One Crazy Roller Coaster

This week in class we learned about pretty good times for Bnei Yisrael compared to previous weeks/learning. A religious revival is taking place all thanks to the new king of Yehudah, Chizkiahu. Chizkiahu has a very "up and down" type of reign. It's basically like a roller coaster. Also like a soap opera. When you expect one thing, something else happens. If you're wondering why I said soap opera, it's because in a soap opera you always think one thing is happening/going to happen and then you realize that person is really cheating on someone or someones father/mother/sibling. It gets confusing. And that's precisely what Chizkiahu's reign is like. At least for me.

The first thing we learned this week was about Yishayu's vision of what seems to be Mashiach. This is a time in which the predators will live with those who they had previously preyed on (lion and lamb). The knowledge of G-d will fill the land and the banner of G-d will be raised throughout the world. G-d will be recognized by all. The exiled will return and there will be peace between Yisrael and Yehuda. Righteousness and faithfulness will replace weapons of war. Basically, everything will be lovely and heavenly and awesome. After learning this all our minds were in the Garden of Eden (this is a metaphor for paradise). So as we are all thinking about this beautiful like in which everything is perfect and everyone is righteous, Mrs. Perl threw us a curve ball, otherwise known as the Chizkiahu story.

We begin a new king, Chizkiahu who was 25 when he came to power and ruled for 29 years. Then the twist came. He did the Yashar in the eyes of G-d AND he removed the Bamot! Yashar Koach! What a wonderful day in the kingdom of Yehudah! Chizkiahu gets rid of all the avodah zara and follows the mitzvot from Moshe (haven't heard that one yet..). He is known as a paragon of Bitachon (faith/trust) and clings to G-d. Hashem is with him even when he rebels from Ashor by not paying taxes to them anymore. He expands the borders and refurbishes the Beit Hamikdash. The Cohanim purify the Beit Hamikdash and the whole nation comes together to sacrifice/praise G-d. Chizkiahu has caused a religious revival and all is good with the world! But not actually. Why? Cause you must expect the unexpected in this ancient soap opera.

Ashor/Assyria attacks Yehuda by besieging it in Chizkiahu's 14th year. (Why does this happen? Probably because although the people were religious again and worshipping G-d, they were acting immorally and without Tzedeck and Mishpat.) A messenger from Ashor comes and tests the people's faith. He makes them look bad for trusting Egypt by calling Egypt a broken reed (weak). He says that Chizkiahu was wrong to remove the Bamot and that he cannot protect them. He talks about how G-d "let" them destroy Yisrael, their brothers and how G-d could not stop them from destroying all these other cities. He claims that Ashor would protect them and give them food and water if they would surrender. If they do, Ashor will also give them 2,000 horses.Then there's a spiffy little twist thrown into this divine roller coaster ride, the messenger is speaking in Hebrew! (How does he know Hebrew, you ask? Well I don't know. Why? Because we have not answered that question is class as of now but I can assure you my readers (probably Mrs. Perl) that we will discover the answer soon and it will surely be shocking!) The officers/Chizkiahu's men ask the messenger to speak in Aramaic so the people wil not understand him by the messenger refuses for he wants the people to hear his message.

The messenger goes on to tell the people not to trust their king, Chizkiahu. Ashor is the only one who can save them so they must surrender now. Their G-d did not protect Yisrael and will not save them. Chizkiahu tells the people not to answer him. They all mourn including Chizkiahu who asks the Cohanim to pray for him. Yishayahu tells Chizkiahu that he should not be worried and the king of Ashor will die soon anyway. More messengers come from Ashor and continue their attempt to persuade the people to surrender. They tell the people that G-d will not help them because they let Ashor destroy all the other lands.

Chizkiahu finally goes to the Beit Hamikdash to pray. He declares G-d's superiority and asked Him to save them from Ashor so everyone will know that He is the true G-d. Hashem then sends a prophesy to Yishayahu (to Chizkiahu) about Ashor's imminent defeat. Yehuda will be the remnant of Bnei Yisrael. Hashem will protect them.

Then a super crazy thing happens! Imagine you're still on that roller coaster we talked about and you're getting all the way to the top.



And then you drop.

G-d sends His angels to kill 185,000 Assyrians!! Then the King of Ashor hears a rumor and returns to his land where his sons kill him! And that's it! The powerful Assyrians fall! The kingdom of Ashor is done. Over. Out.
Ashor's haughtiness and belief in their own power was their downfall. They believed that G-d was powerless and their King really had all the power. They didn't think that G-d could help Yehuda…but they were wrong. And that's why they're gone. (If you didn't catch that, that last line rhymed---ok, fine. Slant rhyme. It still counts. I'm not a poet.)

So, you're still on that roller coaster. You just dropped hundreds of feet and you have that odd, excited feeling in your stomach. You're going really fast. Picture it. You're going 75 mph.

Then, all of a sudden, you stop.


Chizkiahu, the one who did the Yashar in the eyes of G-d, the one who removed the Bamot, the one who caused a whole religious revival, the one who prayed to G-d to save them from the hands of the Assyrians….doesn't thank G-d.