RAIN! RAIN! RAIN!
A story about Noah and the Ark
Text Version
by Linda Sue Pochodzay Edwards
"Rain! Rain! Rain! It has rained for three whole days! Will it ever stop raining?" Sherri complained.
"I know you are disappointed because you haven't been able to play outside," her mother said, "but it has only been three days. Can you imagine what it must have been like to watch it rain for FORTY days?"
"FORTY days?" Sherri asked in wide-eyed amazement.
"Yes, forty days," her mother repeated. "Come . . . let me tell you the story about the longest rainstorm."
At the beginning of time, when God first created the world and all that was in it, everything was perfect. God looked at His work and called it all very good.
All that changed when Adam and Eve sinned. Of course, God was a loving God and forgave them, so they could continue to live on the earth and enjoy the blessings of God, but that didn't erase sin. People became more and more wicked. God looked down at the world and was sorry about all the evil things people were doing. In fact, He was sorry that He had even created man!
However, there was ONE man that loved God and was righteous. His name was Noah.
God talked to Noah and told him what He was going to do. He told Noah to talk to everyone he could and warn them that He was going to destroy the earth and everything in it. He also told Noah to start building an ark, which is another name for a big boat. This ark was going to be so big that there would be room for two of every kind of animal in the WHOLE WORLD and seven of certain types of animals.
Noah and his three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, began building. They had to chop down trees and make smooth boards. They had to put the boards together piece by piece, according to the instructions which God had given them. They had to make pitch to coat the ark so that it would be waterproof.
The whole time they were working, Noah was also preaching to the people. He warned them to turn back to God or they would ALL be destroyed. He told them it was going to start raining and would continue to rain for FORTY days...
...but NO one believed him.
Instead of turning back to God, they started making fun of Noah. They thought he was crazy for building such a big ark. Besides that, the people had never seen rain, because, up until that time, the earth was watered by dew that rested on the ground during the evening. They LAUGHED and LAUGHED at Noah because of his strange talk. They just didn't believe anything was going to happen to them. They continued being sinful.
Just after Noah and his sons had pounded in the last nail and made sure the ark was sealed and waterproofed properly, the Lord spoke to Noah.
"Take seven of every kind of clean animal and two of every kind of unclean animal into the ark. Then take your wife, your sons, and their wives into the ark."
So that is JUST what Noah did.
Into the ark went seven cows, seven sheep, seven goats, seven chickens, seven ducks, seven turkeys, two lions, two bears, two elephants, two giraffes, two zebras, two dogs, two cats, two lizards, two spiders, two tiny ladybugs, and.... Well, I think you get the idea!
The people outside were looking on in amazement. "That old Noah must be CRAZY!" someone exclaimed. "He SURE IS! I just can't understand why he would want to live in that big boat with all those STINKY animals!" someone else remarked.
Noah looked at the people sadly. He knew there was nothing he could do to make them believe that God meant what He said, but he kindly invited anyone who wanted, to join his family in the ark so they would be safe. As he suspected, they STILL didn't believe, and they laughed and snickered LOUDER.
Noah and his family and all the animals spent their first night in the ark. When they awoke the next morning, they heard the people outside making fun of them. "Hey, Noah! I thought you said it was going to rain," they sneered. "Well, it DIDN'T! You were just WRONG!"
They awoke the second day . . .
and the third day . . .and the fourth day . . .and still there was no rain.The people outside were taunting and yelling even LOUDER. But Noah remained calm and continued to invite them inside the ark so they would be safe.
The fifth day and the sixth day were NO different; there was no rain, and the jeering of the crowd didn't stop, but Noah continued to warn the people and invite them into the ark.
The seventh day started out the same as all the others, but, then, SLAM! God shut the door of the ark. Noah heard someone exclaim, "HEY! What was THAT? I thought I felt a drop of water!" Then someone else felt it, and another, and another . . . and it continued raining . . . and raining . . . and raining . . .
The water was getting higher and higher, and it wasn't long before the ark started floating.
10 days . . .
11 days . . .
12 days . . .
"Uh . . . Hey, Dad . . . HOW LONG did you say it was going to rain?"
