Day 3: The Flood

"Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind."  Genesis 9:13-14

Main Character:  Noah
Scripture:  Genesis 6: 9-22; Genesis 7:17 - 8:22; Genesis 9:8-17
Symbol:  Rainbow

The story of Noah and the flood is one that most of us have heard in the past.  You know how it goes - the world is corrupt, Noah builds an ark, the animals march in, the flood comes, then the water recedes for Noah and his family to repopulate the earth. 

To many, this may seem like a pretty far fetched story.  Earlier this year, there was even a great deal of talk about whether the ark had been found on the top of a Turkish mountain.  A popular search engine pulls 4.79 million results for the phrase "location of Noah's Ark."  There are handfuls of scientists, believers and skeptics alike, that have dedicated their lives work to proving or disproving this passage of scripture.

Today, I challenge you to focus on some of subtleties of this passage rather than they mystery of what happened to the giant ark.  Most people in Noah's day probably thought he was psychotic.  It took amazing faith and trust to dedicate his life to following what he knew was God's plan.  In exchange for his faithfulness, the God of the universe came to Noah's level and formed an unbreakable promise.  This pact with Noah is an essential part of our Christmas story.

Noah had three children of his own - Shem, Ham, and Japeth.  They assisted their father in building the boat and joined him along with their wives on the forty day journey we studied today.  Shem is particularly important to our story.  Luke 3 lists the genealogy of Jesus, and who is included - Noah and Shem.  God fulfilled his promise to Noah by ensuring his family played a role in bringing salvation to all of mankind.

Ponder Points:

• This is a great way to reinforce the concept of obedience that we began to study yesterday.  What was the result of Adam and Eve's disobedience compared to Noah's obedience?
• Remind your older children that even though Adam and Eve initially disobeyed, God used them anyway.  It is possible to be redeemed from your mistakes!
• Have you ever been teased for being different?  Share with your children how you have used one of your unique traits to help others.
• Remember the rainbow!  It was a visible sign of God's covenant of Noah.  Talk about a time you have witnessed a beautiful rainbow.  Let your children know that this an everyday way that God reminds us that He cares for us.
• Noah's actions set up his sons for greatness.  How can you as a parent or mentor set up a young person in your life for success?