Army of God

by Dennis Bailey

  Noah sympathized with his youngest son’s frustration. And why not? Seven days ago, he shared it. “Forgive me. What I should have said is, ‘What has changed from God’s perspective?’”

  “God’s perspective?”

  “Yes. Do you think because the ark has been torn down we have been released from His command to build it? Who told you He rescinded His promise to bring floodwaters upon the earth?”

  Ham threw his hands into the air. “Father, I know you believe God called you to this task, and I respect you for it. But surely even you can see there are other forces at work here.”

  “If so, I don’t know them. But the voice of YAH I do know, because I have heard it with my own ears.”

  “You don’t seriously intend to rebuild?”

  “Without further delay. As it is, we’ve lost a week because I was busy feeling sorry for myself.”

  “Japheth. Say something.” Ham turned to his other brother. “Shem?” Both men remained silent. “Mother?”

  “Son.” Miryam pointed at the wreckage beneath Ham’s feet. “You said this pile of rubble represents forty years of work.”

  “Yes.”

  “Forty years of rising early, laboring all day in the hot sun, soothing your aches and pains at night.”

  “Exactly.”

  “Forty years. That’s a sizable investment.”

  “Wasted years.”

  “Only if you don’t rebuild.”

  Ham shook his head. “What are you talking about, Mother?”

  “Don’t you understand? If you give up now, the investment is lost. You simply will have lived, and worked, and sweated for forty years and have nothing but a pile of timber to show for it. Only by rebuilding the ark can you recoup what you’ve already put into it.”

  Ham crouched on top of the pile for a closer inspection of the damage. “What do you think, Japheth?”

  He reached down with one hand and picked up a hull plank, eyeing its length. “Oh, I don’t know. My guess is a lot of this timber can be salvaged.”

  “Elisheva?” Ham said. “You’re the second-best carpenter in the family.”

  “What Mother said makes sense to me,” she said. “I’m for it.”

  “Well, I’m not for it,” Ariel said. “Look at all that’s gone wrong since we started building the thing. You killed an ox hauling logs up the hill. Japheth broke his arm. Ham nearly got killed falling off it, and someone tried to set it on fire. Now it’s been demolished.”

  “She’s right, Mother,” Ham said. “The project does seem to have been cursed.”

  “Has it? For forty years you’ve enjoyed near perfect weather to build in. No long periods of rain or violent windstorms to contend with. And has the termite, bee, or ant so much as touched the ark? No, my son, the only thing cursed is the people who came here to destroy it.”

  Ham looked at his brothers, who nodded in succession. “I can’t believe this. My whole family has gone crazy.”

  “Perhaps,” Noah said. “But crazy or not, we must begin the task of cleaning up these ruins immediately. More than ever, we’re going to need every able body working, especially since we know not the Lord’s timetable for the coming flood.”

  “I’m sorry, Father.” Ham stood. “But I can’t see wasting another day on this thing. If that’s not acceptable, Shiphrah and I can move on.”

  “Ham,” Miryam said, frustration showing on her face. “You would leave your father and brothers to work on the ark alone?”

  “What was it you said, Mother. ‘Forty years of laboring all day in the hot sun.’ If they’re foolish enough to agree to do that again, well, I don’t have any sympathy for them.”

  “Are you willing to stay and work the fields?” Noah said.

  “Sure. I’ll tend the herds and cultivate and pick all the crops you want. Only I’m not putting my hand to work again on that ridiculous ark.”

  “Very well.”

  “Come on, Ariel. As the only two rational ones left in this family, let’s go make ourselves useful. I’ll milk the goats while you pick some corn and cabbage for this evening’s meal.”

  Noah had made the offer for Ham to work the fields to buy time, hoping his brothers would shame him into returning to work. If he didn’t, it would be a long, slow rebuild. Over the years, Ham’s maturity into manhood had increased their efficiency working on the ark significantly. It allowed the men to work together in pairs, which made the setting of beams and planks more productive. Now, their number of strong backs was back down to three.

