Ark of Noah

“ Every righteous sermon, and every blow struck in building the ark, condemned a careless, scoffing world. As the time drew nearer, the people grew more careless, more hardened, more bold and impudent, and their condemnation surer. Noah and his family stood alone. And could one family know more than all the world? The ark was a matter of ridicule, and Noah was regarded as a willful bigot.
But the Lord calls Noah into the ark. And by the hand of Providence the beasts are led into the ark; and the Lord shuts Noah in. This is regarded at first by the scoffing multitude as something wonderful ”

“ And Noah bade the beasts and birds go forth and seek new homes. And they scattered in every direction to begin life afresh; while Noah’s wife murmured “good riddance,” and vowed that she would never go to sea again.
Then Noah gladly rested from his labors.
And this is the end of the story of Noah’s Ark. ”

“ Noah walked with God.
10 And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
11 And the earth was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.
12 And God saw the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
14 Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch. ”

“ Noah was 120 years building the ark, we are informed in the Scriptures, and during that time he preached the Gospel. How many who were willing to believe his testimony? Only eight souls in all, including himself. He was very unpopular, I presume, and had as much derision heaped upon his head, for building an ark on dry ground, as any man that ever lived on the earth. But Noah was a prophet and a messenger of God, called to warn that generation and to build an ark, and if he had not done it he would have been held responsible for the lives of himself and family and all that generation. ”

“ Noah came faintly to her ears:
"Careful, now! We must slip in through the nursery window without waking the household."
As the "Noah's Ark" slowly drifted in through the nursery window, Captain Noah ran forward with a hawser, ready to make fast to the book case near the big table.
"Well! Well!" he exclaimed. "It is nice to be home again!"
"It certainly is!" said Mrs. Noah, as she and the three boys came out on deck. "It is wonderful that the water has done no damage to Marjorie's pretty nursery."
"See how fast it is running away!" exclaimed Ham. "Lucky we sailed home tonight!" ”

“ His history is briefly related in the Koran, in the chapter entitled "Hud."
"Noah built the ark with our assistance and that of the angels, following the knowledge we revealed to him, and we said to him: Speak no more in behalf of the sinners; they shall all be drowned.
"Whilst Noah was building his ark, all those who passed by mocked him; but he said to them: Though you rail at me now, the time will come when I shall rail at you; for you will learn to your cost, Who it is that punishes the wicked in this world, and reserves for them a further punishment in the world to come." ”

“ It was nearly a year before Noah ventured from the ark. His first act, after he issued forth, was to build an altar and offer sacrifice to the God who had preserved him and his family alone, of the human race. And the Lord was well pleased, and made a covenant with him that he would never again send a like destruction upon the earth, and as a sign and seal of the covenant which he made with all flesh, he set his bow in the cloud. We hence infer that the primeval world was watered by mists from the earth, like the garden of Eden, and not by rains.
The tradition of the deluge. ”

“ Every one must die, because they are all wicked. But you and your family shall be saved, because you alone are trying to do right."
Then God told Noah how he might save his life and the lives of his sons. He was to build a very large boat, as large as the largest ships that are made in our time; very long, and very wide and very deep; with a roof over it; and made like a long, wide house in three stories; but so built that it would float on the water. Such a ship as this was called "an ark." God told Noah to build this ark, and to have it ready for the time when he would need it. ”

“ Among asphodel and forget-me-nots we left the zaptieh and the donkey; Selîm shouldered the lunch-bags, and we climbed the steep slopes for another half-hour. And so we came to Noah’s Ark, which had run aground in a bed of scarlet tulips (Fig. 184) .
There was once a famous Nestorian monastery, the Cloister of the Ark, upon the summit of Mount Jûdî, but it was destroyed by lightning in the year of Christ 766. [177] Upon its ruins, said Kas Mattai, the Moslems had erected a shrine, and this too has fallen ”

“ The sea was getting rough and the Ark rolled about in a most uncomfortable manner.
The Weathercock clung tightly to his post, however, and flapped his wings now and then.
"Look out!" he cautioned as the Ark neared the berg. "Be careful or you'll stave a hole in the Ark!"
"Hurry up!" shouted the polar bears. "We're nearly starved. We want our breakfast."
"Want your breakfast!" muttered Capt. Noah under his breath. "You'll be wanting something more than breakfast if we don't find a way to get you aboard!"
"Let them swim!" suggested Ham.
"Run up close and let them jump!" advised Shem. ”

“ Noah the righteous man did not beget any offspring to populate the world until he entered the ark and all gathered and were concealed in it, after which they came out. They emerged from the ark to multiply in the world and to survive on earth. ”

“ THE NEW NOAH'S ARK;
Or, a Word to the Children of England on the Importance of Sea-power.
[As a part of our campaign to capture Germany's trade, it has been suggested that Noah's Arks should in future be made in this country.] ”

