by Tim Chaffey
“After that, the Creator put the man to sleep, and He made Greatmother Eve from his rib.”
Sounds of sandals scraping against stone caused Noah to turn around just as Garun entered the room.
“Firstfeast is—” Garun stared at the wall. “What is that?”
“We’ll explain over firstfeast,” Lamech said. “Is it ready?”
Garun blinked and then quickly nodded. “Yes.”
Noah put a hand on Methuselah’s shoulder. “We’ll come back here after we eat.”
Chapter 18
Land of Eden — Noah’s 500th year
Noah gulped down the water along with his last bite of firstfeast. “Grandfather, let’s get back to the house.”
Methuselah chewed his food slowly before swallowing and held up his tray to show he still had a little more to eat. “Patience. The markings have survived this long. I think they’ll still be there when I finish.”
Emzara put her hand on Noah’s arm. “Don’t get up yet. Let him eat.”
Noah blew out a breath in frustration. “Father, you said that you saw some of those paintings before — on scrolls at Enoch’s home.”
Lamech nodded. “When I was very young.”
“Do you think he copied them from here?”
“I’m sure he did,” Methuselah said. “He came here a few times to make sure that what he told people was true.”
Noah held out a palm toward his grandfather. “So what happened to the scrolls?”
Methuselah pursed his lips and paused for a moment. “Setela probably has them. When the Creator took my father, my older brother inherited the house and land. But he sold those centuries ago and moved toward Nod. We haven’t spoken since.” Methuselah shrugged. “I don’t even know if he’s still alive.”
Noah crossed his arms. “It would’ve been nice to know what they said, especially if it’s more than what we have here.”
Without warning, Emzara winced and pitched forward.
Noah stroked her back gently. “Are you alright?”
She inhaled deeply and slowly let it out through gritted teeth and then repeated the process. Finally, she sat up, looked at Noah, and nodded as she caught her breath.
Evet dropped to the ground in front of her. “Can you describe what you felt?”
“All of a sudden, it seemed like someone squeezed my whole midsection. But then it went away almost as fast as it came on.”
“Was that your first one?” Evet asked.
“First what?” Noah asked.
Evet grinned at Noah. “I think you may get to hold your son today.”
Noah bolted upright. “What? Today?” He gently grabbed Emzara’s arm. “Do you need anything?” Before anyone else could speak, he turned to Evet. “What can I do?”
Evet chuckled. “Well, you can calm down. Labor pains move at their own pace. They’re difficult to predict and sometimes women feel them days or weeks before they deliver their baby. Although that one seemed pretty strong. I’d be surprised if it’ll be that long.” She rested a hand on Emzara’s knee. “Tell me when you feel another one.”
“I will.” Emzara looked into Noah’s eyes. “We’ll be fine.” She smiled and added, “All three of us.”
“Come on, Grandson. I’m not going to wait all day.”
In his excitement, Noah had failed to realize that Methuselah now stood behind him, ready to leave. Desiring to stay with Emzara, but longing to hear about the rest of the symbols, Noah hesitated. “I—”
Emzara struggled to her feet. “I’m going, too.”
Glancing at Evet, Noah asked, “Is that a good idea?”
“Yes, Noah. She’ll be fine for now.” Evet stood and brushed the dust from the back of her wrap. “Purlek and I will go with you.”
Noah jumped up, adrenaline still racing through him. He looked back and forth between his wife and his grandfather and then settled on Methuselah. “Well, what are you waiting for, old man? Let’s go.”
“We’ll clean up around here.” Laleel gestured to herself and Garun. “From what you described, it doesn’t sound like there’s enough space for all of us in that room. We’ll come take a look at it later.”
“We’ll stay, too,” Elam said as he bounced Rayneh on his knee.
“Maybe Emzara can put her artistic skills to use and copy the paintings,” Lamech said. “After having the baby, of course.”
Emzara smiled and clasped her hands together. “I’d love to.”
