In the days of Noah, after the floodwaters had subsided, Mankind began to multiply. At the base of Mount Ararat, Man called out to God, asking him for guidance. But the LORD remained silent for one hundred years. Noah pitched his tent higher upon the mount than any of his descendants, waiting for God to speak. Next to Noah’s tent was the altar built at the end of the flood when Noah and his family left the Ark. The sons of Noah gathered every year at this altar to offer sacrifices to the LORD and sing songs of praise to he who led them through the floodwaters.
But the silence of the LORD made Noah and his sons afraid, and in their hearts, they began to doubt the promises of God.
When Noah had lived seven hundred years, one hundred years after they left the Ark, Abdon, the Son of Ham, brother of Cannan, who Noah had cursed, rose up and led the other sons of Noah. Being well advanced in years, Noah retired to his tent, allowing Abdon to lead the Sons of Noah as he pleased.
Abdon had forgotten the promises of the LORD and never saw the bow the LORD had placed in the sky. Fearing the floodwaters over God, he led the Sons of Noah to repair and maintain the Ark of his grandfather. Over the months, rotting boards were replaced with fresh ones from the trees that the LORD had bid grow around the mountain. The whole of the Ark was covered with pitch. And Abdon said, “This is good, for if we keep the Ark well built, it shall save us again if the floodwaters return.
After the Sons of Noah repaired the Ark, there came a day when the heavens opened once again. It rained for three days and three nights. As Mankind’s settlement’s lowest part was filled with rainwater, the Sons of Noah went to their Abdon and cried out.
“Brother, save us, for the Floodwaters of old have returned, and we shall be drowned in the wrath of the LORD!”
Moved by the fear of his brothers, Abdon commanded all of Mankind to ascend the mountain and enter the Ark. Four Sons of Noah entered Noah’s tent and brought their father up to the Ark.
“My children, the LORD will keep us safe. We have no reason to fear the floodwaters.” Noah said.
But the Sons of Noah had let fear seize their hearts. Ignoring their father’s pleas, they brought Noah to the Ark and hid inside.
Yet none of them could close the door.
The Sons of Noah Wrung their hands and wept.
“If the door shall remain open, how will we survive? The LORD has abandoned us to the waters!”
Noah stood and called to his children.
“The LORD has not abandoned us; we have abandoned God!” he called.
But Abdon turned to Noah with anger in his soul.
“Be quiet!” he told Noah, “We have no hope in him who you call God. He has been silent since the floodwaters subsided, yet you command we sacrificed our finest animals to him. The Ark is our salvation, and I will hear no more of this God you speak of.”
As they were still speaking, the rain halted its downpour, the clouds were scattered, and the sun returned. After three days of waiting, Noah and his sons left the Ark and descended to the base of Mount Ararat. As the Sons of Noah returned to their homes, Noah went to the altar of the LORD.
“Noah,” a voice cried out.
“Here I am,” Noah said, “Who are you, lord?”
“I am the God of your fathers, the creator of Adam. I am the God who told you to build the Ark to save your family from the floodwaters. I am the God of the water, the dry land, the skies, and the seas. I am the God you sacrificed to when you exited the Ark and the God who placed my bow in the sky as a promise to you and your children.”
Hearing this, Noah threw himself upon the ground and trembled violently.
“Noah,” The LORD cried out.
“Here I am, Lord,” Noah said.
“Noah,” The LORD said, “Why have you forsaken me? Why do you doubt the promises of the LORD your God? Did I not promise you that I would never again flood the earth, and did I not place my bow in the sky as a symbol of that promise, which you can see even now?”
At this, Noah shook even more violently.
“My Lord and my God,” he cried, “I have not forsaken you but my children. For Abdon, my Grandson lives in fear of the floodwaters and defiance of you, and I am old and well along in years, and I cannot stand against my children, who are young and strong.”
“Do you believe that your descendant can overturn my will?” The LORD asked
“No, LORD,” Noah said.