  Chapter 38

  Shortly after sunrise, Shechem waited in the great hall with Lamech, Methuselah, and the other elders of Eden. He pitied the two who sat cross-legged on the floor, their heads bowed in grief while their friends tried to comfort them. Even the echoed clang of the two huge wooden doors being swung open into the hall failed to distract the mourners.

  Bohar trailed Malluch as they entered the hall.

  “Why all the somber faces?” Malluch said. “Have the patriarchs of Eden suffered some loss?”

  “Two more of our sons have been murdered, Malluch,” Lamech said. “Including Azriel’s son, that’s three in a week.”

  The governor bowed politely. “My condolences honored elders. It seems our killer has no respect for class or title.”

  Methuselah slammed the bottom of his staff on the floor. “These are our sons being murdered, Malluch! Not something to be made light of.”

  “And would you have me show less compassion for the other victims of this madman? For the women? For the children?” He turned to Shechem. “Commander, were there any other victims last night?”

  “Two women. A mother of two and the daughter of a shepherd. She was twenty.”

  “How selfish of you not to mention them,” Malluch said.

  “That’s not what we meant, and you know it,” Lamech said. “Our concern is for all the citizens of Eden.”

  “Of course. Please excuse my weak attempt to soften an otherwise grim circumstance. Clearly it was in poor taste. How can I help?”

  “The murders. With all due respect to the best efforts of the Commander here, they’re not stopping. If anything, they’re increasing in frequency.”

  “Aren’t we doing everything possible? Are there not soldiers on every street corner throughout the night?”

  “Unfortunately, it’s not enough.”

  “You are welcome to join our soldiers in keeping watch if you think it will help.”

  Shechem groaned at Malluch’s offer. Having the elders on watch was the last thing he wanted, for it would require him to divert more resources just to protect them. “I’ve already discussed Lamech’s offer, my lord, and we decided it wasn’t a good idea.”

  “I doubt if a thousand more pairs of eyes would help,” Lamech said. “What we need is information. And the best way I know of to obtain information is to pay for it.”

  “A reward,” Malluch said. “Yes, that does sound practical. What do you think, Commander?”

  “It couldn’t hurt. I’ve tried everything I can think of.”

  “Very well, my friends, a reward it is. Shall we say fifty pieces of gold for information leading to the killer’s arrest?”

  “Thank you, Malluch,” Lamech said. “You’ve been most gracious.”

  Several elders helped the two in mourning to their feet, and the group proceeded to the door until Malluch’s voice halted their exit. “Ah, one more thing before you leave, please.”

  Lamech, Methuselah, and four or five others paused while the rest of the elders shuffled through the door. “Yes?” Lamech said.

  “You wouldn’t happen to know who vandalized Eden’s god, would you?”

  “No.” Lamech raised his chin. “We wouldn’t.”

  Shechem wasn’t sure whether it was real or imagined, but the slightest smirk appeared at the corner of Lamech’s mouth as he walked out.

  * * *

  “Japheth,” Ham said with a loud voice.

  Noah,
tightening his sandal strap, saw a spear flying through the room and Shem enter from another wing of the house. Japheth snatched the lance out of the air with his massive paw. Ham continued across the room, tossing another spear to Shem before presenting one of two swords he was carrying to his father.

  “What’s this?” Noah said. “Hunting in the morning?”

  “You’re not going to believe it.” Ham said. “There are two lions lying outside our front door.”

  “Lions.” Ariel’s voice trembled.

  Noah’s family gathered around a front-side window. A male and female lion lay next to each other thirty cubits from the house.

  “What do we do, Father?” Shem said.

  “I’ll tell you what we do,” Ham said. “We kill them before they kill us. You and I will go out the back and come up on the side of the house where they can’t see us. Father and Japheth will go out the front door. When the lions move toward them, you and I should be able to flank them and get the first couple of thrusts in.”

