Latest / The Chosen People / The Descendants of Cain

Transcript

The Descendants of Cain · The Chosen People

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed human.
• 0:04
  Speaker 2: Previously on The Chosen People.
• 0:09
  Speaker 3: Cain, where is your brother?
• 0:13
  Speaker 2: God's question mirrored the question once posed to his father.
• 0:17
  Speaker 4: Adam, where are you?
• 0:21
  Speaker 2: God knew the answer. He was inviting Cain to dialogue
• 0:25
  Speaker 2: with him, to acknowledge his mistakes.
• 0:32
  Speaker 3: Please stop!
• 0:34
  Speaker 4: How blessed are you now, Abel!
• 0:37
  Speaker 2: But now that the creator's justice fell upon Cain, he
• 0:41
  Speaker 2: realized he was wrong. Woefully and terrifyingly wrong. The earth
• 0:46
  Speaker 2: vibrated as if sobbing over Abel.
• 0:50
  Speaker 3: The earth that has opened its mouth to receive your
• 0:53
  Speaker 3: brother's blood will be cursed because of you. The earth
• 0:57
  Speaker 3: will no longer give you its strength. You shall wander
• 1:02
  Speaker 3: this land hungry, starved, and deprived.
• 1:08
  Speaker 2: Their sins marked them, but they were also sealed by God, beloved,
• 1:13
  Speaker 2: and chosen to be heirs of his mercy. Adam cradled
• 1:21
  Speaker 2: the newborn babe and looked out at the horizon. The
• 1:24
  Speaker 2: dusk-lit skies were painted with strokes of crimson and charcoal.
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: A chill bit at Adam's cheeks. He brought the babe
• 1:33
  Speaker 2: close to his chest to shield him from the wind.
• 1:36
  Speaker 2: He looked down at the sleeping child, its face tensed
• 1:40
  Speaker 2: shut from the world. The years had taken the glow
• 1:43
  Speaker 2: away from Adam's eyes. They were lower, duller, and worn
• 1:48
  Speaker 2: from years of toil and loss. Yet this new child
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: brought a lightness to Adam's countenance. A smile crested on
• 1:57
  Speaker 2: the edge of his mouth. as he stroked the infant's
• 1:59
  Speaker 2: crinkled nose.
• 2:01
  Speaker 5: Your name will be Seth. You shall be my appointed son,
• 2:07
  Speaker 5: chosen and set apart to heal our family's heartbreak.
• 2:12
  Speaker 2: Adam's voice was soft, like worn leather. It had taken
• 2:17
  Speaker 2: him years to recover from the loss of Abel. His death,
• 2:21
  Speaker 2: coupled with Cain's exile, nearly destroyed Eve. Her flame flickered
• 2:26
  Speaker 2: dimly now, But with the birth of Seth, perhaps the
• 2:30
  Speaker 2: embers of hope would be fanned.
• 2:32
  Speaker 5: This world is cruel, but filled with.
• 2:36
  Speaker 2: Beauty, my son.
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: Subdue it.
• 2:41
  Speaker 6: Care for it.
• 2:42
  Speaker 2: The babe opened his eyes slightly to look at his
• 2:45
  Speaker 2: father's face. Adam saw a sea of possibilities reflected in them.
• 2:51
  Speaker 5: One day, your mother and I will return to the dust.
• 2:55
  Speaker 5: But through your We will live on, like seeds falling
• 3:02
  Speaker 5: from the trees. Our legacy will continue through you. Through Seth,
• 3:09
  Speaker 5: a lineage of redemption would form, one that would last
• 3:13
  Speaker 5: through destruction and despair. The earth was still young, and
• 3:18
  Speaker 5: humanity multiplied from within small families and stretched outward. Cain,
• 3:24
  Speaker 5: driven by a restless ambition, ventured further east, carving a
• 3:28
  Speaker 5: name for himself in the annals of history. His progeny,
• 3:32
  Speaker 5: a dark brood, sowed the seeds of destruction, chaos and pride,
• 3:37
  Speaker 5: marring God's creation with their deeds. Seth, however, chose a
• 3:42
  Speaker 5: different path, one laden with the weight of redemption. He
• 3:47
  Speaker 5: bore the mantle of responsibility, determined to infuse the earth
• 3:52
  Speaker 5: with the essence of God's character, step by arduous step.
