Noah and the Ark (2) Genesis 6-9

Finally the ark was finished. It was very, very big, a lot bigger than any ship you’ve ever seen. Then Noah’s wife and his family got on the ark. There were eight people.

Now Noah had to lead all the animals onto the ark. Imagine what that must have been like! Think of all the thousands of animals and birds there are, and remember how they all had to go on the ark!

God told Noah to bring only two of each creature on the ark— one male and one female. However, some animals were “clean,” which meant they could be used as food, so Noah was told to take seven of each of those on the ark.

The snakes slithered into the ark, the horses walked into the door, and the bugs fluttered in. Pigs, giraffes, elephants, alligators—all animals were brought inside. The animals came obediently to Noah; he did not have to hunt them down.

The people stood around watching Noah bring all the animals on the ark. They just laughed at him. “You are a foolish man, Noah!” they cried. “It’s not going to rain! Look, there isn’t a cloud in the sky!”

But Noah ignored them; he helped the last animals into the door, and then went inside himself.

And God closed the door.

Remember that. God closed the door. When God closes the door, no man can open it. Noah could not go out, and no one else could come in.

A week went by. The people continued to make fun of Noah, and the sun continued to shine. But Noah stayed inside the ark.

Do you think Noah started wondering whether there really was going to be a flood? Maybe you or I would have wondered, but Noah had real faith in his God.

After Noah was a week in the ark, it suddenly began to grow dark. Clouds rolled across the sky. Lightning flashed and thunder rumbled. Big heavy drops of rain bounced off the ark. Soon more and more raindrops pelted the earth.

The people who had watched

God closed the door. When God closes the door, no man can open it.

Noah and had laughed at him now began to grow terrified. They called to Noah, “Let us in! Let us in! We believe you! The rain is coming! Please! Let us in!” But it was too late. Even if Noah wanted to, he could not open the door. God had shut it.

Now it was raining so hard that there were puddles on the ground. Soon the puddles spread and spread and became lakes. Then the lakes flooded over, and covered up the land. Soon the houses were buried. The water continued to rise, higher and higher and higher.

By now the people were doing everything to try to save their lives. They clung to the edges of the ark. They banged at the door. “Let us in! Let us in!” They even tried to climb on it. But it was too late. Each one of them lost hold of the ark and drowned, or was washed away into the rising waters.

The Bible tells us that it will be like that in the last days when God comes to take His people to heaven and to destroy the wicked. Suddenly it will be too late to seek God anymore. People will hide anywhere they can to get away from the anger of God but it will be too late. Will you or I be one of those people?

Noah and his family watched as it rained. They felt so safe in the ark. But the rain did not stop for a long time. The Bible tells us that it rained for forty days and nights! That is a long time! All the hills and mountains were soon covered, until finally Noah could see nothing but water, water, water.

And then…it stopped raining!

The Bible tells us that “God remembered Noah, and every living thing that was in the ark.” God made a wind to blow across the waters to help dry them up. But it took a long, long time before the waters went down. It took over a year before they completely dried up. But right now the waters were high yet, too high for Noah and his family. They had to stay in the ark until God told them it was time to come out.

The ark finally came to a stop on the top of a mountain. Noah could see the tops of other mountains, but he did not know if he should get out yet.

So this is what Noah did. First, he sent out a raven and a dove through the window of the ark. The raven flew around for awhile, feeding on the dead animals in the water, but then it came back to the ark. The dove couldn’t find anywhere to land either, so she came back as well. This meant that the trees were not uncovered yet.

A week went by. Then Noah sent out the dove again. This time she came back with an olive leaf in her beak! This was a good sign because it meant that the water was low enough that the tops of the trees were showing.

Noah waited another week. Then he sent out the dove again. But this time she did not return at all, so Noah knew that the trees were uncovered enough so that she could build herself a nest somewhere.

Finally, one day, Noah looked outside and—the ground was dry! The flood was over! Did Noah get out of the ark right away? No, he couldn’t. God had closed the door, so Noah had to wait for God to open it.

And finally, that time came. God told Noah, “Go out of the ark, you, your wife, and your families, and all the animals that are in the ark.”

I think that it felt very good to get out of the ark, don’t you? They were able to get out and stand on firm ground again. The cool, fresh air felt good on their faces and the warm sun felt refreshing to their bodies.

What do you think was the first thing Noah and his family did?

Noah found the best lamb and goat, built an altar and made an offering to God! Just like Cain and Abel had done. Noah was giving God thanks for bringing them safely through the flood while everyone else had drowned.

God saw what Noah had done, and He was very pleased. He said that He would never destroy the world with a flood again.

We call this a “covenant,” or a promise. God made a covenant with Noah and his family, and it was therefore made with you and me as well. A covenant is made between two people. God promised Noah that He would never destroy the whole world again with a flood, and He gave Noah a token of this.

Do you know what a “token” is? Here is an example: When your father and mother got married, your father gave your mother a ring. The ring is a token. It proves that he meant it when he promised always to love her. So every time she looks at her ring, she remembers that promise.

The same thing is true of God’s token to us. Every time we see this token, we remember that God will never destroy us all with a flood again. What do you think this token is? You see it many times when it rains. It is—a rainbow! The pretty rainbow, with its many colors, is a token of God’s promise. Remember that now every time you see the rainbow. No matter how high the floods rise, we have God’s promise that they will never rise too high again.

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