HomeIf I Wrote A CommentaryIIWAC: Isaiah Warns About Assyria Taking The Northern Kingdom Of Israel Away In The Near Future AND How It Went Down THE SOUTHERN KINGDOM OF JUDAH IS STILL FINE BY THE WAY! (Sort Of Not Really) But We’ll Get To That Later Since This Happens First
IIWAC: Isaiah Warns About Assyria Taking The Northern Kingdom Of Israel Away In The Near Future AND How It Went Down THE SOUTHERN KINGDOM OF JUDAH IS STILL FINE BY THE WAY! (Sort Of Not Really) But We’ll Get To That Later Since This Happens First
This is not a head to head. The Isaiah portion fortells it. The 2 Kings portion explains how it all went down. We don’t need to colour code anything. I’ll just be hopefully good enough at keeping up with the story. We are starting with the Isaiah portion. Then after you see this *** in white, then we will be into the 2 Kings portion. Let’s start with Isaiah 8 though Isaiah 12.
The Lord said to me, “Take a large scroll and write on it with an ordinary pen: Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.”[a]2 So I called in Uriah the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah as reliable witnesses for me.
Can’t write something this important by yourself with nobody else around to understand the meaning
3 Then I made love to the prophetess,
Just a run of the mill thing. Isaiah was a prophet, the prophetess was his wife. If you don’t believe me check out the blue section below from the commentary I consulted to keep this straight in my head.
and she conceived and gave birth to a son. And the Lord said to me, “Name him Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.
His name is literally a warning
4 For before the boy knows how to say ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria will be carried off by the king of Assyria.”
Moreover the LORD said to me, “Take a large scroll, and write on it with a man’s pen concerning Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz. And I will take for Myself faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.” Then I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son. Then the LORD said to me, “Call his name Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz; for before the child shall have knowledge to cry ‘My father’ and ‘My mother,’ the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be taken away before the king of Assyria.”
a. Moreover the LORD said to me: This prophecy continues from Isaiah 7, where God assured Ahaz, king of Judah, that he would not be overthrown by the combined forces of Syria and Israel. God announced judgment against Syria and Israel, saying of their attack against Judah: It shall not stand, nor shall it come to pass…. Within sixty-five years Ephraim will be broken, so that it will not be a people. Here, God gives Isaiah a sign to explain more about how soon the defeat of Syria and Israel will come.
b. Take a large scroll: It isn’t often that the prophets are commanded to write, but here is one instance. Isaiah will write concerning Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz, which means speed to the spoil, hurry to the plunder.
c. Write on it with a man’s pen: Isaiah’s message was meant to be public, and at a level any man could read and understand.
i. Calvin on with a man’s pen: It “denotes any man of ordinary rank; and the meaning is, that not even the most ignorant and uneducated persons may be unable to read the writing.”
d. I will take for Myself faithful witnesses to record: The LORD appointed two witnesses, so the validity of this word would be established. By the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established. (Deuteronomy 19:15)
e. Then I went to the prophetess: This refers to Isaiah’s wife. She is called a prophetess, though it could be in the sense of simply being the wife of the prophet. However, she clearly brought forth prophecy on at least one occasion. The birth and naming of her son Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz was a word from God, so she certainly “brought forth” that prophecy.
i. There are many examples of prophetesses in the Bible: Miriam (Exodus 15:20), Deborah (Judges 4:4), Huldah (2 Kings 22:14), Noadiah (Nehemiah 6:14), Anna (Luke 2:36), and Philip’s four daughters (Acts 21:8-9). So, it may be that the wife of Isaiah had a prophetic ministry in her own right. But it may also be that she was simply the wife of the prophet, and her “prophecy” was giving birth to Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.
f. For before the child shall have knowledge to cry “My father” and “My mother”: Through the birth and naming of Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz, the LORD gives a time frame for the invasion of Assyria that will punish Syria and Israel.
i. This is essentially the same as the near meaning of the Immanuel sign of Isaiah 7:10-17, but this sign was more public and plainer.
6 “Because this people has rejected the gently flowing waters of Shiloah and rejoices over Rezin and the son of Remaliah, 7 therefore the Lord is about to bring against them the mighty floodwaters of the Euphrates— the king of Assyria with all his pomp. It will overflow all its channels, run over all its banks 8 and sweep on into Judah, swirling over it, passing through it and reaching up to the neck. Its outspread wings will cover the breadth of your land, Immanuel[b]!”
Stuff is about to get really bad for Israel. Micah talked about it too.