“Noah, do not fear your children or the strength of your descendant Abdon. I will raise another child to challenge Abdon’s authority over your children, one who is strong and wise and will follow my commands as you did before the days of The Flood.”
The LORD left Noah and returned to where he had come. Noah descended the mountains and called to his children. The Sons of Noah gathered around him, and he addressed the crowds.
“My children, I have led you for many years and watched you grow and multiply. Yet we have failed to keep the commandments of God. He had commanded us to “spread over the face of the earth,” yet we remain here at the base of this mountain. The LORD spoke to me, and I have listened. Who are we to ignore the commands of the Creator God?”
But the people grumbled against Noah and the words that he spoke. Shaking with rage at his grandfather’s words, Abdon spoke out against him.
“You call us your children, but tell us we must leave the safety of the Ark’s Mountain? You are old and well along in years, as are our true fathers and their wives. Ask your God where he shall send us? The earth is a wild and desolate place, but here under the mountain is good and plentiful. Perhaps God meant that our children shall spread over the face of the earth. However, you cannot command I take my father, Ham, and my brothers and leave the safety of the mountain to drown if the floodwaters return.”
All the Sons of Noah spoke out against Noah and The LORD at these words. Noah fell on his face before the people, fearful of his descendants and their strength.
“My children,” He called, “do not separate yourself from the LORD your God. He has good plans and promises to fill the earth with your descendants. But you must follow his commands. He has placed his bow in the sky to promise the floodwaters will not return!”
“I see no bow!” Abdon cried out, “The bow of his promise is not here. How can you command us to follow unseen forces or trust unseen promises? Is your God not all-powerful? Are we not at the mercy of his voice? Call to your God, ask him to appear before me and show me the bow he placed in the sky. Only then will I bow before he who you call LORD!”
Noah left the people and returned to his tent, but the Sons of Noah remained and grumbled against Noah among themselves. Yet some of them rose in defense of Noah and God.
“The LORD commands we give respect to our forefathers,” said Barzillai, son of Japheth.
Abdon laughed.
“That is simple for you to say, a son of one of our grandfather Noah’s favorites, Japheth, my uncle, bore no humiliation from Noah as Ham, my father. And Canaan, my brother, who was made less than you because of Noah’s Sin.”
Abdon and Barzillai then hated each other with a great passion. From that moment forward, the Sons of Ham and Japheth were divided against one another.
Elior, the youngest son of Shem, saw the hatred of his cousins and wept, for Elior was a man after God’s own heart, and his heart broke to hear the divisions of the Sons of Noah. The Sons of Shem debated which of their cousins to join, Abdon or Barzillai. The debate lasted through the night until well past noon the next day without relief. Driven with grief at the divide that had severed the Sons of Noah, Elior fled the camp, finding it better to remove himself from the world than remain within it.
Coming to a spring, Elior made ready to throw himself into it and drown himself. However, as he was preparing, a voice called out.
“Elior!” it cried.
Elior looks up and sees a small pile of bread and a cup of water.
“Who are you, LORD?” Elior asked.
“Sit, eat.” the voice said.
Elior sat and ate and drank.
“Who are you, lord?” Elior asked.
“Why do you grieve Elior, and why do you make ready to drown yourself?” the voice asked.
“My family has divided against themselves, cousin against cousin and brother against brother. Neither wishes to leave the base of Mount Ararat, yet they will no longer be able to live in the same lands as each other.” Elior said.
Again Elior asked
“Who are you, lord?”
“Who do you say I am?” the voice asked?
“You are The LORD, God of my grandfather Noah who led my father’s family through the floodwaters,” Elior said.
“What you have spoken is the truth.” The LORD responded. Elior fell on his face before Him.
“LORD, my God, I am unworthy, a man filled with sins.” he cried out.
“Elior, Son of Shem, Grandson of Noah, who I love.” The LORD said, “there is something you must do for me.”
“Speak, LORD,” Elior said, his voice trembling as a leaf trembles on a windy day.
“Go to the Sons of Noah and command them to leave the base of Mount Ararat.”
