2 Kings 17:15

15 And they went against his rules, and the agreement which he made with their fathers, and his laws which he gave them; they gave themselves up to things without sense or value, and became foolish like the nations round them, of whom the Lord had said, Do not as they do.

2 Kings 17:15 Meaning and Commentary

2 Kings 17:15

And they rejected his statutes, and his covenant that he made
with their fathers
At Sinai and Horeb, see ( Exodus 24:8 ) ( Deuteronomy 29:1 ) ,

and his testimonies which he testified against them;
calling heaven and earth to witness what he would do to them if they broke his laws, ( Deuteronomy 4:26 ) ( 30:19 ) ( 32:1 ) , and which were so many testifications of his mind and will what they should do, or otherwise what should be done to them; Ben Gersom also interprets this of the feasts of the passover and tabernacles, which were witnesses of Israel's coming out of Egypt, and of the sanctification and redemption of the firstborn, a testimony of the slaying the firstborn in Egypt:

and they followed vanity;
idols, which are vain things for help, can neither hear, see, speak

and became vain;
as sottish and stupid as the idols they worshipped; which is the usual fruit and effect of idolatry, see ( Romans 1:21-28 )

and went after the heathen that were round about them:
imitated them in their idolatrous practices, as the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites concerning

whom the Lord had charged them, that they should not do like them;
of this charge see ( Deuteronomy 6:13 Deuteronomy 6:14 ) .

2 Kings 17:15 In-Context

13 And he gave witness to Israel and Judah, by every prophet and seer, saying, Come back from your evil ways, and do my orders and keep my rules, and be guided by the law which I gave to your fathers and sent to you by my servants the prophets.

14 And they did not give ear, but became stiff-necked, like their fathers who had no faith in the Lord their God.

15 And they went against his rules, and the agreement which he made with their fathers, and his laws which he gave them; they gave themselves up to things without sense or value, and became foolish like the nations round them, of whom the Lord had said, Do not as they do.

16 And turning their backs on all the orders which the Lord had given them, they made for themselves images of metal, and the image of Asherah, worshipping all the stars of heaven and becoming servants to Baal.

17 And they made their sons and their daughters go through the fire, and they made use of secret arts and unnatural powers, and gave themselves up to doing evil in the eyes of the Lord, till he was moved to wrath.