9 Raise the war cry,[c] you nations, and be shattered! Listen, all you distant lands. Prepare for battle, and be shattered! Prepare for battle, and be shattered! 10 Devise your strategy, but it will be thwarted; propose your plan, but it will not stand, for God is with us.[d]
. These people refused the waters of Shiloah that flow softly: The people of the northern kingdom of Israel did not appreciate their humble streams (the waters of Shiloah). Instead, they rejoiced in wicked leaders (in Rezin and Remaliah’s son). So, God will give them a different kind of river – the waters of the River, strong and mighty.
i. “The little stream of Shiloah sprung from Mount Zion on the southwesterly side of Jerusalem. It flowed as softly as oil without any murmur. Jerusalem’s existence and continuation depended on it.” (Bultema)
ii. The capital of the Assyrian Empire was Nineveh, and the city of Nineveh was founded on a great river: the Tigris. The Assyrian Empire was also centered across another mighty river: the Euphrates. The whole land of Israel simply did not have a river like the Euphrates or the Tigris. God is using the difference between the small, humble, yet adequate waters of Israel and the mighty, yet uncontrolled rivers of Assyria to make a point. It is as if God is saying, “You don’t like what I have given you? You persist in rejecting what I give you? Then I will give you something different, but you won’t like it either.”
iii. “The small and gentle waters should be more highly valued by us than the large and rapid rivers of all the nations, and we ought not to envy the great power of the ungodly.” (Calvin)
b. He will go up over all his channels and go over all his banks: Like a large river in a flood, the Assyrian army will not stay confined to its “banks.” Instead, they will “flow over” their attack on Israel and Syria, and “flood” Judah with violence and destruction (He will pass through Judah).
c. He will reach up to the neck: Assyria would completely conquer the northern nation of Israel. The ten northern tribes would cease to be a nation after the Assyrians conquered them. But the Assyrians would not conquer the southern nation of Judah. They would “flood” them (fill the breadth of Your land), and reach up to the neck, but not over their heads. Judah would survive the Assyrian invasion but suffer much destruction from the Assyrians.
i. Indeed, 2 Kings 18:13 describes the extent of the Assyrian invasion against Judah: And in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them. Yet, Hezekiah was able to keep the king of Assyria away from Jerusalem, and barely able to survive, by buying his favor with riches from the temple – even stripping gold from the temple doors to appease the pagan king.
ii. “The sacred history assures us that these things were fulfilled…for the Assyrians, whom the Jews called to their assistance, destroyed them. This was the just punishment of their distrust; and we see in it a striking instance of the wicked greediness of men, who cannot be satisfied with the promise and assistance of God.” (Calvin)
d. Your land, O Immanuel: This refers back to the “Immanuel” prophecy of Isaiah 7:14. The land the Assyrians will invade doesn’t really belong to Judah or to King Ahaz. It belongs to the LORD God, to the coming Messiah, to Immanuel.
e. Gird yourselves, but be broken in pieces…. speak the word, but it will not stand, for God is with us: The victims of this Assyrian invasion (Syria, Israel, and Judah) could prepare for the invasion all they wanted (gird yourselves). But all their preparation would not protect them (but be broken in pieces). They could take counsel together, but it will come to nothing. All their plans and words and ideas will not stand, for God is with us. God’s will was going to be done, despite all the plans and preparations Syria, Israel, and Judah might make against it.
i. Who is the us of God is with us? In one sense the us is the Assyrian army because they were the instruments of God’s judgment against Syria, Israel, and Judah. Nothing could stop the Assyrian army, because even if they did not know it, or even if their own hearts were wrong in the matter, God was using them. But the us is also the prophet himself. As a messenger of God, his word would come to pass no matter what the three nations did to prepare against it.
11 This is what the Lord says to me with his strong hand upon me, warning me not to follow the way of this people:
12 “Do not call conspiracy everything this people calls a conspiracy; do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it.
Wise words for right now.
13 The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread. 14 He will be a holy place; for both Israel and Judah he will be a stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.
There’s a choice to make here.
And for the people of Jerusalem he will be a trap and a snare. 15 Many of them will stumble; they will fall and be broken, they will be snared and captured.”
There will be problems in the southern kingdom of Judah later.
16 Bind up this testimony of warning and seal up God’s instruction among my disciples. 17 I will wait for the Lord, who is hiding his face from the descendants of Jacob. I will put my trust in him.
18 Here am I, and the children the Lord has given me. We are signs and symbols in Israel from the Lord Almighty, who dwells on Mount Zion.
19 When someone tells you to consult mediums and spiritists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people inquire of their God?
We are not supposed to talk to those folks.
Why consult the dead on behalf of the living?20 Consult God’s instruction and the testimony of warning. If anyone does not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn.21 Distressed and hungry, they will roam through the land; when they are famished, they will become enraged and, looking upward, will curse their king and their God.22 Then they will look toward the earth and see only distress and darkness and fearful gloom, and they will be thrust into utter darkness.
a]Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan—
Be with the Lord. It’s always the right side.
2 The people walking in darkness have seen a great light;
Foreshadowing of the hope in Jesus that is coming. We will get more into that in the New Testament Gospels when that time comes around. It’s coming.
on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. 3 You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest, as warriors rejoice when dividing the plunder. 4 For as in the day of Midian’s defeat, you have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor. 5 Every warrior’s boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire.
6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.
Yes, it will.
8 The Lord has sent a message against Jacob; it will fall on Israel. 9 All the people will know it— Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria— who say with pride and arrogance of heart, 10 “The bricks have fallen down, but we will rebuild with dressed stone; the fig trees have been felled, but we will replace them with cedars.” 11 But the Lord has strengthened Rezin’s foes against them and has spurred their enemies on. 12 Arameans from the east and Philistines from the west have devoured Israel with open mouth.
Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away, his hand is still upraised.
