2 Kings Chapter 17
A. The Fall of Samaria
1. (2 Kings 17:1–2) The Evil Reign of Hoshea
Full KJV Text
In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah began Hoshea the son of Elah to reign in Samaria over Israel nine years. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, but not as the kings of Israel that were before him.
Explanation
Hoshea came to the throne of the northern kingdom after assassinating his predecessor Pekah. His nine-year reign was marked by the same rebellion against God that characterized the kings of Israel, yet Scripture notes that his wickedness was not as severe as that of those who ruled before him. Nevertheless, the nation had already crossed the threshold of divine patience. The accumulated sins of previous kings, especially the institutional idolatry established by Jeroboam, had brought Israel to the brink of judgment. Hoshea’s relatively lesser evil did not avert the consequences. God had borne long with Israel, but the time for national discipline had arrived.
Hoshea’s ascent by bloodshed was typical of Israel’s political instability. The northern throne had become a revolving door of violent usurpers. Though Hoshea did not intensify Israel’s idolatry, neither did he repent or lead the nation in covenant obedience. As a result, his reign became the period in which God’s long-promised judgment—the fall of Samaria and the Assyrian exile—finally came to pass.
Notes on Key Phrases
a. “Hoshea the son of Elah”
Hoshea previously appeared in the narrative as the assassin of Pekah.
2 Kings 15:30 says,
“And Hoshea the son of Elah made a conspiracy against Pekah the son of Remaliah, and smote him, and slew him, and reigned in his stead, in the twentieth year of Jotham the son of Uzziah.”
This assassination began the final dynasty of Israel’s history, which lasted only a single king and ended in captivity.
b. “He did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, but not as the kings of Israel that were before him”
Hoshea continued in rebellion, yet his evil was measured as less extreme. Still, “less evil” is not holiness. He tolerated idolatry and never led Israel into repentance.
The standard of judgment remains God’s holiness:
Leviticus 20:7 says,
“Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy, for I am the LORD your God.”
Hoshea did not sanctify himself or Israel. It was too little, too late.
Israel’s pattern of sin had accumulated for centuries. Judgment does not always fall at the moment sin reaches its worst point; sometimes it falls afterward, when the hourglass has already been emptied.
The principle is seen in God’s dealings with the Amorites:
Genesis 15:16,
“For the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.”
Likewise, Israel’s iniquity had become full long before Hoshea.
c. A theological note: judgment comes on accumulated sin, not only contemporary sin
Though Hoshea was not the worst king, the accumulated corruption of the northern kingdom demanded judgment. God’s patience is long, but it is not endless.
Peter affirms God’s patience yet warns of coming judgment:
2 Peter 3:9,
“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness, but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
Israel refused repentance time and again. Thus God delivered them into the hand of Assyria.
2. (2 Kings 17:3–4) Hoshea’s Futile Resistance Against Assyria
Full KJV Text
Against him came up Shalmaneser king of Assyria, and Hoshea became his servant, and gave him presents. And the king of Assyria found conspiracy in Hoshea, for he had sent messengers to So king of Egypt, and brought no present 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.
Explanation
Shalmaneser king of Assyria pressed his dominance over Israel, and Hoshea submitted as a vassal, paying tribute to preserve his throne. Yet Hoshea secretly sought Egyptian assistance to break free from Assyrian control. This political maneuver proved disastrous. When Shalmaneser uncovered the conspiracy and learned that the annual tribute had been withheld, he imprisoned Hoshea. With the king removed and Israel leaderless, the stage was set for Samaria’s fall.
Hoshea’s political instability mirrored Israel’s spiritual instability. Rather than seeking the LORD, the covenant God who delivered Israel from Egypt, Hoshea sought help from pagan nations. Egypt, the land that once enslaved Israel, became the object of trust. This was a profound spiritual insult, violating the very heart of the covenant.
The capture of Hoshea signaled that Israel’s last defenses were gone. The northern kingdom’s rebellion had produced a power vacuum, leaving the nation vulnerable to the full fury of the Assyrian war machine.
Notes on Key Phrases
a. “Hoshea became his servant, and gave him presents”
Tribute is a sign of subjugation. Israel had become enslaved by the very nations from whom God promised deliverance if they remained faithful.
Deuteronomy 28:47–48 warns this outcome:
“Because thou servedst not the LORD thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things, therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which the LORD shall send against thee…”
Israel rejected God’s terms of blessing and inherited His terms of judgment.
b. “The king of Assyria found conspiracy in Hoshea”
Hoshea attempted geopolitical salvation rather than spiritual repentance.
He hired Egypt as a substitute savior, in direct contradiction to prophetic warnings.
Hosea 7:11 rebukes this very behavior,
“Ephraim also is like a silly dove without heart, they call to Egypt, they go to Assyria.”
Israel sought help from the very empires that despised them.
The prophet Hosea also declared the result:
Hosea 10:7,
“As for Samaria, her king is cut off as the foam upon the water.”
