how did the plants receive moisture? How did inland lakes receive water? What happened in the process of making rain? If so, where did the water vapour go? What happens to the water vapour in the clouds? Did god somehow absorb it out? Shouldn't there be NO plants? There are studies showing that the Sahara was once a large rainforest, now its a wasteland. Why? Lack of rain. Was the entire world a desert then?
My Answer:
A consideration of Genesis 2:5, 6 addresses your question.
“Now there was as yet no bush of the field found in the earth [erets] and no vegetation of the field was as yet sprouting, because Jehovah God had not made it rain upon the earth [erets] and there was no man to cultivate the ground [adamah]. 6 But a mist would go up [or, “springs would well up”—NET Bible] from the earth [erets] and it watered the entire surface of the ground [adamah].”
Verse 7 is necessary to read in order to place these verses into their chronological sequence. It informs us that “God proceeded to form the man [adam] out of dust from the ground [adamah].” This is more significant than many realize. Verses 5, 6 are thus placed before the creation of Adam, during the second creative day described at Genesis 1:10-13. It was this watered soil, adamah, that Adam was created from. Thus, it must have preceded Adam. Significantly, when God told Noah at Genesis 7:4 that he would ‘make it rain on the earth,’ Noah did not seek clarification as if he never experienced that before.
Thus, we may safely reason that:
(1) it had rained during the antediluvian period.
(2) Genesis 2:5, 6 refers to a very early time in earth's history, likely during the Precambrian.[1]
Genesis was not written with modern scientists in mind, but it does harmonize with modern science.
“Now there was as yet no bush of the field found in the earth [erets] and no vegetation of the field was as yet sprouting, because Jehovah God had not made it rain upon the earth [erets] and there was no man to cultivate the ground [adamah]. 6 But a mist would go up [or, “springs would well up”—NET Bible] from the earth [erets] and it watered the entire surface of the ground [adamah].”
Verse 7 is necessary to read in order to place these verses into their chronological sequence. It informs us that “God proceeded to form the man [adam] out of dust from the ground [adamah].” This is more significant than many realize. Verses 5, 6 are thus placed before the creation of Adam, during the second creative day described at Genesis 1:10-13. It was this watered soil, adamah, that Adam was created from. Thus, it must have preceded Adam. Significantly, when God told Noah at Genesis 7:4 that he would ‘make it rain on the earth,’ Noah did not seek clarification as if he never experienced that before.
Thus, we may safely reason that:
(1) it had rained during the antediluvian period.
(2) Genesis 2:5, 6 refers to a very early time in earth's history, likely during the Precambrian.[1]
Genesis was not written with modern scientists in mind, but it does harmonize with modern science.
Source(s):
[1] A History Channel video I have states that during the late Hadean when the earth had cooled and the crust had formed, that trapped water escaped and watered the earth.
