It was a dark and rainy day when about the inn-fire, close to the great
caravan way that led through Canaan, in the land of Palestine, a group of
camel-drivers and travelers were gathered. They looked very different from
what they do to-day, for nearly four thousand years have passed since
then. But they were all huddled together listening to stories and songs.
In the group there were men from Egypt; there were men from Babylon, the
great city far to the East; there were men from the land of Canaan; and
then there were some wandering nomads who had lately come from the East
and so were called by the Canaanites "Hebrews," which means, "People from
the Other Side." Most of these men were shepherds, but they loved to meet
with the camel-drivers and learn of the customs and habits of the people
of other lands. 'Twas a strange group of men sitting about the little
fire.
In those days, as now, men loved to tell stories that had come down to
them from their fathers and grandfathers, and often they found that a
story from Egypt was but little different from one that had been told in
Babylonia. So they loved to listen to the story-tellers.
But on this day it had rained and rained till the streams were full and
the way was very hard to go. Thus there were very many men in the inn.
'Twas the turn of the Babylonian, so he began,
"I will tell you one of the very oldest of our stories--about a great
rain-storm.
"Years and years and years ago the Gods in heaven began to fear that
the men of the earth were going to live forever and so they made a
plan by which to destroy them. There should be a great rain for days
and days and days, and all these men and women and children should be
drowned. Then the Gods would be free from their worries.
"But one of the Gods named Ea had a friend who lived on the earth,
and so he sent word to him to go with all his family into a big, big
ship and take with him two of every kind of animals. Utnapishtim, the
friend, did as he was told.
"Then the rain came and for six days and nights there was no let-up
at all. Deeper and deeper it grew till the Gods in heaven grew afraid
and cowered in the highest corner of heaven. By this time every
living thing, except the ones in the big ship, was destroyed.
"But after six days, the rain ceased. Then the man sent out a dove,
but it returned, for it could find no place to rest. Later he sent
out a raven and it did not come back, so he knew the waters were
going down. Then he made a great sacrifice to the Gods and they came,
they saw the great destruction and they gloated over it, pleased that
their plan had worked so well."
There was applause when he had finished from many of the group, but the
Hebrews did not applaud. They had been taught that there was one true God,
not many Gods. They had been taught that God was kind to all and not one
that gloated over destruction of men. They were not pleased with the story
of the great flood.
Then there came nights out under the stars and they heard the stories of
how the earth was made; of how man came to be; of the meaning of many of
the things that they saw all about them. But in every story there were
found Gods who were cruel, who were unkind, who quarreled and fought.
There were many, many Gods, but none was like unto their God.
As the old Hebrews listened to all these old, old stories from the
countries about them which were told so often, they shook their heads
sadly and said,
"We have come into this country to live and bring up our children. But if
they hear these stories, they will believe some of them and forget the
true God. They must have stories of their own that show how great and
mighty is the God of Israel. But what shall we do about these stories? If
we say the stories are false, they will laugh at us and say, 'Why, our
people have known these stories since long, long before there was a Hebrew
on the earth. What our fathers have told us as true is surely true.' And
if we say to our children, 'You must not listen to these stories,' they
will be all the more eager to listen. What shall we do?"
Finally it was decided that the stories of the Egyptians and the
Babylonians must be remade so as to be fit for their children to hear and
they must teach the beliefs of their own religion in stories of their
own.
So, many weeks later as the men were gathered out under the stars on a
beautiful night, one of the best of the Hebrew story-tellers said
quietly,
"I have listened to stories about the making of the world from many of you
but I think my story is better than any you have told. Would you like to
hear the story of how the God of Israel made the world?"
"'Tis a Hebrew who is talking," said one. "I didn't know you people had
any stories. Give it to us. Then we can compare it with our own great
stories."
And the Hebrew story-teller began:
"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And these
are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were
created in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens,
"And every plant of the field before it was in the earth and every
herb of the field before it grew; for the Lord God had not caused it
to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground.
"But there went up a mist from the earth and watered the whole face
of the ground.
"And the Lord God formed man out of the dust of the ground, and
breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a
living soul.
"And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is
pleasant to the sight and good for food; the tree of life also in the
midst of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
"And the Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to
dress it and to keep it.
"And out of the ground the Lord God made every beast of the field and
every fowl of the air and brought them unto Adam to see what he would
call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was
the name thereof."
There was silence when the story was finished. This God of whom the Hebrew
was telling was wise and mighty enough to make the world, yet he was
thoughtful and kind. He allowed man to be a helper. There was only one
God. They liked the story so well that they began to tell it also and soon
the beautiful story was known all through the land of Canaan. Little by
little it drove out the other stories and became the most loved one.
And when the old Hebrews saw the power of the story that told of the _one_
great God rather than the many false Gods, they just took many of the old
stories and made them good and wholesome for their own little children to
hear.
So great were the stories that the old Hebrews told that you will find
many of them living still. You can read them in your own Bible in the book
of Genesis.
Ever since that day years and years ago, men have been asking that same
old question, "Who made the world?" The greatest men of science and
history have tried to answer it, but none of them have found a more
beautiful answer to the question than this one which the old sheik told in
the days of the long ago and which you will find in the second chapter of
Genesis in your Bible.