2 Kings 17:1-41
1 In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah began Hoshea the son of Elah to reign in Samaria over Israel nine years.
2 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, but not as the kings of Israel that were before him.
3 Against him came up Shalmaneser king of Assyria; and Hoshea became his servant, and gavea him presents.
4 And the king of Assyria found conspiracy in Hoshea: for he had sent messengers to So king of Egypt, and brought no presentb to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year: therefore the king of Assyria shut him up, and bound him in prison.
5 Then the king of Assyria came up throughout all the land, and went up to Samaria, and besieged it three years.
6 In the ninth year of Hoshea the king of Assyria took Samaria, and carried Israel away into Assyria, and placed them in Halah and in Habor by the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.
7 For so it was, that the children of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, which had brought them up out of the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other gods,
8 And walked in the statutes of the heathen, whom the LORD cast out from before the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel, which they had made.
9 And the children of Israel did secretly those things that were not right against the LORD their God, and they built them high places in all their cities, from the tower of the watchmen to the fenced city.
10 And they set them up imagesc and groves in every high hill, and under every green tree:
11 And there they burnt incense in all the high places, as did the heathen whom the LORD carried away before them; and wrought wicked things to provoke the LORD to anger:
12 For they served idols, whereof the LORD had said unto them, Ye shall not do this thing.
13 Yet the LORD testified against Israel, and against Judah, byd all the prophets, and by all the seers, saying, Turn ye from your evil ways, and keep my commandments and my statutes, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by my servants the prophets.
14 Notwithstanding they would not hear, but hardened their necks, like to the neck of their fathers, that did not believe in the LORD their God.
15 And they rejected his statutes, and his covenant that he made with their fathers, and his testimonies which he testified against them; and they followed vanity, and became vain, and went after the heathen that were round about them, concerning whom the LORD had charged them, that they should not do like them.
16 And they left all the commandments of the LORD their God, and made them molten images, even two calves, and made a grove, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served Baal.
17 And they caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire, and used divination and enchantments, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.
18 Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight: there was none left but the tribe of Judah only.
19 Also Judah kept not the commandments of the LORD their God, but walked in the statutes of Israel which they made.
20 And the LORD rejected all the seed of Israel, and afflicted them, and delivered them into the hand of spoilers, until he had cast them out of his sight.
21 For he rent Israel from the house of David; and they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king: and Jeroboam drave Israel from following the LORD, and made them sin a great sin.
22 For the children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they departed not from them;
23 Until the LORD removed Israel out of his sight, as he had said by all his servants the prophets. So was Israel carried away out of their own land to Assyria unto this day.
24 And the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Ava, and from Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel: and they possessed Samaria, and dwelt in the cities thereof.
25 And so it was at the beginning of their dwelling there, that they feared not the LORD: therefore the LORD sent lions among them, which slew some of them.
26 Wherefore they spake to the king of Assyria, saying, The nations which thou hast removed, and placed in the cities of Samaria, know not the manner of the God of the land: therefore he hath sent lions among them, and, behold, they slay them, because they know not the manner of the God of the land.
27 Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, Carry thither one of the priests whom ye brought from thence; and let them go and dwell there, and let him teach them the manner of the God of the land.
28 Then one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and dwelt in Bethel, and taught them how they should fear the LORD.
29 Howbeit every nation made gods of their own, and put them in the houses of the high places which the Samaritans had made, every nation in their cities wherein they dwelt.
30 And the men of Babylon made Succothbenoth, and the men of Cuth made Nergal, and the men of Hamath made Ashima,
31 And the Avites made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvites burnt their children in fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim.
32 So they feared the LORD, and made unto themselves of the lowest of them priests of the high places, which sacrificed for them in the houses of the high places.
33 They feared the LORD, and served their own gods, after the manner of the nations whom they carried away from thence.
34 Unto this day they do after the former manners: they fear not the LORD, neither do they after their statutes, or after their ordinances, or after the law and commandment which the LORD commanded the children of Jacob, whom he named Israel;
35 With whom the LORD had made a covenant, and charged them, saying, Ye shall not fear other gods, nor bow yourselves to them, nor serve them, nor sacrifice to them:
36 But the LORD, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt with great power and a stretched out arm, him shall ye fear, and him shall ye worship, and to him shall ye do sacrifice.