• 3:57
  Speaker 5: In the twilight years of Adam and Eve, Seth fathered Enosh,
• 4:02
  Speaker 5: a child destined to be a pivotal thread in the
• 4:05
  Speaker 5: divine tapestry of redemption. Seth lived to see the birth
• 4:09
  Speaker 5: of his grandchildren and great-grandchildren, each a beacon of hope
• 4:14
  Speaker 5: in a world teetering on the brink. Enosh begot Kenan,
• 4:19
  Speaker 5: and sons and daughters flowed from his lineage, spreading across
• 4:23
  Speaker 5: the earth. When Enosh's time came, he returned to the
• 4:27
  Speaker 5: dust as had his forebears. Kenan's firstborn, Mahalalel, continued the line,
• 4:34
  Speaker 5: his life a fleeting whisper before he too succumbed to
• 4:38
  Speaker 5: the curse of mortality. Mahalalel sired Jared, who in turn
• 4:43
  Speaker 5: begot Enoch. The descendants of Cain and Seth fanned out
• 4:48
  Speaker 5: across the land. Tribes formed, some finding refuge in the
• 4:52
  Speaker 5: mountain ranges to the west, while others journeyed further east,
• 4:56
  Speaker 5: erecting cities and towers that stood as monuments to their pride.
• 5:02
  Speaker 5: Amidst these clashing legacies, Enoch walked, a righteous man, navigating
• 5:08
  Speaker 5: the perilous expanse, seeking the Creator's light in a world
• 5:12
  Speaker 5: fraught with darkness. Enoch paused at the great gates with
• 5:18
  Speaker 5: a cart behind him. His son, Methuselah, padded close behind
• 5:24
  Speaker 5: like a pup. Enoch despised these places. They were brewing
• 5:28
  Speaker 5: with wickedness, yet he required the iron hoarded within.
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: Stay close to me, Medi. Keep your eyes sharp and
• 5:36
  Speaker 1: your steps light.
• 5:38
  Speaker 2: Navigating the crowded streets, Enoch led his son through the chaos.
• 5:43
  Speaker 2: Methuselah clung to his father, eyes wide with fear at
• 5:47
  Speaker 2: the vagrants and traders who argued with venomous tongues. Rough
• 5:51
  Speaker 2: men lurked in shadows, predators seeking prey. Statues of wood
• 5:56
  Speaker 2: and bone carved into disfigured and beastly warriors cast dark
• 6:00
  Speaker 2: shadows that seemed to swallow the light. The father and
• 6:04
  Speaker 2: son marched up a large dirt path carved from the
• 6:08
  Speaker 2: stone side of the mountain. The path was large enough
• 6:11
  Speaker 2: for five horses to trot side by side. The path
• 6:15
  Speaker 2: led to a foreboding tower of wood, steel and stone,
• 6:19
  Speaker 2: from which smoke billowed, carrying the acrid scent of charred flesh.
• 6:24
  Speaker 2: The sight and smell of it made Methuselah pause. The
• 6:28
  Speaker 2: tower seemed to him like a dragon's den, a mountain.
• 6:32
  Speaker 4: Of evil and violence.
• 6:34
  Speaker 2: Pikes holding up the severed heads of men and beasts
• 6:37
  Speaker 2: were erected around the perimeter. The sight made Methuselah's stomach churn.
