Jaredite Stories

Isaac the Warrior Part 1

Isaac the Warrior Part 2

Shim wanted my 6 year old daughter, Mieka. She was a beautiful young girl and how I loved her! She had long, dark wavy hair. Her eyes were a bright brown color. She was average sized for her age, and uncommonly stunning. There was no way I was going to let them take her! I had already lost my wife and two of my children, and promised my wife as she was dying that I would take care of our family. Shim sent his guards, including one of my own brothers, to retrieve Mieka. With all the pleading of my soul, I begged my brother and the guards to take me instead.

Shim’s men attacked me, whipped me, beat me, and left me for dead; but miraculously they left Mieka alone. One of my sons, hearing a loud commotion, ran to me only to find me unconscious, and Shim’s guards surrounding me and Mieka. He sprinted to get help from his grandfather and uncles. My heartrate was very slow and still, it appeared that I had died from the beating. The guards were determined not to let my father take my body, wanting to assure my death; however, my father convinced the guards that I already died, and against Shim’s orders, they allowed him to take me to the healer’s tent.

Of course, the guards followed us, laughing and mocking that I could possibly be healed; to them, I was already dead. My father ached to give me a blessing but could not do that with the presence of Shim’s guards, instead, he prayed for me and blessed me in his heart and mind; so did all the others who were in the room. Many gathered outside the tent, also praying in their hearts and minds for my recovery.

During my father’s prayer, the power of God came into the room so intensely that the guards were overcome with something similar to a haze. They became disoriented; they could not see or hear clearly. Once my father realized what happened to the guards, he placed his tender hands on my damaged head and gave me a blessing; a blessing of healing, full recovery, and protection for my daughter.

It took several weeks, but I miraculously healed. The healer used many different herbs and healing methods to heal me, all through the healing power of Jesus Christ. Most of the scars disappeared, but one remained on my left forearm. I believe that was left as a reminder of Jesus Christ, my ultimate healer. Shim’s guards were stunned at my recovery. Somehow, I know with help from God, they did not try to take my life again, or attempt to abduct or abuse Mieka in anyway.

Several months after my attack and about four years into our captivity, my father and I noticed that many of Shim’s guards were becoming relatively lazy. They did not seem to have the same intensity that they did when we were first taken captive. Many drank wine and stronger mixes of wine which caused extreme drunkenness. Their drunkenness, at times, caused them to be more cruel, but usually made them passive.

Occasionally, one of Shim’s guards, as he made his rounds around our settlement, would enter into my parents’ tent, on the pretense that he was inspecting them, to secretly speak to my father. He told my father that if he was caught, he would be hung, so he was extremely careful. This guard was actually one of my older brothers, Paco, known as one of the most brutal of Shim’s guards. He was involved in my beating and wanted to leave me for dead. During his time as one of Shim’s guards, he beat and whipped many others. He raped some of our wives and daughters. He was vicious. How could we even think about trusting him. I couldn’t believe that my father would even let him into his tent; how could he?

During the visits, Paco expressed to my father his extreme sorrow for the beatings, the rapes, and all the abuse and terror that he caused our people. He now knew it was wrong; he strayed so far from what my parents taught him. He did not expect us to forgive him but wanted us to listen to him. He told my father that when he allowed the guards to beat me, he honestly didn’t think they would beat and whip me until I was practically dead; and he felt powerless to stop them. He also told us that he was the reason they did not take Mieka; he had a daughter about the same age as her and looked very much like. Shim wanted Paco’s daughter, but he would not allow that to happen. Someone told Shim that I had a daughter that looked very similar to Paco’s daughter, so Shim sent Paco to abduct Mieka. Paco told my father that he just could not take her. He said that when he looked upon her, he saw his own daughter’s eyes in Mieka’s eyes; her eyes haunted him. The other guards were upset with him and took their frustration out on me, which unfortunately, Paco allowed.

Paco revealed that he was in the healer’s tent that I was brought into after the beating, although he tried to keep his head covered so he would not be noticed. My father told him that he knew he was there and that in his prayer for me, he also pled for Paco. Paco felt the haze that came after my father prayed. He felt powerless, almost paralyzed. He knew that the power of God came into the room to heal me. Paco felt the power tell him that he needed to change his life; but slowly, as Shim needed to believe that he was still loyal to him. He felt the power tell him that he needed to help my father regain the throne. He felt the power begin to heal him.

More than once when Paco was talking with my father in his tent, another one of Shim’s guards came in. Just so the other guards would believe that Paco was loyal to Shim, Paco would powerfully pushed my mother into my father, or on the ground, causing her to cry out in pain. My mother knew why he did that, but my father was angry.

During Paco’s visits, he communicated problems Shim experienced governing his people. Although Shim still had great wealth, he did not treat his people well. He was always angry and took his anger out on others. He stole from those who originally supported him. He had several wives and concubines; if they didn’t fulfill his desires, he would beat them and thought nothing of it. Many who started to question their loyalty to Shim and some who desired to rise up in rebellion against him. However, there were still many more supporters of Shim. Those who were displeased with the way he governed the people took great care to whom they chose to talk to. Any negative talk against Shim would result in immediate death and Shim had spies everywhere.

As the weeks and months progressed, more and more of Shim’s guards privately came to my father telling him more about Shim and his problems. None of them knew that others had come to my father, especially that Paco had come. We still did not trust the guards and were concerned that some may actually still be loyal to Shim, coming to us to find defectors.

Finally, the day came when my father knew that he needed to inform his council that Shim’s guards were visiting him. He cautiously talked to the members of his council, letting them know what he learned from the guards, to learn their opinions about the situation, and to ask them to pray so they would know what needed to be done. He told his council members that he trusted Paco, despite his despicable past. After much prayer and fasting we decided that it was time to remove Shim from his throne.

(To be continued…)