Noah and the Great Flood

Long ago in the book of Genesis we read this story. God saw that man's wickedness on earth was great and that the thoughts of their hearts were always evil. People everywhere were full of violence. God was sorry that He made man and His heart was filled with pain.
God said, "I will wipe mankind, whom I created, from the face of the earth - men, and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air - for I am grieved that I made them." . . . . Genesis 6:7
But there was one man who found favor in the eyes of God. His name was "Noah".
Noah loved God. The Bible said Noah was a righteous man, and that he walked with God. That means Noah spent time talking, listening, and obeying God. Noah was not like the other people on earth. He did not follow after their wicked ways. God decided to make a special plan to save Noah and his family and keep them safe while He destroyed everyone and everything else on earth.

God told Noah that He was going to keep Noah and his family safe while God destoryed the earth. Noah had to listen very closely to God and obey everything God told him.
God said to Noah, "I want you to build a boat."
It was going to be a very big boat. God told Noah exactly how to make it. It was going to be longer than a football field, and higher than a three story house. It was going to have one door, and a window.

Picture Courtesy of Dr. Mace Baker and artist Joshua Suko. (Dinobooks.com)

God called the boat an "ark." Noah and his three sons started building the boat right away. It took them many years to build the ark. Neighbors laughed at Noah and his family. They thought the big boat was funny. No one had ever seen a boat before. In fact no one had ever seen rain before either. Noah told the people about the great flood that God was going to send. But no one believed him. Noah kept his faith that God's word was true, because Noah loved God with all of his heart, and he wanted to obey God.
Noah and his sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth were farmers. and now they were boat builders too. God told Noah to grow extra food to store in the ark for their long trip. Every day for many many years they continued to work on the ark. Then finally one day Noah and his sons put the hammers down, because the big boat was finally finished.
God had told Noah that he needed to make the boat big enough for two of every kind of animal to join them on their first ocean journey. Seven of some animals and birds would join them in the boat. These animals were considered to be "clean" eatable food.

Noah must have wondered how he would get all those animals in through that door, and how could he possibly gather them all? Just like God spoke to Noah and told him how to build the ark, God also spoke to each animal that he choose to save. He told them to go to where the ark was. Noah must have been in awe watching all of those animals gather around the ark and calmly and orderly walk up the ramp into the great big boat.

After all the animals were inside the ark Noah, his wife, his three sons, and their wives went inside of the ark. Then God shut the door. The eight people and animals that God choose to keep alive were safe inside the great big ark.
ADD SOME SOUND TO THE STORY!
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Another Moo Sound
CONTINUE PART 2 ~ THE FLOOD