because they have forsaken Me and burned incense to other gods, that they might provoke Me to anger with all the works of their hands. My wrath will be kindled against this place and will not be quenched.' Because they have forsaken MeThe phrase "forsaken Me" is rooted in the Hebrew word "עזב" (azab), which means to leave, abandon, or desert. In the historical context of ancient Israel, forsaking God was not merely a passive act but an active turning away from the covenant relationship established at Sinai. This abandonment is a recurring theme in the Old Testament, where the Israelites repeatedly turn away from Yahweh to follow other deities. The gravity of forsaking God is underscored by the covenantal relationship, which was meant to be exclusive and binding. This phrase serves as a reminder of the importance of faithfulness and the consequences of spiritual infidelity. and burned incense to other gods
The act of burning incense is significant in ancient Near Eastern religious practices, symbolizing worship and devotion. The Hebrew word for "incense" is "קטרת" (qetoreth), which was used in the worship of Yahweh in the temple. However, here it is directed towards "other gods," indicating idolatry. This phrase highlights the syncretism that plagued Israel, where the worship of Yahweh was mixed with pagan practices. The historical context reveals that such practices were often adopted from surrounding nations, leading Israel away from monotheism. This serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of compromising one's faith and the allure of cultural assimilation. and provoked Me to anger
The word "provoked" comes from the Hebrew "כעס" (kaas), meaning to irritate or vex. This anthropomorphic expression conveys God's righteous indignation towards sin and idolatry. In the biblical narrative, God's anger is not capricious but a response to covenantal unfaithfulness and moral corruption. The provocation is not merely emotional but is tied to the justice and holiness of God. This phrase reminds believers of the seriousness with which God views sin and the importance of living in accordance with His will. with all the works of their hands
This phrase refers to the idols and altars constructed by the Israelites, emphasizing the tangible nature of their rebellion. The "works of their hands" is a common biblical idiom for idolatry, highlighting the futility of worshipping man-made objects. The historical context shows that these practices were prevalent in the ancient world, where physical representations of deities were common. This serves as a powerful metaphor for the emptiness of idolatry and the contrast between the living God and lifeless idols. My wrath will be kindled against this place
The term "wrath" is translated from the Hebrew "אף" (aph), which can also mean anger or nostrils, symbolizing the intensity of God's response. "Kindled" suggests a fire that is ignited, indicating that God's judgment is imminent and consuming. "This place" refers specifically to Jerusalem and the temple, the center of Israel's religious life. The historical context is crucial here, as it foreshadows the eventual destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians. This phrase serves as a sobering reminder of the consequences of persistent disobedience and the reality of divine judgment. and it will not be quenched
The imagery of an unquenchable fire underscores the severity and inevitability of God's judgment. The Hebrew word "כבה" (kabah) means to extinguish or put out, indicating that once God's wrath is set in motion, it cannot be easily turned aside. This phrase emphasizes the finality of divine judgment when repentance is absent. It serves as a call to heed God's warnings and to turn back to Him before it is too late, highlighting the urgency of repentance and the hope of restoration for those who seek God's mercy. Persons / Places / Events 1. King JosiahThe king of Judah who initiated religious reforms after discovering the Book of the Law in the temple. His reign is marked by a return to the worship of Yahweh. 2. Huldah the ProphetessA prophetess in Jerusalem who confirmed the coming judgment on Judah due to their idolatry and disobedience to God. 3. JerusalemThe capital city of Judah, where the temple was located and where the people had turned to idolatry, provoking God's anger. 4. The Book of the LawDiscovered during temple repairs, it revealed the extent of Judah's departure from God's commandments, prompting Josiah's reforms. 