by Brian Godawa
Methuselah stared into the fire with dead eyes. He could not feel anymore. His soul was gone. He wanted to run out and attack the cyclopean dragon without concern for his survival. Suicide. But Edna’s words haunted him. He was to take over Enoch’s mantle, now that Enoch was gone? Lamech was to be Elohim’s chosen lineage for the One who would end the rule of the gods? What was all that to him now? He just did not care. He did not want to live.
But how to end it? he thought.
A twig snapped.
Instinct flooded back into them all. They were on their feet in seconds, with weapons drawn.
A single man walked out of the darkness into the flickering light of the fire. Tall, muscular, and young-looking, his eyes betrayed a great age. Beside him trod a large black she-wolf.
“I see you have met Behemoth outside the valley walls. I think your wailing was about as loud as his. Made it easy to find you.”
Methuselah gripped a spear, ready to lunge. Betenos pulled on the string of her bow with nocked arrow ready. Lamech gripped the triple blade Edna had made.
The black she-wolf snarled at them.
“Is that any way to treat family?” said the stranger. “I let you bury your dead and get your bellies full.” His delivery was ominous. He had a darkness in him that reminded Methuselah of Inanna.
“Who are you?” demanded Methuselah. “What do you mean, ‘family’?”
Twenty large wolves stepped out from the bush surrounding them. They appeared to be a pack of predators controlled by this stranger before them.
When the stranger spoke again, Methuselah’s blood ran cold.
“I am Cain, son of Adam.”
Chapter 45
The trial reconvened before the Supreme Judge of the Universe. The satan took his place, to mount his next attack on the Covenant.
“In your historical prologue, there is prattling on and on about the ‘generations of the heavens and the earth,’ etcetera, etcetera. And then we come to your creation of Man, ‘in the image of God you did create him, both male and female.’ I would like to address two aspects of this ‘image’: First, authority and hierarchy, and then this imperialist mandate of ‘dominion.’”
Semjaza approached the satan and whispered in his ear.
He was updating the accuser on the progress of Inanna’s forces. Enoch knew this already. Everyone on the defense knew it. Yahweh Elohim was not some kind of idiot finite deity who did not know what was going on in his creation. The mere fact that he chose to accomplish his purposes through such secondary means as the divine council and the freedom of his creatures did not bother Enoch anymore.
There were many mysteries of the infinite eternal Creator that faded away in the minds of finite mortal creations in his immediate presence. Enoch smiled to himself at all the energy he had spent on earth fretting as an apkallu sage, seeking the ever elusive dream of absolute knowledge and wisdom. It was an endless pursuit of always getting closer and never arriving. No matter how wise he could be, no matter how much knowledge he possessed, the universe and everything in it was so far beyond the limits of his understanding as a tiny little object embedded within that creation that he could not hope to achieve god-like status of observation and understanding. It was certainly not a waste of life to pursue such wisdom, he thought, but perhaps it was a sign of the true fallenness of our nature that we would twist our calling as Yahweh Elohim’s images into an intent to become Elohim, demanding all truths be made sufficiently understandable to our puny finite faulty understanding.
The satan’s rant brought Enoch back into the present.
“This notion of authority and hierarchy in the covenant is quite incoherent to me. On the one hand, Elohim tells us both male and female are created alike to be his imagers or representations of his rulership on earth. And then on the other, he contradicts himself when he gives the vocation to the Man to work and keep the Garden before he even creates the woman! Imagine that! A ‘men’s only’ club. No women allowed. How sexist can you be? Then Elohim creates the Woman out of the Man’s side and tells her she is to be man’s ‘helper fit for him,’ like some kind of slave. The Man ‘names’ the woman, and we all know what that means: The namer has the power over the object being named. My dear Creator, this is all about power. Not truth, not justice, and not love. But I will speak the truth to power! I would think that if one were a loving god, one would make everyone equal in race, class, and gender; not this misogynist Patriarchal justification of male domination over women.”
