The Genesis Flood for Kids
The Flood and the Bible
Published in Creation 45(1):32–35, 2023
God’s Word, the Bible, spends three whole chapters on a massive, destructive Flood. Jesus and the Apostles taught about this same Flood. Therefore, it must be important! So, this and the next few Creation for Kids articles will explain why.
Why did the Flood happen?
God first created one man and woman, Adam and Eve. They lived in a paradise called Eden. God gave them just one command: don’t eat fruit from just one tree—they could have any other fruit they liked. But Adam and Eve disobeyed, so God expelled them from Eden.
Eventually, they had many children (Genesis 5:4). Those children had children, and so on. Unfortunately, many of those became wicked. About 1,500 years later, the wickedness was so great that God was sorry He had made mankind. So He planned to send a Flood to cover the whole earth to wipe out the evil people.
God’s mercy
But there was one man who still loved God: Noah. Noah was the great-great- (seven times) grandson of Adam. God planned to start over again with Noah and his family. He gave them instructions to build a huge boat called the Ark. Noah and his family were to go aboard this boat. Noah was also to bring a male and female of every kind of land animal with backbones (called vertebrates), plus food for all. Of a few kinds, he was to take seven pairs.
When God sent the Flood, Noah, his family, and all the animals on the Ark were safe. But all those outside died (Genesis 7:23). In the next issue, we will learn much more about the Ark.
The Flood covered the whole Earth!
When you read about the Flood in Genesis 7, it clearly teaches that the whole world was covered. See for yourself, noting all the words in bold (verses 18–24, NIV):
The waters rose and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the water. They rose greatly on the earth, and all the high mountains under the entire heavens were covered. The waters rose and covered the mountains to a depth of more than fifteen cubits.
Every living thing that moved on land perished—birds, livestock, wild animals, all the creatures that swarm over the earth, and all mankind. Everything on dry land that had the breath of life in its nostrils died. Every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out; people and animals and the creatures that move along the ground and the birds were wiped from the earth. OnlyNoah was left, and those with him in the ark.
The waters flooded the earth for a hundred and fifty days.
The words in bold are universal language. Sometimes, this is not literal. I’ve heard people say, “Everyone likes ice cream.” But I also know a few people who don’t. But in the above passage, there is just so much universal language. The author goes out of His way to say that the Flood was worldwide, not local.
That is also why a huge Ark was needed. If it were local, Noah and the animals could have simply moved somewhere else. And what local flood is still high after 150 days? In fact, Noah had to be on board the Ark for about a year!
What does the Flood teach us?
First, that God takes sin very seriously. Jesus even warned about God’s judgment in the future by comparing it with His very real judgment in the Flood:
Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the Flood came and destroyed them all. (Luke 17:26–27).
Second, God is merciful. He gave wicked humankind 120 years to turn from their evil ways (Genesis 6:3). And He provided a way of escape—the Ark. Noah warned people for many years to turn from their sinful ways (2 Peter 2:5). But only his family went with him on the Ark.
Third, the Ark reminds us of Jesus, who said “I am the door” (to eternal life—John 10:9). Jesus defeated death by rising from the dead. He saves all who trust in Him, just as all those who entered the door of the Ark were saved from God’s judgment on sin.
The Flood beats long ages
The pioneers of geology (study of the earth) believed the Bible. But around the year 1800, some rejected the Bible, including the Genesis Flood. They declared that all the rocks were formed by slow processes like we see happening today, such as snow, rain, streams, and rivers. Today, rocks usually change very slowly. If the change were always this slow, it must have taken millions of years to form what we see.
However, a global flood would have been swift and powerful. Even floods in small rivers and tsunamis move heavy objects and destroy many things quickly. How much more the worldwide Flood?
In many processes, more power means less time is needed. So, with the global Flood lots of rocks would have been formed and then valleys carved in very little time. And with little time, evolution is also impossible! (Note that even with lots of time it would still be impossible, but that’s another story.)
In the next few issues, we will learn about some of the spectacular evidence for the Genesis Flood!
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