A Letter to Noah

January 1, 2005

Dear Noah,

I am writing to know about your life and times, and to tell you about the startling things that are happening in this world today. But I know that I have already jolted you by the date on this letter. You might be wondering what it means.

You see, many things have changed since your birth in 2970 B.C.E.—almost 5,000 years ago. While you counted 30 days for a month, our one month today is 28 days. Now, we count up but in your time, you counted down. Because ours is the Common Era while your time was Before Our Common Era. This is one of the new things you do not know. So since it is strange to you, do not bother to date your letter when you write back.

I have read about you -how you built that gigantic ark and condemned the world by your faith. I thought that it would be nice for you to tell your story. I think that your father, Lamech, must have told you much about Adam since their lives overlapped. More so, he was with you 5 years before the flood, so he must have used most of the 777 years of his life to tell you ancient stories.

Did he say that Adam and Eve were actually deceived by a snake to eat the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden? Because some say that they were guilty of sexual sin. They say that the tree of the knowledge of good and bad in the middle of the garden was a figurative language. Was that really so? Is Hebrew, the language of God, full of double entendre?

Some even say that Adam was a fictional character because the name Adam means man. Did Lamech, your old man, tell you so? I am sure you must know the facts about these things.

I also know that you knew your grandfather Methuselah so well since he died in the year of the flood in 2370 B.C.E. I know that he did not perish in the deluge, that he died his own death. But how come he lived that long—969 years! In fact, he would be in a better position to tell you what really happened in Eden and about Enoch, that other righteous man like you, who lived for just 365 years.

I say ‘just' because you people in those days lived long, like you who lived for 864 years. Some say, however, that you people did not really live that long; that the years were actually months. Is that true? Did you live for only 864 months or 72 years? Today the fortunate ones among us live 70 or 80 years—as brief as the life of the small sparrow. That may also surprise you.

But why did God take Enoch so that his corpse was not seen? He also did that to the dead body of Moses. Sorry, you do not know this man who made a copper serpent that was later worshipped. But he was best known as the meekest man that ever lived on earth, who died for playing God and was buried in a concealed grave. Now wait a moment: Did God fear that wicked people would dig up the bones of these godly men and do things to them, or was it a mark of honor in days of yore to bury righteous servants of God in unmarked graves?

You must have been happy to have been born close to creation—tenth in the line of Adam and born 126 years after his death. Since your dad, Lamech, had other sons and daughters, I would like to know how you lived together. Did you squabble and kill one another like Cain and Abel? Or did one sell the other? Or was there a rapist in the house? There were families where such things were practiced long after your time. But I must tell you that we do all of these today. I will tell you about these things before I conclude my letter.

But how were you raised that you came to have so much faith? And what occupation did your parents teach you? Did you farm, herd, or hunt animals? If so, how was farming, animal rearing, or hunting in those days? Did you enjoy it? There are all kinds of work these days. Some people are paid for spying, for example. But the best paid workers are those who make dangerous weapons to kill their brothers. Were there such jobs in your time?

Now, when your father named you Noah, meaning Rest or Consolation, did he know of the impending flood? Because he had said that you were going to bring comfort to their work and the pain of their hands arising from the ground which God had cursed.

But tell me: How did you fare in those days when those giants called Nephilims or Fellers wreaked havoc on the earth? Did they hurt you or your children, Japhet, Shem, and Ham? I wonder how you were able to remain righteous and faultless amidst the violent, idolatrous, and immoral world of those days. Even your family members were separated from the sinners, too. You must have been specially blessed, Noah!
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I am sorry for the long letter. Please take time to explain to me the many things that happened in your time of both the questions I asked in this mail and of others that I did not remember. I know that I may have written many new things that you do not know. One thing I must tell you is that this world is moving so fast that I do not even understand it. But if I were to write all I know, your ark would not contain the story of this world!

I look forward to your reply.

Yours sincerely,
Disenchanted Son.

(Excerpted from "A LETTER TO NOAH," to be published by Authorhouse soon.)

ARTHUR ZULU is an editor, book reviewer, author of "CHASING SHADOWS!" and "A LETTER TO NOAH" coming soon.
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