So they spoke to the king of Assyria, saying, "The peoples that you have removed and placed in the cities of Samaria do not know the requirements of the God of the land. Because of this, He has sent lions among them, which are indeed killing them off." So they spoke to the king of Assyria, saying,This phrase indicates a communication between the relocated peoples and the Assyrian king. The Assyrian Empire, known for its military prowess and administrative efficiency, often relocated conquered peoples to prevent rebellion. This practice is confirmed by Assyrian records and archaeological findings. The king of Assyria at this time was likely Shalmaneser V or Sargon II, who continued the policy of deportation initiated by their predecessors. “The peoples that you have removed and placed in the cities of Samaria
The "peoples" refer to various groups from different regions of the Assyrian Empire, relocated to Samaria after the fall of the Northern Kingdom of Israel in 722 BC. Samaria, the capital of the Northern Kingdom, was strategically important and fertile. The Assyrians repopulated it with foreigners to dilute national identity and prevent insurrection. This policy led to the emergence of the Samaritans, a mixed population with both Israelite and foreign ancestry, which later caused tensions with the Jews. do not know the requirements of the God of the land.
The "God of the land" refers to Yahweh, the God of Israel. The relocated peoples were unfamiliar with Yahweh's laws and worship practices, which were integral to the covenant relationship between God and Israel. This ignorance highlights the cultural and religious disconnect between the new inhabitants and the land's spiritual heritage. The concept of a "god of the land" reflects the ancient Near Eastern belief that deities were tied to specific territories. Because of this, He has sent lions among them,
The sending of lions is seen as divine retribution for not following Yahweh's laws. In the ancient world, natural disasters or animal attacks were often interpreted as signs of divine displeasure. Lions were common in the region during this period, and their presence would have been a significant threat. This event underscores the belief in divine sovereignty over nature and the expectation that the land's inhabitants honor its deity. which are indeed killing them off.”
The phrase indicates the severity of the lion attacks, suggesting a high mortality rate among the new settlers. This situation would have been alarming and prompted the appeal to the Assyrian king. Theologically, it serves as a reminder of the consequences of disobedience to God's laws, a recurring theme in the Old Testament. The narrative sets the stage for the introduction of a priest to teach the new inhabitants about Yahweh, illustrating God's desire for all peoples to know Him, foreshadowing the inclusion of Gentiles in the New Covenant through Christ. Persons / Places / Events 1. King of AssyriaThe ruler who deported the Israelites and resettled other nations in Samaria. His actions led to the spiritual and cultural confusion in the land. 2. Nations Deported and ResettledVarious peoples brought into Samaria by the Assyrians. They were unfamiliar with the worship and laws of Yahweh, the God of Israel. 3. Cities of SamariaThe region where the Israelites were displaced, and foreign nations were resettled. This area became a melting pot of different cultures and religions. 4. LionsSent by God as a form of judgment or warning to the new inhabitants of Samaria, indicating divine displeasure with their ignorance of His laws. 5. God of the LandRefers to Yahweh, the God of Israel, whose laws and requirements were unknown to the new inhabitants, leading to divine retribution. Teaching Points Understanding God's RequirementsIt is crucial to seek knowledge of God's laws and requirements to live in accordance with His will. Ignorance can lead to unintended consequences and divine displeasure. Consequences of DisobedienceDisobedience to God's commands can lead to judgment. The presence of lions in Samaria serves as a reminder of the seriousness of knowing and following God's laws. Cultural and Spiritual IntegrationWhen entering a new cultural or spiritual environment, it is important to understand and respect the existing beliefs and practices, especially those related to God. God's Sovereignty Over the LandGod is sovereign over all lands and peoples. His laws and expectations are universal, and He desires that all nations come to know Him. The Role of Leaders in Spiritual GuidanceLeaders, like the king of Assyria, have a responsibility to ensure that their people are informed about spiritual truths and the requirements of God. Bible Study Questions 1. What can we learn from the response of the king of Assyria to the situation in Samaria, and how does it apply to leadership today? 2. How does the presence of lions as a form of divine judgment in 2 Kings 17:26 relate to other instances of God's judgment in the Bible? 3. In what ways can we ensure that we are not ignorant of God's requirements in our own lives? 4. How does the concept of God being the "God of the land" challenge or affirm our understanding of God's sovereignty? 5. What steps can we take to better integrate our faith with the cultural and spiritual environments we find ourselves in today? Connections to Other Scriptures Leviticus 18:24-28This passage warns Israel about defiling the land through idolatry and sin, which can lead to being "vomited out" of the land, similar to the judgment seen in 2 Kings 17:26. 2 Chronicles 36:15-21Describes the consequences of Israel's disobedience, including exile, which parallels the situation in 2 Kings 17:26 where foreign nations face consequences for not knowing God's laws. Acts 17:22-31Paul addresses the Athenians about their "unknown god," drawing a parallel to the ignorance of the God of the land by the new inhabitants of Samaria. 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 Asshur, Assyria, Behold, Carried, Causing, Cities, Custom, Death, Deported, Destroying, Dwell, Exile, Hast, Kill, Killing, Law, Lions, Manner, Nations, Placed, Prisoners, Removed, Requires, Resettled, Samaria, Sama'ria, Saying, Slay, Spake, Speak, Spoke, Towns, WhereforeDictionary of Bible Themes 2 Kings 17:26 6231 rejection of God 2 Kings 17:18-28 7324 calf worship 2 Kings 17:23-27 5305 empires 2 Kings 17:24-33 4215 Babylon 2 Kings 17:24-41 7560 Samaritans, the 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 17:26 NIV2 Kings 17:26 NLT2 Kings 17:26 ESV2 Kings 17:26 NASB2 Kings 17:26 KJV
2 Kings 17:26 Commentaries
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