Chapter 31

Water Sweeps Away a World

DO YOU like to play games?⁠— I do. They can be a lot of fun, can’t they?⁠— But did you know that there is danger in becoming too busy having fun?⁠— Yes, there is. We might fail to take time to listen to God. Did you know that?⁠—

The Great Teacher knew that this had happened to a whole world of people once before. He said: ‘Those people were eating. They were drinking. They were getting married.’ 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. At that time the waters of a flood covered the whole earth.​—Matthew 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 bad things. Yet there was one man who found  favor with God. Who was that?⁠— It 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. God told Noah to build the ark big enough so that he and his family and many of the animals would be safe inside it.

Now, Noah had never built an ark before. But 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.

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. It was too late for anyone else to get in.

People outside still did not believe that the flood would come. But all of a sudden water began to fall! Noah had been right!

It was not just a regular rain. It was a downpour! Soon the water was like big rivers, making a lot of noise. It pushed over big trees and rolled big stones as if they were little pebbles.

What about the people outside the ark?⁠— Jesus says: “The flood came and swept them all away.” Even if they climbed a hill, that didn’t help. The downpour didn’t stop for forty days  and forty nights. Soon the whole earth was covered with water. All the people outside the ark were now dead. Why?⁠— As Jesus said, ‘They did not listen!’

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.​—Genesis 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 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 he will save all of us.

(We need to make time in our lives to listen to God. Read what is said about this at Hosea 4:6, Matthew 13:18-22 and Deuteronomy 30:15, 16.)