Noah

Noah lived in the deep past, many generations after Adam and Eve. The earth had become filled with violence and wrongdoing, but Noah trusted God and sought to obey him. Noah had a wife and three sons named Shem, Ham, and Japheth. His sons also had wives. God chose to save this family from a great flood and told Noah to build an enormous wooden ark. The ark would shelter Noah’s family and representatives of every kind of land animal and bird.

Noah’s story is found in Genesis 6 through 9. God gave Noah careful instructions for the ark, and Noah did what God commanded. When the ark was ready, the family entered with the animals and enough food for them all. God closed them in safely. Rain fell for forty days and nights, and floodwaters covered the land. After many months, the waters went down, and the ark rested in the mountains of Ararat. Noah sent out a raven and then a dove to look for dry ground. At last, the dove returned with a fresh olive leaf. Later, it did not return, showing that the land was ready again. When God told Noah to leave, the people and animals came out. Noah built an altar and worshiped God. God then made a covenant with Noah, his family, and every living creature. He placed the rainbow in the clouds as the sign of his promise never again to destroy all life on earth with a flood.

Noah’s story teaches children that trusting God may require patience, courage, and steady obedience. Noah kept building even before the rain came, cared for the creatures placed in his charge, and waited for God’s direction before leaving the ark. The rainbow still reminds families that God remembers his promises and cares for his creation. The mountains of Ararat are in the region of modern eastern Turkey, though the Bible does not identify the ark’s exact resting place. After the flood, Noah’s family began life on the renewed land. Genesis 10 tells about the families that came from his sons, and Genesis 11 continues with the story of the tower of Babel.