"Forty," Noah replied.
21 . . .
22 . . .
23 . . .
They looked out the window, but all they could see was WATER . . . and MORE RAIN.
35 . . .
36 . . .
37 . . .
38 . . .
Poor Mrs. Noah! She was thankful that God had protected them throughout this whole ordeal, and she didn't want to complain, but she just didn't think she could take ONE MORE DAY of this! The camels were beginning to REALLY STINK! The elephant enjoyed sticking its head out the window, then spraying everybody with water! The cats were shedding hair all over the place, and the monkeys were getting into EVERYTHING! "Only two more days," she thought.
On the fortieth day, just as God had said, the rain (pause here for emphasis) STOPPED. Everyone was so happy to be able to look out the window and not see rain! But they couldn't leave the ark just yet. As far as they could see, water covered EVERYTHING. Even the mountaintops were covered with water and could not be seen.
Slowly, the water began to go down and rivers and lakes started to appear all over the place. They looked out the window one day and were able to see the tip of a mountain. B......UUUUUMP! "What was that?" They noticed that the ark had stopped floating.
"We must have landed!" they decided. They HAD landed. Right on top of Mount Ararat.
Noah wanted to see if was time to come out of the ark, so he opened a window and let one of the ravens fly out. He watched as the raven flew around. Then he sent out a dove. He watched as the dove tried to find a place to rest. Since it couldn't find a good spot to build a nest, it flew back to the ark and Noah knew that there was still too much water on the ground.
After a week had gone by, Noah sent the dove out again. This time he watched as the dove flew and then returned with an olive branch. Noah knew that the waters had gone down and plants were beginning to grow.
He waited one more week, opened the window, and let the dove go out once more. This time the dove flew away and did not return. Noah removed the top of the ark and looked out at the dry land. What a wonderful sight!
God assured Noah that it was safe for his family and all the animals to leave the ark. HOW EXCITED everyone was to be able to walk on dry land!
The first thing Noah did was to build an altar and worship God. He was so thankful that the Lord had protected him and his family. He looked up into the sky and saw a beautiful rainbow and heard the voice of God speaking to him. God told Noah that the rainbow was a promise that He would NEVER AGAIN destroy the whole earth with a flood.
REMEMBER: ALWAYS obey God even if other people think it is silly.
THINK!
What were the names of Noah's three sons?
How many days did it rain?
What was the meaning of the rainbow?
A VERSE TO LEARN
"I do set my bow in the cloud" (Genesis 9:13a).
LET'S PRAY
****************************************************
Dear God, thank You for loving me and caring for me.
Help me to obey You even when my friends want
me to do wrong. Thank You for Your promise of
protection. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
****************************************************
CAN YOU FIND THIS STORY IN THE BIBLE?
Genesis 6:5 - 9:17
JUST FOR FUN
Noah's Ark - Online Activity
Don't Miss The Boat (Roach Approach)
Almighty Heroes Noah Toy
Easy-to-Make Noah's Ark in Full Color (Models & Toys)
52 Games That Teach the Bible (52 Ways)
Follow Noah (Poster Sticker Book)
Do You Noah Me:
Quizzles About the Flood
(Quizzles & Puzzles for the Whole Family)
Noah Action Figure (Bible Quest)
Noah and the Ark Magnet Set
Noah's Ark Backpack
Noah's Big Animal Adventure Game w/Book
Noah's Ark Penguin Bible Friend (Fabric character)
Noah & the Ark Playset