13 But the people have not returned to him who struck them, nor have they sought the Lord Almighty. 14 So the Lord will cut off from Israel both head and tail, both palm branch and reed in a single day; 15 the elders and dignitaries are the head, the prophets who teach lies are the tail. 16 Those who guide this people mislead them, and those who are guided are led astray. 17 Therefore the Lord will take no pleasure in the young men, nor will he pity the fatherless and widows, for everyone is ungodly and wicked, every mouth speaks folly.
Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away, his hand is still upraised.
18 Surely wickedness burns like a fire; it consumes briers and thorns, it sets the forest thickets ablaze, so that it rolls upward in a column of smoke. 19 By the wrath of the Lord Almighty the land will be scorched and the people will be fuel for the fire; they will not spare one another. 20 On the right they will devour, but still be hungry; on the left they will eat, but not be satisfied. Each will feed on the flesh of their own offspring[b]: 21 Manasseh will feed on Ephraim, and Ephraim on Manasseh; together they will turn against Judah.
Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away, his hand is still upraised.
Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, 2 to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless. 3 What will you do on the day of reckoning, when disaster comes from afar? To whom will you run for help? Where will you leave your riches? 4 Nothing will remain but to cringe among the captives or fall among the slain.
Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away, his hand is still upraised.
Isaiah and Micah are both warning about this in the same country in the same time and they still don’t get it. Return to the Lord. Why is it so hard. He doesn’t want to have to be this way.
5 “Woe to the Assyrian, the rod of my anger, in whose hand is the club of my wrath! 6 I send him against a godless nation,
God is using the Assyrians to teach Israel a lesson, but He’s not happy with them either.
I dispatch him against a people who anger me, to seize loot and snatch plunder,
If the distractions are rid of, then logically it becomes easier to return to the Lord and have the kind of relationship He always wanted. For them to be His people and for Him to be their God and they live together in a much healthier way than what is currently being depicted here.
and to trample them down like mud in the streets. 7 But this is not what he intends, this is not what he has in mind; his purpose is to destroy, to put an end to many nations. 8 ‘Are not my commanders all kings?’ he says. 9 ‘Has not Kalno fared like Carchemish? Is not Hamath like Arpad, and Samaria like Damascus? 10 As my hand seized the kingdoms of the idols, kingdoms whose images excelled those of Jerusalem and Samaria— 11 shall I not deal with Jerusalem and her images as I dealt with Samaria and her idols?’”
12 When the Lord has finished all his work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, he will say, “I will punish the king of Assyria for the willful pride of his heart and the haughty look in his eyes.
God’s not happy with either set of folks right now.
13 For he says:
“‘By the strength of my hand I have done this, and by my wisdom, because I have understanding. I removed the boundaries of nations, I plundered their treasures; like a mighty one I subdued[a] their kings. 14 As one reaches into a nest, so my hand reached for the wealth of the nations; as people gather abandoned eggs, so I gathered all the countries; not one flapped a wing, or opened its mouth to chirp.’”
He thinks he did all this, but it was just God letting him do it. The Assyrian king isn’t going to get away with this forever.
15 Does the ax raise itself above the person who swings it, or the saw boast against the one who uses it? As if a rod were to wield the person who lifts it up, or a club brandish the one who is not wood! 16 Therefore, the Lord, the Lord Almighty, will send a wasting disease upon his sturdy warriors; under his pomp a fire will be kindled like a blazing flame. 17 The Light of Israel will become a fire, their Holy One a flame; in a single day it will burn and consume his thorns and his briers. 18 The splendor of his forests and fertile fields it will completely destroy, as when a sick person wastes away. 19 And the remaining trees of his forests will be so few that a child could write them down.
Assyria is also doomed because they never paid attention even though God was around all this time. He was patient with them like He is with everyone else, but everything has a time limit. They had plenty of chances to know what was going on and change their ways to those that God would be interested in.
20 In that day the remnant of Israel, the survivors of Jacob, will no longer rely on him who struck them down
The king of Assyria won’t have power over Israel forever.
but will truly rely on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. 21 A remnant will return,[b] a remnant of Jacob will return to the Mighty God. 22 Though your people be like the sand by the sea, Israel, only a remnant will return. Destruction has been decreed, overwhelming and righteous. 23 The Lord, the Lord Almighty, will carry out the destruction decreed upon the whole land.
There is always a remnant because God keeps his earlier promises and never ever gives up.
24 Therefore this is what the Lord, the Lord Almighty, says:
“My people who live in Zion, do not be afraid of the Assyrians, who beat you with a rod and lift up a club against you, as Egypt did. 25 Very soon my anger against you will end and my wrath will be directed to their destruction.”
26 The Lord Almighty will lash them with a whip, as when he struck down Midian at the rock of Oreb; and he will raise his staff over the waters, as he did in Egypt. 27 In that day their burden will be lifted from your shoulders, their yoke from your neck; the yoke will be broken because you have grown so fat.[c]
28 They enter Aiath; they pass through Migron; they store supplies at Mikmash. 29 They go over the pass, and say, “We will camp overnight at Geba.” Ramah trembles; Gibeah of Saul flees. 30 Cry out, Daughter Gallim! Listen, Laishah! Poor Anathoth! 31 Madmenah is in flight; the people of Gebim take cover. 32 This day they will halt at Nob; they will shake their fist at the mount of Daughter Zion, at the hill of Jerusalem.
