The Assyrian battering ram

     No rest for the weary. This siege had taken everything out of Benjamin. The Assyrians had come with their iron, their battering rams, their massive army that had been labeled undefeatable. Well, he had been praying constantly and had been burdened heavily by this hopelessness; this dark cloud over the heads of his people. He went to the grinding stone and started to unsheathe his sword. But then he decided to go get something to eat instead. He went to the tents, where the food would be. He walked around looking for any sign of stew or meat anywhere. Not finding any, he decided to talk to his friend Enoch to see if he had any bread or wine. While he walked, he thought about Sennacherib and his army and the way that the Assyrians terrorized everyone who wasn’t already in their empire. It was sickening to see their greed. But it was pointless to think such things. It was impossible to stop their relentless war machine.

     He reached Enoch and asked him if he had anything to eat. He told him no and disappointed, Benjamin decided to go to bed. He silently prayed for his city, for the impossible odds that they faced. Silently and quickly he drifted off to sleep.

     He woke up with a start. It was early, but he could already hear that the entire city was in a panic. Without putting on his full armor, he ran out of his bunk house and went to the wall. An immense crowd had gathered at the top of the wall, and all of them were pointing and shouting at a scene in the enemy camp. Only when he reached the top of the wall did he see and (more prominently) hear what the spectacle was. What he heard from the massive camp was complete silence. What he saw from it was nothing. No driving war machine, no busy soldiers preparing for a bloody battle. The only soldiers he saw were lying prostrate on the ground. They appeared to be motionless—dead. Had there been a guerilla attack that he hadn’t been informed of? Had their been disease in the enemy lines? All these questions and more were posed in Benjamin’s head when he heard the news: “The Lord has delivered us!” He heard one archer say. “The Angel of the Lord has stricken our enemies in the night!” Said another young infantryman. Praise be to God, for he had delivered them out of their most dire circumstance. He had risen up against the enemy and triumphed. There would be much celebrating in the city tonight; drinking, eating, being merry. They would praise and worship God tonight. They would erect altars and burn offerings. This victory was the Lord’s, and he would be praised for it. Benjamin uttered a silent prayer of thanksgiving. “The Lord is indeed with us.” And then, he realized that he had eaten nothing in over a day’s time. He would find Enoch and they would share in some bread and wine, and they would celebrate together.