THEOSISMaximus the Confessor
What do the words in the same book indicate: “And Hezekiah saw Sennacherib come, and his face to fight against Jerusalem. And he counseled with his elders, and with the mighty men, that they should draw up the waters of the springs that were outside the city: and they gave him permission. And he gathered many men, and confined the waters of the springs, and the stream flowing in the midst of the city” (2 Chronicles 32:2-4)? How should these words be understood through spiritual reflection?
Hezekiah represents a mind actively engaged in worldly endeavors, supported by knowledge, and fortified against disruptive forces by divine discernment, as reflected in his name, which signifies "divine power." Thus, he governs Jerusalem, symbolizing the soul, and oversees the "vision of the world," representing speculative contemplation free from passions. Upon perceiving a contrary power approaching, he appropriately began to consult his elders and strong men about restricting the waters from the springs outside the city. The "rulers" of such a mind consist of faith, hope, and love, which preside over all divine contemplations and thoughts within the soul, offering wise counsel to the mind; consequently, they aid in the battle against the opposing forces by providing means to counteract them. Without faith, hope, and love, no evil can be entirely vanquished, nor is any good deed achievable. Faith encourages the mind engaged in spiritual warfare to seek God's aid, becoming for it an assurance and steadfast trust in the unseen armor prepared for battle. Hope exists firmly in the mind through divine assurance and support, promising the defeat of adversarial powers. Love steadies the mind on divine affection, remaining unwavering amid spiritual conflict, anchoring its desires to the divine allure. The names of the rulers also align with these concepts and can be interpreted accordingly.
At this time, Hezekiah's rulers were Eliakim, the son of Helkiah the builder, Somnas the scribe, and Isach the son of Asaph the devout (4 Kings 18:18). The name "Eliakim" translates to "the resurrection of God," with Helkiah meaning "the portion of God." Therefore, the first and only son of "God's portion," symbolizing true knowledge, corresponds to the doctrine of our Divine Resurrection, akin to faith, which strategically dissipates the forces of rebellious temptations, whether they arise willingly or unwillingly. The name "Somnas the Bookman" denotes "conversion," clearly indicating the rich essence of divine hope, without which nobody can properly turn to God since the essence of hope is to educate and illuminate the future as though it were present, encouraging those under the influence of opposing powers not to stray from God, who envelops them with his protection, as the spiritual battle with the saints is fought for Him.
The name "Isach, the son of Asaph the devout," signifies “the brotherhood of God,” while Asaph, his father, translates as "the assembly." Therefore, love emerges from the gathering around divine matters and the unity of rational strengths—the faculties of reason, desire, and spirit. Consequently, those who have attained through grace a semblance of equality with God imprint the beauty of divine maturity within their memory—for brotherhood indeed represents the grace of equality—and they possess within the ruling inception of the soul an inexhaustible drive towards the pure radiance of divine love.
The essence of truth unfolds from the interpretation of these names: a mind, like Hezekiah, armed with God's power, attains rational strength akin to the elders and rulers. This gives rise to the birth of a knowledgeable faith through which the mind gains profound insights regarding the eternally present God and communicates with the future as if it were the present through hope. The mind also acquires the power of desire through which divine love emerges—this love, willingly anchored to the pure Godhead, ensures an unbreakable bond with the Beloved. Finally, the mind obtains a fierce strength that maintains a hold on the Divine realm, thereby reinforcing the inclination toward Divine love. These faculties enable every mind to combat vice and cultivate and protect virtue; they resemble elders, being foundational elements of the soul's essence, and rulers, exercising authority over the soul's movements that originate within them and wielding influence over actions wrought by these faculties. They extend counsel to the mind, advising it to contain the waters of the springs, i.e., those waters which exist outside the soul.
Through spiritual insight, what was historical in the past becomes mystically present. Equipped with these pure and discerning powers, the mind draws together many, symbolizing the pious and natural intentions and thoughts arising from these strengths. The waters outside the soul yield thoughts concerning sensual matters; these travel through various senses to reach the mind and flow into the soul. The doctrine of knowledge regarding sensual things emerges from them, streaming through the soul—a stream that, as long as the soul possesses, does not repudiate the images and representations of sensual matters, thereby allowing malevolent powers to incite conflict against it. This is why Hezekiah states, "Let not the king of Assyria come, and find many waters, and be strengthened" (2 Chronicles 32:4).
In these words, the discerning mind seemingly appeals to its faculties during the turmoil of passions: Let us redirect our focus from natural contemplation to prayer and the mortification of the body, reflecting active awareness (the ascension of the king into the temple of God represents their prayer; the vesting of Hezekiah (4 Kings 19:19) symbolizes physical mortification). In this way, the lurking evil might not populate vain speculations with images and representations that typically awaken passions, which arise from the external appearances of visible beings when the mind rests upon sensory realities, having shifted its attention through the senses. If the enemy fortifies itself, it could drain the hail—that is, the soul—and lead it to Babylon, symbolizing the tumult of passions.