Enoch thought of the “truth, justice, and love” that the Watchers had been giving to the women they were using to breed the Nephilim. It was not the first time the satan used his own wicked behavior as an argument against his Creator.
“But I will make one concession to your majestic power,” said the satan. “You are consistent. That is, your sexist gender worship of the male is a reflection of your own sexist identity as male and your sexist creation of angels as males. It is quite clear to me, ‘father,’ that you and all your ‘Sons of God’ are afraid of women. You oppress the female gender and enslave them to be breeders and deny them their rightful place in this world. I think you are secretly suppressing the fact that the true creator of this world is not the male Sky God, but the Great Earth Goddess!”
The myriads of holy ones broke out in shocked murmuring. Whispers of “blasphemy” abounded. The grace of Yahweh Elohim in not smiting the satan on the spot amazed Enoch. Elohim had his greater purposes.
“And that brings me to my second point,” said the satan. “Your covenant charge to Man to take dominion over all creation and to subdue it to his interests is just another facet of your suppression of the Great Goddess. You would have man trample, burn, and destroy the environment that the Earth Mother gives him as an expression of your macho excess!”
He quoted the words of Elohim back to him with incredulity, “‘Elohim made the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night? And the stars in the firmament for signs and seasons and for days and years’? Where is the sun god and the moon god? And are not the stars a heavenly host of deities? You want to divest the universe of spirits and gods so that you can reign supreme as a jealous autocratic Emperor! You want to turn the cosmos into some ‘soulless’ natural order so that your little male minions can trample the environment, spoil the creation, and engage in cruelty to animals!”
The satan turned to the heavenly host with excessive theatrics, “Elohim is not fair and equal in his dealings with his creatures, he is a sexist and a speciesist!”
Enoch almost laughed out loud. The absurd lengths to which the satan would go to construct an entire paradigm of delusion to suit his purposes amazed the human. He wondered if anyone would ever actually believe this combination of insanity and iniquity. Ironically, he could see where the satan was going with it, and it was truly evil. He would make sure to address it in his rebuttal.
The satan ended with a rising plea. “Does your unfair favoritism and partiality know no bounds, Elohim? You choose who rules over whom, who is forgiven and who is not, you elect one man over another to carry your purposes forward. These are not the actions of a fair and impartial Creator, these are the actions of — dare I say it again — a tyrant and puppet master! But of course, if the sandal fits, wear it. Your honor. Amen.” The satan bowed and went back to his team of Watchers.
Enoch stood and approached the throne. “Your honor.” He turned to the heavenly host, “divine witnesses of the court. I want to apologize for my previous display of hubris. It was unworthy and unbefitting an ambassador of Yahweh Elohim and a defender of the throne. I hope to address the satan’s further accusations with a more respectful demeanor. So be it.”
Enoch began his formal presentation. “In the first place, regarding the Accuser’s complaint of the imago dei and authority, I think this gets to the heart of the argument. The satan does not seem to like the order of things, the hierarchy of one over another, the notion of authority. He wants every
thing to be ‘equal.’ But I must ask this question, ‘By what standard?’ Whose definition of equal? If by the standard of the Creator, then that begs the question. The Creator has the right to define authority and justice in any way he deems proper. If by the satan’s standard, why? Why should anyone listen to the satan’s definition of what is just and what is not? I would prefer my own definition over the satan’s, and you would prefer your own definition over mine. It is an endless trap of infinite definitions and authorities that cancel out the satan’s own accusations.”
Enoch took a breath. He let it sink in. This time, he would make his arguments with more concern for the hearers. “I would like to address each one of his accusations to show that they are straw men that do not even apply to Yahweh Elohim. But I do not even have to, because his claims are simply pitting his own finite ignorant authority against the self-authorized infinite Creator of all authority. The satan pronounces, ‘sexism, imperialism, misogyny, speciesism’ and a plethora of other ‘isms.’ But by the Creator’s standards the satan is sexist, imperialist, misandrist, and speciesist because he is seeking to define the created order from his own subjective, arbitrary, and finite viewpoint. This is sheer bigotry and hubris on the satan’s part. A creature is trying to subject the Creator to his own authority.”
