Noah and the Ark (not the boat)

I guess you've heard the story of Noah and the Ark? The one with all the animals and the big boat? Well this is not that story. It is a story about someone called Noah and about an Ark and its also a story from the bible.

The Noah in this story was born in a tent in the middle of the desert. She had one older sister and eventually three younger sisters, so it was probably quiet a big tent she lived in. Noah was part of a group of people called the Israelites who all lived in tents. If you've ever been to a camp-site you'll know what a field of tents looks like well this was a desert of tents.

Right in the middle of all the tents was a very special tent, it was the tent of meeting. Noah loved to scrunch up on her daddy's lap and listen to stories of how Yahweh the God of  the Israelites, the one who had made a special promise to Abraham, their great-great-great-great and lots more greats grandfather, had rescued them from Egypt where they had been slaves, stories of how He had made the sea split in half and how he had given Moses their leader the laws for them to live by. 

But Noah's favourite stories were the ones about the special tent. She loved hearing how it had been built about all the special instructions and  most of all she liked to hear about the Ark, a special wooden box where all God's law's were kept and above which God's presents rested, it was here that Moses went to talk to God. 

Above the tent of meeting hovered a cloud at day and a pillar of fire at night. Noah liked to peak out of her tent at night and just stare at it, a constant reminded that God was there living right in the middle of them. Sometimes the cloud or pillar of fire would move and then the whole community would know it was time to get going. It was quiet a thing to see everyone packing up their tents and then all marching off behind the cloud. 

Noah knew that one day all this wandering about would stop, God had promised to give them a home in a land full of good things like milk and honey. Noah wasn't sure what it would be like to live in a house but she reckoned it sounded pretty good.

While they were wondering in the desert Noah's father grew old and died. Noah and her sisters where very sad, they loved him dearly and they had already lost their mother years before. That night Noah stared out of her tent at the pillar of fire above the tent of meeting, it comforted her to think that her and her sisters where not alone.  Soon she thought we will get to the promised land. 

A few months latter Noah had just returned from collecting the manna, the food God provided each day on the ground (I bet you don't get your food from collecting it from the ground), she saw her older sister Mahlah shouting angrily at a man outside their tent. As she came close she heard her sister say 'so what, we don't count?' the man looked a bit nervous as Mahlah stared at him with her fierce expression 'um er no' he muttered and hurried off. 'What's the matter?' asked Tirzah coming out of the tent. 'They are counting all the people over twenty to divide up the promised land' replied Mahlah still looking very angry. 'But you are more than twenty' said Tirzah 'So am I' Noah added. 'But we're not men' sighed Mahlah now in a quiet and saddend voice, 'so we don't count'. 

Noah's two other sisters Hoglah and Milcah had joined them now and the sisters sat down on the ground and wondered what to do. 'If we have no land we will be worse off than in the desert, at least here we can gather manna' said Hoglah. 'One of us will just have to marry someone really rich' said Milcah. Noah could see Mahlah was looking very angry again. 'Yahweh will look after us' She piped up quickly. 'How?' asked Tirzah 'What can he do?' 'He can do anything' replied Noah. 'What we need to do is to go and tell Moses how unfair this is.'

'Are you mad?' Said Hoglah 'Did you not see what happened to the last people who challenged Moses? They got swallowed up by the ground.' 

'They weren't challenging Moses' replied Noah 'they where challenging God who had appointed him and Aaron. We are just asking a question, were just asking why our family name should die out?' 

The sisters looked at each other, they could see resolution in each others eyes, they knew they were all thinking of their mother beaming across at them as they sat to eat, saying 'my girls, my strong girls'. 

They got up without a word and walked off to the tent of meeting. As they approached the entrance Noah started to feel a bit nervous, and her conviction and determination waned. Moses was stood there and Eleazar the priest in all his finery and all the leaders of Israel. These were the most powerful people in the land. She swallowed hard and looked up at the cloud hovering above the tent of meeting, the tent were God's law was kept in the Ark, and above which God's presence sat. Yahweh is good, Noah told herself and his law is good. 

Silence fell among the leaders as the five sisters approached. 'Our father has died' Noah found herself saying, not knowing where the confidence came from 'He didn't rebel along with Korah against the Lord, but died as everyone dies, however he had no sons , so his name will die out. Give us property among our fathers relatives.'

Noah could feel the angry eyes of the leaders glaring at her and heard them gasp as she spoke but Moses was looking kindly at her and said 'I will bring this case before the Lord'. He turned and went into the tent of meeting. 

Everything was very quiet Noah could hear her heart beating, she felt a hand slip into hers and looked down to see her youngest sister Tirzah looking up at her and biting her lip. Noah tried to imagine Moses in front of the Ark asking God and hoping that she was right about the outcome. After a while Moses came back out. Noah tock a deep breath. 'What the daughters of Zelophehad are right'. 

Noah and her sisters didn't hear much else of what Moses said, they were too overjoyed to listen and there was too much murmuring and outcry from all the other leaders for them to hear. They went home that night, excited again about entering the promised land and all five of them went to sleep peeping out their tent at the pillar of fire.

So if anyone ever tells you that God doesn't want you to do things or have things or that you don't count because your a girl or because your small or for any other reason you tell them this story and you tell them that God said that the daughters of Zelophehad were right. And if anyone ever asks if you've heard the story of Noah's Ark you can ask them which one, and remind them that there are lots and lots and lots of stories in the bible and that they are all important.