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Many people were in the world,
and most of them were very wicked; but a holy man was among them, named
Enoch. The Bible says, "Enoch walked with God;" what does
this mean? It means that Enoch's sins were pardoned, and that he was
at peace with God, and that he loved and served Him. God blessed
Enoch, and was pleased to take him to heaven without dying. "He
was not, for God took him."
"God saw that the wickedness
of man was great upon the earth." And He said, He would destroy
the wicked people, and send a flood of water to wash them all away.
But there was then another holy man, named Noah, and God promised to save
him. God commanded Noah to make a great ark of wood. Noah did
as God told him, and when the ark was finished, he went in, with his wife,
and his three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and the wives of his sons, and
many beasts and birds, and creeping things; and "the Lord shut him
in." The wicked people would not go into the ark, nor believe
Noah when he told them that the water was soon coming to drown them
all. God waited in mercy many years; for He did not wish them to
perish. But they would not repent, nor believe, nor turn to God;
and, at last, He sent rain from heaven, and water out of the sea, and
washed away the wicked people. "The rain was upon the earth
forty days and forty nights," and every thing in the earth
died. Was Noah safe? Yes: the ark floated upon the
waters; it did not sink, because God kept it up. God will keep
safely all who, like Noah, love and serve him. He can keep them in
every place. When they are asleep in the dark night, God sees them;
when they walk about, He is with them; when they are in storms upon the
great sea, He can keep them. He sends His holy angels to take care
of them; His eye is always upon them. Those are happy people who
have God near, to love and keep them wherever they are. And the ark
may remind us of the Lord Jesus Christ. If we are in Him, by faith,
then we shall be safe for ever from God's anger, as Noah was safe in the
ark from the waters of the flood. When
the rain was over, the ark rested upon a mountain, called Ararat, and Noah
looked out. All the ground was covered with water. There were
not trees, nor flowers; they were withered and dead. There were no
people, nor beasts, nor birds; the water had drowned them all. Then
Noah opened a window in the ark, and sent out a raven. The raven
flew about, and did not return to Noah. Then Noah sent out a
dove. But the dove was not like the raven; it would not feed upon
the dead bodies, and there was no resting place for it; so it flew back
again, and Noah put out his hand and pulled it into the ark. Seven
days after, Noah sent out the dove again; and in the evening it returned,
and brought in its beak an olive leaf. Noah was very glad to see
this leaf; because he knew by it that now the trees were beginning to bud
and grow, and that soon all would be dry and pleasant again. So Noah
thanked God, and waited patiently for seven more days; and then he sent
out the dove again. All was dry now. The trees and flowers
grew, and the sun shone brightly and pleasantly. The dove did not
return any more to the ark. God gave it instinct to build its nest
among the trees, and to find food for itself without Noah to take care of
it. Noah took the covering
off the ark, and looked, and he saw that all was dry. Then God told
him to come out, with his family, and all the living things that were with
him. They were glad to see the dry ground again, and the sun, and
trees, and flowers, so beautiful and fresh. They were all well; for
God had kept them safely in the ark from the wind and the waters.
Then Noah and his family thanked God, and built an altar, and offered
joyful sacrifices in faith, and prayed, and praised the Lord. And
God set a beautiful rainbow in the sky, and he told Noah, that when it
should rain again upon the earth, and the clouds should be black and
heavy, then the rainbow should be seen in the cloud, that people might
know, that God would not again drown the world. The sun shining upon
the little drops of water in the rain-cloud, makes the bow, and its
beautiful colors: God sends the rain, and the cloud, and the
sunshine to make the bow, that we may remember his promise to Noah, never
to drown the world again. But God sends rain from heaven, to make
the grass and corn grow; to water the ground, and make the trees and
flowers bud and blossom. God is very good and kind. "He
maketh grass to grow upon the mountains; He giveth to the beast his food,
and to the young ravens which cry." Psalms 147:8, 9. When
Noah and his family came out of the ark, they went into different places,
and built cities and houses; and they had many children, and the earth was
soon full of people again. These people all spoke the same
language. Many of them were very wicked. They sought to make
themselves great, not to please God; and, in their pride, they said,
"Let us build us a city, and a tower whose top may reach unto heaven;
and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad." But
God was angry with them, because they were proud, and forgot Him.
And he confounded their speech, and made them speak different languages;
so that they could not understand one another, nor finish the city and
tower. The place was named Babel, or confusion, and the wicked
people were scattered abroad upon the face of the earth. See how God
hates and punishes pride!
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