• 6:43
  Speaker 2: He turned his chin up to his father, observing the
• 6:46
  Speaker 2: resolute gaze he had. If Enoch was nervous, he didn't
• 6:50
  Speaker 2: show it. At the entrance, they knocked on gates reinforced
• 6:54
  Speaker 2: with rough metal and mammoth bone. They cracked open, revealing
• 6:59
  Speaker 2: two guards with spears poised.
• 7:02
  Speaker 6: What's your business?
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: My son and I have come to barter for iron.
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: I need more tools to tend my farm.
• 7:10
  Speaker 2: The men scanned them up and down, nodded, and opened
• 7:14
  Speaker 2: the gates. Methuselah's eyes widened with terror when they entered.
• 7:19
  Speaker 2: Sitting atop thrones hewn from the skulls of the great
• 7:22
  Speaker 2: lizards were beast-like men. They were nearly ten feet tall,
• 7:26
  Speaker 2: with arms like tree trunks and jaws like chiseled onyx.
• 7:31
  Speaker 2: Their faces were deformed, with brows casting shadows over their
• 7:35
  Speaker 2: serpent-like eyes. Methuselah could feel their voices in his chest
• 7:40
  Speaker 2: when they spoke.
• 7:41
  Speaker 6: If it isn't Enoch, the man who walks with the
• 7:46
  Speaker 6: Creator himself. What brings you to our domain? We need iron.
• 7:57
  Speaker 1: Our tools have worn and you have taken all the
• 7:59
  Speaker 1: iron in the region. What will you give me in exchange?
• 8:03
  Speaker 4: So, Foremoor, why not stay a while with us, Enoch?
• 8:10
  Speaker 4: You could tell us some of your famous tales about
• 8:12
  Speaker 4: the Elohim. We have wine and women aplenty.
• 8:20
  Speaker 1: I can ship a third of my next harvest in
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: exchange for your iron. The summer has made the ground rough.
• 8:27
  Speaker 1: Good tools will break the earth much quicker.
• 8:31
  Speaker 6: What's to stop us from just taking your farm, Enoch?
• 8:38
  Speaker 6: We've consumed other farms within our borders. How about we
• 8:45
  Speaker 6: give your little plot of.
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: Land That'd be unwise.
• 8:52
  Speaker 6: Easy there, Enoch. You forget who you're talking to.
• 9:02
  Speaker 2: The creature gripped the shaft of his spear with his
• 9:05
  Speaker 2: monstrous paws. Murder was in his eyes. Methuselah could tell
• 9:10
  Speaker 2: he was ravenous for any excuse to put Enoch's head
• 9:14
  Speaker 2: on one of those pikes outside. Yet his father remained,
• 9:18
  Speaker 2: voice unyielding. He stood with a confidence that somehow towered
• 9:23
  Speaker 2: over even these giants.
• 9:26
  Speaker 1: Take my land, consume it, and it will be gone.
• 9:30
  Speaker 1: You and I both know you can't farm like the
• 9:33
  Speaker 1: sons of Seth. But strike this deal with me, and
• 9:37
  Speaker 1: I'll give you a third of what I grow for
• 9:39
  Speaker 1: the first harvest, and a sixth for the other three
• 9:42
  Speaker 1: after that.
• 9:44
  Speaker 4: You sons of Seth think you're so clever. Not clever
• 9:51
  Speaker 4: enough to secure the iron.
• 9:53
  Speaker 1: Not strong enough.
• 9:55
  Speaker 4: To strike down the great beast to fortify your walls.
• 9:59
  Speaker 1: Do we have a deal?
• 10:00
  Speaker 6: Oh, Enoch. So serious. So righteous. You may be favored
• 10:16
  Speaker 6: by the creator, but tell me... Do you bleed like
• 10:24
  Speaker 6: the other sons of Seth we've cut open?