Purlek and Evet walked next to Emzara and Noah as they followed Methuselah and Lamech back to the house. They soon found themselves in front of the scenes on the walls again, and Methuselah summarized what he had said earlier for the benefit of Purlek and Evet. During his review, Emzara endured another contraction, but she insisted it was not too painful.
“This is incredible,” Evet said, peering closely at the picture of the trees in the garden. “My grandparents followed the Creator, so I’ve heard some of these things from them. I’ve always assumed they were just legends, though, because that’s what my parents said.”
“Unfortunately, that’s what most people are told now.” Noah looked at Purlek. “Your parents believed in the Creator. Your father saw just how awful the teachings of Nachash are and how they pervert the truth. And his sister—” Noah stopped, unwilling to utter words that might sound like an accusation against Purlek. Also, despite Noah’s disdain of Naamah and all she stood for, he often wondered if he could have done more during her first visit to Iri Geshem to help her understand the truth. Maybe this world wouldn’t be in such a mess. Noah dropped his gaze to the floor.
“I know that my aunt is the high priestess.” Purlek scratched at his nose. “My father warned me about her, my grandfather, and Nachash.”
Methuselah moved back to the right side of the room, carrying an oil lamp. He cleared his throat. “Speaking of Nachash.” He pointed to the first few illustrations on the next line of images. “The serpent, Nachash, came to Greatmother near the forbidden tree. The Most High had warned man that he would die if he ate from it. But Nachash told Greatmother that the Creator restricted people from eating the fruit of that tree because He didn’t want them to become like gods. He tempted her, and tragically, she believed his lie and ate it.”
“And then she gave some to Greatfather?” Lamech asked as he touched the wall just under the next picture.
“Yes.” Methuselah looked away, with pain etched on his face. “And he ate, too. They both disobeyed God.” Moments later, he controlled his emotions and focused on the wall again. “For the first time, they recognized their nakedness and shame, and they made coverings for themselves by sewing leaves together. That’s when they heard the Creator in the garden, so they hid among the trees.”
Noah took Emzara’s hand in his and looked at the others. Everyone appeared to be captivated by Methuselah’s words.
“What happened next?” Evet asked.
“The Most High announced His judgment on each of them. The serpent was cursed to crawl on its belly all its days. And I think this picture is showing that Nachash would be at war with the woman, and his offspring would war with her offspring. One of her descendants would bruise Nachash’s head, but Nachash would bruise his heel.”
“What does all of that mean?” Purlek asked.
“I’m not really sure,” Methuselah said and then looked at Noah. “I think the Creator is showing that He offers hope and victory in the midst of judgment. Someday, Nachash will be defeated.”
“I can’t wait until that happens,” Noah said.
“What’s that one?” Evet asked, moving toward the next image. “It looks like Greatmother is pregnant.”
“That’s part of the judgment for their sin, and one that Emzara is going to know all too well in the near future. He promised that women would have great pain in childbirth.”
Emzara squeezed Noah’s shoulder hard and bent over slightly. “Another one.”
Evet took Emzara’s other hand and stroked he
r arm gently until the pain subsided.
Finally, Emzara looked up with a grin. “I guess that was good timing. Maybe you shouldn’t read any others about childbearing.”
Methuselah chuckled and faced the wall again. “It also looks like there would be some contest or struggle between the man and his wife. And this one is for you, Son.” He tapped the image to the left, which showed a man working hard to remove weeds from his crop. “The ground was cursed to produce thorns that would make his work more difficult.”
Lamech put a hand on Noah. “And that’s where you got your name. Even back then I longed for rest from those toilsome days.”
Noah nodded and gestured to their surroundings. “It makes me even sadder, knowing how Greatfather and Greatmother lost so much through their disobedience. All the hard work, all the sicknesses, all the wars, and all the death . . . all because they rebelled.”
