Noah Builds A Boat

Genesis 6

As years passed, more and more people filled the earth. But they no longer listened to God. Instead, they spent every hour of every day thinking up ways to hurt and destroy, ways to cheat and to steal.

God grew very sad as He looked upon His people. Each time they lied or killed or hurt one another, His heart would fill with pain, until one day God was sorry that He had even made them. Finally, God said, "I will get rid of mankind entirely. In fact, I will remove all that moves and breathes from the face of the earth—man and animals and birds."

But before God wiped the entire earth clean, He thought about His good friend, Noah.

Noah had always done what was right, and he had always listened to God. And not only did Noah listen to God, but he always did whatever God told him!

So God told Noah to build an enormous ark—a gigantic boat! It would be bigger than anything that had ever been built before. Noah listened carefully as God explained, step by step, how to make this ark.

Noah and his sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, gathered everything they needed and began to build.

God Keeps His Promise

God promised Noah that if he would obey and trust him, God would keep Noah and his family safe in the boat. God did not say he would take Noah out of the flood, but he did promise to bring Noah safely through it.

At times, we feel as though we are drowning in a flood of troubles. Financial roblems weigh us down. Personal relationships are battered by powerful, frightening waves. Problems seem to pour in faster than we can bail them out.

During these times, remember God's word to us. He promises that if we obey and trust him, he won't let us down.