37 And the statutes, and the ordinances, and the law, and the commandment, which he wrote for you, ye shall observe to do for evermore; and ye shall not fear other gods.
38 And the covenant that I have made with you ye shall not forget; neither shall ye fear other gods.
39 But the LORD your God ye shall fear; and he shall deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies.
40 Howbeit they did not hearken, but they did after their former manner.
41 So these nations feared the LORD, and served their graven images, both their children, and their children's children: as did their fathers, so do they unto this day.
The Last Kings of *Israel and *Judah
Book of 2 Kings
Philip Smith
Chapter 17
Hoshea’s rule as the last king of *Israel
v1 Hoshea, son of Elah, became king of *Israel. He did so in the 12th year of Ahaz’s rule. Ahaz was king of *Judah. Hoshea ruled in Samaria for 9 years. v2 He *sinned against the *Lord. But he was not as bad as the kings who ruled *Israel before him.
v3 King Shalmaneser of Assyria came to attack Hoshea. Hoshea had been like a servant to Shalmaneser. And he had paid taxes to Shalmaneser. v4 But the king of Assyria discovered that Hoshea was not loyal to him. Hoshea had sent messages to Egypt’s king to ask for help. Hoshea did not continue to pay his annual taxes to the king of Assyria. So Shalmaneser arrested Hoshea and he put Hoshea in prison. v5 Then Assyria’s king came into the country called *Israel to take control over it. He marched to Samaria city to attack it. And his army surrounded it for 3 years. v6 In the 9th year of Hoshea’s rule, Assyria’s king *captured Samaria. He forced the *Israelites to go to Assyria. He made some *Israelites live in Halah. He made some other *Israelites live in Gozan near the Habor river. And some *Israelites had to live in the cities in Media.
In this chapter, the writer tells us how the northern *kingdom (called *Israel) ended. God intended that this event would warn the southern *kingdom (*Judah). But the nation called *Judah did not learn from it. A similar thing happened to them later. King Tiglath-Pileser of Assyria controlled Hoshea. Tiglath-Pileser said that he had helped Hoshea to become the king. Then King Shalmaneser became king of Assyria and he controlled Hoshea. Hoshea was not the worst king of *Israel. He allowed people from *Judah to enter *Israel so that they could invite the *Israelites to *worship the *Lord (2 Chronicles 30:5). And some *Israelites travelled to Jerusalem in order to *worship the *Lord there (2 Chronicles 30:11). But most *Israelites were as bad as they had ever been. Hoshea did not ask God for help to remove the army of Assyria. Instead, he stopped his payment of taxes to Shalmaneser. And he asked the king of Egypt for help. That was why Assyria’s king, Shalmaneser, put Hoshea in prison. Then Shalmaneser attacked Samaria city and his army surrounded it for 3 years. Finally, King Sargon *captured the city. He had become king of Assyria after Shalmaneser. Sargon said that he took away 27 900 people from Samaria. He left some people there, who were not important.
The reason why the *kingdom called *Israel ended
v7 All that happened because the *Israelites had *sinned against the *Lord, their God. He had brought them out of Egypt. He had rescued them from Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. But the *Israelites gave honour to other gods. v8 They followed the customs of the nations that the *Lord had forced out from the *Israelites’ country. He forced them out when the *Israelites came there. The *Israelites also followed the customs that the kings of *Israel had introduced. v9 The people did things that the *Lord their God hated. They built places to *worship other gods in all their towns. They built them in the smallest towns and they built them in the largest cities. v10 The people put up holy stones and they put up images of the female god called Asherah. They put them on every high hill and they put them under every large tree. v11 At all these places, the *Israelites burned *incense. The nations that were there before them had done that. The *Lord had forced those nations out. The *Israelites did wicked things that made the *Lord very angry. v12 They gave honour to *idols. But the *Lord had told them not to do that. v13 The *Lord had sent *prophets and he had sent people with messages. He had sent them to warn the people in *Israel and *Judah. This was the message that the *Lord sent to them: ‘Stop the wicked things that you are doing. Obey my commands in the Law that I gave to your *ancestors. I told them to obey those commands. And my servants, the *prophets, gave those commands to you.’