• 10:29
  Speaker 2: One stood from his throne, feet shaking the earth with
• 10:33
  Speaker 2: each step as he strode toward Enoch. His nostrils flared
• 10:37
  Speaker 2: like a bull's. Methuselah could have sworn he saw smoke
• 10:41
  Speaker 2: smoldering out with each breath. Enoch remained perfectly still, chin up,
• 10:47
  Speaker 2: and pointed toward the giant. Methuselah tried not to shake
• 10:51
  Speaker 2: drawing strength from his father's resolve. The beast stood only
• 10:55
  Speaker 2: a few feet away, blocking out the light from the fire.
• 10:59
  Speaker 2: There was a long, unsettling pause. Methuselah's throat clenched, keeping
• 11:05
  Speaker 2: the breath from exiting his lungs. His father was still.
• 11:10
  Speaker 2: The man's hulking frame leaned forward. He bore his teeth
• 11:15
  Speaker 2: like a wolf and spoke.
• 11:18
  Speaker 6: You have a deal, Enoch. fail to pay. And I'll
• 11:25
  Speaker 6: take your wife, eat your children, and use your eldest
• 11:30
  Speaker 6: as a toothpick.
• 11:33
  Speaker 1: I'm a man of my word. With the Creator as
• 11:36
  Speaker 1: my witness, I shall pay my share.
• 11:40
  Speaker 6: Oh, the Creator. You think hearing his name gives me comfort.
• 11:50
  Speaker 6: Get out of here before I change my mind.
• 11:55
  Speaker 2: Enoch wasted no time. He turned on his heels and left.
• 11:59
  Speaker 2: Methuselah padded behind him like a puppy. They left the city.
• 12:04
  Speaker 2: Its stench lingered on them for a while. They crossed
• 12:08
  Speaker 2: the brook separating the city and their land and scaled
• 12:11
  Speaker 2: the grassy knolls. They made it to a small summit.
• 12:15
  Speaker 2: A singular cedar tree swayed to the midnight breeze. Methuselah
• 12:20
  Speaker 2: could see the stars twinkling through the breaks in the leaves.
• 12:24
  Speaker 5: What were those, father?
• 12:26
  Speaker 1: Were they men? Yes and no. They are the Nephilim,
• 12:33
  Speaker 1: spawn of the sons of God and daughters of men.
• 12:37
  Speaker 2: So they're sons of angels?
• 12:41
  Speaker 6: Yes.
• 12:43
  Speaker 1: Do you remember the story of the garden?
• 12:46
  Speaker 2: Methuselah nodded. waiting expectantly for his father to speak.
• 12:50
  Speaker 1: Our ancestors were enticed by the tree of knowledge. They
• 12:54
  Speaker 1: wanted to be like God, exchanging his will for them
• 12:58
  Speaker 1: for pride. They fell, but still they multiplied and began
• 13:04
  Speaker 1: filling the earth. When the sons of Adam multiplied here
• 13:08
  Speaker 1: on the world and daughters were born to them, the
• 13:11
  Speaker 1: heavenly beings saw that they were good. Just as Adam
• 13:16
  Speaker 1: and Eve took the fruit of the tree, the divine
• 13:19
  Speaker 1: beings took the daughters of men. What came from them
• 13:23
  Speaker 1: were the Nephilim. Neither human nor divine. Creatures born from
• 13:29
  Speaker 1: lust and pride. So now they just rule this land
• 13:33
  Speaker 1: like gods. They are chiefs in this land, but not gods.
• 13:38
  Speaker 1: They think they're gods. They think their strength makes them divine.
• 13:43
  Speaker 1: But there's only one god. He has made us in
• 13:47
  Speaker 1: his image. We are his appointed stewards of the world.
• 13:51
  Speaker 1: The Nephilim know this and hate us all the more
• 13:54
  Speaker 1: for it. They were terrifying. You're right to fear them.
• 13:59
  Speaker 1: But don't fear their size or their strength.
• 14:03
  Speaker 6: Fear the evil they bring.
• 14:05
  Speaker 1: This earth has been corrupted, Meti. It's been tainted, not
• 14:10
  Speaker 1: just by the giants, but by the darkness that's spread
• 14:14
  Speaker 1: in the hearts of men. I fear the creator won't
• 14:17
  Speaker 1: endure this evil much longer.