Hoshea’s imprisonment fulfilled this prophecy exactly.
c. “He had sent messengers to So king of Egypt”
“So” is likely a reference not to a person but to the city Sais, the seat of Egyptian power at that time. Israel sought political salvation from those who could not save.
God had long warned His people not to trust in Egypt:
Isaiah 31:1,
“Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help, and stay on horses, and trust in chariots… but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the LORD!”
Israel trusted in chariots. They did not look to the LORD.
d. “The king of Assyria… shut him up, and bound him in prison”
Hoshea’s imprisonment marks the final collapse of Israel’s monarchy. The northern kingdom, once delivered by God from countless enemies, ends as a vassal state undone by its own unfaithfulness.
This fulfills the covenant warning:
Deuteronomy 28:36,
“The LORD shall bring thee, and thy king which thou shalt set over thee, unto a nation which neither thou nor thy fathers have known.”
The king of Israel himself became a prisoner in a foreign land.
3. (2 Kings 17:5–6) The Northern Kingdom of Israel Is Finally Conquered by Assyria
Full KJV Text
Now the king of Assyria came up throughout all the land, and went up to Samaria, and besieged it three years. In the ninth year of Hoshea the king of Assyria took Samaria, and carried Israel away into Assyria, and placed them in Halah, and in Habor by the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.
Explanation
After imprisoning Hoshea, the Assyrian king launched a full and devastating campaign against the land of Israel. Moving throughout the nation, he tightened his grip on the capital, Samaria, and laid siege to it for three years. Samaria’s resistance demonstrated the strength of its fortifications, but no earthly defense could protect a nation that had rejected the covenant God who once defended them. In the ninth year of Hoshea, Samaria fell. With its collapse, the Northern Kingdom came to its final end.
The Assyrians deported the Israelites, resettling them throughout distant regions of the empire such as Halah, the Habor River region, and the cities of the Medes. This fulfilled the long-standing warnings of the prophets and of the covenant curses in the Law. What began as idolatry under Jeroboam had matured into entrenched apostasy and national rebellion. God’s patience had run its course, and the Assyrian exile became His instrument to purge the land and display His holiness before the nations.
The fall of Samaria was not a failure of God’s power but the result of Israel’s prolonged rejection of His Word, His prophets, and His covenant. Once God withdrew His protecting hand, the nation that had once seen the Red Sea parted and walls of Jericho fall could not stand for even a single moment.
Notes on Key Phrases
a. “Went up… and besieged it three years”
A three-year siege reflects both the strength of Samaria’s walls and the determination of Assyria.
This fulfills the judgment cycle God warned Israel of:
Deuteronomy 28:52
“And he shall besiege thee in all thy gates, until thy high and fenced walls come down, wherein thou trustedst, throughout all thy land…”
The very walls they trusted in became the arena of their downfall.
Samaria withstood long enough to show human strength, but it ultimately fell because God had decreed judgment.
Proverbs 21:31 reminds us,
“The horse is prepared against the day of battle, but safety is of the LORD.”
When the LORD withdraws His protection, no siege can be resisted.
b. “The king of Assyria took Samaria”
This moment is the official end of the Northern Kingdom. Two hundred years after the united monarchy, and after nineteen wicked kings, Israel reaped the fruit of their rebellion.
God had warned repeatedly:
2 Kings 17:13 (later in this chapter)
“Yet the LORD testified against Israel, and against Judah, by all the prophets… saying, Turn ye from your evil ways…”
They refused to turn.
No king, no army, no ally could save them when they rejected the God who once fought for them.
c. “Carried Israel away into Assyria” — the Assyrian exile
This is the infamous Assyrian deportation policy: remove the influential, skilled, and powerful of a nation, scatter them, and replace them with foreigners to prevent rebellion.
This deportation fulfills God’s covenant warning:
Deuteronomy 28:64
“And the LORD shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other…”
Israel’s scattering was not random; it was decreed by God as discipline for their persistent idolatry.
The prophets also foresaw this:
Hosea 9:17
“My God will cast them away, because they did not hearken unto him, and they shall be wanderers among the nations.”
Israel became wanderers because they rejected the Shepherd.
d. “Placed them in Halah… Habor… the cities of the Medes”
These were far-flung regions across the Assyrian Empire. The deportation was humiliating and physically brutal.
The prophet Amos described the method:
Amos 4:2–3
“The Lord GOD hath sworn by his holiness… he will take you away with hooks, and your posterity with fishhooks. And ye shall go out at the breaches…”
Israel was literally dragged through the broken walls with hooks in their lips — a graphic image of divine judgment.
The scattering also shows God’s righteous jealousy over His land. The land was being purified of covenant breakers.
e. “A testimony to the good wall… built around Samaria”
The three-year siege (not typical for Assyria) demonstrates the engineering skill of earlier kings, but human strength cannot preserve a nation under divine judgment.
David confessed the truth centuries earlier:
Psalm 127:1
“Except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.”
Samaria’s fall was not due to insufficient defense, but insufficient obedience.
f. A theological conclusion: judgment is often humiliating
God’s discipline is not abstract. It is often carried out through earthly means, and it exposes human pride.
