RAIN! RAIN! RAIN!
A story about Noah and the Ark
by Linda Sue Pochodzay Edwards
Text Version | Afrikaans | Italian
“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!
1. What were the names of Noah's three sons?
2. How many days did it rain?
3. What was the meaning of the rainbow?
A VERSE TO LEARN
“I do set my bow in the cloud” (Genesis 9:13a).
ALTERNATE VERSE TO LEARN
“Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake” (Matthew 5:11).
PRACTICAL APPLICATION
Do you think Noah felt hurt when bad people made fun of him for believing and obeying God? Did their laughing stop Noah from building the ark?
Who did God protect, Noah or the ones who were laughing? Has anyone ever poked fun at you for believing in God? How do you think God will feel when you honor and obey Him no matter what others think?
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
Rain! Rain! Rain! jigsaw puzzle (online)
Ark jigsaw puzzle (online)
Fisher-Price Little People Noah's Ark Playset
Noah's Ark Dominoes
Noah's Ark Play Set
Noah's Ark Tales of Glory Play Set
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Noah and the Ark Coloring Pages (online)
Noah's Ark Coloring Book--Ages 2 to 5
Online Coloring Page (online)
Action Bible Coloring Book
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Beginner's Bible Super-Duper Mighty Jumbo Coloring Book
Bible Stories Kids Love Coloring Book (ages 2 to 4)
Big Book of Bible Story Coloring Pages for Elementary Kids
God Loves You Coloring Book:
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Jesus Loves Me, This I Know, Coloring Book
My Bible Coloring Book
My Gospel Story by Colors--Activity Book
My Jumbo Bible Story Coloring Book
The Super-Sized Book of Bible Coloring & Art
The Super-Sized Book of Bible Verse Coloring Pages
Children's Bible Coloring Books
Noah's Ark - Online Jigsaw Puzzle (online)
Noah's Ark activities (online)
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The Amazing, Stupendous Flood (online)
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Word Search (online)
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Bingo (online)
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Encyclopedia Of Bible Games For Children's Ministry
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Jumbo Bible Activity Book 4
Memory Verse Games for Kids
Sticker Books
The Humongous Book of Games for Children's Ministry
The Super Sized Book of Bible Puzzles
Noah's Ark Crafts (online)
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Paper Craft (online)
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Arky Arky (online)
Noah's Ark Blues with Buddy Davis (online)
Noah's Ark songs (online)
Song of Noah (online)
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100 Bible Stories 100 Bible Songs
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100 Singalong Bible Songs For Kids
Platinum Bible Collection of Classic Christian Songs on DVD
The Bible in a Minute (online)
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Children's Music
The Beginner's Bible Noah and the Great Big Ark
Inside Noah's Ark
Noah and God's Promise (I Can Read)
Noah and His Big Boat-Magnetic Adventures
Noah and the Great Flood (online)
Noah's Ark (online)
Noah's Ark, Little Golden Books
Peter Spier's Noah's Ark Caldecott Medal Winner
Noah Comic Book
Bible Wise, Noah: The Rescue Plan
The Great Flood (online)
The Great Flood - Part 2: Anybody Got any Dramamine? (online)
The Great Flood - Part 3: The Rainbow and a Promise (online)
Beginner's Bible
Beginner's Bible for Little Ones
Bible in Pictures For Toddlers
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100 Bible Stories 100 Bible Songs w/2 CD
Pilgrim's Progress Comic
Spanish Children's Books
365 Activities For Kids:
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365 Read-Aloud Bedtime Bible Stories
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The Picture Bible (also in Spanish)
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Minnesota Cuke and the Search for Noah's Umbrella, Repackaged DVD
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Noah The Musical by Sight and Sound
The Hope Project: Prelude to the Promise (watch online)
The True Story of Noah's Ark w/ Audio CD
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All the Shows, Volume 1: 1993-1999
Do You Wonder Why? (online)
God's Story from Creation to Eternity (online)
Read and Share DVD Bible
The Jesus Storybook Bible Curriculum Kit
Bible story DVDs
Children's DVDs
TEACHER'S RESOURCES
A Resource For Answering Critics of Noah's Ark (online)
Annie's Noah's Ark Page (online)
Could Noah's Ark Really Hold All the Animals? (online)
Free Bible images for this story (online)
God's Servants Teach Me (Instant Bible Lessons)
Has Anyone Discovered Noah's Ark? (online)
Noah Builds the Ark (online)
Noah's Park Children's Church
Free Bible story images (online)
801 Questions Kids Ask About God
Absentee Postcards
African American Resources
Almost Every Answer for Practically Any Teacher
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Big Book of Bible Games
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52 Games That Teach The Bible
Free educational videos (online)
God's Servants Teach Me
God's Wisdom for Little Boys:
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How to Make Bible Characters from Milk Cartons (online)
King James Version Gift & Award Bibles
Leading Little Ones to God:
A Child's Book of Bible Teachings
Lord Teach Me To Pray For Kids
Making Children Mind Without Losing Yours
Memory Verse Activities (online)
Memory Verse Resources
My Jumbo Bible Story Coloring Book
Object Talks
Opening Prayer (online)
Parenting Resources
Pray & Play Bible for Young Children
Puppet Scripts
Review Activities for Bible Lessons (online)
Seven Laws of the Learner
Spanish Resources
Sunday school resources
Sunday School Songs: Lyrics and Tunes (online)
Talking to God
Teachers' Reproducible Classroom Pages
Teaching Children Memory Verses Ages 4-5
Teaching Children To Pray Ages 4-5
Teaching to Change Lives
The Beginner's Bible Curriculum Kit
The Jesus Storybook Bible Curriculum Kit
The Humongous Book of Bible Skits
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Vacation Bible School
What Every Sunday School Teacher Should Know
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