“Noah … Prepared an Ark to the Saving of His House”

Study the following scriptures:

1. Moses 8:19–30; Genesis 6:5–22; 7:1–10. Noah preaches the gospel, but the people do not listen (Moses 8:19–25). Because of the people’s wickedness, the Lord declares that he will destroy all flesh from the earth (Moses 8:26–30; Genesis 6:5–13). The Lord commands Noah to build an ark and take his family and two of every living thing into it (Genesis 6:14–22; 7:1–10).

2. Genesis 7:11–24; 8; 9:8–17. It rains for 40 days and 40 nights (7:11–12). All people and creatures that are not on the ark die (7:13–24). When the waters recede, Noah, his family, and the animals leave the ark, and Noah offers sacrifice to the Lord (8:1–22). The Lord sets the rainbow as a token of his covenant with Noah (9:8–17).

3. Genesis 11:1–9. A few generations after the flood, the people try to build a tower to heaven. The Lord confounds their language and scatters them over the whole earth.

• What was the world like when the Lord called Noah to preach the gospel? (See Moses 8:20–22.) What similarities can you see between the people of Noah’s day and the people of our day?

• How could the people of Noah’s day have avoided destruction? (See Moses 8:23–24.) How can listening to and following the prophets help us avoid spiritual and temporal destruction?

• Why did Noah build the ark? (See Hebrews 11:7.) What “arks” do we have today that can help save us from the evil around us? (You may want to refer to the pamphlet For the Strength of Youth [34285] to answer this question.) How can we help others find refuge in these “arks”?

Additional reading: Hebrews 11:7; Moses 7:32–36.