God knows what route the Assyrians will take before they take it
33 See, the Lord, the Lord Almighty, will lop off the boughs with great power. The lofty trees will be felled, the tall ones will be brought low. 34 He will cut down the forest thickets with an ax; Lebanon will fall before the Mighty One.
A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
This is Jesus again.
2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord— 3 and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.
He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; 4 but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. 5 Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist.
6 The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling[a] together; and a little child will lead them. 7 The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. 8 The infant will play near the cobra’s den, and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest. 9 They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.
10 In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious.11 In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the surviving remnant of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush,[b] from Elam, from Babylonia,[c] from Hamath and from the islands of the Mediterranean.
12 He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel; he will assemble the scattered people of Judah from the four quarters of the earth. 13 Ephraim’s jealousy will vanish, and Judah’s enemies[d] will be destroyed; Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah, nor Judah hostile toward Ephraim. 14 They will swoop down on the slopes of Philistia to the west; together they will plunder the people to the east. They will subdue Edom and Moab, and the Ammonites will be subject to them. 15 The Lord will dry up the gulf of the Egyptian sea; with a scorching wind he will sweep his hand over the Euphrates River. He will break it up into seven streams so that anyone can cross over in sandals. 16 There will be a highway for the remnant of his people that is left from Assyria, as there was for Israel when they came up from Egypt.
It will take a while, but it’s going to get a lot better.
In that day you will say:
“I will praise you, Lord. Although you were angry with me, your anger has turned away and you have comforted me. 2 Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my defense[a]; he has become my salvation.” 3 With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.
4 In that day you will say:
“Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done, and proclaim that his name is exalted. 5 Sing to the Lord, for he has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world. 6 Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel among you.”
Songs are the resonable response after everything that is foretold comes through.
Now, we will move on to the 2 Kings part.
***
Here’s how this whole mess goes down for the Northern kingdom of Israel.
In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah, Hoshea son of Elah became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned nine years.
He was probably evil because he didn’t last very long compared to others.
2 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord,
Yeah, I was right.
but not like the kings of Israel who preceded him.
It was terrible, but not as bad as it could have been. Suddenly there’s some sort of ranking system?
3 Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up to attack Hoshea, who had been Shalmaneser’s vassal and had paid him tribute.
Not a particularly healthy situation.
4 But the king of Assyria discovered that Hoshea was a traitor, for he had sent envoys to So[a] king of Egypt, and he no longer paid tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year. Therefore Shalmaneser seized him and put him in prison.
This was supposed to be a clip from Better Off Dead that I was reminded of when I read this passage..
5 The king of Assyria invaded the entire land, marched against Samaria and laid siege to it for three years.6 In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and deported the Israelites to Assyria. He settled them in Halah, in Gozan on the Habor River and in the towns of the Medes.
From Wikipedia
7 All this took place because the Israelites had sinned against the Lord their God, who had brought them up out of Egypt from under the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. They worshiped other gods8 and followed the practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before them, as well as the practices that the kings of Israel had introduced.9 The Israelites secretly did things against the Lord their God that were not right.
They may have thought it was secret, but God knew what they were doing.
From watchtower to fortified city they built themselves high places in all their towns.10 They set up sacred stones and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every spreading tree.11 At every high place they burned incense, as the nations whom the Lord had driven out before them had done. They did wicked things that aroused the Lord’s anger.12 They worshiped idols, though the Lord had said, “You shall not do this.”[b]13 The Lord warned Israel and Judah through all his prophets and seers: “Turn from your evil ways. Observe my commands and decrees, in accordance with the entire Law that I commanded your ancestors to obey and that I delivered to you through my servants the prophets.”
14 But they would not listen and were as stiff-necked as their ancestors, who did not trust in the Lord their God.15 They rejected his decrees and the covenant he had made with their ancestors and the statutes he had warned them to keep. They followed worthless idols and themselves became worthless. They imitated the nations around them although the Lord had ordered them, “Do not do as they do.”
16 They forsook all the commands of the Lord their God and made for themselves two idols cast in the shape of calves, and an Asherah pole. They bowed down to all the starry hosts, and they worshiped Baal.17 They sacrificed their sons and daughters in the fire. They practiced divination and sought omens and sold themselves to do evil in the eyes of the Lord, arousing his anger.
A brief summary of everything that had happened so far.
18 So the Lord was very angry with Israel and removed them from his presence. Only the tribe of Judah was left,
However, Judah was not the good son.
19 and even Judah did not keep the commands of the Lord their God. They followed the practices Israel had introduced.20 Therefore the Lord rejected all the people of Israel; he afflicted them and gave them into the hands of plunderers, until he thrust them from his presence.
Now we go back to a brief summary of the more recent past.
21 When he tore Israel away from the house of David, they made Jeroboam son of Nebat their king. Jeroboam enticed Israel away from following the Lord and caused them to commit a great sin.22 The Israelites persisted in all the sins of Jeroboam and did not turn away from them23 until the Lord removed them from his presence, as he had warned through all his servants the prophets. So the people of Israel were taken from their homeland into exile in Assyria, and they are still there.