The writer tells us why the northern *kingdom (called *Israel) ended. He gives us all the details about it. God had done great things for the *Israelites. He had rescued them from Egypt. He had forced other people out from the *Israelites’ country so that the *Israelites could live there. But he warned the *Israelites not to *worship other gods. However, the people did not obey God’s laws. They made images of other gods and they gave honour to those gods. It did not matter whether a place was only a village without walls. People said that it must have an *altar. They *worshipped the false gods called *Baal and Asherah. And they *worshipped many other gods also. They did not listen to the people that God sent with messages. They followed the customs and religions of the people that had lived there before them.
v14 The *Israelites did not listen to God. They refused to change what they did. And so they were like their *ancestors that did not trust in the *Lord, their God. v15 The *Israelites refused to obey God’s instructions. They did not keep (obey) his *covenant, which he had made with their *ancestors. They did not listen when he warned them. The *Israelites gave honour to *idols which had no value. So then the *Israelites had no value themselves. They followed the customs of the nations that were near them. But the *Lord had told them not to do that. The *Israelites did things that the *Lord had told them not to do.
v16 They did not obey the laws of the *Lord their God. They made two metal *idols in the shape of *bulls. The *Israelites also made an image of the female god called Asherah. They gave honour to the stars. They served the god called *Baal. v17 The *Israelites *sacrificed their sons and daughters as *burnt *offerings. They asked for advice from various wicked people. Those people pretended to contact dead people. Or those people pretended to tell about the future. The *Israelites *sinned against the *Lord very many times. They made him very angry.
v18 So the *Lord was very angry with the *Israelites. He removed them from his *presence. He only let the *tribe called *Judah remain.
The *Israelites did not listen to God. They did not obey him. They became slaves to their *sin. It seemed impossible for them to do the right things. They gave honour to the images of two *bulls. They gave honour to the stars, the female god Asherah and the god *Baal. They even *sacrificed their own children to give honour to other gods. They tried to discover the future by the use of *spirits. All these practices were very wicked. They are against God’s law. They caused God to become angry with them. In the end, their punishment was certain.
Paul says this. ‘God shows his anger against all the *sin and wicked things that people do... They know God. But they do not give him the honour that belongs to him... Those people say that they are wise. But they are fools... They desire things that ought to cause disgust. And so God has left those people alone so that they can do those things.’ (Romans 1:18; Romans 1:21-22; Romans 1:24). Jesus said this. ‘Everyone that *sins is a slave to *sin… But if the Son makes you free, you will be really free’ (John 8:34; John 8:36). Only Jesus can free us from *sin’s power.
v19 Even the people in *Judah did not obey the commands of the *Lord their God. They imitated the customs that the *Israelites had introduced. v20 So the *Lord *rejected all the *Israelites. He punished them. He gave them to their enemies. Finally, he removed the *Israelites from his *presence.
v21 The *Lord had separated the *Israelites from David’s family. At that time the *Israelites made Nebat’s son Jeroboam their king. Jeroboam persuaded the *Israelites not to obey the *Lord. Jeroboam led them into terrible *sins. v22 They imitated Jeroboam and they continued to do all his *sins. v23 In the end, God removed the *Israelites from his *presence. He had warned them by means of his servants, the *prophets, that he would do it. So the army from Assyria took the *Israelites away from their homes. They took them into Assyria. The *Israelites are still there.
The writer gives his opinion about *Israel’s *rebellion. He says that *Judah’s people were almost as bad as *Israel’s people. Finally, God allowed the army from Assyria to take the *Israelites into Assyria. They were still there when the writer wrote this book.
New inhabitants in Samaria
v24 The king of Assyria took people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath and Sepharvaim. He made them live in the towns in the Samaria region. He put those people there in place of the *Israelites. Those people took control over Samaria and they lived in its towns. v25 When they first lived there, they did not give honour to the *Lord. So God sent lions among them and the lions killed some people. v26 People told this to the king of Assyria. ‘You forced people to live in the towns in Samaria. But they do not know the laws of that country’s god. He has sent lions, which are killing them. That is because the people do not know his laws.’
v27 The king of Assyria sent this reply. ‘You must send back one of the priests whom we took from Samaria as prisoners. He must go back to live there. He will teach the people what the god of that country wants.’ v28 So one of the priests went to live in Bethel. [Previously, the army had taken him away from Samaria.] He taught the people how to give honour to the *Lord.
