Nils Jansma Missionary in San Diego California

The context of this Scripture seems to be associated with the second day of creation. It says: “By the word of the LORD were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth. (7) He gathers the waters of the sea into jars; he puts the deep into storehouses.” (Psalm 33:6-7)

The NIV translators uses the word “jars” in place of the KJV word “heaps.” This implies some sort of storage system. The “deep” has always been associated with the ocean in this context. Also in this particular case, the word “gathers” is used as a participle that indicates an on-going process.

Therefore, it would appear that what is being referenced is what we call the “water cycle” that was started on Day 2 of creation and continues down to modern times. The “waters” are gathered into clouds over the ocean deep and thereby purified and put into storage like water in a jar to be used elsewhere. Similar descriptions are given in Job 36:27-28, Ecclesiastes 1:6-7, and Amos 5:8 to mention a few.

In ancient times, as late as 800 BC, many cultures thought that the land floated on a giant ocean with all the water coming from under their feet. Somehow the water was lifted to the tops of mountains to feed the rivers and lakes. Later, about five centuries BC, we find early Greek, Hindu, and Chinese cultures starting to become more accurate in their observed descriptions of the water cycle. Job, however, is said to date back as early as 2,000 BC with his reference to the water cycle.

It is interesting to note that it wasn’t until the late 1500s AD that the modern scientific concept began to emerge in writings by Bernard Palissy. Even then, his theories were not tested and confirmed until 1674 but were not accepted by mainstream science at that time. Full scientific acceptance didn’t come until the early 1800s AD.

This should encourage all students of the Bible. Even though it is not a scientific book, the Bible is remarkably accurate when referencing science related topics from an observational perspective.

June 23 2017 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Tim Maas Retired Quality Assurance Specialist with the U.S. Army

I would take this verse to mean that God created deep places in the earth's surface designed for the storage of the oceans, where those bodies of water are collected (as the verse says) "in heaps", rather than being dispersed over the earth's surface, as they were during the global Flood (which God has promised will never be repeated (Genesis 9:11-17)).

That is not to say that there may not be localized ocean flooding in a fallen world, but, under normal circumstances, the oceans predictably remain in the seabeds where God intended them to be located and confined.

January 30 2017 • 2 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report