Blessed be the LORD,

for he has wondrously shown his steadfast love to me

when I was in a besieged city.

I had said in my alarm,

“I am cut off from your sight.”

But you heard the voice of my pleas for mercy

when I cried to you for help.

 Psalm 31:21-22

The Israelites knew about sieges. The Assyrians laid siege to Israel and led the inhabitants away as captives. Later, the Babylonians did the same thing to Jerusalem. A city under siege is terrible. When a dominating army has surrounded a city, no one gets in or out. People eventually starve. Living conditions become unmanageable. Sieges suck the life out of the inhabitants. Continue reading →