“That’s the next image,” Methuselah said. “Man was going to return to the dust. God said man would die if he ate the fruit, and we’ve sure seen the truth of that statement. But the Most High showed them mercy. Instead of immediately killing them for their sin, which is what they deserved, He sacrificed animals in their place and gave the skins to cover them.”
“And our sacrifices today are based on that first one?” Noah asked.
“Indeed. Each sacrifice is a reminder that we deserve to die for our sins, but God has allowed us to use animals as temporary substitutes.”
“And then it looks like He sent them out of the garden,” Evet said.
“Exactly. The Most High banished them from the garden so that they could never eat from the tree of life and live forever.”
“Why is there a fiery sword over the path?” Noah indicated the part of the illustration where two people walked away from a beautiful cluster of plants.
“He stationed guardians and a flaming sword there to prevent anyone from entering again.”
Noah scratched his chin as he tried to process everything.
“Come out here!” Garun’s shout interrupted their lesson. It sounded like he yelled from the clearing.
Noah crossed his arms and raised his voice. “Can it wait?”
“I’m pretty sure you’ll want to see it!”
“We can finish up later,” Methuselah said, patting him on the shoulder. “Let’s go see what Garun wants.”
The group picked their way through the brush again. The trail became a little easier to traverse each time they walked it.
“What was so important?” Noah asked as they approached Garun and Laleel.
“We decided to take a walk around the clearing,” Garun said. “You won’t believe what we found. Come on.” He waved his arm for the group to follow him.
Emzara grabbed Evet’s shoulder and reached for her midsection. “Another one. Stay with me.” She glanced up at Noah. “You go ahead without me, but don’t be gone too long.”
“It’s not very far,” Garun said.
“I’ll return soon.” Noah kissed Emzara’s forehead. “Be safe.”
“I will.”
“I’ll stay with her, too,” Laleel said.
The men walked quickly along the tree line to the south. The morning sun lit up the glade and surrounding vegetation. Noah’s focus shifted to the massive trees, struggling to figure out why they looked so familiar.
Garun pointed in the distance. “It’s up at the little mound.”
Noah guessed they still had a hundred cubits or so to cover.
Methuselah let out a little laugh. “I just remembered something else.”
“What?” Lamech asked.
“These trees.” Methuselah swept his arm to his left. “Look how big they are.”
“I think we can see that they’re large, Father.”
“I know, but when I was here as a boy, my father helped Greatfather plant a lot of these gopherwood trees.”
The words echoed loudly in Noah’s head. He looked wildly around the glen, shocked that the entire area was surrounded by the tall, straight timbers.
“What’s the matter?” Methuselah asked. “Was it something I said?”
Noah nodded toward the forest. “Did you say these were gopherwood?”
Methuselah raised an eyebrow and smiled. “Yes, my father helped plant them. I think Greatfather said they were his favorite. They grow tall and straight and don’t have any fruit on them.”
“Are you sure?” Noah asked.
“Of course I’m sure. What’s the matter with gopherwood?”
Noah’s eyes welled up. “Nothing’s wrong with them.” He looked quickly at each of the men. “I told you before that when the Most High appeared to me, He told me that I needed to build an ark. What I didn’t tell you was that He said I was to make it out of gopherwood, but I didn’t know what kind of wood that was.”
Methuselah laughed. “Well, you do now.”
“And now I know why I’ve seen these before. They were in my vision. And so were the house and the little river. This is what the Creator showed me. He knew I would come here.” Noah put his hands on his head and spun around.
Garun stopped and pointed to the mound. “Did you see this in your vision?”
Noah stared at the small rise and then something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. Directly behind the tiny hill, two massive gopherwood trees, much larger than all the others rose from the ground. He looked back at the raised ground again and then to the trees. “This is the spot.” He dropped to his knees, tears of joy streaming down his cheeks. He pointed to the mound. “Right here. The Most High stood right here when He spoke to me.”
Lamech knelt beside Noah and put an arm around him. “He has truly guided us here. This field. These trees. He has prepared all of it for you to build His ark.”
