Noah’s ark is one of those unlikely parts of Scripture that has become almost universally popular as a children’s story in Western culture. It most likely began in the early 19th century when toymakers began making toys that focused on the boat and the animals rather than on the rest of the story; it’s an easier sell to make a nursery themed with smiling hippos rather than themed with drowning millions. The truth is, Noah’s ark does make a great children’s story, not because it’s just a story about a floating menagerie of animal life but because it’s a story of a God worthy of saving faith. A story of mankind sinking into a depravity so grave that a grieving and gracious Father had to undo almost all of creation in an attempt to wash us clean and let us live. Noah’s ark is a children’s story not because it features animals, but because it features a covenant keeping, merciful and loving Father. That makes it a story not just for little children but for all of God’s children. And like all good stories, it opens with a seemingly unsolvable problem.
