Thus one of the priests they had carried away came and lived in Bethel, and he began to teach them how they should worship the LORD. So one of the priestsThis phrase indicates a specific individual from the Levitical priesthood, which was established by God to serve in the temple and teach His laws to the people. The priesthood was a sacred office, and the mention of "one of the priests" suggests a remnant of the original religious order that had been disrupted by the Assyrian exile. Historically, the priesthood was central to Israel's worship and spiritual life, and this priest's role was crucial in re-establishing the fear of the LORD among the people. who had been exiled from Samaria
The exile from Samaria refers to the Assyrian conquest and subsequent deportation of the Israelites in 722 B.C. Samaria was the capital of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, and its fall marked a significant turning point in Israel's history. The exile was a divine judgment for the persistent idolatry and disobedience of the Israelites. This context underscores the gravity of the situation and the need for spiritual reformation. came to live in Bethel
Bethel, meaning "House of God," was a significant location in Israel's history, known for its association with the patriarch Jacob and as a center of worship. However, it had also become a site of idolatrous practices under King Jeroboam. The priest's arrival in Bethel symbolizes a return to true worship and an opportunity to restore the spiritual integrity of the place. and taught them
The act of teaching is central to the priestly function. In Hebrew, the word for "teach" (למד, lamad) implies not just imparting knowledge but also guiding and discipling. This teaching was not merely academic but was intended to transform hearts and lead the people back to a covenant relationship with God. how they should fear the LORD
The "fear of the LORD" is a foundational concept in the Hebrew Bible, often associated with reverence, awe, and obedience to God. It is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10) and denotes a proper relationship with the Creator. In this context, the priest's teaching aimed to instill a deep respect and commitment to God's commandments, contrasting with the idolatrous practices that had led to Israel's downfall. Persons / Places / Events 1. The PriestA priest who had been exiled from Samaria. He represents the remnant of Israel's religious leadership, tasked with teaching the fear of the LORD to the new inhabitants. 2. SamariaThe capital of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, which had fallen to the Assyrians. The exile of its people led to a mix of populations and religious practices. 3. BethelA significant religious site in Israel, historically associated with the worship of God but also with idolatry. It becomes the place where the priest teaches the new inhabitants. 4. The New InhabitantsPeople brought by the Assyrians to settle in the land of Israel. They were unfamiliar with the worship of the LORD and needed instruction. 5. The Assyrian ExileThe event where the Northern Kingdom of Israel was conquered, and its people were exiled, leading to a cultural and religious mix in the land. Teaching Points The Importance of Sound TeachingThe priest's role underscores the necessity of teaching true worship and the fear of the LORD, especially in a context of religious confusion. The Dangers of SyncretismThe mixed worship practices in Samaria serve as a warning against blending true worship with idolatry, which can lead to spiritual compromise. God's Desire for True WorshipDespite the people's past idolatry, God provides an opportunity for them to learn and return to true worship, reflecting His desire for sincere devotion. The Role of Spiritual LeadersSpiritual leaders are called to guide and instruct others in the ways of the LORD, emphasizing the responsibility of teaching and maintaining doctrinal purity. Cultural and Religious InfluenceThe passage highlights how cultural influences can impact religious practices, reminding believers to remain steadfast in their faith amidst external pressures. Bible Study Questions 1. How does the role of the priest in 2 Kings 17:28 reflect the responsibilities of spiritual leaders today? 2. In what ways can we guard against syncretism in our own worship practices? 3. How does the historical context of Bethel's idolatry inform our understanding of the challenges faced by the priest in teaching the fear of the LORD? 4. What lessons can we learn from the Assyrian exile about the consequences of turning away from God? 5. How can we apply the principle of teaching and learning the fear of the LORD in our personal and community life, as seen in this passage and in Ezra 7:10? Connections to Other Scriptures 2 Kings 17:24-27Provides context for why the priest was sent back, detailing the Assyrian resettlement policy and the resulting religious confusion. 1 Kings 12:28-29Describes the establishment of idolatrous worship in Bethel by Jeroboam, highlighting the historical religious syncretism in the region. Ezra 7:10Shows the importance of teaching the law of God, as Ezra set his heart to study and teach God's statutes, similar to the priest's role in Bethel. John 4:20-24Jesus' conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well, discussing true worship, which connects to the mixed worship practices in 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 Abode, Bethel, Beth-el, Carried, Dwelleth, Dwelt, Exile, Exiled, Fear, Priests, Prisoner, Removed, Samaria, Sama'ria, Taught, Teacher, Teaching, WorshipDictionary of Bible Themes 2 Kings 17:18-28 7324 calf worship 2 Kings 17:24-33 4215 Babylon 2 Kings 17:24-41 7560 Samaritans, the 2 Kings 17:27-28 7740 missionaries, call 2 Kings 17:27-34 8720 double-mindedness 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 17:28 NIV2 Kings 17:28 NLT2 Kings 17:28 ESV2 Kings 17:28 NASB2 Kings 17:28 KJV
2 Kings 17:28 Commentaries
Bible Hub |
