Obed the Earthling

“Obed the Earthling, Voice of the Inquirer here with a live report from what the locals have taken to calling, ‘Noah’s Folly”.  I’m not sure what this thing, is, but it is absolutely HUGE! I’m going to try to talk to someone.

“Excuse me, sir…SIR!?  What is Noah doing up on that … whatever it is?”

“Ah, well, he says he’s building something called an ARK.  He says God told him to build it…whatever.”

“Well, ladies and gentleman, I’m not at all sure what an ark is, but let me describe for you the scene here.  I am standing at the foot of a massive wooden structure, shaped, from what I can see, like an oblong box.  I see a large opening in the long side nearest me.  I can see Noah, three other men and four women carrying large amounts of food and other supplies in through the opening in the side.  I guess that would be the door.

“And, oddly enough, there are hundreds of people all around.  They’re not working though, they’re chatting with each other, milling around, laughing.  Several people are marching around with messages on signs.  Some of the more industrious folk have set up booths to sell food, water, even souvenirs.  Some others are yelling things to Noah.  Definitely a carnival atmosphere!  I need to get closer to hear what they’re saying. 

“That’s better.  Interesting.  People are shouting a variety of things up to Noah – distinctly unfriendly things.  None of the people on the ark seem to be paying much attention.  Let’s listen.”

“Hey! Noah!  I thought you said we were gonna get wet!”

“What did you say this thing is for?”

“What’s a flood, Noah?”

“Water from the sky?  Come on, Noah!  Who are you kidding?”

“Well ladies and gentlemen, these people don’t seem to be very fond of Noah.  I wonder why there’s so much animosity here?  These folks are really letting Noah have it.  Some folks are making jokes, but others really seem angry.  Let me see if I can find out what’s going on.

“Excuse me, ma’am.  I’ve been listening to some of the things people are shouting up to Noah.  Some of these folks sound angry.  Can you help me understand that?”

“You bet I can!  A hundred and twenty years ago my husband and I heard Noah ‘preaching’ about the ‘end of the world’.  And we bought it, hook, line and sinker.  We sold our land.  My husband quit his job.  Now we have nothing! We believed that water was going to fall out of the sky, that we had to help build this big crate so we’d have some place to go when the water started to get deep.  Well, what really got deep was what Noah was peddling.  My husband and I spent twenty years working on the thing, and what do we have to show for it?  Not a thing!  What a waste of time!  By the time we figured out Noah was crazy, well; …  you’ll notice nobody’s helping him anymore besides his family.  The rest of us have figured out his scam.”

“You mean to tell me that you have been angry with Noah for a hundred years?”

“Absolutely!  He cheated us out of twenty years of our lives.  He made fools of us!  He’s made fools of bunches of people who bought into his scheme.  But we’re all smarter now.  We know the truth.  We come here everyday to make sure that Noah doesn’t forget what he did to us.”

“Why do the others come?”

“You mean the ones who are making fun of Noah?  Oh, they’re just teasing him to be funny, and they don’t have anything better to do.  They think Noah’s crazy.  They don’t know that he’s cheating people out of their lives and chopping down our trees.  That he’s going to steal our animals once he gets this monstrosity built.  He’s crazy alright, crazy like a fox.”

“Wow.  Thank you for your time ma’am.  She seems pretty upset.  Hmmm…a crowd forming over there.  I wonder what that’s all about.  Let’s listen in…”

“…threatenings of God, for no other purpose than intimidating us.  No one needs to be frightened; these things will never ever happen!  God made the earth; He won’t destroy it, and He will never punish the beings that He made.  Don’t worry.  Noah is a fanatic…”

“Oh my.  That guy seems to be really sure of himself.  Now I REALLY need to talk to Noah and get his thoughts on all this.  I’m going to try to push my way up to the ark so I can catch him on his next trip with supplies.

“Noah!  Noah!  I’d like to ask you a few questions, if you don’t mind.”

“Well, son, I’m pretty busy, but I’ll chat with ya for a few minutes.  What can I help ya with?

“Sir, I’ve been talking to these folks, and some of them think you’re crazy and others think you’re running some kind of scam.  Talk to me a little from your perspective.”

“My perspective, ya say?  Well, it comes down to just one thing:  the word of my God.  One hundred and twenty years ago, God told me that water was going to fall from the sky and come up out of the earth and that I needed to build this boat to save my family, the animals and anyone who would believe and come into the ark with us.”

“And how many folks are coming with you on the ark so far?”

“So far, my three sons, their wives, my wife, and me.”

“That’s all?”

“There’s still time.  Any who will come are welcome.  Everyday I plead with these folks to join my family and make a commitment to the God of Creation.  I am still prayerfully hoping that others will join us.”

“Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!  Will you look at that?  There are animals coming out of the forest and moving toward the ark.  And the sound in the air is unbelievable as the birds fly to the ark, more than I can count!  They’re all going right into the ark!  And there goes Noah.  He’s talking to the crowd again.  It sounds almost like he’s begging them to come into the ark.  He really sounds like his heart is breaking.  I almost believe he cares.  The crowd is pretty under-whelmed though.  They’re still laughing and yelling and arguing and picketing.

“Noah is taking his family and going into the ark.  I wonder if anyone will follow them in?”