I’ve heard several well known preachers making a claim that it never rained before the great flood. Is that so? Does the bible actually discuss it? Some say that rain was never mentioned before the flood, that’s why they assumed it never rained. I personally find it hard to believe. If it never rained, how did God manage to sustain the life on the planet?
Also, does the bible actually say that it took Noah 120 years to build the ark? Where is that in the bible?
Genesis 2:4-6 says, “This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created. When the LORD God made the earth and the heavens- and no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth and no plant of the field had yet sprung up, for the LORD God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no man to work the ground, but streams (literally mist) came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground-“ and verse 10 continues, “A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters.”
Then in Hebrews 11:7 we read, “By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.”
So at first, the Earth was watered by mist that came up out of the ground by night and watered the plant life since there was no rain. Some scholars believe that method continued until the flood, and the “things not seen” by Noah and his contemporaries included rain.
Simple logic tells us that the rainbow God promised to Noah after the flood wouldn’t have been necessary for reassurance if they had often seen rain in the past. (Genesis 9:14-16) No, it was promised because the only time they’d ever seen rain everybody had perished. They were scared to death of it.
The 120 years referenced in Genesis 6:3 actually refers to the grace period between God’s announcement of judgment and its occurrence. The 120 year period of construction is assumed from the view that God had Noah begin building at the same time that he announced the coming flood. Adam’s account of man’s earliest history ends at this point and Noah’s begins, but the small overlap favors this view.( Genesis 7:9-14)