By Ercil Hunt
…The Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters (Genesis 1:2)
In an immense universe stretching through the vastness of space, our nearest neighbor is the moon. Man has walked on its dry, dusty surface and we know with certainty it is barren, desolate - devoid of even the “simplest” form of life. What a tremendous contrast this is to our present home, the earth - a planet of striking beauty, teeming with life.
What makes the difference? Why is the moon barren and desolate while the earth abounds with life? Water makes the difference! There’s nothing else quite like it in the universe. The earth’s surface is blessed with a special concentration, liquid water, unknown to other planets. Water, this odorless, colorless and tasteless substance, is one of the most unique chemicals in the world. Even Science Digest, an evolutionary magazine, recognizes the uniqueness of water and makes mention of it in its May 1982 issue.
Though we cook with it, clean with it—and largely consist of it—few of us truly understand the nature of water. This odd compound is one of the most complex on earth …. It is the most pervasive—and most essential—compound on earth …. This talented substance helps to balance the planet’s climate, run its machines and support its life forms. That it may also baffle those who try to unravel its secrets is merely another example of its remarkable complexity.
Scientists know the necessity of water for life. When a space probe lands on another planet, one of the things it looks for is water or moisture to see if it is possible for life forms to exist.
The earth is the only planet in the solar system with huge bodies of water; 70% of its surface area consists of oceans, seas and lakes. Water in liquid form cannot exist on Mars, for instance, because there is not enough atmospheric pressure to allow it to remain a liquid. Mars, then, is a cold desert-like planet with no possibility for life as we know it to exist. The few planets having water contain only moisture floating as vapor on their surface, not large bodies of liquid water as on earth.
Recently, scientists discovered there is water out in the emptiness of interstellar space (National Geographic, May, 1974, 625). This is quite interesting in light of scripture. The Bible has been giving us clues all along. The Hebrew word for waters is mayim. The first instance of this word is compounded with the word sham, which means “stretched out expanse”, or “space.” Shamayim, then, is translated as “heavens” in Genesis 1:1 and it has the implication of “heavens” or “space with water in it.” This passage reveals that the expanse of the heavens inherently includes water, corresponding to what scientists have recently learned. For God to mention water here in the initial moments of creation indicates that it plays a very important part in God’s plan for creation. What is it that God is wanting man to understand about water when He mentions it in the second verse of the Bible?
Water is one of the most amazing and mysterious molecules known to man. It contains the greatest power of any liquid to form a special chemical link called the hydrogen bond. Its molecular structure is bonded so strongly, until recent times it was thought to be an indivisible element rather than a chemical compound. Its structure is so unique that scientists for years were baffled as to how its atoms were bonded together.
The water molecule H2O is not open to being tampered with. The chemist cannot cause it to combine with other chemicals and elements in order to form new elements. Its properties will not allow it to combine with other molecules. Carbon and hydrogen can produce millions of combinations - so many that even computers have been unable to figure out exactly how many combinations there can be. However, when it comes to hydrogen and oxygen, the two elements that make up the water molecule, there are only two ways in which these elements will combine, H2O (water) and H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide). It appears that right from the beginning God had a purpose in mind when He created the water molecule, and that was for life.
The peculiar properties of water seem to have been designed expressly to make the earth hospitable to life. Somebody must have made it.
Even though water may be common to us, its properties are distinctive; it is totally out of step with the laws that govern other chemicals. For example, most elements - liquids, solids, or gases - will contract when cooled and expand when heated - there are a few that will expand when cooled and contract when heated. However, water contracts when cooled but only until it reaches 39.6° F., - as water continues to cool it expands, which property is very important to life.
Reaching 39.6° F., water begins to expand until it freezes; its molecules arrange themselves in a manner causing the mass to swell.
If water continued to contract when cooled, ice would become heavier than liquid water and would sink. And in lakes and rivers, all life would perish: the water would become one solid mass of ice during the freezing winter months. Even the oceans would be affected; the ocean bottoms would be extremely cold and many fish would die. Eventually, much of the oceans would continue freezing until completely solid, killing all marine life.
