Chapter 16

The Wolf and the Fold

The army scout spurred his Egyptian mare through the crowded streets of Jerusalem, brushing people aside. In his haste he toppled a stack of woven baskets. A woman lost her balance dropping the full water pot from her head and leaving a thousand wet pieces of pottery on the ground. Angry cries and anxious glances followed the lone officer as he hurried to the palace. The expression on his face, his urgency, caused many to turn and follow him. They sensed that he bore news of national importance.

The guards quickly opened the palace gates, and the rider galloped the last few hundred cubits. He dismounted in a single bound and disappeared into the king's court, not waiting for the herald to announce his arrival.

Hezekiah looked up from a planning session with his counselors.

"I beg your pardon for entering unannounced, Your Majesty," the rider said. Fear filled his eyes. "I have hurried to tell you that Sennacherib is approaching."

Whispers rustled in the room, and anxious glances shot in every direction as the messenger continued. "Even now he nears our borders and will begin warfare against us within a few days."

For several seconds everyone remained silent. At last Eliakim found his voice. "Where are they now?"

"Near the borders of Tyre and Sidon, on the King's Highway. We expect that they will go by the way of the Great Sea."

"Are they moving quickly:" Shebna asked.

"Not as fast as they left Jerusalem last time. But they move at a rapid pace."

"How many men would you judge them to have:" Hezekiah inquired.

"That's hard to say." The scout had a distant look in his eye. "I stood on a hill as they passed. Their soldiers, horses, and wagons overflowed the road into the fields for many cubits." Then he paused as though in a trance. "I watched until the front lines marched over the horizon toward the south . . . and still . . . still they came over the edge of the earth from the north. They are beyond counting."

"Is there anything else:" Eliakim persisted.

"No. What will we do? They'll carry us away to Nineveh!"

"Now, now, my son." Eliakim's voice soothed like that of a father calming his child during a thunderstorm." Come with me. You must be tired and hungry. Everything will be all right. . . ." His voice trailed off as he led the frightened messenger out of the council chamber.

None of the elders doubted Sennacherib's intentions. He planned to crush Jerusalem out of existence. "I suppose he is still angry he didn't get us ten years ago," Shebna mumbled.

"Yes," Joah added, "and it looks like he plans to do it this time . . . like a wolf descending upon a fold."

"But he won't destroy our fold if we trust in Yahweh." Hezekiah had remained unaffected by the despair. "Come now. We must plan our actions." The king's calmness soon revived the group.

"We need to warn our people," Joah said. "They'1l need time to move into the walled cities."

"That's already being done," Eliakim stated as he returned to the room. "The royal messenger service will get the word to every town in Judah by nightfall."

Hezekiah nodded. "Good. Now let's get on with our plans."

It required only a few hours for the news to reach the farthest villages. Few seemed surprised, for all had expected the Assyrians to return. No one panicked. They packed the few valuables they could carry and headed for safety.

And safety meant only one thing: Jerusalem. The capital was the only city to survive the last invasion. The entire adult population owed their existence to the fact that they had been in Jerusalem when Sennacherib had invaded before. They felt that their only hope this time was to flee into the holy city.

People arrived in Jerusalem at first in small groups, then in ever-increasing numbers. From early morning until late night they poured in by the thousands. Many stayed with friends. Others camped in the streets or in the city parks. Fugitives flooded into the city until the eighty-six-acre fortress bulged with over a million men, women, and children, besides all the animals.

The construction crews had toiled to strengthen Judah's walled cities. And yet people took no chances. Even Lachish and Libnah, the strongest cities outside Jerusalem, were now empty except for the armed troops stationed there. A few brave souls remained, but most people had decided that Jerusalem was their only hope.

Hezekiah observed the influx of fugitives with concern.

"With this mass of people," he commented to Eliakim "and the Assyrians due to arrive any time, I'm afraid we don't have enough food."