This portion of 2 Kings was written before this time ended. Things get better, but not in the author’s lifetime.
24 The king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Kuthah, Avva, Hamath and Sepharvaim and settled them in the towns of Samaria to replace the Israelites. They took over Samaria and lived in its towns.25 When they first lived there, they did not worship the Lord;
Later on, when we get into the New Testament Gospels, you will see that Samaritains are hated and looked down upon, unjustly at that point. Anyone who starts off reading the New Testament may wonder whay the Samaritains were hated so much when they were the ones to actually clue into Jesus’ teaching. That’s why it is mentioned “When they FIRST lived there they did not worship the Lord;” (Things got better later on for them) This is the event that caused all that hatred of Samaritians by Jewish leaders of the time in the New Testament. It wasn’t right, but that’s why. I will have to remember to hyperlink back to this later when we’ve moved through other parts of the story and may have forgotten.
so he sent lions among them and they killed some of the people.
Any time God instructs an animal to do something, the animal obeys immediately without questions or complaints. What does that say about us?
26 It was reported to the king of Assyria: “The people you deported and resettled in the towns of Samaria do not know what the god of that country requires. He has sent lions among them, which are killing them off, because the people do not know what he requires.”
27 Then the king of Assyria gave this order: “Have one of the priests you took captive from Samaria go back to live there and teach the people what the god of the land requires.”28 So one of the priests who had been exiled from Samaria came to live in Bethel and taught them how to worship the Lord.
Things get slightly better.
29 Nevertheless, each national group made its own gods in the several towns where they settled, and set them up in the shrines the people of Samaria had made at the high places.
So much for progress.
30 The people from Babylon made Sukkoth Benoth, those from Kuthah made Nergal, and those from Hamath made Ashima;31 the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvites burned their children in the fire as sacrifices to Adrammelek and Anammelek, the gods of Sepharvaim.
These are all the other fake gods the new folks worshipped. You know a god is fake when it’s a small g and not God, Yahweh, big G. “Big G” is not a name He goes by in scripture, I’m just trying to explain something here that I don’t think I explained as well earlier.
32 They worshiped the Lord, but they also appointed all sorts of their own people to officiate for them as priests in the shrines at the high places.33 They worshiped the Lord, but they also served their own gods in accordance with the customs of the nations from which they had been brought.
This is not going to work, because God wants to be worshipped by Himself. Nobody else involved. He is the Most High and there can’t be others in the mix.
34 To this day they persist in their former practices. They neither worship the Lord nor adhere to the decrees and regulations, the laws and commands that the Lord gave the descendants of Jacob, whom he named Israel.35 When the Lord made a covenant with the Israelites, he commanded them: “Do not worship any other gods or bow down to them, serve them or sacrifice to them.36 But the Lord, who brought you up out of Egypt with mighty power and outstretched arm, is the one you must worship. To him you shall bow down and to him offer sacrifices.37 You must always be careful to keep the decrees and regulations, the laws and commands he wrote for you. Do not worship other gods.38 Do not forget the covenant I have made with you, and do not worship other gods.39 Rather, worship the Lord your God; it is he who will deliver you from the hand of all your enemies.”
Just incase you’re wondering, the Israelites forgot again.
40 They would not listen, however, but persisted in their former practices.41 Even while these people were worshiping the Lord, they were serving their idols. To this day their children and grandchildren continue to do as their ancestors did.
Serving God and something else is not serving God. You’re supposed to serve God ONLY.
Next, we will focus on the book of Isaiah up until the point where he and King Hezekiah cross paths. (Isaiah 36 and following for a bit) Then we will focus on King Hezekiah’s (Of Judah, Israel is toast right now) reign (The 2 Chronicles 2 Kings adventure) before returning to Isaiah when he has even more to say about Judah and what will become of them in the future. Of course these warnings are all from the Lord originally. Isaiah is the mouthpiece.
IIWAC: Isaiah Warns About Assyria Taking The Northern Kingdom Of Israel Away In The Near Future AND How It Went Down THE SOUTHERN KINGDOM OF JUDAH IS STILL FINE BY THE WAY! (Sort Of Not Really) But We’ll Get To That Later Since This Happens First
The Lord said to me, “Take a large scroll and write on it with an ordinary pen: Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.”[a] 2 So I called in Uriah the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah as reliable witnesses for me.
Can’t write something this important by yourself with nobody else around to understand the meaning
3 Then I made love to the prophetess,
Just a run of the mill thing. Isaiah was a prophet, the prophetess was his wife. If you don’t believe me check out the blue section below from the commentary I consulted to keep this straight in my head.
and she conceived and gave birth to a son. And the Lord said to me, “Name him Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.
His name is literally a warning
4 For before the boy knows how to say ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria will be carried off by the king of Assyria.”
