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Old Testament Lesson 8: Noah and the Ark
To Prepare: Read Genesis 6-9; print a copy of the activity below for each child participating.
To Teach: Begin by reminding everyone that the world grew even more wicked after the city of Zion was taken up, and except for a few people, those that were righteous were also taken up to Heaven. God called a prophet, Noah, to warn the people and give them one last chance to repent. Show this picture of Noah preaching to the people. Ask everyone to look at the faces of the people listening to him. Do they believe him? What are they doing?
Read aloud Genesis 6:13-19. Explain that to “pitch it” means to cover the ark with something to make it waterproof. You will also need to explain what a cubit is. A cubit is the measurement from an adult’s elbow to the tip of their fingers. We can estimate that the ark was about 450 feet long (longer than a football field), 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high (more than 4 stories tall). Read or summarize the rest of chapter 6 and tell how there was going to be a flood and Noah would need to prepare food for his family and for the animals which would be on the ark.
Read or summarize Genesis 7:1-5. Point out that Noah brought 7 of some animals and talk about what ‘clean beasts'(animals that they were allowed to eat) were. Talk about why it would be smart to bring extras of animals you would eat. Read Genesis 7:17-24 and talk about how the rain fell for 40 days and 40 nights and covered the whole earth. Explain that even after the rain stopped, the earth was covered in water for a long time. In fact, it took 10 months before they could see the tops of the mountains.
Read Genesis 8:6-12 and tell the story of the birds sent out from the ark to check if the land was dry. Tell how Noah came out from the ark, built an altar, and made a sacrifice in thanks. Read Genesis 9:12-16. What is the covenant God made with Noah? (That he would not destroy the earth with a flood ever again.) What is the token? (Rainbows!)
If desired, watch the scripture story video about Noah and the Ark.
Finish up with the activity sheet. You did it!
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