Israel’s humiliation under Assyria mirrors the warning:
Proverbs 16:18
“Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.”
The Northern Kingdom boasted in its golden calves, its kings, and its alliances — but all were swept away when God judged them.
B. The Reasons for the Fall of the Northern Kingdom of Israel
“The rest of this chapter is spent in vindicating the Divine providence and justice, showing the reason why God permitted such a desolation to fall on a people who had been so long his peculiar children.” (Clarke)
1. (2 Kings 17:7) They disregarded the God of their redemption.
Full KJV Text
For so it was, that the children of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, which had brought them up out of the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other gods.
Explanation
The inspired writer begins his theological analysis of Israel’s collapse. The fundamental reason for the fall of the Northern Kingdom was not political weakness, military inferiority, or diplomatic miscalculation. The cause was sin. Israel sinned against the very God who redeemed them out of Egypt. Their national identity was rooted in God’s mighty deliverance, yet they chose to fear and serve other gods. This was covenant treason of the highest order.
The LORD had proven His power in the exodus — the defining event of Israel’s existence. He had shattered the false gods of Egypt, humiliated Pharaoh, split the Red Sea, and revealed Himself in covenant glory at Sinai. This alone should have secured Israel’s exclusive loyalty. Yet they quickly abandoned the God of their redemption. Their idolatry was not a sudden failure but a long history of rejecting God’s grace and choosing paganism.
Notes on Key Phrases
a. “For so it was, that the children of Israel had sinned against the LORD”
The writer explains the fall of Israel with blunt simplicity. Their problem was not external; it was internal.
This aligns with the covenant warnings:
Deuteronomy 29:25
“Then men shall say, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD God of their fathers, which he made with them when he brought them forth out of the land of Egypt.”
God had warned that forsaking the covenant leads to national ruin. Israel ignored the warnings and suffered the consequences.
b. “Which had brought them up out of the land of Egypt”
Redemption demands loyalty. Israel’s deliverance from Egypt was the greatest demonstration of God’s saving power in the Old Testament.
Exodus 20:2–3
“I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.”
God tied His exclusive claim on Israel directly to the exodus. To betray Him after such mercy was spiritual treason.
The prophets repeatedly recalled the exodus as the basis for covenant faithfulness:
Hosea 13:4
“Yet I am the LORD thy God from the land of Egypt, and thou shalt know no god but me: for there is no saviour beside me.”
Israel rejected the God who saved them and sought salvation in idols that could not speak, move, or deliver.
c. “And had feared other gods”
Fear in Scripture often means reverence, trust, dependence, and worship. Israel gave what belonged to God alone to pagan idols.
This was a violation of the greatest commandment:
Deuteronomy 6:13–14
“Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve him… Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you.”
Israel did precisely what God forbade.
A principle of judgment
God delays judgment, but He never ignores sin.
Israel’s idolatry did not begin in Hoshea’s day — it began with Jeroboam, two centuries earlier. God bore patiently, sending prophet after prophet, but in time His patience gave way to holy judgment.
Ecclesiastes 8:11
“Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.”
Israel mistook God’s patience for approval. They were wrong.
2. (2 Kings 17:8) They conformed themselves to the godless nations around them.
Full KJV Text
And walked in the statutes of the heathen, whom the LORD cast out from before the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel, which they had made.
Explanation
Not only did Israel reject the God who redeemed them, they embraced the practices of the nations God expelled from the land. The Canaanites were driven out because of their idolatry, immorality, witchcraft, and child sacrifice. Israel, instead of learning from their destruction, imitated their practices. This brought Israel to the same judgment Canaan had received.
The irony is tragic. Israel was meant to be a holy nation, distinct from the paganism of the surrounding world. Yet instead of transforming the nations, Israel was transformed by them. The statutes of the heathen became the statutes of Israel. The very sins that polluted the land in Joshua’s day now characterized the people God had planted in that land.
Notes on Key Phrases
a. “Walked in the statutes of the heathen”
Israel was not merely tempted — they patterned their lives after pagan nations.
God warned them clearly:
Leviticus 18:3
“After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do: and after the doings of the land of Canaan… shall ye not do.”
Israel did exactly what God commanded them not to do.
Again in Deuteronomy:
Deuteronomy 12:30–31
“Take heed… that thou enquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise. Thou shalt not do so unto the LORD thy God.”
Imitating the heathen was a covenant violation — and Israel embraced it willingly.
This made their judgment righteous and unavoidable.
b. “Whom the LORD cast out”
The expulsion of the Canaanites was a moral judgment, not racial or ethnic violence. God judged them because of their wickedness:
Leviticus 18:24–25
“Defile not ye yourselves… for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you: And the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants.”
Israel committed the same abominations. Therefore, the land “vomited” them out just as it did the Canaanites.
God is impartial in judgment. Sin brings consequence, whether among pagans or His own covenant people.
c. “Of the kings of Israel, which they had made”
This refers either to:
the idols the people made,
or the sinful statutes established by kings like Jeroboam.
