Noah & The Promise

00:00:00 Speaker 1: Previously on the Chosen People, mankind was blighted by bloodshed and discord. Noah was determined to oppose the culture. 00:00:13 Speaker 2: Behold, I would destroy them with the earth. I would bring a flood to wipe this earth clean. I have appointed you, Noah, to build an ark. 00:00:27 Speaker 1: Noah gazed at the Ark, a towering monolith against the sky, its shadow stretching over the valley. He watched his sons, no longer boys, but men bound by duty and the promise of future generations, saw chop, hammer and sand the vessel's final touches. 00:00:45 Speaker 3: This world is sick. These people are plagued by evil. I know what they deserve, but I can't bring myself to fully accept it. All going to die. 00:01:02 Speaker 1: Thousands of creatures, two by two, ran into the Ark, their hoons, paws and claws thumping and scratching against the ARC's floor. Flashes of lightning replaced the sun's light, and thunder roared like a predator ready to kill. The voice of the Creator spoke through the tempest. 00:01:21 Speaker 3: Through the Ark Noah. 00:01:24 Speaker 1: Underneath the white noise of falling rain and rushing water, the screams became audible, desperate, blood curdling, screams. Noah ran to the door and pounded his fists against it. His shouts were surprising to the others. 00:01:41 Speaker 4: What's wrong? 00:01:42 Speaker 1: We made it? 00:01:44 Speaker 3: If you don't weep at this suffering, you'd know better than them. 00:01:49 Speaker 1: Outside, the skies wept, and the earth quivered God's wrath or forth, but it did not bleaze him. He sent the flood with regret and sorrow. The waters prevailed over the earth, and the seas swallowed every creature given the breath. 00:02:07 Speaker 4: Of life darkness. 00:02:14 Speaker 1: Noah remained huddled beside the window, the ark rocking to the tempest outside. Noah was certain it was midday, but there was no way of confirming it. The sun's warmth had engraced their faces in weeks. Noah's countenance was gaunt, his eyes unfocussed and glazed over with sorrow. His mind swirled like the charcoal clouds above. Noah was tired, but couldn't close his eyes. Every time he did, he saw the faces of the damned floating atop the waters. Emzara stepped lightly through the opening of their room. She held the wax candle, the tiny flame twitch to and fro casting shadows against the wooden walls of the ark. The faint light revealed her concerned face. Her husband had barely spoken since the walls shut. 00:03:09 Speaker 4: Have you eaten? 00:03:11 Speaker 1: Noah shook his head, his stomach nodded, not only from guilt, but also from the relentless swaying of the boat. Jmzara knelt beside him, her fingers gently stroking his matted hair. She too felt the weight of survival, though her guilt was different. She did not share Noah's anguish, but felt relief that they were spared. Her husband's heart, however, was tethered to the creator's sorrow. She reached for his hand, placing a barley loaf in his palm, and kissed his forehead. 00:03:45 Speaker 5: Eat or else we will have to witness another death. 00:03:50 Speaker 1: Noah tore a small piece of the loaf and rolled it in his fingers, toying with the idea of eating. The white noise of rain was a constant man, muting his low pitched voice. 00:04:02 Speaker 3: Do you think I'm ungrateful? 00:04:05 Speaker 1: Hemzara aside, resting her head against his shoulder. 00:04:10 Speaker 5: I remember you telling our boys the stories of old by the fire, the story of the garden and the banishment. I remember you repeatedly reminding them that the Creator was merciful even in his wrath. 00:04:27 Speaker 4: Merciful in his wrath. 00:04:31 Speaker 1: Searching for words that might reach him, Noah repeated the words heavy and foreign. In the damp, wooden tomb he found himself in, he sighed, allowing the small piece of bread to pass his lips, chewing slowly each bite to struggle against his sorrow. He laid his head on Emzara's chest, her humming a soft lullabi against the storm. Slowly and sloppily, Noah began to fall asleep. 