  Ham’s plan wasn’t a sound one. Sneaking up on a pair of lions was problematic, whether distracted or not. Moreover, even with the element of surprise, Noah suspected the four of them would have their hands full with two lions fighting for their lives. One or more of his family might be seriously injured or worse. “That could be dangerous, son.”

  “Why don’t we see if we can scare them away?” Elisheva said.

  “That’s a good idea,” Ariel said. “We could make a lot of noise.”

  “I don’t think that’s going to work,” Noah said.

  “Well it can’t hurt to try. Better than going out there to face the lions. Elisheva. Shiphrah. Give me a hand.” The two women accompanied Ariel to the kitchen area of the house, returning with metal pots and wooden spoons for them and their husbands.

  Ariel, Shem, and Elisheva joined the parents by the first window. The other three moved to another overlooking the front of the house. At Ariel’s signal, the children leaned out the windows and began banging on the pots with the spoons.

  After nine parts, the clanging stopped. Neither lion had moved, except to turn its head slowly toward the sound of the clamor.

  “Again,” Ham said.

  The banging resumed, only this time they added their voices to the acoustic display, yelling and screaming as loud as they could. They stopped after another nine parts.

  The lions just stared at them.

  Noah tried to suppress a wry grin. Miryam bit her lip while chuckling softly in her throat.

  “What now?” Japheth said.

  “I say we try my plan,” Ham said.

  Noah moved to the center of the room to address his family. “I think you all are forgetting about the Lord’s covenant. I don’t believe these lions showed up by accident but are a part of the Divine appointment.”

  Ham frowned. “So.”

  “So—I doubt the Lord would send lions or any animal He has chosen for salvation, to harm us.”

  “But how do you know these are the chosen lions?”

  “I shall go out there and find out.”

  Elisheva gasped.

  “No, Father,” Ariel said. “You can’t.”

  “Father, these are lions we’re talking about, not sheep or goats,” Ham said. “You can’t just go out there and shake hands with them.”

  “Possibly not. But you are welcome to come with me.”

  “We’ll all come with you.” Japheth nodded at Shem and Ham. “The women will stay inside.”

  Noah placed his sword against the wall beneath the window and walked to the door. His gut told him the lions were harmless, but his head held onto a pinch of doubt.

  Ariel picked up the weapon and turned to him, arms outstretched. “Father, please. Just in case.”

  “No, daughter,” he said. “After forty years of building the ark, am I not willing to trust God for the next sixty parts?”

  As he and his sons walked out the door, Ariel reached to touch Shem’s chin and shook her head.

  “It’s all right,” Shem said, patting her forearm.

  “Stay here.” In slow steps, Noah moved toward the lions. When he was within ten cubits, the male lion rose on all fours, but made no move to signal aggression.

  “Father, stop,” Japheth whispered.

  Concerned etched the faces of Noah’s sons and they readied their weapons.

  But their look turned to one of puzzlement when he smiled and pointed to the side of the house. His sons moved to where they could get a better look. Two gazelle grazed next to the house fifty cubits from the lions. He raised his arm in affirmation to indicate all was well, and they should remain calm.

  He continued walking. At five cubits, the lioness moved to meet him, sniffing his extended palm. “Nothing to fear here, girl.” He stroked her head and scratched behind her ears. The lioness pressed her shoulders against his legs. The male lion moved closer. “Nor you, big fella.” Noah leaned over the female to stroke the mane of her companion.

  He ignored his sons’ gaping jaws and motioned for them to join him. Shem and Japheth dropped their weapons and moved toward their father, but Ham stopped a few cubits short, sword at the ready. “What’s the matter, brother?” Japheth stroked the lioness on the back. “Don’t you believe your eyes?”

  The front door opened and the women exited to mingle with their husbands and the new arrivals. Continuing their passive nature, the lions allowed themselves to be caressed by each family member. Even Ham relented, caressing the female on the back with one hand while holding the sword in the other. Ariel stayed close beside her husband.