Both interpretations reveal the same truth:
Israel’s religion was man-made, not God-ordained.
Jeroboam made two golden calves and declared:
1 Kings 12:28
“Behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.”
This was blasphemy. It reshaped the nation for generations.
When people make their own gods, they make their own laws, and the result is always destruction.
3. (2 Kings 17:9–12) Their secret and openly practiced idolatry
Full KJV Text
“And the children of Israel did secretly those things that were not right against the LORD their God, and they built them high places in all their cities, from the tower of the watchmen to the fenced city.
And they set them up images and groves in every high hill, and under every green tree:
And there they burnt incense in all the high places, as did the heathen whom the LORD carried away before them; and wrought wicked things to provoke the LORD to anger:
For they served idols, whereof the LORD had said unto them, Ye shall not do this thing.”
Explanation
Israel’s rebellion against God was not only open and public but also hidden and secret. They believed they could conduct sin in the shadows without consequence, forgetting that the LORD sees what is done in darkness as clearly as what is done in the daylight. Their private transgressions and public idolatry together formed a full-scale revolt against the covenant.
They built high places everywhere — from the smallest settlements to the strongest fortified cities. This reveals the depth of their apostasy: idolatry saturated the entire nation. Sacred pillars, wooden images, groves, and pagan altars filled the land of the LORD, replacing the worship He commanded with the worship He forbade.
Their behavior directly mirrored that of the Canaanite nations the LORD destroyed during the conquest under Joshua. This repetition of Canaanite sins brought upon Israel the same Canaanite judgment — expulsion from the land. They had forfeited the right to remain in the place God gave them because they no longer served the God who placed them there.
Notes on Key Phrases
a. “The children of Israel did secretly those things that were not right against the LORD their God”
Sin always blinds. Israel thought secrecy would shield them from the all-seeing eye of the LORD.
Psalm 90:8
“Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance.”
Hidden rebellion is still rebellion. The LORD exposes it.
Job 34:22
“There is no darkness, nor shadow of death, where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves.”
Israel forgot this. Their “secret sins” revealed the hardness of their hearts.
b. “They built them high places in all their cities”
High places were unauthorized sites of worship, often influenced by pagan practices. God explicitly forbade such places, commanding worship only at the temple in Jerusalem.
Deuteronomy 12:2–4
“Ye shall utterly destroy all the places, wherein the nations which ye shall possess served their gods… Ye shall not do so unto the LORD your God.”
Yet Israel “did so” at scale. From watchtower to fortified city, idolatry covered the land like a plague.
This was systemic rebellion, not accidental drift.
c. “Images and groves… every high hill, and under every green tree”
Groves (Asherah poles) were symbols of fertility worship, deeply tied to sexual immorality, ritual prostitution, and occult practices.
Israel placed these abominations “everywhere,” which parallels earlier pagan worship:
Jeremiah 2:20
“Upon every high hill and under every green tree thou wanderest, playing the harlot.”
God described Israel’s idolatry as spiritual adultery. They were acting like the Canaanites, not the covenant people of God.
d. “As did the heathen whom the LORD carried away before them”
This phrase is repeated because it is the central theological point:
Israel became exactly like the people God expelled.
Leviticus 18:24–25
“Defile not ye yourselves… the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants.”
The land “vomited out” the Canaanites for idolatry.
Now it “vomits out” Israel for the same sins.
God is impartial in judgment.
e. “For they served idols, whereof the LORD had said unto them, Ye shall not do this thing”
The LORD did not leave them confused; His commands were unmistakably clear.
Exodus 20:4–5
“Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image… Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them.”
Deuteronomy 5:8–9
“Thou shalt not make thee any graven image… thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them.”
They knowingly violated what God plainly commanded.
4. (2 Kings 17:13–15) They rejected the repeated warnings from God
Full KJV Text
“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.
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.
And they rejected his statutes, and his covenant that he made with their fathers, and his testimonies which he testified against them; and they followed vanity, and became vain, and went after the heathen that were round about them, concerning whom the LORD had charged them, that they should not do like them.”
Explanation
God did not judge Israel without warning. He testified against Israel and Judah through every prophet and every seer. The prophetic ministry was God’s gracious voice calling His people back to Himself. The message was consistent: “Turn from your evil ways.” This was a call to repentance grounded in covenant love.
Yet Israel refused to listen. They hardened their necks like stubborn oxen resisting the yoke of their Master. Their unbelief — not ignorance — was the root of their rebellion. They knowingly rejected God’s statutes, His covenant, His testimonies, and His warnings.
They followed emptiness and became empty. Idols are nothing, and those who worship them become like them — spiritually dead, morally numb, and ultimately destroyed.
Israel’s imitation of the nations was an act of direct disobedience to God’s explicit commands. They willingly embraced the practices of the surrounding peoples, even though God had charged them not to imitate the nations.
Notes on Key Phrases
a. “Yet the LORD testified… by all the prophets”
God sent repeated warnings because He delights in mercy.