v29 But each group that lived in Samaria made its own gods. They placed the gods in each town where the *Israelites had built places for *worship. v30 The people from Babylon made images of the god called Succoth Benoth. The people from Cuthah made images of the god Nergal. The people from Hamath made images of Ashima. v31 The people from Avva made images of Nibhaz and Tartak. The people from Sepharvaim *sacrificed their children as *burnt *offerings to their gods Adrammelech and Anammelech. v32 All those people also gave honour to the *Lord. However, they appointed all sorts of their own people to act as priests. Those were priests in the places where people *worshipped on the high hills. v33 The people gave honour to the *Lord, but they also gave honour to their own gods. They followed the customs of the nations from which they had come.
Assyria’s king made some people from various countries live in Samaria. His plan was this. If he mixed the people from different countries together, they would not *rebel.
There were many lions in that country. There were probably not enough people to keep the lions under control. In addition to that, God allowed the lions to attack the people. By that means, God intended to warn them. The people asked the king of Assyria to send a priest to them. The priest would teach them how to give honour to God.
The king agreed and so a priest came. And he taught them about God. But they still did not stop their false religions. They gave honour to God and they gave honour to their own *idols as well. They made images of their own gods and they *worshipped the images as *idols.
In time, those different groups of people married each other. So they did not still belong to separate nations. People called them the ‘Samaritans’. Much later, they stopped *worshipping *idols. Then they followed what Moses had taught. They said that there was only one God. They believed that they should give honour to God on the mountain called Gerizim. But the *Jews believed that they should give honour to God in Jerusalem. The two groups disagreed with each other. (We can see that fact in a story about Jesus. It was when he met a woman from Samaria. It is in John 4:20-24.)
When the people in Samaria gave honour to *idols, their behaviour was wrong. There is only one real God. God wants us to serve him only. We must not serve other gods as well (Deuteronomy 5:7-10).
v34 Those people still follow their old customs today. They do not give honour to the *Lord. They do not obey his laws and commands that he gave to Jacob’s *descendants. [God gave to Jacob the name ‘*Israel’.] v35 When the *Lord made a *covenant with the *Israelites, he gave these commands to them. ‘Do not give honour to other gods. Do not bend your body down to them. Do not serve them and do not offer *sacrifices to them. v36 You must give honour to the *Lord. He brought you out of Egypt with great power and strength. You must bend your body down to him and you must offer *sacrifices to him. v37 You must be careful to keep (obey) the laws and *commandments that he wrote for you. Do not give honour to other gods. v38 Do not forget the *covenant that I, the *Lord, have made with you. Do not give honour to other gods. v39 Instead, give honour to the *Lord, your God. He will rescue you from all your enemies.’
v40 The people refused to listen, but rather they continued to follow their old customs. v41 They gave honour to the *Lord, but they served *idols. Their *descendants continue to do that till the present time.
The *Israelites’ great *sin was this. They gave honour to *idols. They gave honour to other gods than the real God. They hoped that those gods would rescue them from their troubles. When the *Israelites had to leave Samaria, this *sin continued. The people who lived there afterwards gave honour to *idols as well as the real God. And they were still carrying on that *sin when the writer wrote this book.
We may not give honour to images that people have made out of wood or metal or stone. But perhaps we have other things that take God’s place in our lives. For example, we may do what other people tell us to do. And so we may not do what God tells us to do. Our possessions may be more important to us than God is. Jesus warned about such attitudes. He said, ‘You cannot serve God and money’ (Matthew 6:24).
Israel ~ the nation of people that are Jacob’s descendants; the country where those people belong; the northern part of their kingdom after it divided.
descendants ~ future members of a family or a nation; people who belong to the same family during later centuries.
kingdom ~ a country or nation that a king or queen rules.
Judah ~ one of the tribes in the nation called Israel; the southern part of that kingdom after it divided.
tribe ~ a group of people that share the same ancestors, language, and customs.
Israel ~ the nation of people that are Jacob’s descendants; the country where those people belong; the northern part of their kingdom after it divided.
kingdom ~ a country or nation that a king or queen rules.
ancestor ~ a previous member of a family, especially someone who was important during a past century.
descendants ~ future members of a family or a nation; people who belong to the same family during later centuries.
sin ~ an action that is wrong or wicked, which is against God’s moral law; something that is against a law in a religion.
