Our push to Ur would be more direct than when we fled the farm for Uz.  We would cut through the valley south into what would one day be modern Iran.  Once reaching the mountain passes, we would turn West, then South.

Ur itself rested at the tip of what would be called the Persian Gulf.  There were different powers nearby who held interests in that region.  If there was conflict it would come from the land of Elam, or future Persia, still further known as Iran.

Travel In Ancient Sumer

These lands were generally stable as the Akkadian kingdom had unified itself with the Sumerians through time.  Despite the fall of the Akkadians some time before, and now the regions cities being ruled by kings, there was a general sense of peace.

While the core of Mesopotamia was seen as being at a general rest, bandits of various kinds were always a problem no matter where one was in the world.  With my men these groups would at worst be a minor annoyance.

Abram had a very small company with him.  Seven in total including himself.  On his trip to see Shem he desired to remain small and unnoticed.  It was common in these times to travel in larger groups, often caravans.  This provided safety.

A caravan would require a fee for passage.  In return you could have the benefit of larger numbers, easier access to cities, and more comforts.  Comforts though would always come with an additional price tag.

The downside to this style of travel was speed.  To compare back to my modern life it would be like choosing to travel by bus instead of driving your personal car.  A bus was slower and it stopped in every city along the way.

Abram was stunned by the speed of our travel.  I told him it was not always this fast but here we could move at our best speed. Shem had told him that we circled the world.  Now he witnessed how we did it.  The movement was split into four elements.

The point was a group of five men that served to be the eyes and ears moving forward.  Next came the main element or body of our group.  The rear held ten men to clear our back-trail and act as support if the main column was hit.

The fourth element was a group of three to five men that would sweep anywhere they thought was needed.  If something looked suspicious, they would check it out.  At times they would swing in front of the forward element at night while we camped to watch choke points. This made our next days passage safer.

We had three times as many horses as we did men.  The riding didn’t stop unless we were feeding and watering them or we were sleeping.  We lived riding while alternating our mounts and packs so at least one in three horses always had a break.

This kind of movement was brutal on man and beast.  After crossing through some of the places we have been, it was the only way to remain alive.  If you could move faster than anyone and avoid contact then your men saw another sunrise.  When you made it someplace safe, that was the time to rest.

Before we left the farm Abram was a bit apprehensive about traveling with us rather than a caravan.  I was not going to let me or my men become the strong arm to fight for some slow moving merchants.

I Discover Who Abram Really Is

On the third night while he was expressing his surprise to how efficient we were, Abram managed to shock me as well.  He began talking about Ur, his family, and what his home was like.

Abram had two brothers, Nahor and Haran.  He spoke of how he had a wife and her name was Sarai.  Nahor married a woman named Milcah.  Through this process of listening to the whole lineage from Shem to Abram, I missed a lot of details drifting in thought.

While I missed who Haran married what came next jolted a serious memory.

“Haran has a son named Lot.  Lot became like a brother to me, but he is my nephew.  You will meet him for he is with us wherever we go.  We have a lot in common and …” Abram was saying.

“Excuse me, did you say his name is Lot?” I couldn’t help but interrupt.
“Yes Lot is his name, why do you ask?” Abram answered.
“I just wanted to make sure I heard that right.” My mind was racing.
“Do you have a wife Clay?  Any children?”.
“I did once, but not any longer.  Or, well, they are still from when I come from.” I said
“Ah I see.  I am sorry Clay.”

I now know who this man is.  I remember the story of Lot.  I do not know why Abraham is called Abram, or his wife Sarah is now called Sarai, but these are the same people.  Abraham was a huge icon.  How could I have missed this?  The name switch threw me off.

I remember the song “Father Abraham” as a child that we would sing at church.  He had many sons.  These sons would become the nation of Israel.  Sitting here in the firelight and cool of the night I felt humbled.  I also felt a bit ashamed for at first seeing Abram as being a little of a nuisance.

Shem is still taking me to school.  Obviously, he had no idea who Abram was as those events had not yet taken place.  It doesn’t change that he was right about going back to the farm when he left Uz.  He was also right in telling me that this was the right man.

Abram was still talking but I couldn’t pay attention.  I was totally lost in thought.  I remembered what Shem once told me about those manuscripts.  The parchments went through four men, and now Abram was the fifth.  The story of how things came to be were handed across generations by so few men.

The day Noah was trying to set me straight on there being a personal God who created came to mind.  Noah knew it back then, he was the third to hold these documents.  No wonder the expression on his face as I was trying to explain evolution was like I had lost my mind.

