They abandoned all the commandments of the LORD their God and made for themselves two cast idols of calves and an Asherah pole. They bowed down to all the host of heaven and served Baal. They abandonedThe Hebrew root for "abandoned" is "עָזַב" (azab), which conveys a sense of forsaking or leaving behind. This word choice underscores the deliberate and conscious decision of the Israelites to turn away from the covenantal relationship with God. Historically, this abandonment reflects a pattern of disobedience that led to the spiritual and moral decline of the nation, ultimately resulting in their exile. all the commandments of the LORD their God
This phrase emphasizes the totality of their disobedience. The commandments, given through Moses, were meant to guide Israel in righteousness and holiness. By forsaking "all" the commandments, the Israelites rejected the very foundation of their identity as God's chosen people. This act of rebellion is a stark reminder of the importance of adhering to God's Word in its entirety. made for themselves two cast idols of calves
The creation of "two cast idols of calves" is reminiscent of the sin of the golden calf in Exodus 32. The Hebrew word for "idols" is "עֵגֶל" (egel), meaning calf, which symbolizes a return to idolatry and a rejection of monotheism. Archaeologically, such idols have been found in ancient Near Eastern sites, indicating the influence of surrounding pagan cultures on Israel. and an Asherah pole
Asherah was a Canaanite goddess, and the "Asherah pole" was a wooden symbol associated with her worship. The Israelites' adoption of this symbol signifies their syncretism, blending the worship of Yahweh with pagan practices. This act violated the first commandment and demonstrated a profound spiritual adultery. They bowed down to all the host of heaven
This phrase indicates the worship of celestial bodies, such as the sun, moon, and stars, which was common in ancient Near Eastern religions. The Hebrew term "צָבָא" (tsaba) for "host" refers to the armies or multitudes of heaven. This idolatry reflects a shift from worshiping the Creator to venerating the creation, a direct violation of God's commandments. and served Baal
Baal was a prominent Canaanite deity associated with fertility and storms. The Hebrew root "עָבַד" (avad) for "served" implies a form of worship that includes rituals and sacrifices. Serving Baal was not just a religious act but also a cultural assimilation into the practices of surrounding nations, leading to moral and spiritual corruption. Persons / Places / Events 1. The IsraelitesThe people of the Northern Kingdom of Israel who turned away from God's commandments. 2. The LORD (Yahweh)The one true God whom the Israelites abandoned. 3. CalvesIdols made by the Israelites, reminiscent of the golden calf in Exodus. 4. Asherah PoleA wooden symbol associated with the Canaanite goddess Asherah, representing idolatry. 5. BaalA Canaanite deity whom the Israelites served, representing their departure from worshiping Yahweh. Teaching Points The Danger of IdolatryIdolatry is not just the worship of physical idols but anything that takes the place of God in our lives. We must examine our hearts for modern-day idols. Faithfulness to God's CommandmentsAbandoning God's commandments leads to spiritual decline. We are called to remain faithful to His Word and teachings. Consequences of DisobedienceThe Israelites' actions led to their downfall and exile. Disobedience to God has serious consequences, both spiritually and physically. The Importance of True WorshipWorship should be directed solely to God, not to any created thing. True worship involves spirit and truth, as Jesus taught. Repentance and ReturnDespite Israel's unfaithfulness, God continually called them to repentance. We, too, have the opportunity to return to God when we stray. Bible Study Questions 1. What modern-day "idols" might we be tempted to worship, and how can we guard against them? 2. How does the account of the golden calf in Exodus relate to the events in 2 Kings 17:16, and what lessons can we learn from this repeated sin? 3. In what ways can we ensure that our worship remains focused on God alone, avoiding the influence of cultural or societal "gods"? 4. What are some practical steps we can take to remain faithful to God's commandments in our daily lives? 5. How can we apply the principle of repentance in our lives when we recognize that we have strayed from God's path? Connections to Other Scriptures Exodus 32The making of the golden calf by the Israelites under Aaron's leadership, showing a recurring pattern of idolatry. Deuteronomy 4:19A warning against worshiping the host of heaven, which the Israelites ignored. Judges 2:11-13The Israelites' repeated cycle of serving Baal and forsaking the LORD. 1 Kings 12:28-30Jeroboam's establishment of calf worship in Bethel and Dan, setting a precedent for idolatry in Israel. Romans 1:25The exchange of truth for a lie, worshiping created things rather than the Creator, reflecting the Israelites' actions. 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 Army, Asherah, Ashe'rah, Baal, Ba'al, Backs, Becoming, Bow, Bowed, Calves, Cast, Commandments, Commands, Forsake, Forsook, Grove, Heaven, Heavens, Host, Hosts, Idols, Image, Images, Metal, Molten, Orders, Pole, Servants, Serve, Served, Shape, Shrine, Sky, Starry, Stars, Themselves, Turning, Worshiped, Worshipped, WorshippingDictionary of Bible Themes 2 Kings 17:16 4170 host of heaven
4281 stars
4618 calf
5138 bowing
5516 sculpture
8709 astrology 2 Kings 17:3-18 7560 Samaritans, the 2 Kings 17:3-23 7233 Israel, northern kingdom 2 Kings 17:6-23 6659 freedom, acts in OT 2 Kings 17:7-20 8705 apostasy, in OT 2 Kings 17:7-23 6026 sin, judgment on 2 Kings 17:13-20 6195 impenitence, results 2 Kings 17:14-16 5212 arts and crafts 2 Kings 17:14-20 8741 failure 2 Kings 17:15-16 7324 calf worship 2 Kings 17:15-17 8831 syncretism 2 Kings 17:15-18 8799 polytheism 2 Kings 17:16-17 8807 profanity 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 17:16 NIV2 Kings 17:16 NLT2 Kings 17:16 ESV2 Kings 17:16 NASB2 Kings 17:16 KJV
2 Kings 17:16 Commentaries
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