By
Shelby G. Floyd
“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3: 16-17 NKJV).
All Holy Scripture is Inspired of God
All Holy Scripture is the product of the inspiration of God. God has breathed into the scripture infallibility. The Holy Spirit exercised divine power over the minds of the authors of the Holy Scriptures, even in the words which they used, preserving them from any error:
“But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.
These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. (1 Corinthians 2:10-13). (1 Corinthians 2: 10-13).
This being true, we expect that any statement upon whatever subject the Bible might touch, would be true. The Bible is not a textbook upon science; it is rather a textbook on redemption from sin. However, when the Bible alludes to natural science, we expect that the authors spoke the truth.
Scientific Facts Known by Inspiration
It is our purpose to point out some biblical statements which could not possibly have been known at the time when spoken, except the Holy Spirit guided the authors. In the days of the Old Testament the wisest men of the most enlightened nations were ignorant of the origin of the earth and the laws which govern its movements. Much superstition ruled on the natural world.
The Circle of the Earth
God’s spokesmen during that age often made statements touching upon the natural world which the scientific method proves true today. For instance, in ancient times men believed that the earth was flat, and that it rested on the back of a giant elephant or turtle!
But the Old Testament writers did not teach such fanciful theories and false superstitions. The prophet Isaiah said,
It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. (Isaiah 40:22).
Even as late as the time of Columbus, most of the people still believed that the earth was flat. Today, we know that the earth is round for the astronauts traveled to the moon and looked back upon “the circle of the earth.” Isaiah did not have the methods of modern science, neither was he able to travel to the moon and look back upon the earth. How did he know that the earth is a circle? God guided him by divine inspiration. The same word in the Old Testament that describes the roundness of the earth applies also to the heavens and the oceans.
The Spherical Shape of the Universe
The patriarch Job described the spherical shape of the heavens ages before science confirmed that indeed the earth is round like a ball! “Thick clouds cover Him, so that He cannot see, And He walks above the circle of heaven” (Job 22: 14).
Then the sage Solomon described the circular shape of the ocean, “When he prepared the heavens, I was there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depth” (Proverbs 8:27).
God is present at the creation of heaven and earth. Therefore, it is very plain that at a time when the rest of the world believed that the earth was flat, the prophets taught that it was round. The difference was God guided the teachers of Israel, whereas the teachers of the heathen nations used their own unaided reason.
The Earth is Hanging on Nothing
Not only did the writers of the Old Testament teach that the earth was round, but they also taught that the earth is hanging in space upon nothing. In the book of Job, we have a wonderful statement regarding the suspension of the planet earth,
“He stretches out the north over empty And hangs the earth on nothing” (Job 26:7 NASB).
Remember Job made this statement when the people around him were teaching that the earth rested upon the back of a giant elephant or turtle. How was Job preserved from making the mistake of the people around him? The Holy Spirit guided Job by divine inspiration to speak and write the truth of God:
“But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture becomes a matter of someone’s own interpretation, 21 for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God” (2 Peter 1:20-21 NASB).
Astronauts orbited the earth in satellites, and abundantly proved that the earth is hanging upon nothing and floating through space. God knew from the very beginning all the wonderful facts discovered by science: “Known to God from eternity are all His works” (Acts 15:18 NKJV).
Copyright © 2023 Shelby G. Floyd, All Rights Reserved
Shelby G. Floyd, minister of Heartland Church of Christ, 1693 West Main Street, Greenwood, Indiana 46142.