The ark was
constructed of gopher wood. It is possible that the wood was cypress--and that is how some modern translations render it. Cypress, and cedar also, are termite resistant. So, maybe that is what the wood was. It is also possible that this was a tree which has ceased to exist. Remember the flood was a global catastrophe which may have killed off many species of vegetation. Therefore, gopher wood may have been an extinct species impervious to termites.
Likewise, It's possible no termites, or other insects--such as roaches and mosquitoes--were on the ark. There would have been tremendous amounts of debris, floating on the water, for them
to live on. There could have been eggs
on that debris which would later hatch.
According to Gen.7:24 the waters
covered the highest peaks for 5 months.
At that point, as the waters began to recede, the eggs might have hatched and survived on the drying land. Mosquitoes and termites love the moisture, by the way. Not trying to be morbid, but certain insects would have survived by devouring the floating carcasses of humans and animals, the bodies becoming their "arks."
The
Bible says in (Gen 7:14-15) that "all flesh in which was the breath of
life" was brought onto the Ark. (Gen 7:22) goes on to say that "all
in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was on the dry land,
died" in the flood.
From
these verses, we learn 2 things. First, all of the creatures on the Ark had the
"breath of life," which means they breathed through their
"nostrils." In addition, ALL creatures who breathed through their
nostrils and lived on "dry land" died in the flood except those on
the Ark.
Those
who breathe through nostrils have lungs. Insects do not have nostrils or lungs.
Insects absorb oxygen through their skin, through a series of breathing holes
or tracheal tubes located in their chest or abdomen. Therefore, neither insects
nor sea creatures were on the Ark, but they did survive the flood. (http://jesusalive.cc/ques216.htm)
Obviously, insects survived—and there is a
reason--even for roaches and mosquitoes! Cockroaches dispose of organic
litter. They are part of the food chain
for birds and other animals.
As to
mosquitoes, their development is quite the quandary for the evolutionist
instead of a help to their case. Here
is a remarkable testimony to a mosquitoes design that requires instantaneous
creation rather than evolution over eons of time:
Did you know that:
only
female mosquitoes “bite”[?]
There are more than
2,500 species of mosquitoes in the world. A species is generally defined as a
group in which males and females produce offspring that are fertile, i.e., are
capable of reproducing themselves. They are not “sterile”—as in the case of the
mule, a hybrid cross between a male donkey and a female horse.
The fossil record
reveals that the ancient ancestors of the modern mosquito were about three
times as large as their present day offspring. This is another example of how
nature has degenerated. It is not evolving from the less primitive to the more
sophisticated, contrary to the claims of modern Darwinians. Some ancient pagans
believed that mosquitoes are reincarnated humans who were evil in the way they
lived. Though there is no truth to the notion of reincarnation, there are some
blood-sucking humans who would make good mosquitoes in another world!
Mosquitoes are
specially fashioned little flies. “Little flies” is what the name means. The
term “fly” is a generic word for insects that have only two wings. Mosquitoes
can beat their tiny wings at a rate of about one thousand times per second!
Their wings are so thin that even the blood vessels show. Only God could have
designed this amazing and minute system.
But mosquitoes can be
dangerous. They can carry germs that cause harmful diseases in
humans—sicknesses like malaria and yellow fever. Many people wonder, therefore,
just why God would create potentially noxious little insects like these.
Critics of God and his
word are ever anxious to lash out and appeal to what they call the
“incongruities of nature” as arguments that a benevolent God could not have
designed and implemented the universe around us. Thus there is no God behind
earth’s environment. There are just “too many examples” that do not meet their standard
of how things ought to be. They have endowed themselves with
omniscience and thus are confident they know how it “should have been done.”
Let us take the
mosquito, for example. There are two important points that need to be taken
into consideration.
First, our original
parents, Adam and Eve, were not bothered by disease until they disobeyed God.
Because of that disobedience, the human family became weak and vulnerable to
diseases—and even death (Romans 5:12; 6:23). In the beginning, the Lord did not
intend for any of us who have been made in his image to be hurt by his animal
creatures, but this is the price we pay for not following the Creator’s
instructions. Every mosquito bite ought to be a reminder to obey God.
Second, mosquitoes
actually are a valuable source of food for many creatures that were made to
benefit mankind. For example, frogs, lizards, and some fish eat mosquitoes.
These insects are an important link in the animal food chain, thus ultimately
they are for our benefit as well. There is a balance in nature that we
sometimes do not recognize or appreciate.
Third, there are
numerous mysteries in nature we do not understand. There are more things we do
not understand than those we do. We must humbly recognize and acknowledge our
limited knowledge, and not speak irreverently of God in our frustration. That
is the epitome of arrogance. This was precisely the problem of Job as he
questioned the wisdom of God in governing the universe. The Lord humbled the
patriarch and brought him to his knees by a barrage of interrogation that yet
baffles the keenest of minds (see Job 38-39).
The proteins required to sustain mosquitoes before
the fall are found in certain plants—alfalfa, for instance. The adaptation of mosquitoes from vegetarians and benign creatures to blood-suckers and
disease-carriers were a result of the fall.
If it were not for those special properties, the
tiny tube through which the mosquito pierces skin and ingests blood would stop
up and the bug would starve! So, how did
all that evolve over millions of years?
Impossible!
So, like it or not, the bugs are still around to bug us. The return of Christ to earth will restore the original design in the natural world and we'll have pests as pets. Until then, we should be so full of Jesus that if a mosquito does bite us, she'll fly away singing, "There's power in the blood!"
