2 Kings 17

CHAPTER 17

Hoshea Last King of Israel (17:1-6)

1-6 In these brief six verses, the writer describes the end of the northern kingdom, Israel; it fell to Assyria in 722 B.C. The immediate cause of Israel’s fall was Hoshea’s refusal to continue paying tribute to Tiglath-Pileser’s son Shalmaneser,thenew king of Assyria; in addition, Hoshea tried to make an alliance with the king of Egypt against Assyria (verses 3-4). For these two reasons, Shalmaneser decided to punish Hoshea. He captured and imprisoned him, and then after a threeyear siege he captured Samaria, Israel’s capital city (verse 5). He then deported the remaining Israelites⁶⁰ to Assyria; he deported them beyond the (Euphrates) River,⁶¹ thus fulfilling the words the prophet Ahijah had spoken against Jeroboam, Israel’s first king (1 Kings 14:15-16).

Israel Exiled Because of Sin (17:7-23)

7-13 All this took place because the Israelites had sinned against the LORD their God (verse 7). In this section, the writer summarizes the sins of Israel—and the sins of Judah also (verses 13,18-20)—which ultimately resulted in the people of both kingdoms being exiled from their land. Here the writer emphasizes the northern kingdom, Israel, because its people were the first to be exiled—at the end of the reign of Hoshea, Israel’s last king.

All this took place because . . . “All this”—the invasions of Israel by foreign powers—did not take place by chance; all this was God’s punishment of the Israelites for breaking their covenant commitments (Leviticus 26:33,38-39). God Himself brought about these national disasters not only to punish Israel but also to give a final warning to the people of Judah, lest the same fate befall them. It is astounding that in the end the people of Judah did not learn from what happened to Israel but willfully walked headlong into the same disaster 136 years later.

The Israelites sinned against the Lord who had brought them up out of Egypt (verse 7). The very existence of Israel as a nation came about only because of God’s gracious REDEMPTION of the original Israelites from bondage in EGYPT. Because of this gracious and mighty act, God had the right to expect the Israelites to obey His covenant commands (see Exodus 20:2 and comment). And yet throughout their history the Israelites steadfastly refused to obey. Like oxen that resist the yoke, the Israelites were stiff-necked (verse 14) and resisted God’s covenant law and covenant love (Acts 7:51). Over and over God showed mercy to them and forgave them; but over and over they resisted Him. And finally the judgment had to fall. Sin must be punished sooner or later; humans must bear the consequences of their behavior. God is merciful, but He is also just. He is faithful both to reward those who obey Him and to punish those who do not.⁶²

14-15 In spite of numerous warnings sent through God’s prophets and seers (verse 13), the Israelites would not listen (verse 14). They rejected [God’s] decrees and the covenant He had made with their fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They repeatedly rejected all of God’s gracious and loving acts toward them. In doing this, they rejected God Himself and cut themselves off from His covenant blessings.

16-17 Here the writer mentions several specific sins committed by the Israelites. They made two calf idols (see 1 Kings 12:28-30); they made an Asherah pole and worshiped Baal (see 1 Kings 16:3233); they worshiped the starry hosts—the sun, moon and stars. They sacrificed their sons and daughters in the fire (see 2 Kings 16:3), and they practiced divination and sorcery (see Leviticus 19:26).

18-20 Because of all these persistent sins, the Lord became angry and removed [the Israelites] from his presence by sending them into exile;⁶³ only the tribe of Judah was left⁶⁴ (verse 18). But even the people of Judah had not been keeping the Lord’s commands; they followed the practices Israel had introduced (verse 19), beginning back in the days of Solomon’s son Rehoboam (1 Kings 14:22-24) and continuing on during the reigns of several of Judah’s more evil kings (2 Kings 13:2; 16:1-4; 2 Chronicles 24:17-19). Because of this, God rejected all the people of Israel (verse 20)—both the northern and southern kingdoms. The northern kingdom’s punishment was now at hand. The southern kingdom’s punishment still awaited; it could be averted only by a sincere and lasting national repentance—something which sadly did not occur.⁶⁵

21-23 In these verses the writer summarizes what he has said earlier. He mentions that the Lord tore Israel (the northern kingdom) away from the house of David (see 1 Kings 11:11,29-36). He lays great blame on Jeroboam, Israel’s first king, who enticed the Israelites away from following the Lord and caused them to commit a great sin (1 Kings 12:20,28-30). This reminds us not to be quick to seek a leadership position; God will hold leaders to account if they fail to draw their followers closer to Him (Luke 12:48; James 3:1).

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).