Moreover the LORD said to me, “Take a large scroll, and write on it with a man’s pen concerning Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz. And I will take for Myself faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.” Then I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son. Then the LORD said to me, “Call his name Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz; for before the child shall have knowledge to cry ‘My father’ and ‘My mother,’ the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be taken away before the king of Assyria.”
a. Moreover the LORD said to me: This prophecy continues from Isaiah 7, where God assured Ahaz, king of Judah, that he would not be overthrown by the combined forces of Syria and Israel. God announced judgment against Syria and Israel, saying of their attack against Judah: It shall not stand, nor shall it come to pass…. Within sixty-five years Ephraim will be broken, so that it will not be a people. Here, God gives Isaiah a sign to explain more about how soon the defeat of Syria and Israel will come.
b. Take a large scroll: It isn’t often that the prophets are commanded to write, but here is one instance. Isaiah will write concerning Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz, which means speed to the spoil, hurry to the plunder.
c. Write on it with a man’s pen: Isaiah’s message was meant to be public, and at a level any man could read and understand.
i. Calvin on with a man’s pen: It “denotes any man of ordinary rank; and the meaning is, that not even the most ignorant and uneducated persons may be unable to read the writing.”
d. I will take for Myself faithful witnesses to record: The LORD appointed two witnesses, so the validity of this word would be established. By the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established. (Deuteronomy 19:15)
e. Then I went to the prophetess: This refers to Isaiah’s wife. She is called a prophetess, though it could be in the sense of simply being the wife of the prophet. However, she clearly brought forth prophecy on at least one occasion. The birth and naming of her son Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz was a word from God, so she certainly “brought forth” that prophecy.
i. There are many examples of prophetesses in the Bible: Miriam (Exodus 15:20), Deborah (Judges 4:4), Huldah (2 Kings 22:14), Noadiah (Nehemiah 6:14), Anna (Luke 2:36), and Philip’s four daughters (Acts 21:8-9). So, it may be that the wife of Isaiah had a prophetic ministry in her own right. But it may also be that she was simply the wife of the prophet, and her “prophecy” was giving birth to Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.
f. For before the child shall have knowledge to cry “My father” and “My mother”: Through the birth and naming of Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz, the LORD gives a time frame for the invasion of Assyria that will punish Syria and Israel.
i. This is essentially the same as the near meaning of the Immanuel sign of Isaiah 7:10-17, but this sign was more public and plainer.
More about that here.
5 The Lord spoke to me again:
6 “Because this people has rejected
the gently flowing waters of Shiloah
and rejoices over Rezin
and the son of Remaliah,
7 therefore the Lord is about to bring against them
the mighty floodwaters of the Euphrates—
the king of Assyria with all his pomp.
It will overflow all its channels,
run over all its banks
8 and sweep on into Judah, swirling over it,
passing through it and reaching up to the neck.
Its outspread wings will cover the breadth of your land,
Immanuel[b]!”
Stuff is about to get really bad for Israel. Micah talked about it too.
9 Raise the war cry,[c] you nations, and be shattered!
Listen, all you distant lands.
Prepare for battle, and be shattered!
Prepare for battle, and be shattered!
10 Devise your strategy, but it will be thwarted;
propose your plan, but it will not stand,
for God is with us.[d]
. These people refused the waters of Shiloah that flow softly: The people of the northern kingdom of Israel did not appreciate their humble streams (the waters of Shiloah). Instead, they rejoiced in wicked leaders (in Rezin and Remaliah’s son). So, God will give them a different kind of river – the waters of the River, strong and mighty.
i. “The little stream of Shiloah sprung from Mount Zion on the southwesterly side of Jerusalem. It flowed as softly as oil without any murmur. Jerusalem’s existence and continuation depended on it.” (Bultema)
ii. The capital of the Assyrian Empire was Nineveh, and the city of Nineveh was founded on a great river: the Tigris. The Assyrian Empire was also centered across another mighty river: the Euphrates. The whole land of Israel simply did not have a river like the Euphrates or the Tigris. God is using the difference between the small, humble, yet adequate waters of Israel and the mighty, yet uncontrolled rivers of Assyria to make a point. It is as if God is saying, “You don’t like what I have given you? You persist in rejecting what I give you? Then I will give you something different, but you won’t like it either.”
iii. “The small and gentle waters should be more highly valued by us than the large and rapid rivers of all the nations, and we ought not to envy the great power of the ungodly.” (Calvin)
b. He will go up over all his channels and go over all his banks: Like a large river in a flood, the Assyrian army will not stay confined to its “banks.” Instead, they will “flow over” their attack on Israel and Syria, and “flood” Judah with violence and destruction (He will pass through Judah).
c. He will reach up to the neck: Assyria would completely conquer the northern nation of Israel. The ten northern tribes would cease to be a nation after the Assyrians conquered them. But the Assyrians would not conquer the southern nation of Judah. They would “flood” them (fill the breadth of Your land), and reach up to the neck, but not over their heads. Judah would survive the Assyrian invasion but suffer much destruction from the Assyrians.
i. Indeed, 2 Kings 18:13 describes the extent of the Assyrian invasion against Judah: And in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them. Yet, Hezekiah was able to keep the king of Assyria away from Jerusalem, and barely able to survive, by buying his favor with riches from the temple – even stripping gold from the temple doors to appease the pagan king.
