Old Testament Lore. Norman M. Chansky

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      No longer was there a storm

      Instead the sun shone and it was warm.

      All beheld a curved beauty bowing above

      Every color Sent by God Above.

      Noah took a dove in hand

      And asked it to scout out the land.

      Very soon back it flew

      With an olive leaf dipped in dew.

      Mrs. Noah raised her voice

      With prayer did she rejoice.

      Noah, with his mission ended,

      Saw that the creatures each other had befriended.

      And that generation of Creatures found release

      And for many years lived in peace.

      Noah’s Tale: Version Two

      When the world was still young in years

      And each land was probed by pioneers,

      New plants and creatures were still arising

      In lovely forms, at times, surprising.

      Some years the hot sun burned the land

      And dried the rich soil to sparkling sand.

      In other years the rains each day

      Would wash the roots of crops away.

      During the times with little to eat,

      Life was bitter and rarely sweet.

      But instead of working with one another,

      People cheated and robbed each other.

      They were greedy and selfish as well,

      Their very own children they would sell.

      This is not what God Had in Mind

      When the humans Were first Designed.

      Then there arose within God’s Plan

      A humble hero, a righteous man.

      This modest mortal, Noah, his name,

      Who sought no glory and sought no fame.

      God called to Noah, “Listen with care.

      A flood will come. You must prepare.”

      Noah felt a shiver. His spine was a river of chill

      When called upon to serve Merciful God’s Will.

      God Had Planned to bring on a flood

      And Bury the sinners in heaps of mud.

      At God’s Command, Noah built a ship

      And brought provisions for the trip.

      All manner of life did he take,

      From land, from sea, and from the lake.

      The only mortals who would be saved

      Were Noah and his kin who were not depraved.

      Then walls of rain fell in force;

      Noah wondered what was to be his course.

      But God Showed Noah what was to be the way

      And Noah went forth without delay.

      After many days the spastic waters abated

      As Noah’s crew anxiously awaited.

      And as the waters purled placidly along

      All on board sang a song

      “We thank You God for rains suspending

      Bringing us to our journey’s ending.

      We pledge to You to repair Creation

      And treat each other with toleration.”

      After the days of endless rain,

      A brilliant sun dried the muddied terrain.

      It is but a mirage said his wife.

      No replied Noah I see signs of life.

      A honeyed coo rose from a dove of peace

      And with Noah’s caress was given release.

      The dove went forth, his journey brief,

      And returned to Noah with an olive leaf.

      This was a sign that to all revealed

      That the liquid land had finally healed.

      When the ark docked the sky turned blue

      And all left the ark to start life anew.

      Abram Leaves Home and Becomes Abraham

      God said to Abram, “depart your country, leave your kin, and your father’s home and go to a land that I Will Show you. You will have many descendants and they will become a great nation. I will Bless you and you will be well known. Gen, XII, 1–2.

      Ur, city of the moon goddess,

      Was no longer a haven to Terah, Abram’s father, of Noah’s line.

      He gathered his family, collected all possessions,

      Crossed the river and trekked to Haran, a new moon away.

      They journeyed through the blistering heat of the day.

      Sand storms blinded the eyes,

      Heavy rains soaked through the skin, and freezing night cold chilled their bones.

      Haran was an oasis. Merchants gathered there and sold their wares.

      Terah grew rich fashioning gods to satisfy all worshiping leanings.

      The people welcomed the newcomers.

      The newcomers had arrived with wealth

      And there increased their fortune.

      The people trusted them because they were kind and just.

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