00:05:01 Speaker 6: Remember me, Remember my family and the animals with me. Do not, Ah, do not forsake us? 00:05:13 Speaker 3: Sits too. 00:05:15 Speaker 1: As Noah's breathing finally steadied, the rain stopped for forty days. The heavens had wept, but finally, mercifully they ceased, Mzara felt a weight release from her chest. She thought about waking Noah, but chose not to, instead laying his head gently on a bed made of woolen hay. The ark rocked gently, the low purrs of wildcats and braying of horses filling the space where the reins once sang. God hadn't forgotten Noah, the Creator remembered him and all the beasts within the ark. The breath of God the Ruach blew mightily over the waters. The winds churned, spreading the seas in each direction. The voice of the Creator tamed the dark and chaotic abyss. Noah looked out with his sons. The heavens had closed and ceased their churning. A rumbling could be felt from below, and the fountains of the deep had closed. Shen peered out at the horizon, straining to see any sign of land. The wind cut at his cheeks, and his eyes began to water. 00:06:32 Speaker 4: I don't see anything yet. 00:06:33 Speaker 3: How long will it take for the waters recede? 00:06:36 Speaker 5: Not sure how much longer I can endure the smell. 00:06:39 Speaker 3: Patience, boys, God has not forgotten us. Listen closely. 00:06:46 Speaker 4: The wind of God is. 00:06:47 Speaker 3: Moving on our behalf. 00:06:49 Speaker 4: Do you think there is anything on the horizon. 00:06:51 Speaker 3: There's a way to find out. 00:06:53 Speaker 1: Noah captured a raven from within the ark and brought it to the others. He petted its feathers and her it up to the window. 00:07:01 Speaker 3: Birds gathered twigs and leaves and other things for the nests. If there's any land, this raven will return with something for its mate. 00:07:13 Speaker 5: Maybe he will return a fig for me. Nothing, but still Barleyboves has. 00:07:17 Speaker 4: My stomach in minds. 00:07:19 Speaker 1: Noah released the raven and watched it recede into the horizon. The raven carried Noah's anxiety on its wings. He knew better than to put all his hope in the raven, but curiosity gripped him. Still days passed into weeks, and still the raven hadn't returned. Noah's face twitched with irritation. I should have known better than he is a raven. Noah had a dove in his hands. He gently stroked its white feathers with his thumbs. With a sigh and a prayer, he released it into the air. 00:07:57 Speaker 3: Why is a dove better than a raven? Ravens are scavengers. The bird is likely feasting off the carcasses floating atop the waters. No it's too fat to fly back. The raven is comfortable with death. It will make its home somewhere on the floating carnage and never return. 00:08:21 Speaker 4: But the dove is a clean animal. 00:08:25 Speaker 3: It won't make its nest among death in despair. 00:08:28 Speaker 4: It will return to us. 00:08:31 Speaker 1: Noah remained at the window for hours staring earnestly at the water. The faint echoes of scream still tortured his mind. He wasn't sure he even wanted to go back on to dry land. Noah was old and unsure if he was capable of a fresh start. Before Noah's mind could spy an even further, he heard the faint sound of the dove returning. 00:08:57 Speaker 4: It perched atop his finger. 00:09:00 Speaker 1: It hadn't found land, at least, nothing inhabitable for it to rest its wings. Noah petted its feathers and retreated into the ark. 00:09:09 Speaker 4: To feed it. 00:09:11 Speaker 1: Another week passed and it was time again for Noah to send the dove out. It flew gracefully over the familiar waters, wings shimmering in. 00:09:21 Speaker 4: The light of dawn. 00:09:22 Speaker 1: After hours of waiting, Noah's eyes widened to see the dove's return. In its mouth was a freshly plucked olive leaf. Noah took the leaf and cradled it in his palm. He stroked its smooth green surface. His face quivered with relief. The waters were acceding. They would walk the earth again. The dove was sent out again and hadn't returned, Confident that the land was near, ready Noah removed the top covering of the ark. It had settled on the mountain of Ararat. The sun shined brilliantly, revealing a land reborn. Noah's family leaned over, beholding the beautiful landscape teeming with vibrant colors. They wafted in the crisp air, smelling the damp earth mixed with fruit trees. Emsara squeezed her husband's. 00:10:22 Speaker 5: Arm, look Noah our new home. 00:10:26 Speaker 1: Shen Ham and Jeffeth ran to the ark's entrance and released the ropes, keeping doors shut. 00:10:33 Speaker 4: The fresh air. 00:10:34 Speaker 1: Blew against their cheery faces. The three brothers held their wives, giddy to step out of the Ark and into their future. Still, Noah wouldn't permit them to leave the Ark. He stood at the threshold, waiting. His eyes were nervous and his hands shook. Noah refused to embark on the adventure. He pensively stood, frozen. 