"You may be right," the steward said." We provided each city with food for the people there. But they're all coming here."

"And we don't have time to transfer the supplies to Jerusalem."

"Nor room, either," Joah had just stepped in.

"Joah!" The king seemed pleased to see his recorder. "I was just going to send for you." The king looked over the city. "How many people are in Jerusalem now?"

"Nearly a million . . . maybe more."

"Do we have enough food and water?"

"That depends on how long the siege lasts."

"I know." Hezekiah glanced at his recorder. "Suppose it lasts a year, Joah. Would we have enough food? "

"No! That is. . . unless we cut the amount each person uses."

"That's what I wanted to know." The king made his decision. "So . . . we will ration the food."

The people chafed under the rationing at first. They had been eating well for ten years, and the cutback hurt. The authorities put a similar restriction on water. Overseers made sure that each family received its share—but no more. They placed a twenty-four-hour guard at the Pool of Siloam and the reservoir, thus assuring that water coming through Hezekiah's tunnel would meet their needs during the months ahead.

The king was restless to know the position of the Assyrian troops. "There must be something we can do," he stormed to the council one day. "We mustn't just sit here like rats in a cage."

"Your Majesty, why not send an ambassador to Egypt?" Shebna suggested. "Perhaps they'll help us again."

"That's a good idea." Joah nodded his approval. "Egypt was the only country to come to our aid last time."

"I don't know." Eliakim seemed a little cautious. "They got quite a beating then."

The recorder jumped to his feet. "But they have a new king now—Tirhakah the Nubian."

"And I hear he's a young man," Hezekiah offered. "I think he's only nineteen or twenty years old. He would be more willing to face Sennacherib. This sounds better all the time."

"That's right. If anyone can defeat Sennacherib, Egypt can," Shebna concluded.

"It's worth a try," Joah insisted, sitting down again.

"Did I overhear you speaking about sending to Egypt for help?"

Hearing the voice, everyone turned to face Isaiah. The prophet's shocked expression paralyzed the council. He stood silently for a moment, almost in a trance, gazing at the men before him but seeing other scenes. After a long time his eyes focused, his muscles relaxed, and he spoke. "'Woe to the rebellious children,' saith Yahweh, 'that take counsel, but not of me; that trust in Pharaoh and stand in the shadow of Egypt.'" Isaiah paused and stared at them a moment. "The strength of Pharaoh shall be your shame, and trust in Egypt your confusion. For the Egyptians shall help in vain."

No one said anything after Isaiah abruptly left. At last Hezekiah broke the silence. "I love that man and dearly appreciate his counsel. We will put our trust in Yahweh. But I still believe we should send an ambassador to Egypt."

The counselors nodded but said nothing. Who could say what was right: After they departed, the king mused on the tactics of Assyrians. He remembered how they had destroyed his allies first, leaving Judah with no one to help. Then, with Judah crushed, they had approached Jerusalem. "I'm sure they'1l do the same this time," he said aloud. "But this time I have no allies. Sennacherib will attack me first."

With a frown he thought of Judah's prospects. The Assyrians would be fresh. Sennacherib would have had no previous campaigns to tire his men. And there would be little chance that trouble elsewhere could erupt quickly enough to save Judah. If only Egypt were closer. If only he had sent the ambassador sooner.

The king chuckled at the thought of Isaiah's message. The prophet was right. He and his advisers were fooling themselves by requesting aid from Egypt. They could not count on that power. Their only hope lay in Yahweh. So . . . in Yahweh they would trust.

Within a week of the first warning, Assyrian soldiers roamed Judah. Again Sennacherib sought to weaken Judah by attacking the smaller cities and towns first, leaving Jerusalem until last. The country crawled with troops who were raiding towns, burning crops, killing and capturing livestock and what few people they could find.

"It doesn't matter," he told his officers when they commented about the deserted towns. "Soon we'll have Jerusalem, and all the people will be at our mercy."