Hence, anyone who, in the moment of passion's rise, confines their senses, entirely shunning dreams and memories of the sensual realm while humbling the natural inclinations of the mind toward the exploration of external matters, resembles Hezekiah, sealing off the waters of the spring that lie outside the soul, halting the internal stream and solidifying themselves alongside the designated powers and the multitude of supportive thoughts (meaning the pious reflections of each faculty). Thus, having secured victory through the right hand of God, he shamed the evil and tyrannical force that arose against him, and by divine command smote, as if by an angel, the engaging mind capable of eradicating passions—one hundred and eighty-five thousand (4 Sam. 19:35)—a skill producing corruption which, through the senses, unreasonably binds itself to the soul’s three powers as well as enacting sensory activities. At such a moment when the soul is attacked by evil spirits, it is crucial not to allow natural contemplation free rein; rather, the mind should persist with prayers, discipline the body, vigilantly extinguish errant thoughts, and safeguard the virtues that uphold the soul (that is, the habits which preserve the virtues, such as temperance and patience) through inherent beneficial thoughts, ensuring that no thought allows for conflict with external adversaries, and that the mind does not, emboldened by victorious outcomes, stray from God.
Otherwise, the commander of the Assyrian king Sennacherib, Rapsak, who speaks Hebrew (4 Sam. 18:26) and 'binds' the soul with turbulent corruption (Abb. 2:15), covertly steals the longing for the divine, urging the quest for a more beautiful thought toward wretched pursuits, presenting falsehoods in place of true goods. The name Rapsak is interpreted as “he who kisses many” or “he who possesses powerful kisses.” Thus, the wicked devil, skilled in wrestling with the mind through achievements, "speaks in the Hebrew tongue" through virtue taken to be sincere but which is not; he adorns the soul with "corruptions of a cloudy nature," revealing deceitful and harmful companionship. As it is well known, "the wounds inflicted by a friend are preferable to the flattering embraces of an enemy" (Proverbs 27:6).
The name "Sennacherib" translates to "temptation of dryness" or "sharpened teeth." This represents the devil, who, armed with sharpened thoughts for malignity (which might be considered “sharpened teeth”), dehydrates the stream that emanates from the divine reservoirs of knowledge within us, resulting in an aptly fitting name reflecting its impact on those who yield. As it truly is termed "the temptation of dryness," it strips those ensnared of all life-giving spiritual moisture. Alternatively, it is feasible that Sennacherib, signifying the devil, is labeled "the temptation of dryness" because he is poor, meager, and devoid of the power to confront us; without the material stimuli that typically incite warfare against the soul, he cannot harm us.
Hence, for his intended dominance over us, he requires sources external to the soul, namely, material thoughts, which inherently give rise to soul invasions by visible forms and kinds of sensual matters. The senses, shaped by these influences via their natural connections, often become wicked instruments in the devil's hands, dissipating the divine splendor of the soul, surrendering to the allure of pleasure, and subsequently offering forth all inherent power of the Word within us to the adversary. Conversely, one who bravely contains the senses through self-discipline and, with mental fortitude, protects their mind against external sensory influences can effortlessly dismantle the malignant weapons of the adversary. Shaming him, they compel the devil to retrace his steps—those steps leading to material entities purportedly serving to constitute a body—and force him back to his own domain, that being the realm of material and sinful amalgamation. The individual defeats the devil using his own malicious thoughts, redirecting them toward a state conducive to spiritual rest.
For someone who has triumphed over the devil employing his own thoughts, channeling them in contemplation to attain loftier outcomes slays Sennacherib through his offspring and banishes them to the land of Armenia, stepping, of course, into a domain closer to spiritual repose—the thoughts that ensnare the soul through sensory experience. This "Armenia" signifies a vicinity close to spiritual rest, epitomizing the fulfillment of divine virtues. The mind, by transporting thoughts that once entangled it in the dishonorable passions of the senses, slays the devil, who originated these thoughts leading to humanity's downfall.
Hezekiah acted wisely, prudently, and in accord with Scripture’s plain meaning by sealing off the waters of the springs outside Jerusalem in anticipation of the attack by Sennacherib, king of Assyria. The springs beyond the soul encompass all sensual realities; their waters represent thoughts linked to sensual matters, and the stream coursing through the soul embodies knowledge acquired through natural contemplation from these sensual thoughts, serving as the boundary between the mind and the senses. The engagement with sensory matters is not entirely foreign to mental faculties; rather, it acts as a mediating force connecting the mind and senses, merging their interactions. Through sensory input and visual representation, the mind is imprinted with external forms, while through intellect, it transmutes these external images into conceptual forms. This engagement with tangible matters is accurately termed "the stream flowing in the midst of the soul," as it stands between the two extremes of mind and sense.