CHILDREN                                                                                   

Lesson 2. The Great Flood  Text: Genesis 6:14-7:24

Quote: If Noah had been truly wise, he would have swatted those two flies. - Helen Castle

Summary: God provided detailed instructions for the

In God's Plan to Save Us we learned that Noah was good. God was going to save him and his family from the flood that would destroy the bad world. God’s plan was for Noah to construct a large vessel that would hold all the different kinds of animals.  About 75,000 animals would need to go on the ark.  Could it hold that many animals?  Could Noah build such a boat? God gave Noah a head start. He told Noah when he was 480 years old that in another 120 years the judgment would come. When Noah was 500 years old he began to have children: three sons. Then the Noah & Sons Ark Supply Company began its task to build the ark.  No one had ever seen much rain before. The earth had a mist, daily dew that would come, but that was it. They laughed at Noah and his boat. Sometimes people may laugh at Christians for doing the right thing, but what is important is that Noah obeyed God.  We should obey God also, no matter what other people think.

God told Noah exactly how to build the ark: it was about 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet tall. It would have three decks, and a window for air.  It only had one door.  Through that door, all who entered would be saved.  All who stayed behind would die. Jesus is like that door to us. In

John 10:9

This is where most folks miss the boat.  They think if they merely believe in God, in some shape, form, or fashion that is good enough.  There are many false religions in the world but only one Christ. Some people think if they go to church that God will admit them to heaven.  Going to church might make you a churchian, but it takes Jesus in your heart to make you a Christian!

The ark’s size made it six times longer than it was wide. This made it very stable in the water. If a large wave tried to turn it over, it would right itself. It would tend to position itself to face the waves. Even winds blowing three times stronger than a hurricane would not turn the ark over. The ark did not have a rudder to steer it. It only had to float. God was the pilot.  Do you have trouble giving the steering wheel to God?  Pretend you are in the ark, with nothing to grab hold of except God.

The ark had room for 750 railroad cars of cargo. It could have easily held 180,000 sheep. There was room for all the animals, and hay and corn to feed them. Most of the animals would nap and hibernate during the rocky ride. But how did Noah get all the animals on board? God supernaturally directed the animals to come to the ark. He brought them in to save them from the flood.

How was Noah sure it would rain? Did he wash his car that day? No. God had told him in Genesis 7:4 For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights… So Noah built the ark, then his family went in the ark seven days before the flood when he was 600 years old. God brought in the animals and the Lord shut him in. (verse 16) God has always used the number 40 to signify a period of testing. Moses spent 40 years in the desert before God appeared to him at the burning bush. The children of Israel wandered in the wilderness for 40 years before they entered the Promised Land. Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness in temptation, and forty days after the resurrection proving he had risen before he ascended to heaven.

The flood was the worst disaster ever recorded in history. The entire earth was covered with water and there were no survivors except those on the ark. The fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. (Genesis 7:11) Noah and the animals were surely frightened. Great earthquakes hurled ash high in the air and it rained as it never has. Even the waters under the earth came out of the ground. The water rose to a height that covered the mountains. The waters rose and the ark floated for 150 days, or five months.

Even when it came to rest on the mountains of Ararat, it was not safe for Noah to leave the ark. Noah obeyed God and stayed in the ark until 375 days after the rain began, or over a year on the ark. God always knows how to keep us safe, and will tell us what to do.

Rainbows & Promises

And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat. - Genesis 8:4

Text: Genesis 8

Summary: God o never destroy the earth with water again. He gave us the rainbow as a reminder of his promise.  We should keep our promises just as God keeps His promises.

God brought the ark to rest on the mountain on the same day that became Easter later (Firstfruits). It was a beginning of a new world and new life. The old world had been swept away by the great flood. Noah and his family came out of the ark into a new world. Noah built an altar unto the Lord and sacrificed burnt offerings. Most people would curse God if he destroyed everything, but Noah was grateful that God had spared him and his family.

The Bible says that God realized that man would remain sinful, so he decided never to curse the ground for man’s sake, and never to smite every living thing again as he had done with the flood. So God made a promise to never destroy the earth by a flood again. When God makes a promise, he keeps it. As a sign of his promise, he placed the rainbow in the sky whenever it rained.

Have you ever made a promise? Did you keep your promise? With people, we might forget what we promised or break our promise. If you tell someone you are going to do something, you need to keep your word. That is called integrity. A Christian should be able to keep his word of honor.

God’s sign that he would remember his promise was the rainbow. Have you ever seen a rainbow? Did you ever wonder what a rainbow was made of? It is made of light. In fact, it is made of seven colors of light. It only occurs when it rains. The light of the sun shines through the rain, causing the light to bend (or refract) and reflect off the rain. The rain acts like a prism, splitting the white light into the colors of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo (deep blue), and violet (purple). They always stay in the same order, because the frequency is from low to high. It always forms an arch. Does this sound like something God made? Yes, it is very orderly and dependable, just like God. Jesus is like the rainbow to us: when God sees us and our sin, he sees us through Jesus, who said I am the light of the world. (John 8:12)  God doesn’t see our sin due to the sacrifice Jesus made for us on the cross.

Some people think the story of the flood is a myth, something made up. How do we know it is true? The Bible speaks many times about the flood and God’s word is true. Even our Lord Jesus spoke plainly about the flood when he spoke of his return to earth. In Matthew 24:37-39, Jesus said:

But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the Flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the Ark, and knew not until the Flood came, and took them all away, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

Let's be ready when Jesus returns.  Don't miss the boat!