Finally, the LORD removed Israel from His presence, as He had declared through all His servants the prophets. So Israel was exiled from their homeland into Assyria, where they are to this day. Finally, the LORDThe word "Finally" indicates a culmination of events and warnings that had been building up over time. This suggests a period of patience and long-suffering on God's part. The Hebrew root here implies a sense of completion or fulfillment of a process. Historically, this reflects the numerous warnings given to Israel through the prophets, emphasizing God's justice and the eventual consequence of persistent disobedience. the LORD
is the English representation of the Hebrew name Yahweh, the covenantal name of God. This name signifies God's eternal presence and faithfulness to His promises. In this context, it underscores the gravity of the situation, as it is Yahweh, the covenant-keeping God, who is executing judgment. removed Israel from His presence
speaks to the severance of the special relationship between God and the nation of Israel. The Hebrew concept of being in God's "presence" is often associated with blessing, protection, and favor. To be removed from His presence is to be cut off from these divine benefits. This phrase highlights the seriousness of Israel's sin and the resulting divine judgment. as He had warned
indicates that God's actions were not arbitrary but were the fulfillment of repeated warnings. The Hebrew root for "warned" conveys the idea of solemnly admonishing or cautioning. This reflects God's justice and mercy, as He provided ample opportunity for repentance. through all His servants the prophets
emphasizes the consistent and unified message delivered by God's messengers. The prophets were God's chosen instruments to communicate His will and warnings. This phrase underscores the reliability and authority of prophetic messages in the biblical narrative. So Israel was exiled
describes the consequence of Israel's persistent disobedience. The term "exiled" comes from a Hebrew root meaning to be carried away or led captive. This reflects the historical reality of the Assyrian conquest and the forced relocation of the Israelites, a significant event in Israel's history. from their homeland
highlights the loss of the Promised Land, a central aspect of Israel's identity and covenant with God. The land was a tangible sign of God's promise to Abraham and his descendants. Being removed from it signifies a breach in the covenant relationship due to Israel's unfaithfulness. to Assyria
identifies the nation that God used as an instrument of judgment. Assyria was a dominant power in the ancient Near East, known for its military might and expansionist policies. This historical context provides insight into the geopolitical dynamics of the time and the fulfillment of prophetic warnings. where they are to this day
suggests the enduring nature of the exile at the time of the writing. This phrase serves as a sobering reminder of the long-term consequences of disobedience. It also reflects the historical reality that the ten northern tribes of Israel did not return from exile, leading to their assimilation into other cultures. Persons / Places / Events 1. The LORD (Yahweh)The covenant God of Israel, who is just and righteous, executing judgment as He had warned through His prophets. 2. IsraelThe Northern Kingdom, consisting of ten tribes, which fell into idolatry and disobedience against God’s commands. 3. The ProphetsGod's messengers who warned Israel of the consequences of their disobedience, including figures like Elijah, Elisha, Amos, and Hosea. 4. AssyriaThe powerful empire that conquered Israel and took the people into exile, fulfilling God's judgment. 5. ExileThe event where the Israelites were removed from their land as a consequence of their persistent sin and rebellion against God. Teaching Points The Seriousness of SinSin has real consequences, and persistent disobedience leads to separation from God. We must take sin seriously and seek repentance. The Faithfulness of God’s WordGod’s warnings through His prophets were fulfilled. His Word is trustworthy and true, and we should heed His instructions and warnings. The Importance of ObedienceObedience to God is crucial for maintaining a relationship with Him. We should strive to live according to His commands and seek His guidance in all aspects of life. The Role of Prophets and ScriptureGod uses His Word and His messengers to guide and correct us. We should be attentive to the teachings of Scripture and the counsel of godly leaders. Hope in RestorationWhile this passage speaks of judgment, the broader biblical account includes God’s promise of restoration for those who return to Him. We can find hope in God’s mercy and grace. Bible Study Questions 1. What were the specific sins that led to Israel's exile, and how can we avoid similar pitfalls in our own lives? 