Noah Builds the Ark
God told Noah to build a huge boat called an ark. Noah obeyed. Noah's family and pairs of animals went inside, and God kept them safe through a great flood. Afterwards God put a rainbow in the sky as a sign of his promise.
You will learn to...
- Retell how Noah obeyed God by building the ark.
- Explain the rainbow as the sign of God's promise.
- Recognise that God keeps his promises.
Words to know
- Ark
- A very large boat God told Noah to build.
- Covenant
- A serious promise. God made a covenant with Noah and every living creature.
- Obey
- To do what you are asked to do.
Read the full lesson (for older kids and grown-ups)
In Noah's time, the world had become full of violence and wrongdoing, and Genesis says this grieved God's heart. But Noah was a man who walked with God.
God told Noah to build an ark — a giant wooden boat — and to bring his family and pairs of every kind of animal on board. Noah did everything God commanded. Then rain fell for forty days and forty nights, and water covered the earth. Inside the ark, Noah, his family and the animals were safe.
After many months the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. Noah sent out a dove, which came back with an olive leaf. When the earth was dry, everyone came out. Noah thanked God, and God made a promise: never again would a flood destroy all life on earth. The rainbow is the sign of that promise.
The flood story shows that God takes wrongdoing seriously, and also that he rescues and keeps his promises. Noah trusted God even when building a boat on dry land seemed strange. The rainbow reminds us that God is faithful — he always keeps his word.
I set my rainbow in the cloud, and it will be a sign of a covenant between me and the earth.
Family conversation starters
- What promises has God made that you can remember?
- Noah kept building even when others didn't understand. When have you done the right thing when it wasn't popular?
Note for grown-ups
The flood involves God's judgment. We describe it simply and without frightening detail, focusing on God's rescue and promise. If your child asks about the people outside the ark, it is fine to say that God is fair, that God was sad about the wrongdoing, and that he made a promise never to send such a flood again.
Main people: Noah, God · Topics: Obedience, Faithfulness, God's promises, Animals · Review status: awaiting theological review