2 Kings 17

But people cannot ultimately blame their leaders for their own sins. The Israelites themselves were responsible, and they themselves had to bear their punishment. Those ten northern tribes—almost their entire population-went into exile; and they are still there (verse 23)—twentyseven centuries later (excepting the Jews who have recently returned to establish the modern state of Israel). The Old Testament nation of Israel had come to an end.

As we reflect on this momentous event in Israel’s history—the death of the nation—we should remember that God is just as active in our world today as He was back in Old Testament times. Kings, presidents, dictators, nations, armies—they are all in God’s hands, they are under God’s control. But God’s primary concern today is with His church, the body of Christ, which transcends political and geographic boundaries and now extends across the whole earth. And we believers, too, are in a covenant with God, a new covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34), in which we receive His blessings as we obey His commands. Let us remember the sad example of Israel (1 Corinthians 10:1-6); let us not be enticed away” from following our Lord, lest He say to us on that last day: “I never knew you” (Matthew 7:21-23).

The fall of Israel reminds us that God’s patience has limits. We must not presume that His love and grace will continue forever in the face of rebellion and disobedience. If anyone among us is not presently following the Lord, let him or her not put off making things right with Him while there is yet time.

Samaria Resettled (17:24-41)

24 When Assyrian kings conquered a land, they customarily deported most of the local inhabitants and resettled the land with people from other nations that they had conquered; by mixing the conquered people in this way, the Assyrians found it easier to maintain control over their subjugated territories. Thus, when Samaria (Israel) was conquered, the Assyrians replaced the deported Israelites with foreign settlers.

25-28 Because Israel had been depopulated by war and deportation, wild animals increased in number (Exodus 23:29). It seemed that the Lord had actually sent⁶⁶ lions into the land (verse 25), but they were most likely there to begin with. The nonIsraelites living there considered the lions to be a punishment inflicted on them for not worshiping the “local Israelite god” properly; ancient people believed that each territory had its own god who required a certain style of worship. When informed of the problem, the king of Assyria sent one of the deported Israelite priests back to Samaria to teach the foreign settlers how to worship this “Israelite god”; unfortunately, the priest only taught them how to worship the golden calves that Jeroboam had set up, not the true God of Israel (1 Kings 12:28-30).

29-33 The various foreign settlers continued worshiping their own gods in addition to worshiping what they thought was the Lord of Israel (verses 32-33). Like some people today, they tried to keep on good terms with as many gods as possible.

34-41 But no one worshiped the true Lord of Israel. The Lord demands that He alone be worshiped; therefore, anyone who worships other gods in addition to Him cannot be a true worshiper of the Lord. To attempt to worship other gods and the Lord at the same time is called syncretism. The one thing that set the original Israelites apart from all other peoples on earth was that they worshiped one God and Him alone. His first two commandments (Exodus 20:3-6) prohibited the worship of any other gods (verses 36-37). God told the Israelites not to forget His covenant (verse 38), the central provision of which was that His people should worship Him alone and in return He would be their God (Exodus 19:5-6; Leviticus 26:3,9-12). It was only this God, the God of Israel, who had the power to deliver them from their enemies (verse 39). It was only this God who was—and is—worthy of mankind’s worship.⁶⁷

And yet no one living in Samaria (Israel) at that time listened.⁶⁸ They kept on worshiping the Lord and their false gods together, and continued to do so up until the time the book of 2 Kings was written (verse 41).