By Sierra Jubilee
This story is fictional, but based on scripture found in 1 Samuel 8:11-12, 2 Chronicles 1:13-17, 2 Chronicles 9:25, Psalm 20:7, and Psalm 33:17-20
Chazak (kha-zahk) is Hebrew for “Well done”, “strong”, “Courage!”, or “be strong and of good courage”.
Chassid (khas-seed) is Hebrew for “pious man”.
With every passing day, Yasha became even stronger with endurance training and chariot races. Yasha also had to get used to loud noises and adept at forming ranks. In case the chariot lost a wheel during battle, Yasha had to be comfortable with Jacob fighting from his back. One day, Jacob took Yasha to the training ground to allow Yasha to become used to a battlefield. Yasha was skittish as was to be expected on his first time. There were lots of soldiers trying to train their war horses. There was also a lot of spear throwing and sword play. Yasha’s eyes were large in his head as he looked at all the chaos around him. Jacob directed Yasha 20 paces from a target and pulled back his arm to launch a spear. Yasha skittered right and left. He did not like a long pointy object above his head. Jacob nearly lost his seat and quickly grabbed the reins. He pulled back and spoke comforting words to Yasha, trying to calm him down. Yasha eventually became more relaxed and stopped fidgeting. Jacob sat atop Yasha and bent down in his ear.
“You see this, boy?”, Jacob asked. “I’ve been told this is what war is like. Chaotic. Get used to it because if you don’t, you could lose your head during a real battle and it could cost you your life.” Yasha seemed to sober up at this, as if he understood exactly what Jacob was talking about. Jacob lifted the spear once again. He pulled back and with one swift launch, Jacob released the spear, sending it into the center of the target. Just then, Officer Chazak rode up to him.
“Good eye, Jacob”, Officer Chazak said, “good throw, good balance, great horse. In fact, the military has been keeping an eye on you for quite some time now. We would like to bump you up a rank. This is unofficial, of course. You will be given the official notice by Commander Chassid later today.” Jacob was too stunned to reply so, Officer Chazak finished with, “As you were.” Jacob saluted and the man rode away. Jacob looked after him, incredulous as to what had just transpired. Was this real? Was he in a dream? After years and years of training, it was finally paying off. He was finally gaining the attention of his superiors. Jacob’s thoughts carried him away and he thought that someday he might even be an officer of thousands of troops.
The next day Jacob and Yasha made their way to the training grounds for some practice combat. Today was going to be another interesting day. Jacob and his comrades were to form ranks according to preconceived battle formation and pretend to fight each other. Yasha lined up among the other chariots and once the command was given, they were instructed to trot their horses forth until reaching an “opponent” and then, go through the motions of simulated warfare. The battle lines were drawn and Jacob stood in his chariot anticipating the command to be given. The sound of the snort of horses and hooves stomping the ground filled the air. While the smell of sweat, dust, and tension filled Jacob’s nostrils. The seconds seemed to stretch into a lengthy amount of time. Suddenly, a loud shofar blast gave the warning to advance. Jacob slapped the reins against Yasha’s rump and he jolted forward. As Yasha galloped headlong towards the oncoming chariot, chaos surrounded them like a thick cloud. Thunder filled the air, but it wasn’t coming from a rainstorm. No, this storm was formed by the myriad of hooves beating on the earth’s surface like a drummer beating upon his drum and the turning of chariot wheels. In what seemed like a split second, Jacob was facing an oncoming chariot. He glanced around him, but the ground to the right of him was uneven. It soon dropped off into a gorge flanking the field they used for military training. On the other side of him, there was another chariot neck-in-neck with him and Yasha. Jacob tried to maneuver Yasha over a bit, in order to get the other chariot to move over. However, they only served to scrape wheels. There was nowhere to turn, either to the right hand or to the left. He recognized the face looming towards him. It was his buddy Yosef. Just then, the sound of horses’ screams and a loud crash filled his consciousness before he was rendered comatose.