ii. “The sacred history assures us that these things were fulfilled…for the Assyrians, whom the Jews called to their assistance, destroyed them. This was the just punishment of their distrust; and we see in it a striking instance of the wicked greediness of men, who cannot be satisfied with the promise and assistance of God.” (Calvin)
d. Your land, O Immanuel: This refers back to the “Immanuel” prophecy of Isaiah 7:14. The land the Assyrians will invade doesn’t really belong to Judah or to King Ahaz. It belongs to the LORD God, to the coming Messiah, to Immanuel.
e. Gird yourselves, but be broken in pieces…. speak the word, but it will not stand, for God is with us: The victims of this Assyrian invasion (Syria, Israel, and Judah) could prepare for the invasion all they wanted (gird yourselves). But all their preparation would not protect them (but be broken in pieces). They could take counsel together, but it will come to nothing. All their plans and words and ideas will not stand, for God is with us. God’s will was going to be done, despite all the plans and preparations Syria, Israel, and Judah might make against it.
i. Who is the us of God is with us? In one sense the us is the Assyrian army because they were the instruments of God’s judgment against Syria, Israel, and Judah. Nothing could stop the Assyrian army, because even if they did not know it, or even if their own hearts were wrong in the matter, God was using them. But the us is also the prophet himself. As a messenger of God, his word would come to pass no matter what the three nations did to prepare against it.
More about that here.
11 This is what the Lord says to me with his strong hand upon me, warning me not to follow the way of this people:
12 “Do not call conspiracy
everything this people calls a conspiracy;
do not fear what they fear,
and do not dread it.
Wise words for right now.
13 The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy,
he is the one you are to fear,
he is the one you are to dread.
14 He will be a holy place;
for both Israel and Judah he will be
a stone that causes people to stumble
and a rock that makes them fall.
There’s a choice to make here.
And for the people of Jerusalem he will be
a trap and a snare.
15 Many of them will stumble;
they will fall and be broken,
they will be snared and captured.”
There will be problems in the southern kingdom of Judah later.
16 Bind up this testimony of warning
and seal up God’s instruction among my disciples.
17 I will wait for the Lord,
who is hiding his face from the descendants of Jacob.
I will put my trust in him.
18 Here am I, and the children the Lord has given me. We are signs and symbols in Israel from the Lord Almighty, who dwells on Mount Zion.
19 When someone tells you to consult mediums and spiritists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people inquire of their God?
We are not supposed to talk to those folks.
Why consult the dead on behalf of the living? 20 Consult God’s instruction and the testimony of warning. If anyone does not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn. 21 Distressed and hungry, they will roam through the land; when they are famished, they will become enraged and, looking upward, will curse their king and their God. 22 Then they will look toward the earth and see only distress and darkness and fearful gloom, and they will be thrust into utter darkness.
a]Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan—
Be with the Lord. It’s always the right side.
2 The people walking in darkness
have seen a great light;
Foreshadowing of the hope in Jesus that is coming. We will get more into that in the New Testament Gospels when that time comes around. It’s coming.
on those living in the land of deep darkness
a light has dawned.
3 You have enlarged the nation
and increased their joy;
they rejoice before you
as people rejoice at the harvest,
as warriors rejoice
when dividing the plunder.
4 For as in the day of Midian’s defeat,
you have shattered
the yoke that burdens them,
the bar across their shoulders,
the rod of their oppressor.
5 Every warrior’s boot used in battle
and every garment rolled in blood
will be destined for burning,
will be fuel for the fire.
6 For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the greatness of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne
and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the Lord Almighty
will accomplish this.
Yes, it will.
8 The Lord has sent a message against Jacob;
it will fall on Israel.
9 All the people will know it—
Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria—
who say with pride
and arrogance of heart,
10 “The bricks have fallen down,
but we will rebuild with dressed stone;
the fig trees have been felled,
but we will replace them with cedars.”
11 But the Lord has strengthened Rezin’s foes against them
and has spurred their enemies on.
12 Arameans from the east and Philistines from the west
have devoured Israel with open mouth.
Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away,
his hand is still upraised.
13 But the people have not returned to him who struck them,
nor have they sought the Lord Almighty.
14 So the Lord will cut off from Israel both head and tail,
both palm branch and reed in a single day;
15 the elders and dignitaries are the head,
the prophets who teach lies are the tail.
16 Those who guide this people mislead them,
and those who are guided are led astray.
17 Therefore the Lord will take no pleasure in the young men,
nor will he pity the fatherless and widows,
for everyone is ungodly and wicked,
every mouth speaks folly.
Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away,
his hand is still upraised.
18 Surely wickedness burns like a fire;
it consumes briers and thorns,
it sets the forest thickets ablaze,
so that it rolls upward in a column of smoke.
19 By the wrath of the Lord Almighty
the land will be scorched
and the people will be fuel for the fire;
they will not spare one another.
20 On the right they will devour,
but still be hungry;
on the left they will eat,
but not be satisfied.
Each will feed on the flesh of their own offspring[b]:
21 Manasseh will feed on Ephraim, and Ephraim on Manasseh;
together they will turn against Judah.
Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away,
his hand is still upraised.
Woe to those who make unjust laws,
to those who issue oppressive decrees,
2 to deprive the poor of their rights
and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people,
making widows their prey
and robbing the fatherless.