Lord ~ the name of God. We use this word to translate two different words in the original language. One word means ‘He is always God.’ The other word means ‘master’.
capture ~ to seize (arrest) someone and to keep that person as a prisoner; to take something by force and to keep it under your control.
Israelites ~ people that belonged to the nation called Israel.
Israel ~ the nation of people that are Jacob’s descendants; the country where those people belong; the northern part of their kingdom after it divided.
descendants ~ future members of a family or a nation; people who belong to the same family during later centuries.
kingdom ~ a country or nation that a king or queen rules.
kingdom ~ a country or nation that a king or queen rules.
worship ~ to praise God (or a false god); to give honour to God (or a false god) by sacrifice, prayer, song or action.
sacrifice ~ something valuable that someone offers to God (or to a false god); to offer something valuable to God (or to a false god).
incense ~ a substance that gives a pleasant smell when people burn it. Some people use it to show honour to God (or to a false god).
idol ~ the image of a god to whom people give honour.
prophet ~ a person that gives a prophecy.
prophecy ~ a message from God (or from a false god) that someone speaks; what someone says will happen in the future.
ancestor ~ a previous member of a family, especially someone who was important during a past century.
altar ~ a table where people offer gifts or sacrifices to God, or to a false god.
sacrifice ~ something valuable that someone offers to God (or to a false god); to offer something valuable to God (or to a false god).
Baal ~ a false god.
covenant ~ a special serious agreement between 2 people or groups; but especially the promises that God made to his people in Judah and Israel. In God’s main covenant, he promised to protect his people if they obeyed certain laws.
Judah ~ one of the tribes in the nation called Israel; the southern part of that kingdom after it divided.
Israel ~ the nation of people that are Jacob’s descendants; the country where those people belong; the northern part of their kingdom after it divided.
tribe ~ a group of people that share the same ancestors, language, and customs.
kingdom ~ a country or nation that a king or queen rules.
descendants ~ future members of a family or a nation; people who belong to the same family during later centuries.
ancestor ~ a previous member of a family, especially someone who was important during a past century.
bull ~ the male animal that mates with a cow.
sacrifice ~ something valuable that someone offers to God (or to a false god); to offer something valuable to God (or to a false god).
offering ~ a gift that people offer to God (or to a false god).
presence ~ when somebody is present in a place. God’s presence means the place where God is. People may be aware that God is near.
tribe ~ a group of people that share the same ancestors, language, and customs.
ancestor ~ a previous member of a family, especially someone who was important during a past century.
spirit ~ part of a person, the part that can contact God and that continues to exist after death. The word ‘spirit’ can also mean an angel that may come from either God or the devil. ‘God’s Spirit’ is the Holy Spirit. (The Holy Spirit is God, even as God the Father and Jesus are God. But there are not three Gods; there is only one God.)
angel ~ God’s servant who takes messages from God to people on the earth. Angels live with God in heaven.
reject ~ to refuse to accept someone; to decide that one does not want still to be someone’s friend.
rebellion ~ when people fight against authority or they oppose it.
rebel ~ to fight against authority; to oppose authority.
Jew ~ a person that belongs to the nation called Israel (especially the southern part called Judah). Or a person who follows that nation’s religion.
Israel ~ the nation of people that are Jacob’s descendants; the country where those people belong; the northern part of their kingdom after it divided.
Judah ~ one of the tribes in the nation called Israel; the southern part of that kingdom after it divided.
descendants ~ future members of a family or a nation; people who belong to the same family during later centuries.
kingdom ~ a country or nation that a king or queen rules.
tribe ~ a group of people that share the same ancestors, language, and customs.
ancestor ~ a previous member of a family, especially someone who was important during a past century.
descendants ~ future members of a family or a nation; people who belong to the same family during later centuries.
commandment ~ the laws that God gave to Israel, especially the 10 laws called the Ten Commandments (Deuteronomy 5:6-21).
Israel ~ the nation of people that are Jacob’s descendants; the country where those people belong; the northern part of their kingdom after it divided.
descendants ~ future members of a family or a nation; people who belong to the same family during later centuries.
kingdom ~ a country or nation that a king or queen rules.