2 Kings 17

This chapter focuses on the fall of Israel, the northern kingdom, and its eventual exile by the Assyrians due to the nation's persistent disobedience to God. The text outlines the sins of the Israelites, including idol worship, and explains that the Lord allowed the Assyrians to conquer them as a consequence. It also describes the resettling of the land by foreigners and how the new inhabitants came to fear the Lord.

2 Kings 17:1-5 (NKJV)
1 In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah, Hoshea the son of Elah became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned nine years.
2 And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, but not as the kings of Israel who were before him.
3 Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against him; and Hoshea became his vassal, and paid him tribute money.
4 And the king of Assyria uncovered a conspiracy by Hoshea; for he had sent messengers to So, king of Egypt, and brought no tribute 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 Now the king of Assyria went throughout all the land, and went up to Samaria and besieged it for three years.

These verses introduce Hoshea, the last king of Israel. Despite his reign being less corrupt than previous kings, he still did evil in the sight of the Lord. Hoshea became a vassal to Assyria but conspired with Egypt, hoping to escape Assyrian control. When the king of Assyria discovered this, he imprisoned Hoshea and began a siege of Samaria that lasted three years, leading to Israel’s downfall.

2 Kings 17:6 (NKJV)
6 In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria took Samaria and carried Israel away to Assyria, and placed them in Halah and by the Habor, the River of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.

This verse marks the end of the northern kingdom. After the siege, the Assyrians captured Samaria, deported the Israelites to various locations in Assyria, and scattered them, effectively ending Israel as an independent nation. This was the culmination of God's judgment on Israel for their persistent sin and idolatry.

2 Kings 17:7-12 (NKJV)
7 For so it was that the children of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God, who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and they had feared other gods,
8 and had walked in the statutes of the nations whom the Lord had cast out from before the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel, which they had made.
9 Also the children of Israel secretly did against the Lord their God things that were not right, and they built for themselves high places in all their cities, from watchtower to fortified city.
10 They set up for themselves sacred pillars and wooden images on every high hill and under every green tree.
11 There they burned incense on all the high places, like the nations whom the Lord had carried away before them; and they did wicked things to provoke the Lord to anger,
12 for they served idols, of which the Lord had said to them, “You shall not do this thing.”

These verses summarize why Israel fell. The people had forgotten their God, who delivered them from Egypt, and adopted the practices of the surrounding nations, worshipping idols and setting up places of false worship. They openly defied God's commandments by engaging in pagan rituals and serving idols, which deeply angered the Lord. This persistent disobedience was the root cause of their downfall.

2 Kings 17:13-15 (NKJV)
13 Yet the Lord testified against Israel and against Judah, by all of His prophets, every seer, saying, “Turn 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 Nevertheless they would not hear, but stiffened their necks, like the necks of their fathers, who did not believe in the Lord their God.
15 And they rejected His statutes and His covenant that He had made with their fathers, and His testimonies which He had testified against them; they followed idols, became idolaters, and went after the nations who were all around them, concerning whom the Lord had charged them that they should not do like them.

God, through His prophets, continually warned Israel to repent and turn from their sins. Despite these warnings, the people hardened their hearts, refusing to listen. They rejected the covenant God had made with their ancestors and turned to idols, imitating the wicked nations around them. Their disobedience was a willful choice, even though they had been given every opportunity to return to the Lord.

2 Kings 17:16-18 (NKJV)
16 So they left all the commandments of the Lord their God, made for themselves a molded image and two calves, made a wooden image and worshiped all the host of heaven, and served Baal.
17 And they caused their sons and daughters to pass through the fire, practiced witchcraft and soothsaying, 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 from His sight; there was none left but the tribe of Judah alone.

These verses reveal the extent of Israel's rebellion. The people completely abandoned God's commandments, turning to idol worship, even sacrificing their children and engaging in occult practices. Their actions provoked God's righteous anger, and as a result, He removed them from His presence, leaving only Judah as the remaining tribe. Israel's exile was a direct consequence of their repeated sins against God.

2 Kings 17:19-23 (NKJV)
19 Also Judah did not keep the commandments of the Lord their God, but walked in the statutes of Israel which they made.
20 And the Lord rejected all the descendants of Israel, afflicted them, and delivered them into the hand of plunderers, until He had cast them from His sight.
21 For He tore Israel from the house of David, and they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king. Then Jeroboam drove Israel from following the Lord, and made them commit a great sin.
22 For the children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they did not depart from them,
23 until the Lord removed Israel out of His sight, as He had said by all His servants the prophets. So Israel was carried away from their own land to Assyria, as it is to this day.

