This Bible verse gives us one of King Solomon’s wise observations. How marvelously the Creator designed, through the inflow of rivers and evaporation of ocean surfaces, that our oceans continue the same since the Lord God first established them. About three fourths of the earth’s surface is covered by its oceans, just the right amount to bring the greatest benefits to all.
Rain, as we know, is necessary for life to exist, and most of it comes from evaporation of sea water into the atmosphere. Winds carry this moist air over the land where the moisture falls as rain or snow. Much of the snow that falls on mountains remains until the summer sun melts it. The melting snow gradually fills streams, lakes and wells with fresh water for all living things during hot, dry summer months. This should always be a reminder of how God cares for us and all His other creatures.
The oceans and the sun’s warmth combine to make the world a livable place. The great amount of water helps moderate the earth’s temperatures. In summer the water absorbs heat from the sun and stores it until winter when it is released to reduce the chill of the air over the land. In summer this storehouse of water is cooler than the land air and, blown by the wind, again adds to the comfort of all.
Many things besides fish and other sea creatures are in the oceans. Chemicals and minerals, for instance, continuously deposited by the inflowing rivers bring millions of tons of gold, silver, manganese, iron and innumerable other elements into it, some of which are recovered for man’s use. For instance, the salt in the shaker on your dining room table may have come from the ocean. The saltiest seawater of all is in the Red Sea, and the least salty is in the polar seas where huge icebergs form. As the icebergs slowly melt, they dilute the salty seawater.
The sea is more than five miles deep in some places in both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, and many high mountains rise from those deep floors. The tips of some of these mountains come above the water to form islands, such as those in Hawaii, the Aleutians, the Marianas and others, many of them making lovely home sites.
Solomon, as indicated in our opening verse, was familiar with many of the wonders of the oceans and left this message for us in the Bible: “Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth” (Ecclesiastes 12:11Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them; (Ecclesiastes 12:1)). It is important to know the Lord God as the Creator, but more important to know Him as your Saviour! Is this true of you?
NOVEMBER 8, 1998
ML-11/08/1998