00:10:59 Speaker 4: To the eye. 00:11:01 Speaker 1: Nearly a year after they entered the Ark, the Creator spoke to Noah, prompting him to leave. He could hear his voice deep within his heart. His voice was like a steady stream. 00:11:14 Speaker 2: Go out from the Ark. Noah, take your wife, your sons, their wives, and every living thing that dwells with you. Swarm the earth Noah, to fill it, be fruitful and multiply. 00:11:30 Speaker 1: Noah took the first step forward. His family waited with bated breath as he slowly, steadily, and somberly descended the ramp. A patch of grass was at the bottom. Noah placed a bare foot on the wet earth. The chill sent a shiver up his spine. A sigh of relief followed. He turned to his family and gave them a reassuring smile. They ran, children and skipped across the meadow. The animals followed, scampering, padding, slithering, and galloping. The hills were alive. The animals didn't look back. They spread across the earth, stretching as far as the eye could see. Noah's eyes glistened with tears, tears of relief, joy, and sadness. He ascended a jagged path that led to an overhand looking out at the ark. 00:12:31 Speaker 4: There, he made. 00:12:32 Speaker 1: An altar of wet stones and sacrificed to his God. The offering burnt bright a beacon, signaling a new beginning. The smoke billowed upward, mixing with the cows. The creator breathed in the offering like a leasing aroma. Noah watched the light play off the mist across the sky. Brilliant lights began to fall. Everyone watched in all as the colors arched against the blue backdrop. Noah's heart swelled within. He could sense the heart of God. 00:13:09 Speaker 2: I will never again curse the ground because of man, for I know his heart is corrupt from his youth. Neither will I strike down these creatures again. The long winter is over, while the earth remains seed, time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night shall not cease. 00:13:36 Speaker 1: Noah gathered his family and relayed everything he could hear from the Creator's heart. God spoke to him, within him and about him. Each word was a barn to his aching heart. 00:13:50 Speaker 2: Be fruitful and maultiply fill the earth, as I have commanded since the days of old. Once again you have dominion. The beasts of the earth will fear you. The birds of the air, and the creatures of the deep will flee and dread because of you. Into your hands I give them. They shall be food for you, as are the plants of the earth. I have given you everything. Yet even so my eyes are on the lower creatures. You shall not deal with them cruelly, nor shall you eat flesh with its life blood. Life is precious, and for your lives I will require a reckoning. The life of all beasts and men will end. And to those who take life on their own, shedding the blood of their fellow man, I will require a reckoning. Whoever sheds the blood of a man, buy shall his blood be shed for God made man in his image. Do not take life, Multiply it, cultivate it, increase and roam the earth. I have watched it clean for you. 00:15:19 Speaker 1: The lights continue to form in the sky, slowly stretching across the clouds. Noah and his sons watched in awe, taking in the captivating dance of colors bowing over the sky red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple lights held together by some unseen thread. 00:15:40 Speaker 2: Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring. After you, I make a promise to you and to all the creatures from the ark, I shall never again flood the earth. As a sign of my covenant with you. I have set my bow in the clouds, where when I bring the clouds over the earth and the sun's light mingles with the mist of the sky. You shall see the bow and remember my covenant. The waters shall never destroy the earth. When the bow is in the clouds, I will remember the everlasting covenant I have made with every living creature. 