Grasp the Gospel — Bible Comprehension Quizzes

2 Kings 17 Devotional

Warned Again and Again

“Yet through all His prophets and seers, the LORD warned Israel and Judah, saying, “Turn from your wicked ways and keep My commandments and statutes, according to the entire Law that I commanded your fathers and delivered to you through My servants the prophets.””2 Kings 17:13 (BSB)

Samaria falls after a three-year siege, and the people of Israel are carried off to Assyria (17:5-6). Then the narrator stops to explain why. It happened because Israel sinned against the LORD their God, who had brought them out of Egypt (17:7). They worshiped other gods, built high places in every town, and even sacrificed their own children (17:9-17). Their pursuit of empty idols left them empty too (17:15).

The most painful line may be this one. The LORD warned them through all his prophets and seers, calling them to turn back and keep his commands, and they would not listen (17:13-14). Exile was not a sudden outburst. It came after generations of patient warning. Even the settlers who replace Israel worship the LORD alongside their own gods, which the text says is no true worship of him (17:33-34). Peter says God is patient because he does not want anyone to perish (2 Peter 3:9). Today, while he still calls, is a good day to turn toward him.

To think about: Is there a warning from God's word you have been hearing for a long time, and what would turning toward him look like today?

About 2 Kings 17: The Fall of Samaria and Exile of Israel

Assyria imprisons Hoshea, besieges Samaria, and deports the northern tribes. The narrator explains that Israel was exiled for idolatry and for ignoring the prophets God sent to warn them. Foreign settlers then move into the land and mix worship of the LORD with their own gods.

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