Throughout First and Second Samuel, as well as First and Second Kings, the fall of the people of Israel is consistently foreshadowed. In the seventeenth chapter of Second Kings, the anticipated collapse of the Northern Kingdom (Israel) is described.
The religious reasons that are given for the fall of the Northern Kingdom can all be founded on the Israelites’ disobedience of Yahweh. The people had “sinned against the Lord their God” by “[worshipping] other gods and [walking] in the customs of the nations whom the Lord drove out before [them]” (2 Kings 17:7-8). In addition, they built high places for themselves in all of their cities. By doing these “wicked things, provoking the Lord to anger”, the Israelites were showing their blatant disregard of Yahweh’s commands. (2 Kings 17:11b). Even though Yahweh had warned Israel to turn from their wicked ways, they did not take heed; they rejected all of His commandments. Due to their inability to obey His statues and ordinances, Yahweh “removed them out of His sight; none was left but the tribe of Judah alone” (2 Kings 17:18). …show more content…
King Shalmaneser of Assyria came up against King Hoshea of Israel. The result of this conflict is shown in that Hoshea became a vassal of King Shalmaneser and was responsible for paying him tribute. Unfortunately, King Hoshea was not honest in their exchanges, which did not go unnoticed by King Shalmaneser. Due to his treacherous actions, King Hoshea was “confined…and imprisoned” (2 Kings 17:4b). This imprisonment opened up the path for King Shalmaneser to invade Israel and to subsequently besiege the land for three
The religious reasons that are given for the fall of the Northern Kingdom can all be founded on the Israelites’ disobedience of Yahweh. The people had “sinned against the Lord their God” by “[worshipping] other gods and [walking] in the customs of the nations whom the Lord drove out before [them]” (2 Kings 17:7-8). In addition, they built high places for themselves in all of their cities. By doing these “wicked things, provoking the Lord to anger”, the Israelites were showing their blatant disregard of Yahweh’s commands. (2 Kings 17:11b). Even though Yahweh had warned Israel to turn from their wicked ways, they did not take heed; they rejected all of His commandments. Due to their inability to obey His statues and ordinances, Yahweh “removed them out of His sight; none was left but the tribe of Judah alone” (2 Kings 17:18). …show more content…
King Shalmaneser of Assyria came up against King Hoshea of Israel. The result of this conflict is shown in that Hoshea became a vassal of King Shalmaneser and was responsible for paying him tribute. Unfortunately, King Hoshea was not honest in their exchanges, which did not go unnoticed by King Shalmaneser. Due to his treacherous actions, King Hoshea was “confined…and imprisoned” (2 Kings 17:4b). This imprisonment opened up the path for King Shalmaneser to invade Israel and to subsequently besiege the land for three