2 Chronicles 36:15–16
“And the LORD God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, rising up betimes, and sending; because he had compassion on his people… but they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words.”
They rejected compassion.
The prophets called them back to the covenant:
Jeremiah 7:23
“Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people.”
Israel rejected this invitation.
b. “They would not hear, but hardened their necks”
Stiff-necked means stubborn rebellion — resisting God’s rightful authority.
Exodus 32:9
“I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people.”
Israel’s condition in Exodus continued through their history.
Zechariah 7:11–12
“They refused to hearken… yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone.”
The more God warned, the harder they became.
c. “They rejected his statutes, and his covenant… and his testimonies”
There were three layers of rejection:
Statutes — God’s commands
Covenant — God’s relationship
Testimonies — God’s warnings
Rejecting all three means total rebellion.
God had warned them plainly:
Deuteronomy 28:15
“If thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God… all these curses shall come upon thee.”
They saw the warnings and still rebelled.
d. “They followed vanity, and became vain”
Idols are nothingness, emptiness, vapor.
Worshiping them makes a person empty.
Psalm 135:15–18
“They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them.”
Spiritual degeneration always follows idolatry.
e. “They should not do like them”
God gave Israel clear separation commands:
Leviticus 20:23
“And ye shall not walk in the manners of the nation, which I cast out before you.”
Deuteronomy 12:30–31
“Thou shalt not do so unto the LORD thy God.”
Yet Israel embraced Canaanite worship fully — and fell under Canaanite judgment.
5. (2 Kings 17:16–23) They forsook God and served idols — until judgment finally came
Full KJV Text
“And they left all the commandments of the LORD their God, and made them molten images, even two calves, and made a grove, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served Baal.
And they caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire, and used divination and enchantments, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.
Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight: there was none left but the tribe of Judah only.
Also Judah kept not the commandments of the LORD their God, but walked in the statutes of Israel which they made.
And the LORD rejected all the seed of Israel, and afflicted them, and delivered them into the hand of spoilers, until he had cast them out of his sight.
For he rent Israel from the house of David; and they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king: and Jeroboam drave Israel from following the LORD, and made them sin a great sin.
For the children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they departed not from them;
Until the LORD removed Israel out of his sight, as he had said by all his servants the prophets. So was Israel carried away out of their own land to Assyria unto this day.”
Explanation
Israel’s spiritual rebellion reached its peak in these verses. The text outlines a complete collapse of covenant faithfulness: abandoning the commandments of God, creating idols, worshipping the host of heaven, embracing Baal, and practicing the darkest forms of pagan religion, including child sacrifice and occult rituals. This is not casual drift. It is full-scale apostasy.
The LORD’s response was just and consistent with His covenant warnings. Israel was removed from His sight — not in the sense that God ceases to see them, but that they are expelled from His covenant presence, no longer functioning as a blessed nation in His land. Judah remained, but even Judah began walking in the same sins, ignoring the visible judgment that had overtaken their northern brothers.
The root cause of Israel’s fall is traced back again to Jeroboam: false worship of the true God in a false way. What began with golden calves ended with Baal worship, child sacrifice, and occultism. The path from “innovative religion” to damnable idolatry was predictable and steady.
Ultimately, the prophetic warnings were fulfilled. God used Assyria as His instrument to remove Israel from their land — exactly as He had promised through His prophets. The deportation was final and devastating, marking the collapse of the Northern Kingdom.
Notes on Key Phrases (with full KJV cross-references)
a. “Made them molten images, even two calves”
This goes back to Jeroboam’s original sin.
1 Kings 12:28–30 (KJV)
“Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel… And this thing became a sin.”
Israel did not immediately collapse, but the rot began here. When God is worshipped in a distorted way, it becomes increasingly easy to introduce outright paganism.
This is a warning to every generation: false worship always produces false doctrine, and false doctrine always produces spiritual destruction.
b. “Worshipped all the host of heaven, and served Baal”
Worship of the host of heaven was astral worship — sun, moon, and stars. This is explicitly forbidden.
Deuteronomy 4:19 (KJV)
“And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven… and shouldest be driven to worship them.”
Serving Baal was even darker. Baal worship included sexual perversion, temple prostitution, and blood rituals. It is the exact opposite of the holiness God commanded.
c. “They caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire”
This is Molech worship — the burning of children.
Leviticus 18:21 (KJV)
“And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech.”
Psalm 106:37–38 (KJV)
“Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto devils, And shed innocent blood.”
Child sacrifice is described as worship of devils. The text shows that Israel reached the lowest possible point.
d. “Used divination and enchantments”
The occult was strictly forbidden.
Deuteronomy 18:10–12 (KJV)
“There shall not be found among you… a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard… For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD.”
By embracing witchcraft, Israel moved from covenant faithfulness to demonic practices.
e. “Sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the LORD”
This phrase indicates total abandonment. It means they willingly surrendered themselves to the highest bidder — sin.
Romans 6:16 (KJV)
“Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey?”
