The Great Flood

I

Long, long ago, before there were any books or printing presses, one of the stories that the boys and girls in Israel loved best was the story of the great flood. It was one of the wonder tales of their nation; and when they came running to their grandfathers in the evening and asked for a story, they were often told about Noah and the ark. It had happened so long before any of them were born that some told it one way and sonic told it another. It was told by many men in other countries, and none of them knew very much about it. But nobody cared; for it was a good story, and taught great truths, and was almost as dear to them as the stories which Jesus told are to us.

Many hundreds of years ago, so the grandfathers said, a boy was born, whose name was Noah. Noah means "rest"; and his father called him this because he thought the boy would comfort him in his work. Noah grew to be a good man, who kept God's laws and loved his fellows; and his home was made happy by the coming of three little boys. People said Noah was so good that he was perfect; and as he worked and taught, he felt that God was ever by his side.

Noah's neighbors, however, were men and women of a very different sort. They lied and stole and killed each other, until God saw that the best thing to do was to put an end to their evil deeds, and let Noah and his wife and his sons and their wives raise up a better race of men. No doubt Noah did all that he could to make them niend their ways; but they would not listen to him. They seemed to think that the way to be happy was to be bad, while all the time their badness was making them and their children not only unhappy but oftentimes weak and sick. They grew ugly in their minds, and that often makes what might be a lovely face look ugly; and their homes were ugly and unhappy, too.

When God saw that they would not be good, He said to Noah: "All these people must die, for the earth is full of their evil doings. As for you, snake for yourself an ark of wood. It sliall be built with three stories, and you shall put a roof on it, and make a door in the side. For I am going to bring a great flood upon the earth, and destroy all these people. But because you have obeyed my laws and loved your fellows, I will save you and your sons and your families, and whatever else you bring with you into the ark. So when the ark is finished, take into it your wife and your sons and their wives. You shall also take two animals of every kind, birds and beasts and creeping things, together with plenty of food for yourselves and for them. Do this and you shall be saved."

It must have seemed a very strange thing to the neighbors, when they saw those men begin the great work and heard their warnings. They laughed at Noah and his sons! What foolish men to spend their time in building a great boat right on dry land! Surely, they never could get it into the water, and it was much too big for a, house. When it rained, some of them would call out, "Here comes the flood!" And when it did not come, they wagged their heads, and said, "It never will come at all." But Noah and his sons bore all the rude jokes and unkind words, and kept on working.

II

At last, after years of hard work, the great ark was ready. It was strongly built, and the cracks were filled with pitch so that it would not leak.

Then God said to Noah: "It is time now to go into the ark, for after seven days I will send a great storm. "flee rain shall fall for forty days and forty nights; and all the people and animals and birds that are not in the ark shall be drowned." Noah was sorry when he beard this. But the people would not obey God or listen to Him. So he and his wife and his sons and their wives took their clothes and the things which they most needed, and went to live in the great boat which was to be their hoine.

When they were all settled, they went out and brought in all sorts of living creatures, two of each kind; and Noah and his sons shut the door, and the rain began to fall.

How it did rain! It came down not in drops but in rivers. In the morning the grass, was covered with water. Some of the wicked people began to be frightened. Could it be that God was really going to punish them? Others laughed and kept on doing evil, saying, "It cannot rain very much longer," while some of them began to build little boats.

Soon, however, the water rose until the fields were one big pond. Then the houses were covered. One day only the tree tops were above the water. Before long even the hills were hidden, and that part of the earth was one vast sea. But Noah and all in the ark were safe and sound; and when they ate, they thanked God for His care.

At last it stopped raining. The people in the ark, waited, and wondered when they should see the earth again. One day they felt the ark bump against something, and soon they knew that it was not floating on the water, but resting on the top of a mountain called Ararat.

By and by, as the water sank lower and lower, Noah sent out a dove to see whether she could find trees and food. But the dove flew around and around and then came back again; so Noah knew that the flood was still high. After a few days he let the dove out once more; and this time he knew that the trees were above the water, because she came back with a leaf in her mouth. So he waited once more, and then sent out the dove the third time. When she did not come back, he knew that the earth was ready for them. So he opened the door, and when the land was dry they went forth and made themselves homes again.

The first thing that they did was to build an altar and thank God because He had taken care of them The great flood was over, and the little family that kept God's laws was safe.

When the boys and girls in the land of Israel heard the rain, they used to tell the story of Noah, and what happened to his wicked neighbors. But they were not afraid of another food. For their grandfathers told them that God promised Noah never to drown the world again, and set the rainbow in the sky as a sign that His promise was remembered and would be kept.