• 14:20
  Speaker 2: Why is that?
• 14:23
  Speaker 1: Evil grieves his heart. This corruption, this violence, it wasn't
• 14:29
  Speaker 1: his intention.
• 14:31
  Speaker 2: Enoch sensed his son's discomfort. He brought him in close
• 14:35
  Speaker 2: and sighed.
• 14:36
  Speaker 1: Walk with him as I have. Teach your sons what
• 14:40
  Speaker 1: I've taught you. Perhaps we will endure the judgment to come.
• 14:45
  Speaker 2: Enoch's words were edged into Methuselah's heart. The boy kept
• 14:49
  Speaker 2: them close. He grew into a man, watching his father
• 14:54
  Speaker 2: faithfully walk with the Creator. So faithful was Enoch that
• 14:58
  Speaker 2: he didn't taste the sting of death. His forefathers, Adam, Seth, Enosh, Kenan, Mahalalel,
• 15:06
  Speaker 2: and Jared, all returned to dust. But the Lord saw
• 15:10
  Speaker 2: Enoch and spared him. One day, As Enoch walked along
• 15:15
  Speaker 2: those same grassy knolls, he was taken up to be
• 15:18
  Speaker 2: with his creator. Enoch left the earth, and now it
• 15:23
  Speaker 2: was Methuselah's turn to carry the torch of God's promise.
• 15:27
  Speaker 2: Methuselah fathered Lamech and lived an abnormally long life. He
• 15:32
  Speaker 2: lived long enough to meet his grandson, Noah. He watched
• 15:36
  Speaker 2: Noah closely, seeing Enoch's heart in him. When Methuselah passed,
• 15:42
  Speaker 2: Noah was the last to honor the Creator, a solitary
• 15:46
  Speaker 2: light in a dark world. He alone carried the torch
• 15:50
  Speaker 2: of devotion. Misery and corruption had spread like a disease.
• 15:56
  Speaker 2: In the heavenly plane above earth, the Lord spoke, lamenting
• 16:00
  Speaker 2: the state of his world.
• 16:02
  Speaker 3: My spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he
• 16:07
  Speaker 3: is flesh. A hundred and twenty years is what they
• 16:10
  Speaker 3: will have left. I will blot out man from the
• 16:14
  Speaker 3: face of the land, for I am sorry that I
• 16:18
  Speaker 3: have made them.
• 16:20
  Speaker 2: A storm was coming. The purifying and terrifying work of
• 16:25
  Speaker 2: God was at hand. Yet, in the midst of it all,
• 16:29
  Speaker 2: hope still remained. It flickered like a faint light, carried
• 16:34
  Speaker 2: carefully by Noah. This Prey.com production is only made possible
• 16:43
  Speaker 2: by our dedicated team of creative talents. Steve Katina, Max Bard,
• 16:48
  Speaker 2: Zach Schellewager and Ben Gammon are the executive producers of
• 16:52
  Speaker 2: The Chosen People, narrated by Paul Coltofianu. Characters are voiced
• 16:56
  Speaker 2: by Jonathan Cotton, Aaron Salvato, Sarah Seltz, Mike Reagan, Stephen Ringwald,
• 17:02
  Speaker 2: Sylvia Zaradok, Thomas Copeland Jr., Rosanna Pilcher, and Mitch Lashinsky.
• 17:08
  Speaker 2: Music by Andrew Morgan Smith. Written by Aaron Salvato, Brie Rosely,
• 17:14
  Speaker 2: and Chris Baig. You can hear more Prey.com productions on
• 17:17
  Speaker 2: the Prey.com app, available on the Apple App Store and
• 17:21
  Speaker 2: Google Play Store. If you enjoyed The Chosen People, please
• 17:24
  Speaker 2: rate and leave a review.
• 17:26
  Speaker 1: This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed human.