The Great Flood

Taken from Genesis 6 – 8

The world had grown very wicked since the time of Adam and Eve, and the people were getting worse instead of better. God saw that he must destroy them.

There was one good man, however. His name was Noah, and God wished to spare him. So he told Noah his plans. God was going to bring a great flood upon the earth and drown all the wicked people. Noah must build an ark so he and his family would be protected from the flood. The ark was to be very large, and God gave him exact instructions on how to make it.

At last the ark was ready. God told Noah to take into the ark beasts, birds, and creeping things of every kind - each one with its mate. Also he had to take enough food to last for a long time, because the rain would continue forty days and forty nights without stopping, and the earth would be covered with water.

Noah did everything as God had commanded. When he himself, his wife, his three sons and their wives, and all the creatures which were to be taken into the ark, were safely inside, the rain started.

At the end of the forty days, the rain finally stopped. Noah opened the window of the ark and sent out a raven to see if the earth had appeared above the waters. The raven did not come back, so Noah was sure that it had found a place to land and something to eat.

Then he sent out a dove, which returned to the ark. He waited for several days, and sent the dove out again. This time it returned with an olive leaf in its mouth. After a few more days he sent the dove out again. This time it did not return, so Noah knew that the waters were going down.

Later, Noah removed the covering from the ark. Looking out, he found that the earth was dry. So he went out of the ark with all his family and the creatures that were with him. He built an altar and worshipped God.

The Lord was pleased with Noah, and blessed him and his sons. God promised that he would never again bring a flood upon the earth to destroy all the people. As a token of this promise he placed the rainbow in the sky after the rain.

Fill in the blanks with the correct underlined word from the story.

1. The people in the world had become very ________________________________.

2. God planned to destroy them by sending a great _________________________.

3. The Lord planned to ____________________ Noah because he was a good man.

4. He told Noah to _______________________an ark and instructed him exactly how to do it.

5. It rained for _____________________________ days.

6. God sent a ______________________________ as a sign that he would never again destroy the world with a flood.

Adapted from "Beautiful Bible Stories," by Fannie Ostrander, Copyright 1899, by Jessica Gerald of http://www.oldfashionedhomemaking.com and http://jessica-gerald.blogspot.com This may be reproduced for non-commercial use.