“ Jonah and the boys came in, rubbing their hands and stamping their feet to keep warm.
"Merry Christmas!" laughed Ham, "the skating's fine out on the ice floe!"
"How jolly!" cried Marjorie. "Let's go skating after breakfast!"
"No, sir-e-e," said Capt. Noah. "The boys must help me float the Ark. One of the rubber-tired wheels is crushed and it will take a lot of hard work to get her off." ”

“ When the devil saw that his plan had failed, he ran away and left Noah’s ark in peace and all those who were in it. As soon as the Flood had passed away, Noah brought a thanksgiving sacrifice to God for having been miraculously saved. In the midst of these rejoicings the snake took courage and came up to Noah, asking for the human being of which he had promised to give her one every day to be eaten by her and her seed. When Noah heard it, he got very angry, for he said to himself, “There are so few human beings now in the world, if I give her one every day, the world will soon come to an end.” ”

“ The presence of God was the only comfort of Noah in his dreary confinement, and in witnessing the dire devastation of the earth and its inhabitants, and especially of the human species — of his companions, his neighbors, his relatives — all those to whom he had preached, for whom he had prayed and over whom he had wept, and even of many who had helped to build the ark. ”

“ Now Noah was warned that a great flood was to come, which would pour down from the clouds and drown the whole earth. He straightway told his neighbors what was to happen, but they refused to believe, and scoffed at him, and said: “Let it rain. [2] ”
2. BUILDING THE ARK
Then Noah went his way, and set to work to build him a great ship, to be ready for the day of deluge.
And he laid the keel in the pasture fields, among the daisies; while the idlers came to look on and laugh at such folly—a ship for a rainy day! [3]
3. ”

“ As Noah, when the whole world was overwhelmed with water, had a fair epitome of it in the ark, having all sorts of beasts and fowls there, so he that in a deluge hath God to be his God hath the original of all mercies. He who enjoyeth the ocean may rejoice, though some drops are taken from him. ”

“ Those animals which could climb were soon scrambling to the roof of the Ark, where they sat on or clung desperately to the ridgepole.
The deck grew hotter and hotter, and it was necessary for every one to dance about in order to keep his feet from blistering.
"Holy sufferin' mackerel!" exclaimed Capt. Noah, now realizing the seriousness of the situation. "Are we to be burned at sea?"
"Get the Elephants to squirt water down the hold," suggested Ham.
"Get busy," said Capt. Noah to the Elephants. "Your trunks are nearly as good as hose. Why don't you help us?" ”

“ Nothing but water could be seen anywhere, and only one or two of the highest mountain tops peeped above the flood. All the world was drowned, and Noah gazed on the desolate scene from one of the windows with tears in his eyes. Og, riding gaily on the unicorn behind the Ark, was quite happy.
"Ha, ha!" he laughed gleefully. "I shall be able to eat and drink just as much as I like now and shall never be troubled by those tiny little creatures, the mortals."
"Be not so sure," said Noah. "Those tiny mortals shall be thy masters and shall outlive thee and the whole race of giants and demons." ”

“ God does not bid him go into the ark, but come into it, implying that God would go with him, would lead him into it, accompany him in it, and in due time bring him safe out of it. Note, Wherever we are, it is very desirable to have the presence of God with us, for that is all in all, to the comfort of every condition. This was it that made Noah's ark, which was a prison, to be to him not only a refuge, but a palace. ”

“ We are told of Noah, who floated in an ark, thousands of years ago, and was thus saved when all the rest of mankind were drowned by the deluge—but no doubt people had learned to go upon the water before the time of Noah. ”

“ A still more interesting relic is a fragment of Noah’s ark—a ragged and rotten piece of a plank, about four feet long, eighteen inches wide, and two inches thick, which is alleged to have been taken from the hull of that venerated vessel. There are no written guarantees, and therefore it is impossible to establish identity, but as it is equally impossible to disprove the statement, it is easier to accept the faith of those good people without question. ”

“ Noah did not reply for a moment, for he was busily engaged inspecting the bottom of the Ark.
"I was looking to see if it were built to run on the land," he replied, "or whether it just went this far on account of its momentum."
"What's that noise?" asked Japheth.
"Sounds like the engine of an automobile," answered Shem.
"It's coming from the Ark," cried Ham. [Pg 36]
Capt. Noah hurriedly went below.
Presently he returned, smiling with satisfaction.
"There's a regular automobile engine in the hold, way aft," he said. "And it's connected with a shaft, so that it will turn the wheels. ”

“ When they reached the Ark the gang-plank was lowered and they all marched aboard.
Everything below decks was in apple-pie [Pg 145] order and the animals all seemed glad to be once more back in the Ark.
"All's well that ends well," said Capt. Noah, turning to Mr. Jonah. "My duty is to land these animals safely after the rain is over. But it looks to me as if it were going to commence again."
"There's a big black cloud in the west," shouted the Weathercock, who had flown up to his perch on the flagpole and was keeping a sharp lookout. ”