“So, what do you think Clay?”
“I’m sorry Abram, I was lost in thought.”
“I was mentioning housing your men at our farm but do not worry.” Abram stated.
“Yes thank you.  I’m sorry it’s just been a long day, we should sleep”.
“Indeed.  Goodnight Clay.”

I got up and began to walk away.  Getting to my bedroll I climbed in.  Looking up at the stars I began to wonder how long this would last.  I met the icons of the flood.  Now another icon.  Why?  I began to think about home, my real home.  My wife and kids, are they still there?  Will I see them again?

Jared’s Comfort To A Friends Terror

In those thoughts I drifted to sleep.  The problem was it once again was not a real sleep, but another dream, a different dream.

I saw my real home, the people I knew, and friends.  I saw a major event no one understood.  It was the disappearance of many thousands upon thousands of people.  No one knew what happened to them.  The world was in complete fear.

I heard a man’s voice.  It was a leader of some kind.  I recognized his words.  It was a promise of safety and peace for all.  A promise of provision and unity for everyone.  It was the same promises of Nimrod, but it wasn’t Nimrod.

I woke to a chill that ran through my body.  It was still dark.  I looked towards our concealed firepit and could see a very faint glow.  What happened?

My mind raced back to the movie Left Behind.  I know that event is not what I experienced within my life. Still what I saw in my dream seemed so much like it.  That feeling of perpetual fear and isolation, of being hunted, or bowing to that power, it was too much.

I got up out of my bedroll and walked over to the fire.  I could see a shadow moving towards me, it was Jared.  He sat next to me.

“You alright Clay?”
“Yeah, I was just thinking about my family” I replied.
“Shem will be alright.  You don’t have to worry.” He said.
“No, no my real family.  The one I was taken from.”
“Ahh, I see.  You know they are still there.” He said confidently.
“Jared how can you possibly know that?”
“Each day you live is one day moving closer to them.  That’s how.”

In the firelight I could see Jared’s eyes filled with assurance and confidence.  In a way he was right.  The complicated part is that he had no idea how many days that would take.  Even if that were to happen, I would not recognize myself nor they recognize me.

The amount of time I had already lived had changed me radically.  I have lost so much immaturity, yet other issues became more deeply ingrained.  My view of humanity wasn’t good, nor would it change easily.  My doubts about God also had become deep seated.  Time does not fix everything.

“That’s true Jared but it is a very large number of days to reach them.” I said.
“Well I guess you better figure out whatever it is you are supposed to figure out.” He replied.

What if I did manage to live long enough to return to my original time?  Would I care about anyone I knew then after so much time passed?  Certainly no one would believe my story.  It is the story of a lunatic.  They reserve padded rooms and beds with straps on them to hold you down for stories like this.

Looking up at the stars I could see the North Star.  I could see the Mazzaroth and its story as told by Noah and Shem.  I laid back into the grass beneath me and there beside the fire drifted off to sleep.

A Typical Conflict On The Road

The passing days were quite typical of a journey in this time.  Long days riding and occasional negotiating with powers that be.  The one highlight was a small caravan which was being attacked.

Approaching Uruk we discovered a raiding party attacking a lightly armed and manned group.  They were attempting to move quickly along the roads, but they were not fast enough nor strong enough.

Abram watched as I sent our men in. Jared and Nathan split the core of our group in two.  Jared took the head on approach.  They saw him coming and split their raiding party to fight on two fronts.  Nathan, who was sweeping from the flank hit the party which remained attacking the caravan.

After Jared baited the raiders to move on him, he began retreating to my position.  Our tail guard had reached us by this point.  Abram went to the rear while we formed a line and dropped arrows from the sky.  The raiders lost heart, turned, and ran.

The victory cry so common from the North American tribesmen that were still with me rang into the sky.  We had no injuries, they had about twenty dead.  It was over in mere minutes.  Luckily the raiders were looking for weak prey.

Riders from the caravan approached us as we were passing by.  I took Nathan with me to meet them as he was the more politically correct brother.  We were offered gifts but I refused them.  We were then asked to escort three families to Ur, with payment of course.  This I could not do either, not with Abram and his manuscripts in tow.

This was the way of life traveling the world.  Every encounter is either a danger, or a negotiation that can turn into danger.  The quiet life of exploring the world without danger was over.  In those times Shem, Ham, Japeth and I could walk as far as the eye could see and encounter no one.

Today there is now danger at every turn.  Every bend is a possible trap.  Every negotiation a possible set up.  Each offer of a woman to take is a high likelihood of never waking from sleep after she slits your throat.  The brutality of mankind can be immeasurable.

How is it possible to save us?  How is it possible to change what we are?  Abram is said to be carrying the story of that promise to save us.  Mankind is going to need a whole lot more than an ark and a new beginning.