Israel yielded themselves to the devil’s service.
f. “The LORD… removed them out of his sight”
This means that God expelled them from the land of Promise — the covenant land that symbolized His presence.
This fulfills His warnings:
Deuteronomy 28:63–64 (KJV)
“And ye shall be plucked from off the land… and the LORD shall scatter thee among all people.”
The Assyrian captivity was no accident of history. It was covenant judgment.
g. “Judah… walked in the statutes of Israel which they made”
Judah copied the sins of Israel instead of learning from their destruction.
This is the tragedy of spiritual decline: people often imitate what God has just judged.
Jeremiah 3:8 (KJV)
“And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away… yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not.”
Judah watched Israel fall — and followed the same path.
h. “Jeroboam drave Israel from following the LORD”
Jeroboam institutionalized idolatry — and the nation never recovered.
1 Kings 14:16 (KJV)
“And he shall give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, who did sin, and who made Israel to sin.”
Jeroboam’s system of false worship (golden calves, false priests, alternate feasts) infected every generation of Israel until its collapse.
i. “Until the LORD removed Israel out of his sight… So was Israel carried away”
This is the final covenant execution, exactly as prophesied.
Hosea 9:17 (KJV)
“My God will cast them away, because they did not hearken unto him.”
Amos 5:27 (KJV)
“Therefore will I cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus.”
God warned. Israel refused. Judgment came.
C. The resettlement of Samaria
1. (2 Kings 17:24–26) God warns the foreigners who are resettled in Samaria
KJV TEXT
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. 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. 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.
Explanation
After the Assyrian conquest and deportation of Israel, the Assyrian king executed his standard imperial policy: he imported populations from across his empire to occupy the emptied cities of Samaria. These new settlers came from Babylon, Cuthah, Ava, Hamath, and Sepharvaim, bringing with them a wide mixture of pagan religions and cultural backgrounds.
However, once they settled in the land, they immediately experienced divine judgment. God sent lions among them, killing some. This was not random. Scripture shows that God considers the land of Israel uniquely His own — a land He supervises in a special covenantal way. Even Gentiles living there were accountable to Him.
The Assyrian settlers interpreted the lion attacks through their pagan worldview: “The God of this land is angry because we do not know His rituals.” Their theology was flawed — but not entirely wrong. They understood that their lives were being touched by a divine hand. Yet their “faith” was based entirely on fear, not on truth or repentance.
This incident demonstrates God’s continued sovereignty over the land even after Israel’s exile. Though Israel was scattered, the Lord still ruled the land they left behind, and He demanded reverence from those who entered it.
Notes on Key Phrases
a. “Then the king of Assyria brought people…”
This reflects Assyria’s imperial resettlement policy. They intentionally mixed conquered people groups to prevent national identity from forming among subject nations.
This fulfilled God’s earlier covenant warnings:
Deuteronomy 28:36 (KJV)
“The LORD shall bring thee, and thy king which thou shalt set over thee, unto a nation which neither thou nor thy fathers have known; and there shalt thou serve other gods, wood and stone.”
The land is emptied of Israelites — and foreigners now occupy it. This happened because the covenant had been broken.
b. “They did not fear the LORD; therefore the LORD sent lions among them”
God’s direct intervention shows the land of Israel is holy.
Zechariah 2:12 (KJV)
“And the LORD shall inherit Judah his portion in the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again.”
Even in Israel’s absence, God defends His holiness in the land.
The lion attacks were not random animal behavior; they were divine judgments — a clear message that the God of Israel remained active.
This also fulfills God’s warning that wild beasts would be used as judgment upon disobedience:
Leviticus 26:22 (KJV)
“I will also send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children, and destroy your cattle, and make you few in number.”
Here, God does to the Gentile settlers what He once threatened toward Israel.
c. “They do not know the rituals of the God of the land”
This statement shows a pagan misconception — they believed every geographic region had its own national deity. Their instinct was theological confusion mixed with fear.
However, their fear does show a measure of spiritual sensitivity the Israelites themselves lacked. Israel ignored God’s prophets for centuries. These pagans at least acknowledged that the God of Israel had acted.
Still, fear alone cannot produce genuine faith.
James 2:19 (KJV)
“Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.”
Their “conversion” was like demonic belief — fear without repentance or truth.
As Spurgeon warned, conversion rooted only in terror is suspect and unstable.
d. The lions served as a divine reminder of God’s sovereignty over the land
Even after the exile, God shows:
He still owns the land.
He still enforces honor toward His name.
He still judges unbelief, whether Israelite or Gentile.
This reflects God’s covenant promise to judge those who defile His land:
Numbers 35:34 (KJV)
“Defile not therefore the land which ye shall inhabit, wherein I dwell: for I the LORD dwell among the children of Israel.”
Though Israel was removed, God’s presence still marked the land with holiness.
e. Their response was superstition, not true repentance
They feared lions, not the LORD. Their religion was reactionary, rooted in self-preservation.
This resembles Israel’s own shallow repentance during the judges:
Psalm 78:34–36 (KJV)
“When he slew them, then they sought him… Nevertheless they did flatter him with their mouth, and they lied unto him with their tongues.”