Noah's Ark Live Musical
Noah's Bible ABC Stacking Blocks
Noah Builds an Ark: Pack of 10 (Pencil Fun Books)
Noah's Favorite Animal Jokes (More joke books)
Noah Mouse Pad (More mouse pads)
Noah's Pals (toys)
Noah's Rainbow Race Board Game (More board games)
Rainbow Noah's Ark Animals Old & New Testament Bible Tabs (Tabbies)
Toy Ark
Teach and Toss Beach Balls (More balls)
The Wonderful Boat (Bible Events Dot-to-Dot Books)
Color the Bible Verse
Bible Heroes Noah (Christian Focus)
Noah's Ark Coloring Book
Online Coloring Page
Children's Coloring Books
Bible Puzzles: Word Search
Easy Noah's Ark Sticker Picture Puzzle (Dover Little Activity Books)
Fun with Noah's Ark Stencils (Dover Little Activity Books)
Noah And The Ark Puzzle Mat (More puzzle mats)
Noah's Ark Stickers (Alphabet Alley)
Noah's Ark Go Fish Game (Alphabet Alley)
Noah's Ark - Online Jigsaw Puzzle
Noah Giant Floor Puzzle (23 x 32)
Noah's Bible ABC Stacking Blocks (Alphabet Alley)
The Amazing, Stupendous Flood
Two By Two Matching Game (Alphabet Alley)
Children's Activity Books
Puzzles
Bible Crafts & More For Ages 6-8
Bible Crafts On A Shoestring Budget-Grades 1 & 2
Big Book of Bible Crafts
Rainbow and Noah's Ark Craft
Children's Crafts
Action Bible Songs (Cedarmont Kids)
Baby Noah (Baby Einstein)
Bible Songs
Bullfrogs & Butterflies (Contains Noah Song)
Christian Songs for Children
Noah Didn't It Rain w/CD
Noah & the Animals (The Donut Man)
Children's MusicIf you don't hear the music, make sure you have RealAudio Player installed.
Noah's Ark (online)
Noah's Ark (Little Mary Audio Bible Stories)
A First Collection of Bible Stories And Stickers:
Noah, Samson, Jesus And Other Stories
A Is Ark: Noah's Journey
A Man Named Noah (Arch Books)
All Aboard Noah's Ark! (Golden Books)
Amazing Journey of Noah & His Incredible Ark
Ark and the Park: The Story of Noah (Child Sockology)
Beginner's Bible: Noah and the Ark (I Can Read)
Come into the Ark with Noah (Action Rhymes)
Drip Drop: Genesis 6-8 (Noah's Ark) (Hear Me Read)
Elephant Keeps Safe: A Noah's Ark Story (Bible Animal Board Books)
Hurry Up, Noah (Happy Day Books Bible Stories)
Noah and His Big Boat
Noah and His Great Ark (Candle Bible for Toddlers)
KJV Children's Rainbow Reference Bible
Noah's Ark (Little Golden Book)
Noah's Ark (Lift and Look)
Noah's Big Boat
Noah's Big Boat (Lift the Flap books)
Noah, Build Your Boat:
Old Testament Stories & Pictures by Kids
Noah's Busy Ark (Lift & Flap)
Noah's Crew Came Two By Two (Beginners Bible)
Noah's Rocking Boat
Noah's 2x2 Adventure with CD
The Big Boat: God Protects Noah's Family (Stick-With-Me Bible Stories)
Children's Books
Baby Miracle/Noah's Ark (NestFamily)
Little Noah (Little Leaders Series) (NestFamily)
Read And See DVD Bible
Children's DVDs
TEACHER'S RESOURCES
A Resource For Answering Critics of Noah's Ark
Annie's Noah's Ark Page
Noahs Ark & The Flood V12 DVD (Biblical Collectors
Could Noah's Ark Really Hold All the Animals?
God's Servants Teach Me (Instant Bible Lessons)
Has Anyone Discovered Noah's Ark?
Hide It in Your Heart
How to Lead a Child to Christ
Noah's Park Children's Church Kits
Noah's Ark Chart 10-pack
Noah's Ark Laminated Wall Chart (Rose Publishing)
Noah's Ark Attendance Chart
Noah's Park Children's Church Kit
801 Questions Kids Ask About God (Focus on the Family)
Lord Teach Me To Pray For Kids (Kay Arthur)
Object Talks
Puppet Scripts
Sunday School Attendance Boosters: 165 Fresh Ideas
Talking to God (Instant Bible Lessons)
Teaching Children Memory Verses Ages 4-5
Teaching Children To Pray Ages 4-5
What Every Sunday School Teacher Should Know (by Elmer Towns)
More Sunday School Helps
BIBLE STORY ARCHIVE
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