall all come and surround the ark. 2 And thou shalt go and seat thyself by the doors of the ark, and all the beasts, the animals, and the fowls, shall assemble and place themselves before thee, and such of them as shall come and crouch before thee, shalt thou take and deliver into the hands of thy sons, who shall bring them to the ark, and all that will stand before thee thou shalt leave. 3 And the Lord brought this about on the next day, and animals, beasts and fowls came in great multitudes and surrounded the ark. 4 And Noah went and seated himself by the door of the ark, and of all flesh that crouched before him, he brought into the ark, and all that stood before him he left upon earth. 5 And a lioness came, with her two whelps, male and female, and the three crouched before Noah, and the two whelps rose up against the lioness and smote her, and made her flee from her place, and she went away, and they returned to their places, and crouched upon the earth before Noah. 6 And the lioness ran away, and stood in the place of the lions. 7 And Noah saw this, and wondered greatly, and he rose and took the two whelps, and brought them into the ark.” (Ken Johnson, Ancient Book Of Jasher, 25 (Kindle Edition): Kindle Direct Publishing)
Notice also from this quotation from Jasher that the animals on the Ark were young. They would therefore not need as much space and food as adult animals.
How Could The Animals Get To The Ark From All Over The Planet?
The world before the Flood was vastly different from the world after the Flood. Many believe that all the continents were united together. This huge super continent is known as Pangea. Also consider that the animals had 120 years to make the journey to the Ark.
How Many Animals Were On The Ark?
It is argued that the Ark was not big enough to house all of the animals. Skeptics say that there are millions of specifies of animals on Earth. However, this assumes that the number of species on Earth now is the same number that existed in the world then. But even more to the point, it confuses “kinds” with our modern classification of “species.”
A kind differs from a modern species, which usually represents a separate breeding population. However, many species can hybridize (when similar but somewhat different species mate) and produce fertile offspring, and thus should be classed in the same species. A kind may be better approximated by our modern designation genus or family. All taxonomic categories are somewhat arbitrary and do not necessarily reflect separate creations. Depending on many factors, each one may contain many species. Obviously, the number of species far exceeds the number of kinds. For instance, several species of dog, including domestic dogs, wolves, coyotes, etc. (which are labeled as separate species in the modern classification scheme), can and readily do interbreed. Thus, all are obviously one kind. The same could be said of bear, cat, deer, cattle, or rodent species, and many other groups. There are hundreds of species of hummingbird, for example, many of which are known to be interfertile, but there is probably just one hummingbird kind…For fairness, in this hypothetical worst-case scenario of species on the Ark, we should add extinct species, bringing the (generous) rough approximation to 25,000 or so. Double this number to account for both genders and you arrive at only about 50,000 animals for the Ark’s passenger list. (Allowing for seven of the few “clean” kinds doesn’t add much)…Thus, the Ark calculates as about 450 feet long by 75 feet wide by 45 feet high, and yields a volume for the Ark of 1,518,750 cubic feet. For comparison, this volume is equivalent to about 569 double-deck railroad stock cars used for transporting animals. How many animals that many stock cars or that size ship could hold can be answered by knowing the average size of the animals and how much space each needed.…Thus, the Ark was at least two times bigger than it needed to be, given these reasonable assumptions. Remember, this is the worst-case scenario. We have assumed a number of animals on board much greater than it probably was. And we have generously estimated the average size of the animals and found the Ark was still big enough. The Ark was certainly large enough to do the job! (John D. Morris, The Global Flood: Unlocking Earth’s Geologic History, 1928-1988 (Kindle Edition): Dallas, TX: Institute Of Creation Research)
The Ark was certainly large enough to handle the animals.
Also please observe here that there is no contradiction regarding the “clean” animals taken on board the Ark and the other passages which speak of “two” of each. God instructed Noah to also bring representatives of the “clean” animals on board the Ark.
Seven animals has made sense to most commentators throughout the years. Why 7 clean? After the Flood, Noah sacrificed of each of the clean animals and perhaps this was to leave a breeding stock for Noah’s three sons. This is a possibility. (Ken Ham, Bodie Hodge, A Flood of Evidence: 40 Reasons Noah and the Ark Still Matter, 213-215 (Kindle Edition): Green Forest, AR: Master Books)
How Could The Noahs Take Care Of All Those Animals?
The Bible teaches that for a year, Noah and his family managed the animals on board the Ark.
Yet would eight people have been able to care adequately for all of those animals?
Was there enough room on board the Ark for all the provisions that were needed?
As Woodmorappe ably points out, based on actual manpower studies the people could definitely have taken care of these 16,000 animals en masse. 7 Providing extensive documentation, Woodmorappe elaborates upon labor-saving devices and practices, labor-saving interior configuration of the Ark, self-feeding devices, and the most efficient method of providing potable water. He also thoroughly deals with all aspects of waste management, handling, and disposal, including the use of appropriately-designed pens and stalls, 8 and how the issues of heating, ventilation, and illumination in the Ark could easily have been dealt with. 9 It should be remembered that God gave Noah specific instructions to construct a window one cubit (approximately 18 inches or 45 centimeters) high extending around the full circumference of the Ark above the third story for ventilation and light (Genesis 6: 16), ventilation in the Ark being driven by the winds encountered during the Flood as quantified by Woodmorappe, and by the airflow due to the drifting of the Ark on the surface currents of the Flood waters. Other presumed difficulties often raised by skeptics and critics that have been studied by Woodmorappe include the preservation of feed stuffs on the Ark, the supposed colossal bulk of hay required for large herbivores, feeding challenges for animals that eat fresh or live food, and feeding challenges for animals with specialized diets. 10 Noah was clearly commanded by God to take on board the Ark sufficient appropriate food for the animals and his family (Genesis 6: 21), but actually what food was taken aboard can only be based on assumptions regarding what the animals at that time presumably ate. Thus, it is commonly assumed that because today there are animals with specialized diets such as the giant panda (bamboo) and the koala (eucalyptus leaves), and because other animals today are carnivorous or only eat fresh fruit or insects, that therefore Noah had to provide all these food needs on the Ark. However, as Woodmorappe has documented, all these different categories of animals even today can subsist on alternative foods which would have been easier for Noah to take aboard the Ark and keep preserved. In any case, since dietary choices and specialization primarily develop genetically before being environmentally acquired, it is quite possible such dietary preferences and specializations developed after the Flood and were thus not present in the representatives of those baramin aboard the Ark. (Andrew A. Snelling, Genesis Flood Revisited, 219-220 (Kindle Edition): Green Forest, AR: Master Books)
The Noahs had enough resources to build the Ark, to care for the animals, and to survive the devastating Deluge.
How Did The Animals Go Back To Their Homes?
Another argument that was leveled against Noah was that the animals (after leaving the Ark) returned to their previous homes. Nothing in Scripture suggests this! In fact, it is likely that the Earth was so devastated by the Flood that many of the animals were greatly diminished because they could not fully adapt to their new environment. It is only “reading into the text” that leads some to believe that the animals simply returned back to theIr previous habitats which had been so devastated.
This brief study shows clearly that the major arguments against the Flood simply do not hold water (pun intended). The factual accuracy of the Bible, the science of geology, and the testimony of ancient man all testify to the reality of the Great Flood.
Have we learned the lessons from that terrible event?
Father, give us wisdom to heed Your mercy and long-suffering even as we look to the promise of the Day of Judgment. Help us to look to Jesus for our redemption and hope. Amen.