Noah hugged his father and then shakily climbed to his feet. He sniffled, wiped his eyes, and turned to Garun. “So why did you lead us out here?”
Garun gestured for the group to follow him to the other side of the mound. “This is where Greatfather and Greatmother are buried. Look.”
Silence hung over the group as Noah stared at the grave markers bearing the names Adam and Eve. Overwhelmed by the revelations of the morning, Noah could not even think about speaking. All his life, he had begged the Most High to speak to him, and then in one brief encounter outside Novanam, the Creator had done so, revealing so much more than he had realized at the time. Noah saw now that the Most High had worked everything out long ago, even before Greatfather planted these trees. Awed, he bowed his head and quietly thanked the Creator for His guidance and provision.
“I think we should offer a sacrifice tonight,” Lamech said.
They all agreed.
Purlek stepped forward and motioned to the ground in front of him. “I can see the graves of Greatfather and Greatmother, but who is in this third one?”
Noah’s attention snapped to where Purlek stood. He had failed to notice it before, but sure enough, a third grave lay before them.
“Noah!”
Elam came running toward them, waving excitedly to get their attention. His smile stretched ear to ear. “It’s time. Emzara needs you.”
* * *
“Thank you, Evet.” Noah refused to take his eyes off the little bundle resting in his arms. For several moments after his birth, the infant had screamed, but he calmed down after cuddling with his mother. Noah grappled with a vast array of emotions as he watched Emzara bond with their child. With the assistance of some wispy tree bark, she had endured all the pains of childbirth, just like Grandfather said she would. Then she held the fruit of her labor and wept with joy. Even after the long struggle, her sweaty, tear-stained, and tired face struck Noah as the epitome of beauty in the world. Finally, after Evet had cleaned up a little, she softly transferred the baby boy to his father. Then she left to give Noah and Emzara time alone with their newborn.
Noah slowly marched around the interior of the tent, which the men had set up for them. The spacious
shelters they had purchased from Adah’s people would suit the families well until more permanent structures could be built. He had seen tents before, but Jabal had perfected the craft in essentially creating a home that could easily be transported from one place to the next.
Noah carefully stroked the black hair on the tiny head in his arms and beamed. Without closing his eyes, he offered a silent prayer. O Most High, You are so faithful and so good. Our many years of frustration and disappointment have been overshadowed in one day of unspeakable blessing. Knowing that You guided us to this very spot that You set apart and prepared for the building of the ark — and that You chose me to be a part of it — O Creator, I don’t know what to say. And now this. Tears clouded his vision as he stared at his son. This. The first of the sons You foretold. My words could never express my gratitude, and I know they surely could never express Your majestic glory and goodness. Thank You. He pulled the child in a little tighter. Thank You! He slowly lifted his eyes toward Emzara.
Breathing deeply with a satisfied smile across her lips, she stared back at him and blinked. “So what do you think?”
“He’s perfect. Just like his mother.”
“You mean just like his father.” She slid herself back a little in order to sit up a bit more. “Do I ever get to hold him again?”
Noah shook his head playfully before placing him carefully on her chest. “I think we should name him before the sacrifice tonight.”
Emzara kissed the baby’s head. “I agree. Now that you’ve seen him, what would you like to call him?”
“He should bear the name of an honorable man.” Noah knelt beside her and caressed her head. “How about Ara?”
She smiled up at him, but then shook her head. “It’s a wonderful name, but I think it’d be too hard for me to say it all the time.”
“I understand.”
“What if we named him after my mother’s father? We only saw him a couple of times over the years, but he was an honorable man. And it’d bring back only pleasant memories to hear his name.”
“So you want to name him Japheth?”
Emzara bit her lip and nodded. “If you agree.”
Noah beheld his son and mouthed the name Japheth a couple of times. He turned back to Emzara and kissed her forehead. “He looks like a Japheth to me.”