II Kings Chapter 17
Please read: II Kings 17 –
You will find throughout Scripture that God will remind the people of how He rescued them from their slavery in Egypt. This is a marker in time for all of humanity to read about and to understand the great rescue story when God reached down and made it possible for the Hebrew nation to walk away from those who held them captive and eventually walk into a land He had promised them. A land filled with milk and honey. Despite the many times that God reminded them of this fact and despite the covenants that He made with the people, they turned their backs on Him. Now they will find themselves in situations that God warned them about if they followed after other gods. They were about to lose their homes, their freedom, and their country.
Let's Reflect
1. During the reign of Ahaz, the most wicked king of the southern kingdom, Hoshea became king of the northern kingdom. What does the Bible say about his reign?
2. While Hoshea was king, the Assyrians once again sent attacking raids throughout the land; only this time the king was captured and what happened to the city of Samaria?
3. Verse 6 describes how the Assyrians began to take over the country of Israel. He captured the Israelite people and sent them as captives to different parts of his domain. What do verses 7 and 8 tell us about why this happened?
4. God did not send His judgement overnight. In fact, He had given them hundreds of years, pleading with them to acknowledge Him. He had raised up judges to lead them and sent prophets to speak to the people for Him, and priests to provide a means for atonement for their sins. What does verse 14 say that the people did when they heard God’s warnings?
5. These verses describe a people that were more than just lacking in faith, they deliberately abandoned God to worship other gods and to do evil things. It really sounds like the country we live in today. Actually, it sounds like the world we live in today! I believe verse 17 shows the depth of their sin and abandonment of the one true God. What is described in verse 17 that the Israelites took part in?
6. God describes in verse 21 how he had rewarded the northern kingdom with a king named Jeroboam, the first king of the split nation. But then Jeroboam’s thanks to God was to do what?
7. Now that the king of Assyria had taken over the land of Israel and removed the people, he put his own people in the cities to inhabit them. What happened according to verse 25 that made the Assyrian people afraid?
8. The Assyrian king sought to solve the problem by sending an Israelite priest back into Israel to teach the people about the laws of his God. It was as if they thought they could do certain things to appease the God of Israel. Verse 32 describes things that the Assyrians did to appease the God of Israel. What did they do?
9. Maybe God’s instructions to the people of Israel had not been clear enough. What does verses 34-40 say, was God clear to the Israelites about His commands?
10. What about the nation that now occupied Israel? Did they fear the Lord God exclusively?