Fear-based religion does not please God. Only repentance grounded in truth does.
2. (2 Kings 17:27–33) A religion for Samaria is established
KJV TEXT
Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, Send there one of the priests whom ye brought from thence; and let him go and dwell there, and let him teach them the manner of the God of the land. 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. Howbeit every nation made gods of their own, and put them in the houses of the high places which the Samaritans had made, every nation in their cities wherein they dwelt. And the men of Babylon made Succothbenoth, and the men of Cuth made Nergal, and the men of Hamath made Ashima, and the Avites made Nibhaz and Tartak. And the Sepharvites burnt their children in fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim. So they feared the LORD, and made unto themselves of the lowest of them priests of the high places, which sacrificed for them in the houses of the high places. They feared the LORD, and served their own gods, after the manner of the nations whom they carried away from thence.
Explanation
Assyria’s attempt to “fix” the problem of the lions by importing a priest from the former Northern Kingdom resulted in the creation of a hybrid, corrupt religion. This religion had fragments of truth but was hopelessly polluted by idolatry. It introduces the beginning roots of the later Samaritan belief system encountered in the Gospels.
This religion was not biblical faith. It was a syncretistic mixture of:
Elements of Mosaic worship
Pagan deities from Babylon, Cuth, Ava, Hamath, and Sepharvaim
Local superstition
Fear-based rituals
The result was a “mongrel” faith that feared the LORD outwardly but served idols inwardly.
Notes on Key Phrases
a. “Taught them how they should fear the LORD”
This “priest” was not a faithful Levitical priest as God commanded in the Law. The Northern Kingdom had rejected the Levitical priesthood centuries earlier and replaced it with man-made priests appointed by Jeroboam.
1 Kings 12:31 (KJV)
“And he made an house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi.”
This corrupt priesthood taught a corrupt religion. The king of Assyria wanted the lions to stop, not truth to be taught. The priest’s instruction reflected centuries of idolatry already entrenched in Israel.
Even though Bethel was one of Jeroboam’s original centers of false worship, this Assyrian-imported priest lived there and instructed the people from that corrupted religious center.
This priest likely mixed truth with error, which is always more dangerous than outright falsehood.
b. “Every nation continued to make gods of its own”
The settlers imported their own deities:
Succoth-benoth (Babylon) – believed to be a form of sexual fertility goddess worship.
Nergal (Cuthah) – god of war and plague.
Ashima (Hamath) – possibly a goat-demon deity.
Nibhaz and Tartak (Avites) – poorly attested but likely grotesque animal-form gods.
Adrammelech and Anammelech (Sepharvites) – deities requiring child sacrifice by fire.
These practices directly violated God’s commands:
Deuteronomy 12:31 (KJV)
“For every abomination to the LORD, which he hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods.”
Notice the progression:
They feared the LORD outwardly.
They continued to serve other gods inwardly.
They blended truth with error, producing a counterfeit religion.
This reflects the same root sin that doomed Israel.
c. “They feared the LORD, yet served their own gods”
This is one of the most devastating spiritual diagnoses in Scripture.
They did not reject the LORD outright. That would be too uncomfortable. Instead, they tried to worship Him alongside their idols.
God calls this spiritual adultery.
Matthew 6:24 (KJV)
“No man can serve two masters…”
James 1:8 (KJV)
“A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.”
Their “fear of the LORD” was not repentance, but survival instinct. They were terrified of lions, not convicted of sin. This explains why their worship was mixed and worldly.
This was the birth of syncretism in Samaria, the same mixture Jesus confronted in John 4.
d. This accurately describes:
The pagan nations placed into Samaria
The Northern Kingdom before its fall
The religious world today
Most people want just enough religion to make them feel safe, but not enough to surrender their idols.
Spurgeon described it perfectly:
“Let me be right, and let there be no mistake about it; but do not let me try to be both right and wrong, washed and filthy, white and black, a child of God and a child of Satan.”
This passage exposes the deadly error of attempting to blend the worship of God with the worship of the world.
e. Their new priesthood was corrupt
They selected “priests of the lowest of them.” This is almost identical to Jeroboam’s sin.
Hosea 4:6 (KJV)
“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge… seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.”
No revival or truth can come from a priesthood with:
no covenant,
no Scripture grounding,
no regeneration,
no obedience,
no fear of God.
This hybrid priesthood ensured that the region would be spiritually corrupted for centuries.
3. (2 Kings 17:34–41) The continuance of this false religion
KJV TEXT
Unto this day they do after the former manners: they fear not the LORD, neither do they after their statutes, or after their ordinances, or after the law and commandment which the LORD commanded the children of Jacob, whom he named Israel; with whom the LORD had made a covenant, and charged them, saying, Ye shall not fear other gods, nor bow yourselves to them, nor serve them, nor sacrifice to them: But the LORD, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt with great power and a stretched out arm, him shall ye fear, and him shall ye worship, and to him shall ye do sacrifice. And the statutes, and the ordinances, and the law, and the commandment, which he wrote for you, ye shall observe to do for ever; and ye shall not fear other gods. And the covenant that I have made with you ye shall not forget; neither shall ye fear other gods. But the LORD your God ye shall fear; and he shall deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies. Howbeit they did not hearken, but they did after their former manner. So these nations feared the LORD, and served their graven images, both their children, and their children's children: as did their fathers, so do they unto this day.