But because of the unusual quirk within the water molecule which causes it to expand when it freezes, it occupies more space than liquid water without weighing more and thus floats. As the ice covers the surface of water, it acts as a layer of insulation or a blanket, protecting the water and the life below from freezing.
Water has a liquid temperature range at which enzymes (complex organic substances that cause chemical reactions in the living cell) and other life molecules can exist. It boils and freezes at a point totally out of line with the boiling and freezing points of other elements, which is very important to the survival of life; otherwise, under the conditions of temperature and pressure of our earth, we wouldn’t have water in liquid form. If water followed the normal rules, it would boil at about 50° F. and freeze at about -150° F. But instead, it boils at 212° F and freezes at 32° F.
As beautiful as the ocean can be, especially at sunset, it seems there is so much wasted expanse which could be used for additional living space and agricultural development. And if the oceans were greatly reduced in size, perhaps there wouldn’t be the occurrence of destructive tsunamis (huge waves caused by earthquakes) and hurricanes. However, it is now known that if 75% of the world were not covered with water, the atmospheric water cycle would not work properly. Our climate would not support plant and animal life, for it would be dry and unpredictable.
Since water is an excellent temperature stabilizer, the large oceans on the earth are vital to our survival. Water can absorb large amounts of heat without much alteration in its own temperature. Its absorption speed is extremely rapid— about 10 times as fast as that of steel. During the day, when the sun’s rays are pouring down upon the earth, the seas rapidly soak up a great deal of the heat, keeping the earth fairly cool. At night, the oceans release the vast amounts of heat they soaked up during the day, which, combined with atmospheric effects, keeps the surface of the earth from getting too cold at night. Therefore, if it were not for the tremendous amount of water on the earth, there would be far greater day and night temperature variations. Many parts of the earth’s surface would be hot enough to boil water in the day, like the 275° F. that often bakes our moon, and then cold enough to freeze water at night.
Water comes closer than any other liquid to being a universal solvent. Given enough time, it will dissolve almost any other substance. Most other liquids will react and combine to form a new component. Were it not for the ability of water to dissolve the chemicals and minerals with which it comes in contact, man, animals and plants would not get the nutrients they need; for it is in digestion, water helps to dissolve minerals and carries them to all parts of the body. In fact, water is absolutely essential—in liquid form—for all the key systems of life. The digestive, reproductive, circulatory and respiratory systems of our bodies are all dependent upon water. It is the only possible solvent (having the power to dissolve) for living cells.
In a very personal way, water means everything to man. The average human body is 70% water, and since man is constantly losing it, if he does not replace it, he will die. The water in our blood carries it through the 100,000 miles of arteries, capillaries, and veins in our bodies. Water plays a major role in the digestion of food, lubricates our joints, and regulates body heat. And it is not only man who is composed mostly of water; a major portion of every living thing on the earth is made of water.
In Genesis 1:2, the Spirit of God is mentioned in relation to water. It cannot be a coincidence that here in the second verse of the Bible we find water and God’s Spirit mentioned together. Just as water is essential for physical life, so the Spirit is essential for spiritual life. The fact that God’s Spirit interacted with water at the beginning, amplifies the life-giving qualities of each.
Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit” (John 3:5).
The properties in water were not acquired through a process of random change, but were designed right from the beginning by the Master Designer, God. Having created water with such tremendous significance on life He parallels water for physical life and living water for eternal life: Jesus is the living water. Where the waters run, there is life, and where they do not run, there is death.
Jesus answered and said to her, “ … If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water” (John 4:10).
Right from the beginning of God’s Word we are told of an unusual part water was to play in His creative work during the creation. On the very first day of creation, we see God incorporating the building blocks for life into our world: space, matter, energy and then, the unique, life-giving substance - water (Genesis 1:1–3). It is essential that one sees the spiritual significance of water and how it parallels the living water that God offers man.