The story of Noah's ark is a familiar one for most of us who attended Sunday School classes when we were kids. It is a captivating adventure of a handful of people boarding a huge boat with "two of every living creature."
Can you imagine the noise and smells associated with this journey?
As I've been reading through the Old Testament again, I've been paying particular attention to female characters of the Bible. Although not mentioned by name, Noah's wife is certainly a woman who deserves some time and consideration. She was married to a "righteous man" who was considered "blameless" and was chosen by God to preserve the human race by building an ark when it wasn't even raining.
We don't know if Noah's wife was also approached directly and told of this plan.
We do know that she was right there alongside Noah as he obediently "did everything God had commanded" by building the ark and gathering up all the animals.
We do know that she boarded the ark with her husband, 3 sons, and 3 daughters-in-law.
She was on board the 3-deck ark when "the Lord shut him in." She was enclosed inside the ark as the water surged for 150 days.
This group of 8 lived together in tight quarters while managing to care for all those wild animals, insects, reptiles, livestock, and birds.
Noah's wife must have had a strong constitution and a deep faith to go along with her husband's plan. I'd consider her to be a patient woman to be taking care of her family in these radical conditions, wouldn't you?
We've all been on rough trips when we just want to get to our destination and no longer be "on the move."
Imagine the emotional toll this journey had on this small group of people and how it must have felt to finally stop rocking from the surge...and to finally step onto dry ground.
That beautiful rainbow was a huge bonus!!
I'm grateful for the dynamic rainbow that's a wonderful promise from God that no matter what humans do, He will not flood the earth again.
We did a series last year on God's promises and created a variety of rainbow pages along the way...even a post-it page!
Have you done a BQ page on Noah, his wife, or their adventure on the ark? There's a LOT to capture!
It's pretty incredible that this family of 8 repopulated the whole earth. Can you imagine their wonder as they stepped from the ark and experienced God's "do-over" of creation with only the belongings and fellow creatures they had along with them?
Here are some BQ resources to help you create some pages of this incredible story.