2 Kings 17:1-12

the Cause of Israel's Weakness

2 Kings 17:1

This chapter reads like a page from the books of the great white throne. Hoshea, the last king of Israel, did not follow in all the evil deeds of his eighteen predecessors, but the degeneracy of the nation was too far advanced for anything to arrest its collapse. The dry-rot had eaten its way through the specious covering. Worldly policy was the immediate cause of the nation's downfall. Had they obeyed God simply and absolutely, they could have trusted Him to maintain their independence. But they chose to enter into alliances, now with Syria, and then with Egypt, and so became entangled in the wars of their allies. See Hosea 7:11; Hosea 9:3; Hosea 9:6; Hosea 12:1, etc.

Let us read carefully the bill of divorce which the Heavenly Husband gave to the recreant people whom he put away. It is a pathetic document from 2 Kings 17:7 onward; but none can say that Jehovah had not good and sufficient cause for acting as he did. The wonder is that He bore so long with the apostate race. Read Hosea 1:1; Hosea 2:1; Hosea 3:1 to learn how the divine heart was rent when the hour of separation came: but let us not forget the assurances of Romans 11:1, that the true Israel shall ultimately be saved.