Lesson 8: Noah and the Flood

Primary 6: Old Testament, (1996), 31–34

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Purpose

To strengthen each child’s desire to listen to and follow the counsel of the living prophet.

Preparation

1. 1. Prayerfully study:
   • • Genesis 6:1–22—The people become wicked. The Lord tells Noah to build an ark.
   •  Genesis 6: 1 And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,
      2 That the ^asons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they ^btook them ^cwives of all which they chose.
      3 And the Lord said, My ^aspirit shall not always ^bstrivewith man, for that he also is ^cflesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.
      4 There were ^agiants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.
      5 ¶And God saw that the ^awickedness of man was great in the earth, and that ^bevery imagination of the ^cthoughts of his ^dheart was only ^eevil continually.
      6 ^aAnd it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it ^bgrieved him at his heart.
      7 And the Lord said, I will ^adestroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; ^bfor it repenteth me that I have made them.
      8 But Noah found ^agrace in the eyes of the Lord.
      9 ¶These are the ^agenerations of Noah: ^bNoah was a just man and ^cperfect in his generations, and Noah ^dwalkedwith God.
      10 And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
      11 The earth also was ^acorrupt before God, and the earth was filled with ^bviolence.
      12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all ^aflesh had corrupted his ^bway upon the earth.
      13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with ^aviolence through them; and, behold, I will ^bdestroy them ^cwith the earth.
      14 ¶Make thee an ^aark of gopher wood; ^brooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.
      15 And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of:The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits.
      16 A ^awindow shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and thirdstories shalt thou make it.
      17 And, behold, I, even I, do bring a ^aflood of ^bwaters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the ^cbreath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die.
      18 But with thee will I establish ^amy ^bcovenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons’ wives with thee.
      19 And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sortshalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female.
      20 Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive.
      21 And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee; and it shall be for ^afood for thee, and for them.
      22 Thus ^adid ^bNoah; according to all that God^ccommanded him, so did he.
   • •  Moses 8:13–22—Noah preaches the gospel and is ordained to the priesthood.
   •  13 And ^aNoah and his sons hearkened unto the Lord, and gave heed, and they were called the ^bsons of God.
      14 And when these men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, the ^asonsof men saw that those daughters were fair, and they took them ^bwives, even as they chose.
      15 And the Lord said unto Noah: The daughters of thy sons have sold themselves; for behold mine anger is kindled against the sons of men, for they will not ^ahearkento my voice.
      16 And it came to pass that Noah ^aprophesied, and taught the things of God, even as it was in the beginning.
      17 And the Lord said unto Noah: My Spirit shall not always ^astrive with man, for he shall know that all ^bfleshshall die; yet his days shall be an ^chundred and twenty years; and if men do not repent, I will send in the ^dfloodsupon them.
      18 And in those days there were ^agiants on the earth, and they sought Noah to take away his ^blife; but the Lord was with Noah, and the ^cpower of the Lord was upon him.
      19 And the Lord ^aordained ^bNoah after his own ^corder, and commanded him that he should go forth and ^ddeclare his Gospel unto the children of men, even as it was given unto Enoch.
      20 And it came to pass that Noah called upon the children of men that they should ^arepent; but they hearkened not unto his words;
      21 And also, after that they had heard him, they came up before him, saying: Behold, we are the sons of God; have we not taken unto ourselves the daughters of men? And are we not ^aeating and drinking, and marrying and giving in marriage? And our wives bear unto us children, and the same are mighty men, which are like unto men of old, men of great renown. And they hearkened not unto the words of Noah.
      22 And God saw that the ^awickedness of men had become great in the earth; and every man was lifted up in the^bimagination of the thoughts of his heart, being only evil continually.
   • • Genesis 7:1–24—Noah’s family and animals enter the ark and the Flood comes.
   •  Genesis 7: 1 And the Lord said unto ^aNoah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.
      2 Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female.
      3 Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth.
      4 For yet seven days, and I will cause it to ^arain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth.
      5 And Noah ^adid according unto all that the Lordcommanded him.
      6 And Noah was ^asix hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth.
      7 ¶And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood.
      8 Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth,
      9 There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah.
      10 And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the ^aflood were upon the earth.
      11 ¶In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the ^afountains of the great deep ^bbroken up, and the ^cwindows of heaven were opened.
      12 And the ^arain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.
      13 In the selfsame day entered Noah, and Shem, and Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah’s wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, into the ark;
      14 They, and every beast after his kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind, and every fowl after his kind, every bird of every sort.
      15 And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life.
      16 And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the Lord shut him in.
      17 And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and ^ait was lift up above the earth.
      18 And the waters prevailed, and were increased greatly upon the earth; and the ark went upon the face of the waters.
      19 And the ^awaters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and ^ball the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered.
      20 Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered.
      21 And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and ^aevery man:
      22 All in whose nostrils was the ^abreath of life, of all thatwas in the dry land, died.
      23 And every living substance was ^adestroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and ^bNoah only remained ^calive,and they that were with him in the ark.
      24 And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days.
   • • Genesis 8:1–22—The Flood ends and Noah offers sacrifice to the Lord.
2.  Genesis 8: 1 And God remembered ^aNoah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters ^bassuaged;
    2 The ^afountains also of the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained;
    3 And the waters ^areturned from off the earth continually: and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the ^bwaters^cwere abated.
    4 And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat.
    5 And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month: in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen.
    6 ¶And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made:
    7 And he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth.
    8 Also he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground;
    9 But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him into the ark, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth: then he put forth his hand, and took her, and pulled her in unto him into the ark.
    10 And he ^astayed yet other seven days; and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark;
    11 And the dove came in to him in the evening; and, lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf plucked off: so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth.
    12 And he stayed yet other seven days; and sent forth the dove; which returned not again unto him any more.
    13 ¶And it came to pass in the ^asix hundredth and firstyear, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from off the earth: and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and, behold, the face of the ground was dry.
    14 And in the second month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, was the earth dried.
    15 ¶And God spake unto Noah, saying,
    16 Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy ^awife, and thy sons, and thy sons’ wives with thee.
    17 Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee, of all flesh, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be ^afruitful, and^bmultiply upon the earth.
    18 And Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him:
    19 Every beast, every creeping thing, and every fowl, andwhatsoever creepeth upon the earth, after their ^akinds, went forth out of the ark.
    20 ¶^aAnd Noah builded an altar unto the Lord; and took of every ^bclean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt ^cofferings on the altar.
    21 And the Lord smelled a sweet ^asavour; and the Lordsaid in his heart, I will not again ^bcurse the ground any more ^cfor man’s sake; for the ^dimagination of man’s heartis ^eevil from his youth; neither will I again ^fsmite any more every thing living, as I have done.
    22 While the earth remaineth, ^aseedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and ^bnightshall not cease.
3. 2.  Study the lesson and decide how you want to teach the children the scripture account (see “Preparing Your Lessons,”p. vi, and “Teaching from the Scriptures,” p. vii). Select the discussion questions and enrichment activities that will best help the children achieve the purpose of the lesson.
4. 3.  Prepare three signs such as the following:
   
