Chapter 40
Avishai pointed to the people standing opposite them: "Sanheriv, the king of Assyria (Ashur) sends Ravshakeh, one of the Assyrian army's most senior commanders to wage psychological warfare against Jerusalem. They stood opposite King Hizkiyahu's army generals. Ravshakeh wants to undermine the sense of security of the people in Jerusalem and to intimidate the fighters and break their spirit."
Roey looked around. The city of Jerusalem was surrounded by soldiers on all sides. The sight of the Assyrian army frightened him. He could actually feel the somber atmosphere and was reminded of the fate of Jerusalem's nearby cities in Judea that had already been captured. Suddenly Ravshakeh was heard speaking Hebrew in a very loud voice: "Don't listen to Hizkiyahu."[i]
“Ravshakeh is touching on raw nerves,” Avishai explained. "Ravshakeh continued by saying that Jerusalem is unable to withstand the strength of the mighty Assyrian army. He compares Israel's God to the gods of the other captured nations, which were unable to save them."
Avishai stopped speaking to continue listening to Ravshakeh. "… Lest Hizkiyahu mislead you, saying, 'The Lord will save us.' Have the gods of the nations saved each one his land from the hand of the king of Assyria?" [ii]
The representatives of Assyria's army were standing on a high spot where everyone could see and hear them. Hizkiyahu's soldiers stood on the city walls and, together with many citizens, listened in silence to Ravshakeh's convincing words. No one uttered a sound and they all looked to be in great distress. "So the king of Assyria has said, 'Make peace with me, and come out to me, and each man will eat of his vine and each man of his fig tree." [iii]
Avishai explained: "Ravshakeh is offering them voluntary exile, to surrender without a fight, and to leave Jerusalem and be sent to another place in the Assyrian Empire. This was the policy to exiling conquered nations to faraway lands".
Ravshakeh's speech ended and the crowd remained silent. Roey wanted to know what happened next. Avishai continued: "The representatives of the Judean army went back to King Hizkiyahu with torn clothes, they had also been convinced by Ravshakeh's speech". In a concerned tone, Roey asked how the king reacted. Avishai quoted from the Tanakh: "And it was when King Hizkiyahu heard, that he rent his garments, and covered himself with sackcloth, and came to the house of the Lord."[iv] Just as when he had been sick, so too Hizkiyahu now turned directly to God and prayed.
Avishai asked if Roey remembered the argument between the King and the Prophet Yeshayahu. "How could I forget?! They were arguing furiously with each other!"
Avishai replied that the argument was all over and now Hizkiyahu had turned to Yeshayahu for help, saying: "This day is a day of distress, proof and blasphemy,"[v] asking that Yeshayahu should also pray for the remaining Jewish people living in Jerusalem. Roey knew that whatever the Prophet had warned about had occurred exactly as he had predicted. Roey wondered what would happen now. Avishai explained that now the situation is completely different – the Prophet and the King had joined forces again and were going to work together. Yeshayahu the Prophet tried to raise the morale of the King and the people and threw himself whole-heartedly into helping the city of Jerusalem. He encouraged them and promised that Sanheriv would not succeed in capturing the city. "By the way he comes he shall return, and this city he shall not enter, says the Lord." [vi] Roey held his breath, wondering whether Yeshayahu's words would come true this time.
Avishai touched the screen on his tablet and they both scrolled down to look at the houses within the walls of the city. "There really was a miracle in Jerusalem" Avishai exclaimed happily as they looked on at the relief felt by the people who had been saved. "The Angel of God smote the mighty Assyrian army and killed the thousands of soldiers who had been besieging the city. The salvation came and Jerusalem was saved. Sanhheriv returned to his own country."
[i] Yeshayahu 36:16
[ii] Yeshayahu 36:18
[iii] Yeshayahu 36:16
[iv] Yeshayahu 37:1
[v] Yeshayahu 37:3
[vi] Yeshayahu 37:34
Originally printed in Hebrew as part of a MiBereisheet movement Shabbat newsletter for parents and children.