2. How does the fulfillment of God’s warnings through the prophets in 2 Kings 17:23 encourage us to trust in the reliability of Scripture? 3. In what ways can we ensure that we are living in obedience to God’s commands today? 4. How can we discern and respond to the warnings and guidance that God provides through His Word and His people? 5. Reflect on a time when you experienced God’s discipline. How did it lead to growth or change in your relationship with Him? Connections to Other Scriptures Deuteronomy 28This chapter outlines the blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience, which includes exile as a consequence for turning away from God. 2 Kings 18-19These chapters describe the contrasting faithfulness of Hezekiah, king of Judah, who trusted in the LORD and was delivered from Assyria, highlighting the importance of obedience and trust in God. Hosea 9Hosea prophesies about the coming judgment and exile of Israel due to their unfaithfulness, echoing the themes found in 2 Kings 17:23. People Adrammelech, Ahaz, Anammelech, Avites, Avvites, David, Elah, Hoshea, Israelites, Jacob, Jeroboam, Nebat, Pharaoh, Sepharvites, ShalmaneserPlaces Assyria, Avva, Babylon, Bethel, Cuth, Cuthah, Egypt, Gozan, Habor River, Halah, Hamath, Samaria, SepharvaimTopics Aside, Asshur, Assyria, Carried, Exile, Exiled, Face, Homeland, Presence, Prophets, Removed, Servants, Sight, Spake, Spoke, Spoken, Till, WarnedDictionary of Bible Themes 2 Kings 17:23 1075 God, justice of
6232 rejection of God, results
9210 judgment, God's 2 Kings 17:3-23 7233 Israel, northern kingdom 2 Kings 17:6-23 6659 freedom, acts in OT 2 Kings 17:7-23 6026 sin, judgment on 2 Kings 17:17-23 8748 false religion 2 Kings 17:18-23 1305 God, activity of 2 Kings 17:18-28 7324 calf worship 2 Kings 17:22-23 5339 home 2 Kings 17:23-24 7216 exile, in Assyria 2 Kings 17:23-27 5305 empires Library Divided Worship
'These nations feared the Lord, and served their own gods.'--2 KINGS xvii. 33. The kingdom of Israel had come to its fated end. Its king and people had been carried away captives in accordance with the cruel policy of the great Eastern despotisms, which had so much to do with weakening them by their very conquests. The land had lain desolate and uncultivated for many years, savage beasts had increased in the untilled solitudes, even as weeds and nettles grew in the gardens and vineyards of Samaria. …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy ScriptureA Kingdom's Epitaph
'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. 7. 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, 8. And walked in the statutes of the heathen, whom the Lord cast out from before the children of …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture September the Eleventh a Fatal Divorce
"They feared the Lord, and served their own gods." --2 KINGS xvii. 24-34. And that is an old-world record, but it is quite a modern experience. The kinsmen of these ancient people are found in our own time. Men still fear one God and serve another. But something is vitally wrong when men can divorce their fear from their obedience. And the beginning of the wrong is in the fear itself. "Fear," as used in this passage, is a counterfeit coin, which does not ring true to the truth. It means only the …
John Henry Jowett—My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year Upon Our Lord's SermonOn the Mount
Discourse 9 "No man can serve two masters; For either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. "Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: For they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father …
John Wesley—Sermons on Several Occasions Mongrel Religion
I. I shall first call your attention to THE NATURE OF THIS Mongrel Religion. It had its good and bad points, for it wore a double face. These people were not infidels. Far from it: "they feared the Lord." They did not deny the existence, or the power, or the rights of the great God of Israel, whose name is Jehovah. They had not the pride of Pharaoh who said, "Who is Jehovah that I should obey his voice?" They were not like those whom David calls "fools," who said in their hearts, "There is no God." …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 27: 1881 Building in Troublous Times
'Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the children of the captivity builded the temple unto the Lord God of Israel; 2. Then they came to Zerubbabel, and to the chief of the fathers, and said unto them, Let us build with you: for we seek your God, as ye do; and we do sacrifice unto Him since the days of Esar-haddon king of Assur, which brought us up hither. 3. But Zerubbabel, and Joshua, and the rest of the chief of the fathers of Israel, said unto them, Ye have nothing to do …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture Profession and Practice.
