The Ark

My sons and I work together to haul the door of the ark shut. God told me that he would send a flood. Every living thing on the Earth would be destroyed except for my sons and their families, my wife, and a single male and female from every species on Earth. It bothers me that everything and everyone will die, but I know that God has chosen me for a purpose.

As we haul the door of the ark shut, it begins to rain. Once the door is shut, we walk into the recesses of the ark. The ark is huge, it is over 450 feet long. It takes a while to walk all the way across. We are below the deck where many of the animals are. I walk past slithering snakes, trumpeting elephants and prowling cheetahs. Some of these animals may seem fierce, but they know me and trust me. We will not be harmed on this journey.

As it gets dark, my family and I get ready for bed. We make sure all of the animals have the food they need, and we eat our supper. The women comb their hair while the men comb their beards. Afterwards, there is not much else to do but sleep and wait.

For the next 20 days, nothing eventful happens. The water on the land grew, and each day we could feel our ark floating a little bit more. The people begin to panic. 10 more days goes by. We stick to our daily routines. Our main concern is taking care of the animals. The women and my sons are extremely helpful. Then the 40th day arrives. The Earth is completely flooded.

People try to swim and survive. My wife and my son's wives shed tears. We can hear the screams and the beatings on the ark from the outside. We know they can't get in, but the noise outside bothers us. The day afterwards, it is more quiet. The people's screams still echo outside the ark and inside our heads.

After 100 days pass, we get restless. My family and I spend most of our free time looking off the railing and into the dark waters of the flood. When we are taking care of tasks, the women sing songs to glorify god while the men hum along. None of the animals starve or die. Nobody goes hungry. Thankfully, all is quiet outside. While we work everyday, we always save the seventh day of every week to rest for the most part. The only thing we do on the seventh day is feed the animals. After that, we praise the Lord and give him our thanks. He saved our souls and our bodies. We much to be thankful for.

Finally, it is the 150th day. Our ark comes to a stop. The animals are excited. They feel that the end of our journey is near. While we are stuck in the mountains, we cannot yet see land. The waters continue receding for over a month. Much of the mountains is visible, but that is all. I grow restless and impatient. I need to know what is going on in other places.

I walk into the bottom of the ark and carry a raven gently to the upper deck. I let the raven fly. The raven flies back and forth until the water is dry from the mountains. I can't see far though, so I am still unsure if it is safe to go out. After the raven comes back into the ark, I put it where it belongs. Next, I use a dove. The dove brings back nothing. The Earth is still flooded.

A week later, I send the same dove out of the ark. The dove returns to me that evening, carrying an olive leaf in it's beak. I am thrilled, and my family is too. Home is near, and so is the beginning of our new life on the Earth.

I am 601 years old. My beard is long and silver, but I am still strong. 27 days after my 601st birthday, the Earth is completely dry. God speaks.

"The Earth is dry. Come out with your families, and see the Earth that I have now given you. I will never flood the Earth again. To remind you of my covenant, you will see a rainbow in the sky every time it rains." We rejoice and get to work. God has blessed us with this Earth. Now we need to make it our home.