00:16:22 Speaker 1: Noah's sons glowed with hope for the future. Emzara and the other wives watched from a distance, their eyes glistening with gratitude that the earth was safe. Noah's jaw tightened. A rush of gratitude for the Creator came upon him, but in the back of his mind, whispers of torment plagued him. Noah woke in a panic, sweat dripping down his chest and back. His entire body trembled, unable to steady. Emzara placed a gentle hand on his back. Noahsar eyes were wild. 00:17:01 Speaker 4: Haunted another nightmare. 00:17:03 Speaker 3: This time it was Shem drowning outside the ark. 00:17:06 Speaker 7: He screamed for me, He begged me to let him in, but I Ah, I couldn't do anything. Then the corpses of the Nephelin rose and dragged him to the bottom of the abyss. 00:17:19 Speaker 5: It was only a dream. Our sun is safe, no doubt. Cradling his new child in his arms. 00:17:28 Speaker 3: Of course, it was just a dream, but that doesn't make it any less real. In Zarah, these images, I see it into my mind. I've been branded by these memories. 00:17:41 Speaker 5: You act as though you're the one to have flooded the earth. How long will you hold on to this guilt? 00:17:48 Speaker 3: It isn't guilt that torments me, it's knowing that evil still exists out there, in here, in each of us. We were spared from the flood, but that doesn't mean we're innocence. 00:18:05 Speaker 1: Noah stormed out, flustered and quivering. The moonlight bathed the landscape in a pale, ethereal glow as he descended the hills to the vineyard he had planted. Beside it were cisterns hewn from stone and wood, filled with fermented wine. Noah drew some in a bowl. The liquid was a deep crimson, perfect to drink. His eyes glazed over with desire as he placed the cup to his lips and drank, seeking to wash away the sorrow, the hurt, the guilt, the fear. The cup was his flood, drowning out the anguish within him. Cup after cup, Noah drank away his sorrows, yet it only numbed the pain. Wine would never ease what only God could heal. It silenced the screams in his head, but gave way to different sounds. Drunk and alone, Noah howled at the moon. He thrashed his arms and punched his fists in the air. He shouted vulgarities, cried and wailed into the empty night. His youngest son, hand watched from a distance. Disdain etched on his face as he witnessed his father's shameful display. Righteous Noah, the one who. 00:19:28 Speaker 3: Walks with God. 00:19:30 Speaker 1: The air was humid and thick. Noah removed his clothes and skulked through the vineyard. 00:19:37 Speaker 4: Naked. 00:19:38 Speaker 1: Noah kicked the dirt and thrashed at branches, murmuring and burping his way back to his tent. He was a sad and shameful sight, but hand basted in his father's shame. 00:19:52 Speaker 5: The fool can barely stand. 00:19:54 Speaker 1: Anne leaped off the stone he was sitting on and gingerly followed his father. Noah swayed to and fro barely keeping his naked frame upright. 00:20:05 Speaker 4: Ham danced around him. 00:20:07 Speaker 3: Ah, so this is what it means to walk with God? 00:20:11 Speaker 4: Hey father? 00:20:13 Speaker 5: What happened to all that. 00:20:14 Speaker 3: Honor you preach to me. Well, here, let me help you. 00:20:20 Speaker 1: Ham reached out his arms. Noah fell forward, expecting to be caught, but instead Hal moved and Noah fell face first into the dirt. Noah groaned and turned on his back. The world was spinning. He could feel the gravel grinding against his back and buttocks. Ham stood above him, face beaming with amusement. Noah, unable to speak, began crawling back to his tent. The first signs of dawn crept over the horizon. Hemzara was already gone, attending to her grandchildren. As the sun rose, Ham stood outside his father's tent, waiting for his brothers. Shem and Jeffith approached, their tools, clinking softly in the cool morning air. Ham waved them down a theatrical air about him. 00:21:14 Speaker 5: Brethen, I have a rare sight for you to behold. 