Explanation
The mixed population introduced into Samaria by the Assyrians continued in a corrupted, syncretistic religion for generations. Even with the instruction of the imported Israelite priest, they did not embrace the covenant, the statutes, or the commands God gave Israel. Their worship was a selective, fear-driven acknowledgment of the LORD mixed with continued idolatry. Scripture stresses that this confused religious system persisted “unto this day,” meaning it endured through the entire period of the Old Testament and remained present even in the time of Jesus Christ.
This passage becomes foundational for understanding the later hostility between Jews and Samaritans. Their religion looked like worship of the LORD on the surface, but underneath it was blended with pagan deities, reshaped by man-made traditions, and detached from the covenant God made at Sinai.
Notes on Key Phrases
a. “Unto this day they do after the former manners”
This phrase shows that the mixed religion established by the Assyrians had ongoing influence for centuries. It formed the foundation of Samaritanism. They continued in their inherited rituals, refusing to abandon the idolatrous habits brought in by the foreign nations.
The text emphasizes that Samaria never returned to pure covenant obedience. Judah never regained the northern region prior to its own judgment under Babylon, meaning this hybrid religion was never corrected by a righteous king of David’s line.
This makes God’s principle clear:
Light rejected becomes darkness embraced.
Jesus later confronted this corrupted system when He spoke to the Samaritan woman at the well:
John 4:22 (KJV)
“Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.”
Her people’s worship remained confused because they clung to past pagan practices rather than submit to the full revelation of God.
b. “They fear not the LORD”
Even though they practiced outward acts resembling Israelite worship, it was not true fear of the LORD.
True fear of God produces obedience.
Their actions proved they possessed neither obedience nor covenant loyalty.
God had commanded Israel:
Deuteronomy 6:13 (KJV)
“Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name.”
Because the Samaritans rejected His law, their so-called “fear” of the LORD was nothing more than superstition, especially fear of lions and calamity. Real fear of God must be rooted in covenant faith and submission, not terror.
c. “Whom he named Israel…with whom the LORD had made a covenant”
This emphasizes the contrast between:
Israel, who had the covenant, the law, the ordinances, and the revelation of God
The mixed nations, who had neither covenant nor Scripture, only fragments of corrupted Israelite instruction
The covenant God made with Israel was explicit:
Deuteronomy 5:7 (KJV)
“Thou shalt have none other gods before me.”
Exodus 34:14 (KJV)
“For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.”
The Samaritans violated these commands consistently and without repentance.
d. “Ye shall not fear other gods, nor bow yourselves to them, nor serve them, nor sacrifice to them”
God’s expectations were found throughout the law. He commanded exclusive worship and total separation from idolatry.
Leviticus 19:4 (KJV)
“Turn ye not unto idols, nor make to yourselves molten gods: I am the LORD your God.”
Deuteronomy 30:17–18 (KJV)
“But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear… I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish.”
Even though the Samaritans observed a form of worship, they rejected God’s command for pure and exclusive devotion.
e. “But the LORD your God ye shall fear; and he shall deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies”
This is a reminder of what Israel forfeited.
Had Israel remained faithful:
No enemy could have overtaken them
No kingdom could have destroyed them
Assyria itself would have fallen before them
God promised:
Deuteronomy 28:7 (KJV)
“The LORD shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face.”
But they lost this blessing through rebellion, and the Samaritans — having no covenant at all — never possessed it.
f. “Howbeit they did not hearken”
This one line captures the tragedy of the entire Northern Kingdom.
God warned.
God taught.
God sent prophets.
God pleaded with them.
But they would not listen.
This fulfills the spiritual principle later quoted by Stephen:
Acts 7:51 (KJV)
“Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost.”
The Samaritans inherited this pattern of disobedience from the corrupted religion of their forefathers.
g. “So these nations feared the LORD, and served their graven images”
This is the essence of syncretism:
They wanted God’s protection,
but they also wanted their idols.
This double-minded mixture is always condemned in Scripture.
James 4:8 (KJV)
“Purify your hearts, ye double minded.”
Matthew 6:24 (KJV)
“No man can serve two masters.”
The Samaritans worshipped the LORD only enough to calm their fears, but not enough to surrender their idols.
h. “Their children and their children's children…unto this day”
False religion becomes generational when:
parents teach compromise,
leaders teach corruption,
culture reinforces idolatry.
This is why God commanded Israel to pass on truth diligently:
Deuteronomy 6:7 (KJV)
“And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children…”
The Samaritans passed down a corrupted religion, and by the time of Christ, their beliefs were deeply entrenched, requiring direct correction by the Messiah Himself.