“But my lord,” Elior said, “The others shall destroy me!”
“My hedge of protection shall be over you.” The LORD said.
Elior left the LORD’s presence and returned to the base of Mount Ararat. In the middle of the settlement, he called the Sons of Noah and their father to him.
“Brothers,” Elior called out, “The Lord, God of Noah and he who led us through the floodwaters, have come to me, and he has commanded that we leave the mountain and go spread out over all the world.”
But Abdon laughed at Elior.
“Who are you to command us?” he asked, “Our father Noah told us to leave, and we didn’t listen, and you believe that you, the youngest of us all, would be able to make us follow you? Leave us be and go back out into the wilderness.”
Many of the Sons of Ham and Shem grumbled among themselves, their hearts torn between Abdon and Elior.
“The Lord called me to tell you what must be done,” Elior said, “We can no longer live at the base of Mount Ararat and must leave by his command.”
However, many of the Sons of Noah grumbled against Elior and conspired to kill him. Fearful for his life, he fled to the tent of Noah, his grandfather. There they offered sacrifices to the Lord and called for him to change the hearts of those who opposed them.
The voice of God then came to Elior.
“Call for Abdon and Barzillai and have them and their followers meet you in the center of the settlement with your followers. I shall make myself clear to all the Sons of Noah and reveal what I want you to do there.”
Elior obeyed the Lord. Calling the Sons of Noah to the center of the settlement, he called to all of them.
“Brothers!” he said, “The Lord God who led us through the floodwaters has commanded us to leave behind Mount Ararat and spread out over the face of the earth. All the Sons of Noah must obey his voice. If you do not want to leave the base of this Mountain, Ally yourselves together, but if you are willing to follow the command of the Lord, ally yourselves with me.
The people divided themselves into two great groups. Abdon, son of Ham, led the group that wished to stay. Elior, the son of Shem, led the group that wanted to leave.
Putting aside the fear in his heart, he called out to the LORD.
“Lord, show your will. Let it be known among the Sons of Noah.” he prayed.
God’s bow descended onto Elior as he spoke, and the followers of Abdon were shrouded in Darkness. Half of the settlement was as dark as night, and the followers of Abdon could not see their hands in front of their faces. Still, to the followers of Elior, it was as bright as mid-day.
The voice of the LORD rang out from the top of Mount Ararat. Shaking the ground and ringing out like thunder. All the Sons of Noah collapsed at his voice, and the houses they built trembled upon their foundations. The Sons of Noah hid their faces in fear as the LORD’s voice echoed through the earth.
“Sons of Noah, whom I had led through the Floodwaters, whose father I had commanded to build an ark of Gopher wood, I issue a new command to you. Destroy the Ark of Gopher wood, break it down, and use it to fuel the fires of your camps as you spread across the face of the earth. I will be with you, and you shall thrive in the creation I have given you, do not delay.”
With that, the voice of The LORD faded away. His heart hardened like a stone, Abdon immediately took up stones from the ground and called out to his followers. Rage filled his heart and his soul.
“Quickly, brothers, we will stone these rebels, and then we shall be rid of these ideas of moving forever!”
Elior called out to the Followers of Abdon.
“Get away from him, for the wrath of the Lord is upon him.”
Several of Abdon’s followers fled from him, and the next instant, before he could cast the first stone, the earth opened below him. It swallowed Abdon and his followers, including all their families, possessions, and even the very houses they lived in. The total number of men consumed by the base of Mount Ararat numbered three hundred.
Elior called the remaining Sons of Noah to the top of Mount Ararat to dismantle the Ark. On the tenth day of the eighth month, one hundred years since the floodwaters subsided, the Ark of Noah fell.
Splitting the wood between the Sons of Noah, the families left the base of Mount Ararat to spread out over the face of the earth.
After this, Elior lived another six hundred years and settled in the lands of Cannan. He built an altar to the LORD and offered sacrifices in his name. The total years of his life reached six hundred and eighty years.
And the Sons of Noah filled the face of the earth.
Will Fall Writings 