Water Sweeps Away a World
An article specially designed for parents to read with their children
DO YOU like to play games? I do. They can be a lot of fun, can’t they? When we play games, we sometimes have such a good time that we may not even want to stop to do other things.
But did you know that there is danger in becoming too busy having fun? Yes, there is. We could become so busy having fun that we might fail to pay attention to God. Did you know that?
The Great Teacher knew that this could happen. He knew what happened to a whole world of people once before, because he saw it from heaven. Jesus said: ‘Those people were eating. They were drinking. Men were getting married, and women were being given in marriage.’ It is not wrong to eat and to drink or to get married. But they were so busy doing those things that they did not take time to listen to God. That was bad.
What happened to those people? Jesus said: “They took no note until the flood came and swept them all away.” Jesus was talking about the people who died in the days of Noah when the waters of a flood covered the whole earth.—Matt. 24:37-39.
Jesus said that what happened to those people is a lesson for us today. So it is important that we know all about the flood of Noah’s day.
First of all, why did Jehovah God bring the Flood? It was because the people were doing very bad things. Perhaps those people did not all think they were so bad, because they just did what other people were doing. But God knew that it was very bad.
Yet there was one man who found favor with God. Who was that? He was Noah. Noah loved Jehovah God. He was never too busy to listen to God. Isn’t that the way we should be too?
One day Jehovah told Noah that He was going to destroy all people who kept on doing bad things. God was going to make it rain so much that the water would cover the whole earth, even the mountains.
Would Noah die too when all that water fell? No; Jehovah was going to save him. Jehovah told Noah to build a big ark. An ark is like a boat, but it looks more like a big, long box or chest. It floats on the water. Noah and his family would be safe in this ark.
But what would happen to the animals? Some of every kind would be saved. The ark would be big enough for them too. God told Noah to build the ark over 430 feet long, over 70 feet wide and over 40 feet high! Is that bigger than our house? It would be bigger than many large houses all put together.
Now, Noah had never built an ark before. But Noah listened to God, and God told him how to do it. Noah and his family worked very hard. They cut down large trees. With the wood from these trees they began putting the ark together. This took many, many years, because the ark was so large.
After the ark was put together, God told Noah to cover it inside and out with tar. This was done to keep the water from leaking into the ark.
Did Jehovah give other people a chance to get into the ark and be saved? Yes, he did. Jehovah told Noah to preach. So during all the years that the ark was being built, Noah warned the people about the coming flood.
Did any of them listen? Only Noah’s family did. All the rest were just too busy doing other things. They did not think they were so bad, and they did not take time to listen.
Finally, all the animals that Jehovah wanted to save were brought into the ark. Now it was time for the people to get into the ark too. Noah and his family went inside. Then Jehovah shut the door. Once that door was shut no one could open it. It was too late for anyone else to get in.
What were the people outside the ark doing? Women were still busy cooking, washing and cleaning house. Men were still working in the fields and building homes. Families were still getting ready for weddings. They did not believe that the flood would come.
Then all of a sudden water began to fall! People stopped what they were doing. They had never seen it rain before. Noah had been right! What he had been saying all those years was coming true!
Soon the rain was falling very hard. It was a downpour! Big puddles formed quickly. The streets filled with water, and the water began coming into the houses.
People tried to reach safety on top of the hills. But it rained and rained, and the water rose up the sides of the hills. It kept on raining for forty days and forty nights. Soon the whole earth was covered with water. Every person outside the ark died. As Jesus said, ‘They did not listen, and so the flood came and swept them all away.’
But there floating on the water was the ark. Noah, his family and the animals were safe inside. Jehovah saved the people who listened to him.—Gen. 6:5–7:24.
Now, why should we know about what happened in Noah’s day? Do you remember what Jesus said? He said that what happened then is a lesson for us. Jehovah will again destroy all bad people, but this time he will not use a flood. The time for him to do this is getting very near.
When God does this, who will be the people that God will keep alive? Will it be persons who were so busy with other things that they never wanted to learn about God? Will it be persons who were always too busy to study the Bible? Will it be those who never wanted to go to meetings where people learned God’s will? What do you think?
We want to be among those people whom God will keep alive, don’t we? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if our family could be like Noah’s so that God would save all of us? Let’s always help one another to be faithful to God so that all of us will find favor with God.