18th Sunday after Trinity. S. Matt. xxii. 42. "What think ye of Christ?" INTRODUCTION.--Many men are Christians neither in understanding nor in heart. Some are Christians in heart, and not in understanding. Some in understanding, and not in heart, and some are Christians in both. If I were to go into a Temple of the Hindoos, or into a Synagogue of the Jews, and were to ask, "What think ye of Christ?" the people there would shake their heads and deny that He is God, and reject His teaching. The …
S. Baring-Gould—The Village Pulpit, Volume II. Trinity to Advent The Original Text and Its History.
1. The original language of the Old Testament is Hebrew, with the exception of certain portions of Ezra and Daniel and a single verse of Jeremiah, (Ezra 4:8-6:18; 7:12-26; Dan. 2:4, from the middle of the verse to end of chap. 7; Jer. 10:11,) which are written in the cognate Chaldee language. The Hebrew belongs to a stock of related languages commonly called Shemitic, because spoken mainly by the descendants of Shem. Its main divisions are: (1,) the Arabic, having its original seat in the …
E. P. Barrows—Companion to the Bible The Prophet Hosea.
GENERAL PRELIMINARY REMARKS. That the kingdom of Israel was the object of the prophet's ministry is so evident, that upon this point all are, and cannot but be, agreed. But there is a difference of opinion as to whether the prophet was a fellow-countryman of those to whom he preached, or was called by God out of the kingdom of Judah. The latter has been asserted with great confidence by Maurer, among others, in his Observ. in Hos., in the Commentat. Theol. ii. i. p. 293. But the arguments …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament A Sermon on Isaiah xxvi. By John Knox.
[In the Prospectus of our Publication it was stated, that one discourse, at least, would be given in each number. A strict adherence to this arrangement, however, it is found, would exclude from our pages some of the most talented discourses of our early Divines; and it is therefore deemed expedient to depart from it as occasion may require. The following Sermon will occupy two numbers, and we hope, that from its intrinsic value, its historical interest, and the illustrious name of its author, it …
John Knox—The Pulpit Of The Reformation, Nos. 1, 2 and 3. Of the Power of Making Laws. The Cruelty of the Pope and his Adherents, in this Respect, in Tyrannically Oppressing and Destroying Souls.
1. The power of the Church in enacting laws. This made a source of human traditions. Impiety of these traditions. 2. Many of the Papistical traditions not only difficult, but impossible to be observed. 3. That the question may be more conveniently explained, nature of conscience must be defined. 4. Definition of conscience explained. Examples in illustration of the definition. 5. Paul's doctrine of submission to magistrates for conscience sake, gives no countenance to the Popish doctrine of the obligation …
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion A More Particular view of the Several Branches of the Christian Temper, by which the Reader May be Farther Assisted in Judging what He Is, And
1, 2. The importance of the case engages to a more particular survey what manner of spirit we are of.--3. Accordingly the Christian temper is described, by some general views of it, as a new and divine temper.--4. As resembling that of Christ.--5. And as engaging us to be spiritually minded, and to walk by faith.--6. A plan of the remainder.--7. In which the Christian temper is more particularly considered with regard to the blessed God: as including fear, affection, and obedience.--8, 9. Faith and …
Philip Doddridge—The Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul Solomon's Temple Spiritualized
or, Gospel Light Fetched out of the Temple at Jerusalem, to Let us More Easily into the Glory of New Testament Truths. 'Thou son of man, shew the house to the house of Isreal;--shew them the form of the house, and the fashion thereof, and the goings out hereof, and the comings in thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the laws thereof.'--Ezekiel 43:10, 11 London: Printed for, and sold by George Larkin, at the Two Swans without Bishopgate, …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3 Kings
The book[1] of Kings is strikingly unlike any modern historical narrative. Its comparative brevity, its curious perspective, and-with some brilliant exceptions--its relative monotony, are obvious to the most cursory perusal, and to understand these things is, in large measure, to understand the book. It covers a period of no less than four centuries. Beginning with the death of David and the accession of Solomon (1 Kings i., ii.) it traverses his reign with considerable fulness (1 Kings iii.-xi.), …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links 2 Kings 17:23 NIV2 Kings 17:23 NLT2 Kings 17:23 ESV2 Kings 17:23 NASB2 Kings 17:23 KJV
2 Kings 17:23 Commentaries
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