   Write Listen on the back of the first sign, Believe on the back of the second sign, and Obey on the back of the third sign (see the attention activity).
5. 4.  Materials needed:
   1. a.  A Bible and a triple combination for each child.
   2. b.  A picture of the living prophet.
   3. c.  Pictures 6-7, Building the Ark (Gospel Art Picture Kit 102; 62053), and 6-8, Noah and the Ark with Animals (Gospel Art Picture Kit 103; 62305).

   

   
   

   

   
   

Suggested Lesson Development

Invite a child to give the opening prayer.

Attention Activity

Display the three signs you have prepared. Have class members tell what each sign means.

• • What could happen if people did not obey each of these signs?
• • How do these signs help us? (They warn us of possible danger and tell us what to do to be safe.)

Explain that Heavenly Father wants us to be safe from the evils and temptations of the world. He has given us someone to warn and teach us. Display the picture of the living prophet and discuss how he warns and teaches us. Turn over the three signs to display the words Listen, Believe, and Obey, and explain that if we will listen, believe, and obey the prophet, Heavenly Father will bless us.

Scripture Account

Using the pictures at appropriate times, teach the children the account of the prophet Noah and the Flood from the scriptures listed in the “Preparation” section. (For suggested ways to teach the scripture account, see “Teaching from the Scriptures,” p. vii.) Emphasize that Noah was obedient to the Lord in spite of the ridicule of his friends and neighbors. Help the children understand that because Noah’s family listened and obeyed his teachings, they were saved from the Flood, but the wicked people who would not listen and obey were drowned.

Discussion and Application Questions

Study the following questions and the scripture references as you prepare your lesson. Use the questions you feel will best help the children understand the scriptures and apply the principles in their lives. Reading and discussing the scriptures with the children in class will help them gain personal insights.

