In the early days of the world, people had forgotten to live in a way that was pleasing to God. Their hearts were filled with wickedness, and the earth was covered in violence. But among all these people, there was one man named Noah who found favor in God’s eyes. Noah was a righteous man, who walked faithfully with God.
God looked upon the earth and saw how corrupt it had become. He decided to cleanse the earth of its wickedness through a great flood. But He did not want to destroy Noah and his family, so He spoke to Noah and said, “Make yourself an ark of gopher wood. You shall make rooms in the ark, and you shall cover it inside and out with pitch. For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die. But I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark¡ªyou, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every sort into the ark to keep them alive with you. They shall be male and female.”
Noah believed God’s words and obeyed. He gathered his family and began to build the ark. It was a massive task, but Noah was faithful. As he worked, people around him laughed and mocked him. They did not believe that a flood would come. But Noah kept building, trusting in God’s promise.
After many years, the ark was finally finished. Noah gathered his family and the animals, two by two, and they all entered the ark. Then the rains came. It rained for forty days and forty nights, and the waters covered the earth. The mountains were hidden beneath the waves, and all life on earth was destroyed, except for those who were in the ark.
Noah and his family lived in the ark for many months. They cared for the animals and trusted in God’s protection. Finally, the waters receded, and the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. Noah sent out a raven and then a dove to see if the waters had gone down. The dove returned with an olive leaf in its beak, a sign that the earth was becoming habitable again.
When the waters had fully subsided, God told Noah to come out of the ark. Noah and his family stepped onto the new earth, and they brought the animals with them. Noah built an altar and offered sacrifices to God in thanksgiving. God was pleased with Noah’s offering and made a covenant with him, saying, “I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth. Nor will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done. While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.”
God also placed a rainbow in the sky as a sign of His covenant with Noah and all living creatures. It was a promise that He would never again destroy the earth with a flood. Noah and his family went on to repopulate the earth, and the story of the ark and the covenant became a reminder of God’s faithfulness and His desire to preserve life.