2 Kings 17 Summary - 5 Minute Bible Study
2 Kings 17 Short Summary:
2 Kings 17 is a very important chapter in the Old Testament because it tells us about the expulsion of the people of Israel from their land by the Assyrians during the days of king Hoshea. After decades of disregarding and disrespecting God’s commands, God allowed the Assyrians to conquer Israel and relocate most of the people to distant portions of the Assyrian Empire.
2 Kings 17 Summary
WHEN:
The reign of King Hoshea fits between the years 740-721 B.C.
He reigned over Israel for 9 years.
The deportation of the Jews by the Assyrians is generally dated to 721 B.C.
CHARACTERS:
Hoshea – He became king of Israel after Pekah. He reigned 9 years.
The King of Assyria – He invaded the land of Israel, conquered Samaria, and took the people of Israel captive.
WHERE:
The capital of the Kingdom of Israel was the city of Samaria.
The Israelites were deported several hundred miles northeast of Israel after the Assyrians conquered their land. The Assyrians dispersed the people, distributing them all across the Assyrian Empire, from Halah to the cities in Media.
OUTLINE:
HOSHEA REIGNS IN ISRAEL (17:1-4):
After assassinating Pekah, the previous king of Israel, Hoshea took the throne in his place.
Hoshea ruled Israel for 9 years and “did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.”
During his reign, Israel was subjected by the Assyrians and Hoshea had to pay tribute to them.
But Hoshea rebelled against the king of Assyria and went to Egypt for help.
GOD USES THE ASSYRIANS TO EXPEL ISRAEL FROM THEIR LAND (17:5-23):
In response to Hoshea’s rebellion, Assyria invaded Israel and besieged it for 3 years.
The Assyrians took all the Israelites captive and deported them hundreds of miles to the regions surrounding Nineveh.
“This occurred because the people of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God” (17:7).
Verses 7-23 list the generational sins of the nation of Israel, the sins that led God to use the Assyrians to judge them. Particular attention is given to their relentless idol worship, even in the face of God’s constant corrections and warnings against it.
“But they would not listen, but were stubborn, as their fathers had been, who did not believe in the LORD their God. They despised His statutes and His covenant that He made with their fathers and the warnings that He gave them. They went after false idols and became false, and they followed the nations that were around them” (17:14-15).
“And the Lord rejected all the descendants of Israel… the Lord removed Israel out of His sight, as He had spoken by all His servants the prophets. So, Israel was exiled from their own land to Assyria until this day (17:20,23).
NEW INHABITANTS ARE MOVED INTO ISRAEL’S LAND (17:24-41):
The king of Assyria took people from foreign nations and moved them into the land that once belonged to the people of Israel. They intermixed with the remnant of Israelites who remained, those not carried off by the Assyrians.
The new inhabitants of the land did not follow the laws of God, so God punished them with lions, which killed a number of people.
This news reached the king of Assyria, and he sent a priest back to Israel to teach them about God.
The priest did as instructed, but the people mixed the worship of the true God with the worship of pagan gods and idols.
This pattern of mixed religious devotion continued for generations.
UNDERSTANDING THE BIBLE:
In the New Testament, we read about the Samaritan, a group of people who the Jews hated.
The Samaritans came from the intermixing of the blood of the remnant of Israel and the foreigners who were moved into Israel by the Assyrians.
They were disliked by the Jews, in part, because they were children of mixed blood, and because they were mixed up in their religious practices.
Check out our video on YouTube entitled “Why did the Jews Hate the Samaritans?”
