The descendants of Adam and Eve had become evil and wicked, and God was sorry He had ever created mankind. He decided the only thing to do was destroy them all and start over! But there was one man, Noah, who was obedient to God and found God's favor.
Noah Builds an Ark
God told Noah to bring a pair of every living animal into the ark to keep them alive during the flood.
God told Noah to build a big boat, called an ark, and He told Noah exactly how to do it. The ark was to be 450 ft. (137 m) long, 75 ft. (23 m) wide and 45 ft. (14 m) high. It was to have three decks, be divided into rooms and have a door in the side.
Noah was to find one male and one female of every kind of animal and bird and take them into the ark. He also had to take food for all those animals. It took Noah 120 years to build the ark and find all the animals to put in it, but Noah obeyed God and did just as he was told.
The Great Flood
Noah was 600 years old by the time everything was ready. God told Noah to go into the ark with his wife, his three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and their wives. Then it started to rain. It rained without stop for forty days and nights! The water got so deep that even the mountains were covered. Every living creature on earth died in the flood. But the ark floated on top of the flood waters and the people and animals in the ark were safe.
Noah knew the dove had found dry land when it returned to him carrying an olive branch.
Eventually, the water started to go down again, and the ark came to rest in the mountains of Ararat. After being on the ark about 11 months, Noah sent out a dove to see if it would find land, but it found no place to rest and returned to the ark. Seven days later, Noah sent the dove out again. This time it flew back carrying an olive leaf, and Noah knew it had found land. After a full year on the ark, God said to Noah,
Come out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and their wives. Bring out every kind of living creature that is with you – the birds, the animals, and all the creatures that move along the ground – so they can multiply on the earth and be fruitful and increase in number upon it. (NIV, Genesis 8:16-17)
God Makes a Promise to Noah
After leaving the ark, Noah built an altar and worshipped God. God was pleased with Noah, and He promised never again to destroy the earth with a flood. Then God placed a rainbow in the sky as a sign of that promise. The descendants of Noah and his sons filled the whole earth with people again.
