As Nimrod rode up to us he was laughing.  “Hello uncle.  I never expected you to try and sneak by without paying tribute.”  I knew this could be dangerous.

Shem Contends With Nimrod

Shem never showed fear or that the presence of Nimrod shook him in any way.  I do remember when Nimrod was a child.  Once Shem took him by his neck and threatened to whip him after Nimrod hit one of the girls.  Perhaps Shem should have broken his neck.

Shem replied, “What do you want?  Tribute from your elder?  Your father Cush you murdered and then you took his wife.  What should I really expect from a rebellious child?”

Okay this is definitely not how to make friends.  Why was Shem pushing him?  If Nimrod came at us we wouldn’t stand a chance.  Has Shem lost his mind?

“Uncle, such accusations without witnesses are forbidden.  You know that.  I come here to discover such disrespect in my lands.  I should have your head.  How do you plan on making this right?” Nimrod demanded.

There is the set up.  Nimrod is baiting us for a fight because whatever is offered it is not going to be enough unless we are all dead.  This is not going to be good.

Shem didn’t waiver. “The night you lost your precious Babel we were sleeping comfortably in our homes.  In the next days we lived normally but it was a hassle cleaning up your mess.  It is the kind of mess disobedient children make.  Do you wish to challenge the path Yah has decided once again?”

I noticed Shem used God’s specific name.  Nimrod had claimed to be a god.  I knew then Shem wanted no mistakes as to who he was talking to, or what it was about.  This persona of being the adult authority figure over a child though, I was not so sure how this would work.

“My men are here.  We could destroy you in an instant uncle.  I know that Noah is gone.  Where is his body?” Nimrod asked.

Shem smiled as he replied, “In the ark, we burned it to the ground with him and all that was inside it.” 

At this point Nimrod’s eyes went wide.  It was as if Shem had slapped him in the face.  Why?

“You destroyed the ark?”  Nimrod began looking at our caravan, looking at each position, as if assessing.  “Did you bring anything valuable from it with you?  Perhaps I should look and see?”

Shem’s stare went dead cold in his reply.  “The old world is gone Nimrod.  The seeds from the past would not grow.  You have known this since childhood.  Those blessings are removed, and you are left with this wasteland, so move on.”

Whoa!  There were more secret goods in the ark?  Seeds from the world before?  Wait, that is right, the pouch Noah gave me had seeds.  He said they were trees, a gift to future generations to see the past.

“Well there is still the matter of tribute for passing through my lands.  Should I just take what I wish?”  Nimrod’s said as his smile was gone.  In its place was a murderous stare.  I knew he wanted us dead.

Still Shem did not bat an eye.  “Seriously nephew, what will it take?  A flood washes the earth, your cities were destroyed with its peoples confused, and now you come to me threatening?  Your people were scattered and you have retreated to Ninevah as a place of refuge.  Do you need to be struck dead from His throne for you to know any boundaries?”

For the first time I saw hesitation in Nimrod’s eyes.  He sat for a moment, then turned his horse and began to slowly ride away. 

His last statement was simple, “You may pass uncle, out of respect of mourning.”

That guy could almost make anyone wet their pants, but Shem was like iron.  He simply would not flex, bend, or allow Nimrod to see weakness.  Shem and I had some talking to do.  Clearly I have missed some things over the years.

That night the air was so tense it could but cut with a knife.  After making camp the people lit concealed fires as usual, cooked food, and tried to settle the children.  Make no mistake about it though Nimrod was on everyone’s mind.

As the people began to settle in as best they could I rode to Shem.  He was with a small group of men just outside of camp prepared to ride into a fight if needed.  I asked him to speak privately and Shem indulged me.  We walked a short distance away.

Questions About Nimrod

“So why did Nimrod really let us go?”  I wanted to know so much about what just took place.

Shem’s reply wasn’t exactly comforting.  “He still may not let us pass.  He could get drunk tonight or just change his mind and be here any moment.  The man is unstable.”

“He walked away because a brief moment of clarity came into his mind.  It was God’s doing.  I was not trying to belittle him, but rather show him his real place in the world.” Shem stated.

That part confused me.  “What do you mean his place in the world?” 

The moonlight illuminated Shem’s eyes as he turned to face me. “Clay, do you remember that day dad was drunk from the wine and he was shamed?  The line of Ham, specifically Canaan, was forever placed as a servant.  Understandably Canaan is Nimrod’s uncle, yet he is still of the line of Ham.”