00:21:18 Speaker 3: What is it now? 00:21:19 Speaker 1: Ham? 00:21:20 Speaker 3: I present to you the honorable, the stoic, and the righteous. Noah, naked and sleeping in his own vomit. 00:21:30 Speaker 1: Ham grabbed the opening flap of the tent to reveal his naked father, but the brothers stopped him before they could catch a glimpse. 00:21:38 Speaker 3: Ham you've gone too far. 00:21:42 Speaker 5: What after all the preaching and lecturing Batman has given me, why not revel a little in his hypocrisy? 00:21:50 Speaker 3: Hem, you've disgraced our father. 00:21:53 Speaker 4: You too, Shem. Come on, we've all been through a living nightmare. Why not have a little fun with him? What do you mean fun? 00:22:03 Speaker 3: I don't know. 00:22:04 Speaker 1: Maybe we could Pam was interrupted by a stirring within the tent. Noah exhaled a befuddled and dreamy moan. 00:22:12 Speaker 3: Japeth, go get father's clothes from the vineyard. Hem, I suggest you relieve, Go jump in the stream. 00:22:21 Speaker 4: Clearly, you need to cool off. 00:22:23 Speaker 1: Ham snarled and left, kicking the dirt on his way back to his tent. Jaffath returned with the garment. The two older brothers walked backward into the tent with the garment on their shoulders. When they felt his body on their heels, they dropped it and covered him. They didn't want to shame him as their brother had. They crept out of the tent, pensive and afraid of what would happen to Ham when their father woke. Noah slept all day, drifting in and out of his wine induced stupor. His head thronged the world around him a fuzzy blur, but he remembered Ham's actions. He recalled the mocking laugh, the bruise on his jaw, a painful reminder of his son's betrayal. Emerging from his tent, Noah wrapped his garment tightly around his body and hobbled to the fire, where his wife and son sat. Jaffath and Shem's sons were also by the fire. While Ham's son Canaan was on his father's lap. Shem and Jaffith looked up at him. Empathy etched on their faces, but not Ham. A mocking smile played on his lips. As Noah stood over the fire, the dancing flames illuminating his scowl, his voice, coarse and gravelly, broke the tense silence, cursedy Canaan. His tone was sharp and impassive. Ham's expression shifted from confusion to rage. He covered his son's ears, raised his voice. 00:24:01 Speaker 4: What did you just say to my son? 00:24:04 Speaker 3: Cursed be Canaan for what his father is done. 00:24:08 Speaker 4: He will be a servant to his brothers. 00:24:11 Speaker 1: Ham stood his chest puffed out in defiance. 00:24:15 Speaker 4: What do you think you're doing? 00:24:16 Speaker 3: Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem. Canaan will be his servants. 00:24:23 Speaker 1: Shut up, old man, Thank. 00:24:26 Speaker 3: God in large jayfith my faithful son. He will dwell in the tents of Shem, but Canaan will be a slave to them. All Shut up. Curse be your descendants, Sam. 00:24:38 Speaker 4: And lungs to strike his father. 00:24:41 Speaker 1: Shall then Jah have got him first. Ham's screams echoed down the hills. The children scurry to their mothers, and Amzara rose to no. 00:24:50 Speaker 4: Aside, leave here gladly. 00:24:55 Speaker 1: Thus continued the cycle of blessings and curses, faith and failure. The never ending pattern of sin and struggle didn't cease with the flood. Men's sins stretched alongside Noah's descendants, but God's promises remained. His faithfulness wouldn't waver even in the face of human imperfection. The name Noah means rest. His name was a foreshadowing, a glimmer of hope that peace with God would one day be restored. This Prey Dog comproduction is only made possible by our dedicated team of creative talents. Steve Katina, Max Bard, Zach Schllabager, and Ben Gammon are the executive producers of the Chosen People narrated by Paul Coltefianu. Characters are voiced by Jonathan Gotten, Aaron Salvado, Sarah Seltz, Mike Reagan, Stephen Ringwald, Sylvia Zaradoc, Thomas Copeland, Junior, Rosanna Pilcher, and Mitch Leshinsky. Music by Andrew Morgan Smith, written by Aaron Salvato, bre Rosalie and Chris Baig. You can hear more Prey dot Com productions on the Prey dot Com app, available on the Apple App Store and Google play Store. If you enjoyed The Chosen People, please rate and leave a review,