"Or lack of it," one officer scowled.

Sennacherib exploded. "Watch it! I could have your head for that!"

The officer bowed in submission and turned away furious but helpless. He would witness another bloodbath as the Jewish nation breathed its last. And like it or not, his only hope of personal survival lay in his participation in the affair.

With no opposition anywhere, it required but a few days for the Assyrians to reduce Judah to rubble. Meeting resistance in the large cities only, they left the fortresses untouched until they had destroyed the rest of the country. But soon only three cities remained: Lachish, Libnah, and Jerusalem.

Sennacherib gathered his army at Lachish. Remembering the battle plans of his previous trip, he was annoyed at the city's strengthened walls—far stronger than before. After leading his generals on a tour around the city as he planned the methods for capturing it, he decided, despite the thicker walls, to use the same tactics." We will build mounds against the walls," he explained," and use our battering rams and catapults. Then we'1l tunnel under the wall right over there." He pointed to a spot near where they had dug their previous tunnel.

All of it would take time. But he had more troops than before, and they could accomplish the task in only a few weeks. In fact, speed was their best weapon. Sennacherib organized his army into shifts to continue the work day and night. The Assyrian wanted to conquer Lachish and Libnah quickly so he could go to Jerusalem before anything hindered him from meeting his goal. He determined to completely destroy Judah and Hezekiah.

Daily the mounds grew against the walls. Work progressed nicely on the tunnel, too, and Sennacherib knew that the time drew near for the final push. "Perhaps . . ." Sennacherib thought, "I can get Hezekiah to surrender Jerusalem without a fight." He smiled at the thought. It was worth a try. First he discussed the plan with his chief cupbearer—the Rabshakah. Although he served wine to the king, he was also a man of great learning, speaking several languages fluently and often acting as the king's ambassador. Because of the constant danger to the king of assassination by poisoning, a cupbearer had to be a trusted person.

Sennacherib explained his plan. "I want you to take an army to Jerusalem." The Rabshakah smiled as the king said, "Tell the Jews we want them to surrender Jerusalem without a fight. If they do, we will merely deport them. But if they won't . . ." He eyes hardened. "If they won't, there will be no more Jerusalem, and no more Jews."

"When shall I begin, Your Highness?" the  asked.

"Right now!" the king roared. Calming a bit, he added, "And don't speak merely to Hezekiah's envoys. Talk to the people on the wall . . . in their own language. Tell them what will happen if they don't surrender. You may even persuade them to rebel and hand over Hezekiah to us."

Hezekiah summoned the Jewish leaders. "We must encourage our people to trust in Yahweh," he pleaded. "Sennacherib will try everything to take our city. First he will attempt to persuade us to surrender, and if that fails, he will use force."

Isaiah picked up the presentation. "If the people confess their sins and walk in God's laws, He will protect them even against Assyria."

The king then recalled how Yahweh had protected the city before. "You'll remember how Isaiah predicted that the enemy would hear a rumor and leave. "

"I remember that very well," Shebna interrupted.

"You'1l also remember that while Sennacherib's army were encamped around our city they received word of the Babylonian rebellion. Yahweh protected us before, and He can do it again. If we make all things right with Him and trust in His power, He will save us."

The prophet held up his hand for attention. "Behold, Yahweh has said, 'If My people will not repent, then the Assyrians will carry them to Nineveh.'" A smile crossed his face. "The word which Yahweh gives me is: 'My people have repented; they are faithful to Me. They have listened to My prophet.' Therefore, 'the Assyrians will not shoot an arrow at Jerusalem. They have mounted to heaven in their haughtiness and have become bloody in their deeds. Yahweh will deal with them. They will know that He is God, the Creator.'"

Cheers filled the chamber, but Isaiah motioned for silence. "Yahweh will fight for this city. May the people remain true to Him. Stand still, and see the salvation of Yahweh, the Lord of hosts!"

Chapter 17