5. Idolatry in JudahThe practice of worshiping other gods, which was prevalent in Judah and led to God's wrath as described in this verse. Teaching Points The Consequences of IdolatryIdolatry provokes God's anger and leads to severe consequences. We must guard our hearts against modern forms of idolatry, such as materialism or self-worship. The Importance of ScriptureThe rediscovery of the Book of the Law was pivotal in bringing about reform. Regular engagement with Scripture is essential for spiritual renewal and alignment with God's will. God's Unchanging NatureGod's response to sin is consistent throughout Scripture. His holiness demands justice, but His mercy offers a path to repentance and restoration. Leadership and AccountabilityJosiah's response to the discovery of the Law shows the importance of godly leadership in guiding others back to righteousness. Repentance and ReformTrue repentance involves turning away from sin and making tangible changes in our lives, as demonstrated by Josiah's reforms. Bible Study Questions 1. How does the idolatry of Judah in 2 Kings 22:17 compare to modern forms of idolatry we might face today? 2. What role does Scripture play in your life, and how can you ensure it remains central to your daily walk with God? 3. In what ways can you demonstrate godly leadership in your community or family, similar to King Josiah? 4. How does understanding God's wrath against sin deepen your appreciation for His mercy and grace? 5. What steps can you take to identify and remove any "idols" in your life that may be hindering your relationship with God? Connections to Other Scriptures Deuteronomy 29:25-28This passage outlines the consequences of forsaking God and turning to other gods, similar to the situation in 2 Kings 22:17. Jeremiah 11:17Jeremiah speaks of God's anger being kindled against Judah for their idolatry, echoing the themes of divine wrath and judgment. Exodus 20:3-5The Ten Commandments explicitly forbid the worship of other gods, highlighting the seriousness of Judah's sin. People Achbor, Adaiah, Ahikam, Asahiah, Asaiah, Azaliah, David, Harhas, Hilkiah, Huldah, Jedidah, Josiah, Meshullam, Micaiah, Michaiah, Shallum, Shaphan, TikvahPlaces Bozkath, Jerusalem, Second QuarterTopics Anger, Burn, Burned, Burning, Burns, Fire, Forsaken, Fury, Gods, Hands, Idols, Incense, Kindled, Moving, Offered, Offerings, Perfume, Provoke, Provoked, Quenched, Works, WrathDictionary of Bible Themes 2 Kings 22:17 5156 hand
5790 anger, divine
6218 provoking God
7386 incense
8468 renunciation 2 Kings 22:11-20 8160 seeking God 2 Kings 22:13-20 8129 guidance, examples 2 Kings 22:14-17 7773 prophets, role 2 Kings 22:14-20 5745 women 2 Kings 22:15-20 1429 prophecy, OT fulfilment Library The Rediscovered Law and Its Effects
'And Hilkiah the high priest said unto Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of the Lord: and Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it. 9. And Shaphan the scribe came to the king, and brought the king word again, and said, Thy servants have gathered the money that was found in the house, and have delivered it into the hand of them that do the work, that have the oversight of the house of the Lord. 10. And Shaphan the scribe shewed the king, saying, Hilkiah the …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy ScriptureJosiah, a Pattern for the Ignorant.
"Because thine heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before the Lord, when thou heardest what I spake against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and hast rent thy clothes, and wept before Me; I also have heard thee, saith the Lord. Behold therefore, I will gather thee unto thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered into thy grave in peace; and thine eyes shall not see all the evil which I will bring upon this place."--2 Kings …
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VIII A Traveler's Note-Book
A tourist who roams for a brief while through some great country like England or Russia may jot down a few of the impressions which come home to him, making no pretense at completeness or symmetry of description. So, one who has journeyed like a hasty traveler over some passages in that vast tract of years which we describe as the classic and Christian civilizations, notes down in the following pages a few of the salient features that have impressed him. He has already prefaced this with a sort …
George S. Merriam—The Chief End of Man Whether Determinate Things are Required for a Sacrament?
Objection 1: It seems that determinate things are not required for a sacrament. For sensible things are required in sacraments for the purpose of signification, as stated above [4343](A[4]). But nothing hinders the same thing being signified by divers sensible things: thus in Holy Scripture God is signified metaphorically, sometimes by a stone (2 Kings 22:2; Zech. 3:9; 1 Cor. 10:4; Apoc. 4:3); sometimes by a lion (Is. 31:4; Apoc. 5:5); sometimes by the sun (Is. 60:19,20; Mal. 4:2), or by something …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica The Instrumentality of the Wicked Employed by God, While He Continues Free from Every Taint.
