2 Kings 17
McGeeCHAPTER 17THEME: Israel goes into captivityThese are the reasons God permitted Israel to go into captivity:
- Disobeyed God (v. 2Ki_17:13)“Yet the LORD testified against Israel, and against Judah, by 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.”
- Doubted God (v. 2Ki_17:14, see also 2Ch_36:15-16)“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.”
- Defied God (v. 2Ki_17:15) in that they refused to observe the sabbatic year for 490 years"To fulfil the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate she kept sabbath, to fulfil threescore and ten years" (2Ch_36:21). The story of this nation is the story of every individual.
2 Kings 17:1
HOSHEA’S REIGNIn chapter 2Ki_17:17 we come to the end of the line as far as Israel is concerned. The ten northern tribes are carried into captivity by Assyria. He is not as bad as Ahab (and Jezebel), nor as bad as Ahaziah, but he is bad enough.
2 Kings 17:3
We are introduced to Shalmaneser, king of Assyria. He captured the northern kingdom and exacted tribute from them. When he discovered that king Hoshea had formed a conspiracy against him and was not paying his tribute, he besieged Samaria. Samaria was the city that Omri, the father of Ahab, had built. Ahab built a palace there. It was one of the most beautiful spots in the land. Now the king of Assyria besieged it.
2 Kings 17:6
ISRAEL’S CAPTIVITYThere are those who say that the ten tribes are lost; that is, the tribes have popped up in Great Britain from where they spread to the United States. This is a nice theory which ministers to the pride of many folk who would like to believe that they are members of the lost tribes, but this idea of ten lost tribes is entirely man-made. You will not find it in the Word of God. For example, in the New Testament James wrote in his epistle, “James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting” (Jas_1:1). Apparently James did not think the tribes were lost. The folk who hold this theory believe the ten tribes were lost when they went into Assyrian captivity.
When the Jews returned to their land, you will find that some out of all the tribes came back. Actually, a small percentage of the people returned. Several million Jews went into captivity and only about 65,000 returned to Palestine.
2 Kings 17:7
SINS WHICH CAUSED ISRAEL’S CAPTIVITYThe Lord had been very patient with these people. Over a period of over two hundred years (after the division of the kingdom) the Lord had given them every opportunity and ample time to return to Him. But they did not. They continually went off into idolatry. The Word of God is very clear that he sent them into captivity because they insisted on worshiping other gods.
2 Kings 17:9
On top of the hills and under the trees pagan worship was carried on. Israel indulged in this gross immorality and licentiousness.
2 Kings 17:11
God had put the heathen out of the land for their immorality and idolatry. Do you think that God would permit His own people to stay in the land and do the same things? Well, He would not. He allowed Assyria to come and carry them away into captivity.
2 Kings 17:13
God had sent the prophets Ahijah, Elijah, Micaiah, Elisha, Jonah, Amos, and Hosea to these people in the northern kingdom of Israel. To the southern kingdom of Judah he had sent the prophets Shemaiah, Joel, Isaiah, and Micah. Later on He will be sending Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, and Jeremiah. Every prophet warned the people of both kingdoms what would take place if they did not return to God and forsake their evil ways.
2 Kings 17:14
What was the basic sin? They were guilty of unbelief. The great sin of mankind is our refusal to believe God. You and I are living in a contemporary culture that has ruled God out. He has no place in our educational system. He is not appealed to by our government officials. Unfortunately, neither is He appealed to by many of our churches today. As a result, God will judge us as He judged His own people long ago.
2 Kings 17:15
The northern kingdom was taken into captivity. What about the southern kingdom?
2 Kings 17:19
Judah will not profit from Israel’s experience, as we shall see.
2 Kings 17:20
You will recall that Jeroboam instituted calf worship in Israel.
2 Kings 17:22
“Unto this day” means, of course, the day 2 Kings was written.
2 Kings 17:26
ISRAEL’S CITIES REPOPULATED WITH FOREIGNERSWhen the king of Assyria took the northern kingdom captive, he brought in other people to inhabit the land. The area of the northern kingdom was called Samaria. The Samaritans of the New Testament are the descendants of the colonists brought in by the king of Assyria. This is their beginning. This brings us to the end of the northern kingdom. The land has become a mixture of peoples, and there is a great deal of intermarriage. The ten tribes will never again form the northern kingdom. They are scattered now, but they are not lost.