Enoch shook his head and continued, “Since the satan seems to want to claim to be the creator of the standards of truth and justice, and not be beholden to a standard outside himself, then I would like a few answers from him. I would like him to gird up his loins and make known to us where he was when Yahweh Elohim laid the foundations of the earth. I wonder if he might tell us who determined its measurements and who laid its cornerstone. It would please the court if the satan would tell us who poured the sea, who commands the morning and evening, who crafted the gates of Sheol, who created thunder and lightning and rain, who bound the chains of the stars of the Seven Sisters or loosed the star-cords of the Shepherd of Anu? Perhaps the satan might show us how he gave the horse his strength or the hawk his wings. Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty? He who argues with God, let him answer it. Otherwise, may he forever hold his peace.”
Enoch almost sat down, but he reconsidered. “If it please the court, I said I did not need to address the satan’s straw men accusations. But I just wanted to get something on the record. Abuse of authority does not disprove proper use of that authority. Man was not called by Yahweh Elohim to be a slave master over woman, as the satan argued, but to be her loving sacrificial leader. Yahweh Elohim never told man to ‘trample, burn and destroy’ his environment. To exercise dominion over nature, yes. And if man fails to harness the forces of nature, all life on the earth will succumb to decay, disease, and destruction. But man was also commissioned to ‘care for and keep’ that nature with responsible stewardship. It is not the ‘undeifying’ of nature that leads to exploitation and hurt, it is the deifying of nature that does. For when the sun, moon, stars, lightning, storm and disease are gods, that is when man worships the creation in place of the Creator and death reigns.”
That felt more satisfying to Enoch. He had to get that off his chest, even if it was not technically necessary. He concluded, “But there are some things I think we should all trample, burn, and destroy, and those are the satan’s straw man arguments.”
Enoch sat down.
Chapter 46
Methuselah, Lamech, and Betenos awakened to the smell of stew cooking on morning fires. The sun had not yet come up, but they could see by the sky that it was near. They were bound together hand and foot with vines used as rope. Cain and his pack of wolves had taken them hostage the previous night, and brought them to this camp on the far side of the valley, distant from the exit crevice.
They looked around for the wolves, but the animals were gone. The Cainites were a clan of about a hundred, male and female, all wearing animal skins — but no children.
Where were the children? thought Betenos. What kind of tribe does not have children? How could it survive?
Cain approached them with a woman by his side, tall, with raven black hair and chiseled facial features. She had the presence of a warrior, but dressed as a tribal queen. She carried a pot of stew for them.
“This is my favorite sister and wife, Awan,” said Cain. “Welcome to ‘the Hidden Valley’, my ‘Garden away from the Garden,’ I like to say. I have always had a green thumb. So I put it to good use.”
Lamech remembered from stories that Cain was a worker of the ground. This secret paradise was a breathtaking incarnation of God-given skill.
Awan undid their bindings. She gave them utensils to eat some stew from the large pot. Lamech and Betenos attacked it hungrily.
Methuselah did not bother. He stared into oblivion. Why eat? It would only keep him alive.
Cain said, “The giant twins brought you to me.”
Methuselah showed no interest in this conversation.
It was Lamech who spoke. “You sent Ohyah and Hahyah?”
“I paid them a bounty to find you,” said Cain. “I think you understand that concept well enough.”
Cain lingered over regretful memories. “I have been wandering for too long in search of you, my vengeance.”
“Us?” asked Lamech.
Cain answered, “I was not even sure you were the ones I was looking for. But when Ohyah told me of his dreams and his meeting with Enoch, I knew. I knew that you were the lineage of the chosen seed of the Woman that would crush the seed of the Serpent.”
Lamech broke out in a cold sweat. He had an idea where this was going and did not want to find out.