These verses explain that even Judah, though spared for a time, followed in the sinful footsteps of Israel. The Lord had warned Israel through the prophets, but the people continued to walk in the sins of Jeroboam, especially idolatry. Ultimately, the Lord fulfilled His warnings by exiling Israel to Assyria, as a final judgment on their persistent disobedience.

2 Kings 17:24-25 (NKJV)
24 Then the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Ava, Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel; and they took possession of Samaria and dwelt in its cities.
25 And it was so, at the beginning of their dwelling there, that they did not fear the Lord; therefore the Lord sent lions among them, which killed some of them.

After Israel's exile, the Assyrian king repopulated the land with people from various nations. However, these new inhabitants did not initially fear the Lord, which resulted in God sending lions among them as a form of judgment. This reflects the importance of acknowledging God’s sovereignty over the land.

2 Kings 17:26-28 (NKJV)
26 So they spoke to the king of Assyria, saying, “The nations whom you have removed and placed in the cities of Samaria do not know the rituals of the God of the land; therefore He has sent lions among them, and indeed, they are killing them because they do not know the rituals of the God of the land.”
27 Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, “Send there one of the priests whom you brought from there; let him go and dwell there, and let him teach them the rituals 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.

The new inhabitants realized that they were being punished because they didn’t know how to worship the God of Israel. The king of Assyria sent a priest to teach them the proper way to fear the Lord. This illustrates a recognition of God’s power, though their understanding of Him remained limited and mixed with their own pagan practices.

2 Kings 17:29-33 (NKJV)
29 However, every nation continued to make gods of its own, and put them in the shrines on the high places which the Samaritans had made, every nation in the cities where they dwelt.
30 The men of Babylon made Succoth Benoth, the men of Cuth made Nergal, the men of Hamath made Ashima,
31 and the Avites made Nibhaz and Tartak; and the Sepharvites burned their children in fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim.
32 So they feared the Lord, and from every class they appointed for themselves priests of the high places, who sacrificed for them in the shrines of the high places.
33 They feared the Lord, yet served their own gods—according to the rituals of the nations from among whom they were carried away.

Even after being settled in Samaria, the nations brought by the Assyrians continued worshipping their own gods, despite being taught about the Lord. They placed idols in the high places that the Samaritans had previously used. Each group worshiped its own god, including some who practiced child sacrifice. Though they feared the Lord, they also kept worshiping their own gods and mixed pagan practices with reverence for God. This syncretism shows a divided allegiance: they acknowledged the Lord but refused to fully abandon their idols. Their worship was incomplete, as they served both God and idols.

2 Kings 17:34 (NKJV)
34 To this day they continue practicing the former rituals; they do not fear the Lord, nor do they follow their statutes or their ordinances, or the law and commandment which the Lord had commanded the children of Jacob, whom He named Israel.

The writer emphasizes that, despite some acknowledgment of God, the new inhabitants of the land never fully followed His laws or commandments. Their worship remained superficial, never reaching true obedience or reverence for God. The persistence of these practices shows how deeply ingrained idol worship was in the region.

2 Kings 17:35-36 (NKJV)
35 With whom the Lord had made a covenant and charged them, saying: “You shall not fear other gods, nor bow down to them nor serve them nor sacrifice to them;
36 but the Lord, who brought you up from the land of Egypt with great power and an outstretched arm, Him you shall fear, Him you shall worship, and to Him you shall offer sacrifice."

These verses remind Israel of God's covenant with them, where He explicitly commanded that they should serve only Him, rejecting all other gods. The Lord, who demonstrated His mighty power by delivering them from Egypt, was to be their sole object of worship. These words echo the fundamental commandment for the people to fear the Lord alone.

2 Kings 17:37-39 (NKJV)
37 And the statutes, the ordinances, the law, and the commandment which He wrote for you, you shall be careful to observe forever; you shall not fear other gods.
38 And the covenant that I have made with you, you shall not forget, nor shall you fear other gods.
39 But the Lord your God you shall fear; and He will deliver you from the hand of all your enemies.”

The Lord gave Israel clear instructions to follow His laws and statutes and not to serve other gods. These commandments were meant to be observed perpetually, as a sign of their covenant relationship with God. He promised that, if they remained faithful, He would protect them and deliver them from their enemies.

2 Kings 17:40-41 (NKJV)
40 However they did not obey, but they followed their former rituals.
41 So these nations feared the Lord, yet served their carved images; also their children and their children's children have continued doing as their fathers did, even to this day.

The chapter concludes by noting that, despite the warnings and teachings, the people continued in their old ways, blending worship of the Lord with idol worship. This half-hearted devotion persisted for generations, showing the deep-rooted nature of their disobedience. Even though they acknowledged God, their failure to abandon their idols left them in a state of incomplete worship. This highlights the persistent problem of syncretism in Israel’s history.