Today, we are looking at the highest mountain mentioned in the Bible, and the place where the controversy still lies – Mount Ararat.
This mountain is a dormant volcano located in eastern Turkey and stands at 16,875 ft high. This particular mountain is called Greater Ararat, and then you have Little Ararat, which stands at 12,887 ft. Mount Ararat, you will know, as the mountain where Noah’s Ark came to rest, as a result of the whole world flooding, in Genesis 8.
Let’s face it; we will all know the children’s well-loved story of Noah’s Ark in the Bible. Children are taught about the animals going in two-by-two into the ark, and even my daughter had a playset, as a toddler, with cute little animals that she adored. Yet, the stark reality was that the ark represented so much more. The ark was only made from the obedience of one man who had never witnessed rain but was faithful in what God said He was about to do. The depravity of humanity exasperated God and He decided to wipe everything out and start anew with the lineage of Noah and his family. The promise God made to Noah, comes from the rainbow, which to this day, is a visual reminder that God will never again flood the earth.
I often wonder that if God had never made that promise to Noah, would the world ever have been flooded again – since the flood we read about in Genesis? Has the world become less depraved since Noah’s time? Or is it more that we have a God who remains faithful in His promises, even after such time has passed?
As mentioned above, Mount Ararat brings controversy because there has never been anything of the ark found to bring “truth” to the story by explorers. Yet, the Bible states that the boat came to rest on the MOUNTAINS of Ararat. So, whilst many look towards the Greater Ararat, honestly, only God knows the actual location, plus the ark is only supposed to be a third of the size of Titanic, so after such a long time, I doubt much evidence would still be there! Therefore, as Christian’s, sometimes we need to let go of having to know everything and trust in the God who does
“After 150 days, exactly five months from the time the flood began, the boat came to rest on the mountains of Ararat.”
Genesis 8:3-4
Categories: Mountains in Scripture