Awan watched the three of them like a wolf watching its prey.
Cain continued, “Elohim is a sadistic connoisseur of cruelty. He is an arbitrary dictator. He accepts one offering and rejects another. And why? I gave him the fruit of my gifts that he gave me. But it was not good enough for him. He wanted it his way or no way. He wanted a blood sacrifice.”
A bitter pause hung in the air. Then Cain gave a savory grin. “So I gave him one: The blood of my brother. The vengeful petty deity cursed me and made me a creature of the night — with an eternal thirst for blood. I cursed him back and decided to create my own Eden with my own rules, and my own god: me.” A big proud smile cracked his visage.
Lamech and Betenos shivered. They felt as if they were staring into the face of sin itself, crouching at their feet, ready to pounce.
“At this very moment,” Cain added, “a gargantuan horde of Nephilim warriors marches on Eden to take possession of the Tree of Life.” He paused. “Imagine a world of true equality, where all men are gods, all creatures divine, everyone lives forever.”
Where evil never dies, Lamech thought to himself. He knew what such claims to “equality” without God led to: genocide by those who ruled in the name of equality. They never shared their power once they had it. The first to taste of the Tree of Life would turn and keep it from everyone else.
“Imagine the absolute freedom from all dependence on a cosmic child abuser who tells us what we can and cannot do.”
And I thought it did not get worse than Inanna, mused Lamech.
Methuselah remained in his trance of self-pity. He listened, but still did not care.
Cain concluded his pontificating, “And in the meantime, I will have the ultimate revenge of absorbing the very life and lineage of Elohim’s Chosen Seed into my own body, when I drink your blood and devour your flesh.”
A shiver of terror went down the spines of Lamech and Betenos. Now they understood why Cain looked more like one hundred years old, instead of his eight hundred and fifty years. He cannibalized the life source of his victims, their blood replenishing his youth, their flesh regenerating his body. Lamech glanced at his father, who now watched their captors. Those captors were not interested in Methuselah, they were interested in Lamech.
“The sun is rising,” said Cain. “I must retreat to my residence for rest. Awan will care for you until the evening, when I rise �
�� for dinner.” He smiled and walked away, leaving Awan watching them with a smirk on her face.
She shoved the pot at Methuselah. “Eat up, old man, we need you plump.”
Methuselah did nothing. Awan dropped the pot at his feet. Some of it splashed on Methuselah, and still he did not react.
Awan left them alone with the last of the food to finish it up.
Lamech studied Methuselah. “Father, you are not the only one who lost mother.”
Methuselah remained unmoved. They had been sitting there for some time and Methuselah had offered no plan, no hint or desire to escape. He waited to die. His meaning, his Edna was gone. And with her, the earth.
Lamech spoke sharply with renewed conviction. “You may want to die. You may not care what happens to the rest of the world. But I do. This is bigger than my life, than all of our lives. If grandfather Enoch prophesied the truth and Betenos and I are the lineage of the Seed, then why would you give up? Would you dishonor the faith of the one you loved most on this earth?”
That got through Methuselah’s wall of silence. Lamech was right. His son was absolutely right. Methuselah had placed his faith in this world and not in Elohim’s promised world to come. He had relied on his senses for so long that he had worn them out. He had lost his taste, his smell, his touch; he had become blind, deaf and dumb. He had neglected prayer because Elohim seemed so distant and his prayers almost futile. He had come to believe that things got done because he got up and did them, not because of Elohim’s solicited favor. Since Elohim was going to do what he was going to do anyway, then why bother wasting time talking to him about it? He had become a self-made man who lifted himself up by his own sandal straps. And it was all a self-deluded lie. He had missed the whole point that his wife had been trying to tell him: he distrusted Elohim because of the betrayal of the gods. He had lived a life of self-reliance rather than a life of faith. He had sought desperately for significance in this world. But he now understood his significance would be as the protector of Elohim’s Seed, not the fulfiller of his own.