  The male lion seemed to take a special interest in Miryam, returning several times to her massaging touch. “Looks like you’ve made a friend,” Noah said.

  “Yes, well, I always had a way with men.” Miryam and the family laughed.

  “Shall we eat the meal our visitors interrupted?” Noah said. “We still have a full day ahead of us.”

  They moved back into the house, followed by the two lions.

  “Oh, no, you don’t.” Miryam grabbed the male lion by the mane. “I’ve never had a dog in the house, and I’m not about to have a cat—especially one your size.”

  She escorted the lion outside, followed by her husband leading the lioness. They hurried back into the house, slamming the door behind them.

  Once the family sat down to eat, an occasional soft growl accompanied the sound of the lions pacing outside. “You think they’ll get tired and go away?” Shiphrah said.

  They startled at the sound of the lioness bounding through the window opening, followed by the male. Both looked at the family and circled twice around the living area before laying on the floor ten cubits from the window.

  “What was that you said, Shiphrah?” Noah said.

  He and his family burst into laughter again.

  Given their reputation for fierceness, Noah wasn’t surprised God had chosen lions as the first arrivals to the ark site. More telling was that He’d chosen to send the gazelle with them, a clear message to his family they had nothing to fear from the predators.

  Chapter 39

  The sun had been up an hour when Noah walked the port side of the ark, the female lion trailing a few paces behind. Since returning to work three weeks ago, he and his sons had barely made a dent in the pile of wood that once stood as the ark. Even with the oxen, the process of dismantling the tangled mass had been a slow one. It had also proved dangerous. Several times, he and his sons were required to negotiate unsure footholds or dash out of the way of slipping sections of lumber to avoid injury. At least they didn’t have to worry about spectators to the building site any longer.

  At first, the sight of the ark lying in ruins seemed to attract a whole new set of onlookers. But one look at the lions prowling the perimeter or stopping to growl in their direction had quickly sent them on their way. Only the most curious bothered to visit now, and even those just long enough to catch a glimpse and move on.

  Clearly, G
od had sent the lions to be more than future passengers on the ark. And although the male appeared content to keep Miryam within earshot, the lioness followed Noah around like a duckling trailing its mother.

  One day Shem asked him about it. “Father, does she follow you everywhere?”

  “Pretty much.”

  “What about your privacy? I mean, what happens when you have to, you know?”

  “I talk to her.”

  “What?”

  “She’ll lie down if I tell her to. But if she doesn’t see or hear me in around thirty-six parts, she gets up to look for me. I found that if I keep talking to her, she’ll stay put and give me time to attend to my needs.”

  “I think I’d rather forgo the protection.”

  “I agree. Only she hasn’t shown a desire to make that an option.”

  For Miryam, the lions, although protective, had proven to be a challenge, vowing from the first day to keep them out of the house. Each night she would put the cats out, and each morning she would find them on the floor in the main living area. She’d tried everything, including hanging blankets over the open windows, but they’d always found their way back inside. Except for one evening just over a week ago.

  Right before going to bed, Noah noticed the male lion seemed to have disappeared. Miryam had entered the door from putting the female out. “Did you see her mate?” he said.

  “No, but I’m sure he’ll return by morning.”

  Fifty-five parts later, the two walked into their sleeping area to find the male lion sprawled on their bed. “Out!” Miryam pointed a finger away from the bed. She reached for a leather thong used to tie the waist of her husband’s tunic. The lion hopped out of the bed and darted into the other room with Miryam hot on its tail. This time, he didn’t wait for her to open the door, leaping directly out the window.

  But at dawn, both lions appeared again on the floor beneath it.

  This morning, the whole of Noah’s family returned to work on the ark, including Ham. He didn’t offer any explanation why he was breaking his vow, and his father didn’t ask for any. The men labored to remove some of the larger sections, while the women carried away the lighter boards, separating the usable from the unusable. Noah stopped to help Shem, who was driving a team of four oxen pulling away a large section of framing. When he did, the lioness lay on the ground about sixty cubits away.