Noah and the Great Flood

A long time after God made the world, people started making very bad choices. They lied, they hurt each other, and they forgot all about God. The whole earth was filled with sin and sadness. God's heart was broken because He loved the people He had made.

But there was one man who loved God — his name was Noah. The Bible says Noah 'walked with God,' which means Noah talked to God, listened to God, and tried to do what was right. God decided to send a great flood to wash away the wickedness, but He wanted to save Noah and his family.

God told Noah to build a HUGE boat called an ark. His neighbors probably laughed at him — there was not even any rain! But Noah trusted God and did exactly what God said. He built the ark, and God brought two of every kind of animal to go inside. Then Noah, his wife, his sons, and their wives all got in, and God shut the door.

It rained for forty days and forty nights. Water covered even the tallest mountains! But Noah and everyone inside the ark were safe. When the waters went down, the ark landed on a mountain. Noah sent out a dove, and it came back with an olive leaf — land was near! When they all finally walked off the ark, Noah built an altar and thanked God.

God made a promise — called a covenant — to never flood the whole earth again. He put a rainbow in the sky as a sign of that promise. Every time you see a rainbow, you can remember that God keeps every single promise He makes!