A long time ago, there lived a man named Noah. Noah was a kind man, and he loved God very much. He always listened to God. But the other people did not live well. They didn’t listen to God and did a lot of bad things.
God saw this and was sad. He wanted to clean the earth with a lot of water so that everything could be fine again. But God had a special plan for Noah, because Noah was righteous. God said to Noah, “Build a great ark! It’s a very, very big ship. It will protect you, your family and the animals.”
So Noah got to work. He built the ark exactly as God had told him. His children helped him, even though the other people around them laughed at it. But Noah trusted God and continued to build.
Then God said to Noah: “Take one male and one female from all the animals on the ark.” So the animals – large and small, furry and feathered – came to Noah and went on the big ship.
Soon after, it began to rain, and it rained for many days without a break. The water rose higher and higher, and the whole earth was flooded. But Noah, his family and the animals were safe in the ark.
After a long time, it finally stopped raining. The water began to sink. The ark landed on a high mountain. Noah had a bird, a dove, fly out of the ark to see if the land was dry. The pigeon came back with a fresh leaf in its beak. Then Noah knew that it would soon be dry.
God told Noah that he and the animals could leave the ark. They ran out happily. And God made a promise to Noah: He assured Noah that he would never again destroy the earth with a flood. As a sign of this promise, God placed a beautiful rainbow in the clouds.
Message of history
God watches over us when we trust Him, and He always keeps His promises.
Bible passage
The story of Noah and the ark is found in Genesis 6-9. Here are the central verses from the Schlachter 2000 to summarize:
Genesis 6:13-22:
“Then God said to Noah, ‘The end of all flesh is decreed with me, for the earth is filled with iniquity because of it; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make yourself an ark of Goferholz; you are to divide the ark into rooms and spoil it inside and outside with bad luck. And this is how you shall make them: 300 cubits be the length of the ark, 50 cubits its width, and 30 cubits its height; you shall make a roof for the ark; half a meter[1] high up on the roof you shall close it; you shall put a door by the side of the ark; you shall make a lower, a second, and a third floor on it. For behold, I will cause a flood, water, to come upon the earth to destroy all flesh under heaven that has a breath of life in it; everything that is on the earth shall perish! But with you I will establish my covenant; and you shall go into the ark with your sons, with your wife, and with the wives of your sons. And of all that lives, of all flesh, you shall bring two of them into the ark, that they may live with you, a male and a female. Of the birds according to their kind, and of the cattle after their kind, and of every creeping thing of the ground after their kind, two of them shall go in to you, that they may live. But you take of all the food that is eaten and gather it with you, that it may serve you and them as food. And Noah did so; he did everything exactly as God had commanded him.”
Genesis 7:1-5:
“And the Lord said to Noah, ‘Go into the ark, you and all your household, for I have found you righteous before me among this generation. Of all the clean cattle, take seven pairs each, the male and his female; and of all the unclean cattle, a pair each, the male and his female. Also of the birds of the air, seven pairs each, males and females, to keep seeds alive all over the face of the earth. For in seven days I will cause it to rain on the earth for 40 days and forty nights, and I will destroy from the face of the earth every living thing that I have made. And Noah did everything exactly as the Lord had commanded him.”
Genesis 9:8-17:
“And God said to Noah and his sons with him, Behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your descendants after you, and with all living souls with you, among the birds, and among the cattle, and with all the beasts of the field with you, all who have gone out of the ark, the beasts that inhabit the earth. And I establish my covenant with you, that henceforth not all flesh shall be cut off from the waters of the flood, nor shall there come any more flood to destroy the earth. And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant which I am making between me and you, and all the living souls who are with you, for generations to come: I have set my bow in the clouds; it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. And it will come to pass, when I bring clouds over the earth, that the bow will appear in the clouds, then I will remember my covenant which exists between me and you and all living souls under all flesh, that henceforth no waters shall become a flood, which destroys all flesh. Therefore let the bow be in the clouds, so that I may look at it and remember the eternal covenant between God and all living souls under all flesh that is on earth! And God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.”
