So these nations worshiped the LORD but also served their idols, and to this day their children and grandchildren continue to do as their fathers did. So while these nations feared the LORDThe phrase "feared the LORD" in Hebrew is "yare' et-YHWH," which implies a reverence or awe towards God. This fear is not merely terror but a recognition of God's sovereignty and holiness. Historically, the nations mentioned here were the peoples brought into Samaria by the Assyrians after the exile of the Israelites. They adopted a form of worship towards Yahweh, likely due to the influence of the remaining Israelites and the priest sent by the Assyrian king to teach them how to worship the God of the land ( 2 Kings 17:27-28). This fear, however, was superficial, as it was mixed with their pagan practices. they also served their idols
The Hebrew word for "served" is "avad," which means to work or worship. This indicates a divided loyalty, where the nations attempted to blend the worship of Yahweh with their traditional idol worship. This syncretism is a recurring theme in the Old Testament, where the Israelites and surrounding nations often struggled with maintaining pure worship. The idols represent the gods of their native lands, which they continued to honor despite acknowledging Yahweh. This duality is condemned throughout Scripture, as God demands exclusive devotion (Exodus 20:3). Even their children and grandchildren
This phrase highlights the generational impact of syncretism and disobedience. The Hebrew culture placed significant emphasis on teaching children the ways of the Lord (Deuteronomy 6:6-7). However, the continuation of idol worship among the descendants of these nations shows a failure to pass down true faith. It serves as a warning about the long-term consequences of compromised worship and the importance of instilling genuine faith in future generations. continue to do as their fathers did
The phrase "as their fathers did" underscores the cyclical nature of sin and disobedience. The Hebrew word "asah" (to do) suggests a habitual action, indicating that the practices of idolatry became ingrained in their culture. This reflects the biblical principle that the sins of the fathers can influence subsequent generations (Exodus 34:7). It also emphasizes the need for repentance and breaking free from the patterns of the past to establish a new legacy of faithfulness. to this day
This phrase serves as a historical marker, indicating that at the time of the writing of 2 Kings, the syncretistic practices were still ongoing. It suggests a period of reflection for the original audience, likely during the Babylonian exile, to understand the reasons for their current predicament. The persistence of these practices serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of compromising one's faith and the enduring consequences of such actions. It calls readers to examine their own lives and ensure their worship is pure and undivided. Persons / Places / Events 1. NationsRefers to the various peoples who were settled in the land of Israel after the Assyrian conquest. These were not Israelites but foreigners brought in by the Assyrians. 2. The LORD (Yahweh)The God of Israel, whom these nations superficially feared but did not fully worship or obey. 3. IdolsThe false gods and images that these nations continued to serve alongside their superficial fear of the LORD. 4. Children and GrandchildrenThe subsequent generations who inherited the syncretistic practices of their ancestors. 5. Assyrian ConquestThe historical event where the Assyrians conquered the Northern Kingdom of Israel and resettled it with people from other nations. Teaching Points The Danger of SyncretismMixing true worship with idolatry leads to spiritual confusion and disobedience. Believers must guard against blending their faith with worldly practices. Generational InfluenceThe practices and beliefs of one generation significantly impact the next. It is crucial to pass down a pure and undiluted faith to our children. Superficial Faith vs. True WorshipMerely fearing the LORD without genuine obedience and devotion is insufficient. True worship requires wholehearted commitment to God. The Consequences of DisobedienceIgnoring God's commandments and following idols leads to spiritual decline and separation from God. We must choose to follow God fully. The Call to RepentanceGod continually calls His people to turn away from idols and return to Him. Repentance is necessary for restoration and blessing. Bible Study Questions 1. What are some modern-day "idols" that can compete with our devotion to God, and how can we identify them in our lives? 2. How can we ensure that our faith is not just a tradition passed down but a genuine relationship with God? 3. In what ways can we teach and model a pure faith to the next generation, avoiding the pitfalls of syncretism? 4. Reflect on a time when you experienced divided loyalties in your spiritual life. How did you resolve this conflict? 5. How does the call to serve God alone in Joshua 24:14-15 challenge us in our daily walk with Christ? Connections to Other Scriptures Exodus 20:3-5This passage emphasizes the commandment against idolatry, highlighting the conflict between fearing the LORD and serving idols. Joshua 24:14-15Joshua's call to the Israelites to serve the LORD alone, rejecting the gods of their ancestors, parallels the situation in 2 Kings 17:41. Matthew 6:24Jesus' teaching that one cannot serve two masters connects to the divided loyalties of the nations in 2 Kings 17:41. 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 Children's, Continue, Engraved, Fathers, Feared, Fearing, Grandchildren, Graven, Idols, Images, Likewise, Nations, Servants, Served, Serving, Sons, WorshippingDictionary of Bible Themes 2 Kings 17:41 5696 grandchildren
5811 compromise
5887 inexperience
8459 perseverance
8702 agnosticism 2 Kings 17:24-41 7560 Samaritans, the 2 Kings 17:34-41 8831 syncretism 2 Kings 17:40-41 5286 custom 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 17:41 NIV2 Kings 17:41 NLT2 Kings 17:41 ESV2 Kings 17:41 NASB2 Kings 17:41 KJV
2 Kings 17:41 Commentaries
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