• • What kind of a man was Noah? (Genesis 6:9, 22.) What characteristics must he have had to respond to the assignment to build an ark? What qualities can you develop that will help you do what Heavenly Father wants you to do?
• • How did Noah try to help the people before the Flood? (Moses 8:20.)
• • How did the people react to Noah’s teachings? (Moses 8:21–22.) Why do you think the people wanted to kill Noah? (Moses 8:18.)
• • What were the consequences for those who obeyed Noah? (Genesis 7:1, 7.)
• • What were the consequences for those who didn’t obey Noah? (Genesis 7:23.) What are the consequences if we don’t obey the living prophet?
• • What did Noah do after he was able to leave the ark? (Genesis 8:20.) Why should we express gratitude to Heavenly Father even when we have been through a difficult experience?
• • What messages have our modern-day prophets given us? (Write the children’s responses on the chalkboard.) How can each of these messages help us? (See enrichment activities 1, 3, and 5.)

Enrichment Activities

You may use one or more of the following activities any time during the lesson or as a review, summary, or challenge.

1. 1.  Show a picture of the living prophet and tell a little about his life. Discuss a message that he has given in general conference.
2. 
   

1. 2.  Conduct an interview with Noah, his wife, and his family. (You could use scarves and robes for the children to dress up in as these characters or make signs for them to hang around their necks.) Ask questions similar to the following ones:
   • •  What did God tell you to do?
   • •  How did you feel when the wicked people laughed at you and did not listen to you?
   • •  How did you feel during and after the Flood?
2. 3.  Discuss the phrase, “If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report, or praiseworthy, we seek after these things” (Articles of Faith 1:13), and apply it to the books we read and the movies and television programs we watch. Explain that inappropriate movies, television programs, and books are offensive to our Heavenly Father. Read the following quotation from President Ezra Taft Benson, thirteenth President of the Church: “Your thoughts will determine your actions, and so they must be controlled. It’s difficult to control those thoughts if you submit yourself to temptation. So you will have to carefully select your reading material, the movies you see, and the other forms of entertainment in order to have good thoughts rather than unwholesome desires” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1985, pp. 47–48; or Ensign, May 1985, p. 36). Discuss how we can avoid exposure to negative influences and fill our minds with virtuous and lovely thoughts.
3. 4.  Write on slips of paper temptations or difficulties the children in your class may have to face, such as cheating in school, being unkind to others, or taking something from a store without paying for it. Put the slips of paper in a container. Have the children each choose a slip of paper and tell what the prophets have taught us about handling the situations.
4. 5.  Choose a teaching from the prophets, such as keeping a journal (Spencer W. Kimball, Ensign, Dec. 1980, pp. 60–61) or preaching the gospel (Ezra Taft Benson, in Conference Report, Apr. 1986, pp. 57, 59; or Ensign, May 1986, pp. 44–45). Prepare a simple class activity centered on the teaching, such as writing in a journal or planning a class activity to friendship a less-active class member.
5. 6.  Discuss the significance of the rainbow (see Genesis 9:12–15and “Rainbow” in the LDS Bible Dictionary [p. 759]).
6. 7.  Put the following review on the chalkboard or make copies for each child. Have them match the letters to the appropriate statements.
   1. 1.___ How many of each clean beast were taken on the ark? (Genesis 7:2.) (Note: A clean beast was one that the people were allowed to eat.)
   2. 2.___ How many days and nights did it rain? (Genesis 7:12.)
   3. 3.___ How old was Noah when the flood came? (Genesis 7:6.)
   4. 4.___ How many of each unclean beast were taken on the ark? (Genesis 7:2.) (Note: An unclean beast was one that the people were forbidden to eat.)
   5. 5.___ How many days did the waters prevail on the earth? (Genesis 7:24.)
   6. 6.___ How many days was Noah on the ark before it started to rain? (Genesis 7:10.)
      a. 600; b. 150; c. 7; d. 2; e. 40; f. 7.
7. 8. Sing or read the words to “We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet” (Hymns, no. 19) or “Follow the Prophet” (Children’s Songbook, p. 110).

Conclusion

Testimony and Challenge

Express your gratitude for the teachings of the prophets found in the scriptures and for modern-day prophets who warn, teach, and guide us. Challenge the children to listen to the next general conference, give special attention to the teachings of the prophet, and discuss these teachings with their families.

Suggested Family Sharing

Encourage the children to share with their families a specific part of the lesson, such as a story, question, or activity, or to read with their families the “Suggested Home Reading.”

Suggested Home Reading

Suggest that the children read Genesis 6:11–22; 7:1–6; and Genesis 8:15–20 at home as a review of this lesson.

Invite a child to give the closing prayer.