1. The carnal mind the source of the objections which are raised against the Providence of God. A primary objection, making a distinction between the permission and the will of God, refuted. Angels and men, good and bad, do nought but what has been decreed by God. This proved by examples. 2. All hidden movements directed to their end by the unseen but righteous instigation of God. Examples, with answers to objections. 3. These objections originate in a spirit of pride and blasphemy. Objection, that …
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion The Medes and the Second Chaldaean Empire
THE FALL OF NINEVEH AND THE RISE OF THE CHALDAEAN AND MEDIAN EMPIRES--THE XXVIth EGYPTIAN DYNASTY: CYAXARES, ALYATTES, AND NEBUCHADREZZAR. The legendary history of the kings of Media and the first contact of the Medes with the Assyrians: the alleged Iranian migrations of the Avesta--Media-proper, its fauna and flora; Phraortes and the beginning of the Median empire--Persia proper and the Persians; conquest of Persia by the Medes--The last monuments of Assur-bani-pal: the library of Kouyunjik--Phraortes …
G. Maspero—History Of Egypt, Chaldaea, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, V 8 The First Blast of the Trumpet
The English Scholar's Library etc. No. 2. The First Blast of the Trumpet &c. 1558. The English Scholar's Library of Old and Modern Works. No. 2. The First Blast of the Trumpet &c. 1558. Edited by EDWARD ARBER, F.S.A., etc., LECTURER IN ENGLISH LITERATURE, ETC., UNIVERSITY COLLEGE, LONDON. SOUTHGATE, LONDON, N. 15 August 1878. No. 2. (All rights reserved.) CONTENTS. Bibliography vii-viii Introduction …
John Knox—The First Blast of the Trumpet Why Should we not Believe These to be Angelic Operations through Dispensation of The...
16. Why should we not believe these to be angelic operations through dispensation of the providence of God, Who maketh good use of both good things and evil, according to the unsearchable depth of His judgments? whether thereby the minds of mortals be instructed, or whether deceived; whether consoled, or whether terrified: according as unto each one there is to be either a showing of mercy, or a taking of vengeance, by Him to Whom, not without a meaning, the Church doth sing "of mercy and of judgment." …
St. Augustine—On Care to Be Had for the Dead. The Credibility of Scripture Sufficiently Proved in So Far as Natural Reason Admits.
1. Secondary helps to establish the credibility of Scripture. I. The arrangement of the sacred volume. II. Its dignity. III. Its truth. IV. Its simplicity. V. Its efficacy. 2. The majesty conspicuous in the writings of the Prophets. 3. Special proofs from the Old Testament. I. The antiquity of the Books of Moses. 4. This antiquity contrasted with the dreams of the Egyptians. II. The majesty of the Books of Moses. 5. The miracles and prophecies of Moses. A profane objection refuted. 6. Another profane …
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion Authorship of the Pentateuch.
The term Pentateuch is composed of the two Greek words, pente, five, and teuchos, which in later Alexandrine usage signified book. It denotes, therefore, the collection of five books; or, the five books of the law considered as a whole. 1. In our inquiries respecting the authorship of the Pentateuch, we begin with the undisputed fact that it existed in its present form in the days of Christ and his apostles, and had so existed from the time of Ezra. When the translators of the Greek version, …
E. P. Barrows—Companion to the Bible Synagogues: their Origin, Structure and Outward Arrangements
It was a beautiful saying of Rabbi Jochanan (Jer. Ber. v. 1), that he who prays in his house surrounds and fortifies it, so to speak, with a wall of iron. Nevertheless, it seems immediately contradicted by what follows. For it is explained that this only holds good where a man is alone, but that where there is a community prayer should be offered in the synagogue. We can readily understand how, after the destruction of the Temple, and the cessation of its symbolical worship, the excessive value attached …
Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life The Greater Prophets.
1. We have already seen (Chap. 15, Nos. 11 and 12) that from Moses to Samuel the appearances of prophets were infrequent; that with Samuel and the prophetical school established by him there began a new era, in which the prophets were recognized as a distinct order of men in the Theocracy; and that the age of written prophecy did not begin till about the reign of Uzziah, some three centuries after Samuel. The Jewish division of the latter prophets--prophets in the more restricted sense of the …
E. P. Barrows—Companion to the Bible 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 Of the Effects of those Prerogatives.
From these prerogatives there will arise to the elect in heaven, five notable effects:-- 1. They shall know God with a perfect knowledge (1 Cor. i. 10), so far as creatures can possibly comprehend the Creator. For there we shall see the Word, the Creator; and in the Word, all creatures that by the Word were created; so that we shall not need to learn (of the things which were made) the knowledge of him by whom all things were made. The most excellent creatures in this life, are but as a dark veil …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety Meditations for one that is Like to Die.
If thy sickness be like to increase unto death, then meditate on three things:--First, How graciously God dealeth with thee. Secondly, From what evils death will free thee. Thirdly, What good death will bring unto thee. The first sort of Meditations are, to consider God's favourable dealing with thee. 1. Meditate that God uses this chastisement of thy body but as a medicine to cure thy soul, by drawing thee, who art sick in sin, to come by repentance unto Christ, thy physician, to have thy soul healed …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety 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 22:17 NIV2 Kings 22:17 NLT2 Kings 22:17 ESV2 Kings 22:17 NASB2 Kings 22:17 KJV
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