“In other words, this bloodline has now seen multiple curses as it were.  I merely brought the fear of what could happen to the mind of a man that has seen God’s judgment.  A man does not forget that, and it instills fear into him.”

“He has seen God’s hand fall in his life and on his family in ways that are not a hand of blessing.  He knows that harming us could invite his death.  I simply asked him if he was brave enough to test that.” Shem said confidently.

Shem’s Secrets Revealed

He has guts of steel.  That is all I know to say.  Now for my curiosity.  There was something in that ark other than tree seeds.

“So what seeds was he talking about?  I remember stories about how you guys had animals in the ark, but this other stuff?” I asked.

Now Shem busted out laughing.  “In a fall harvest what do you do Clay?  You take seed for the next planting.  That is what we did.  Nothing more.  We knew we would eventually get off the ark and we would need to plant crops.”

“The problem we ran into is one we did not expect.  Most of our crops failed.  The earth itself was not the same.  The fruit from those crops would have been able to sustain us just as before.”

“What we were left with that could be used was the least of our work.  Plants like potatoes, corn, tomatoes, the things you normally feed pigs would grow.  Nimrod was convinced that the seeds from before would produce and we were lying.”

“His goal is an all powerful army to conquer the world.  To do so he needs a garden that can sustain his ego.  If he could have control over such a resource no one would be able to stop him.  The food from before does more than fuel the body, it also regenerated the body.” Shem said.

I couldn’t help myself at this interruption, “Hold on you mean the food could actually heal you?” 

He looked at me being surprised that I was surprised.  “Of course it could heal the body.  Medicinal herbs do that for us now but their effects are severely diminished by comparison.”

That did make sense and could easily help explain some of the longevity in lifespan.  It also would help explain the speed of deterioration of mankind in this present time aside from environment and genetics.

“Don’t worry Clay, the only thing that grows here now is weeds.  We literally eat the food we would feed our animals.”  With that Shem laughed, turned, and began to walk back to camp. 

I could not help myself.  I had one last question.

“Shem, that last day we were at the ark together gathering materials I saw you carry out something.  They looked like vessels of some kind, containers, what were they?  Are there other secrets you hold?”

I could not help but believe there was something that I did not know.  The way Nimrod looked at the camp just seemed odd to me.  It was as if he was searching for something more.

Shem turned and he had a serious look on his face.  His eyes appeared piercing much in the same likeness as his father’s.  As he spoke the tone of voice let me know I was in territory I shouldn’t be in.

“Everyone has secrets Clay.  What those vessels hold is a family secret.” 

He half turned, but then stopped as he stared at the night sky.  He reminded me of Noah in that moment.

“I am sorry Clay I shouldn’t have said it that way.  In fact it may be a need for you to know in case something were to happen to me.  In the beginning was Adam.  God gave to Adam His word.”

Shem continued but when his eyes met mine it was like electricity flowed through us.  My head began to throb, the wind picked up as if to hide his words.

“Adam began recording Gods word and passed it to Methuselah, which then gave it to Noah, and now only I know its location.  I am waiting on God to send me the man He intends to receive it.  After this my time on this Earth will be completed.” Shem said.

I was stunned.  The argument throughout my life had been that so many men in near prehistory messed with the stories of the Bible.  Yet here Shem is telling me they were recorded and passed down through a family line totaling four men.

“Go get some rest Clay.  Your watch is in the last hour before dawn.  Be ready just in case.”

I almost brought up the seeds Noah gave me, but I didn’t.  It was a gift to me given privately.  The last statement about the manuscripts made me forget all about the seeds.  Shem walked back to his men.

Missing Home And Noah

After arriving back at my camp finding Jared on watch, I said my goodnight and went to sleep.  We took turns that night watching, sleeping, and waiting.  The hardest part was the silence and waiting.  This could turn seconds into feeling like hours.  There is nothing like looking to the horizon for dawn, but it never seems to come.

In those long moments I began to place my hand on the hilt of my sword.  I missed Noah dearly.  I remembered him saying to me that he would fashion me tools.  Forged and handmade by him these were to be my tools.  In many ways that scared me.

I knew that man well.  He did nothing without first looking into the sky to pray and then getting some kind of answer.  There is no mistaking that he put some thought and discussion with God into what he did for me, and that scared me more.

Something tells me that he knew more about where I would be going and what I would be facing than he shared.  I did not want this kind of life.  The farm was the kind of life everyone needs.

Thank you Noah for your kindness.