3 What will you do on the day of reckoning,
when disaster comes from afar?
To whom will you run for help?
Where will you leave your riches?
4 Nothing will remain but to cringe among the captives
or fall among the slain.
Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away,
his hand is still upraised.
Isaiah and Micah are both warning about this in the same country in the same time and they still don’t get it. Return to the Lord. Why is it so hard. He doesn’t want to have to be this way.
5 “Woe to the Assyrian, the rod of my anger,
in whose hand is the club of my wrath!
6 I send him against a godless nation,
God is using the Assyrians to teach Israel a lesson, but He’s not happy with them either.
I dispatch him against a people who anger me,
to seize loot and snatch plunder,
If the distractions are rid of, then logically it becomes easier to return to the Lord and have the kind of relationship He always wanted. For them to be His people and for Him to be their God and they live together in a much healthier way than what is currently being depicted here.
and to trample them down like mud in the streets.
7 But this is not what he intends,
this is not what he has in mind;
his purpose is to destroy,
to put an end to many nations.
8 ‘Are not my commanders all kings?’ he says.
9 ‘Has not Kalno fared like Carchemish?
Is not Hamath like Arpad,
and Samaria like Damascus?
10 As my hand seized the kingdoms of the idols,
kingdoms whose images excelled those of Jerusalem and Samaria—
11 shall I not deal with Jerusalem and her images
as I dealt with Samaria and her idols?’”
12 When the Lord has finished all his work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, he will say, “I will punish the king of Assyria for the willful pride of his heart and the haughty look in his eyes.
God’s not happy with either set of folks right now.
13 For he says:
“‘By the strength of my hand I have done this,
and by my wisdom, because I have understanding.
I removed the boundaries of nations,
I plundered their treasures;
like a mighty one I subdued[a] their kings.
14 As one reaches into a nest,
so my hand reached for the wealth of the nations;
as people gather abandoned eggs,
so I gathered all the countries;
not one flapped a wing,
or opened its mouth to chirp.’”
He thinks he did all this, but it was just God letting him do it. The Assyrian king isn’t going to get away with this forever.
15 Does the ax raise itself above the person who swings it,
or the saw boast against the one who uses it?
As if a rod were to wield the person who lifts it up,
or a club brandish the one who is not wood!
16 Therefore, the Lord, the Lord Almighty,
will send a wasting disease upon his sturdy warriors;
under his pomp a fire will be kindled
like a blazing flame.
17 The Light of Israel will become a fire,
their Holy One a flame;
in a single day it will burn and consume
his thorns and his briers.
18 The splendor of his forests and fertile fields
it will completely destroy,
as when a sick person wastes away.
19 And the remaining trees of his forests will be so few
that a child could write them down.
Assyria is also doomed because they never paid attention even though God was around all this time. He was patient with them like He is with everyone else, but everything has a time limit. They had plenty of chances to know what was going on and change their ways to those that God would be interested in.
20 In that day the remnant of Israel,
the survivors of Jacob,
will no longer rely on him
who struck them down
The king of Assyria won’t have power over Israel forever.
but will truly rely on the Lord,
the Holy One of Israel.
21 A remnant will return,[b] a remnant of Jacob
will return to the Mighty God.
22 Though your people be like the sand by the sea, Israel,
only a remnant will return.
Destruction has been decreed,
overwhelming and righteous.
23 The Lord, the Lord Almighty, will carry out
the destruction decreed upon the whole land.
There is always a remnant because God keeps his earlier promises and never ever gives up.
24 Therefore this is what the Lord, the Lord Almighty, says:
“My people who live in Zion,
do not be afraid of the Assyrians,
who beat you with a rod
and lift up a club against you, as Egypt did.
25 Very soon my anger against you will end
and my wrath will be directed to their destruction.”
26 The Lord Almighty will lash them with a whip,
as when he struck down Midian at the rock of Oreb;
and he will raise his staff over the waters,
as he did in Egypt.
27 In that day their burden will be lifted from your shoulders,
their yoke from your neck;
the yoke will be broken
because you have grown so fat.[c]
28 They enter Aiath;
they pass through Migron;
they store supplies at Mikmash.
29 They go over the pass, and say,
“We will camp overnight at Geba.”
Ramah trembles;
Gibeah of Saul flees.
30 Cry out, Daughter Gallim!
Listen, Laishah!
Poor Anathoth!
31 Madmenah is in flight;
the people of Gebim take cover.
32 This day they will halt at Nob;
they will shake their fist
at the mount of Daughter Zion,
at the hill of Jerusalem.
God knows what route the Assyrians will take before they take it
33 See, the Lord, the Lord Almighty,
will lop off the boughs with great power.
The lofty trees will be felled,
the tall ones will be brought low.
34 He will cut down the forest thickets with an ax;
Lebanon will fall before the Mighty One.
A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
This is Jesus again.
2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of might,
the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—
3 and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.
He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,
or decide by what he hears with his ears;
4 but with righteousness he will judge the needy,
with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;
with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.
5 Righteousness will be his belt
and faithfulness the sash around his waist.
6 The wolf will live with the lamb,
the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling[a] together;
and a little child will lead them.
7 The cow will feed with the bear,
their young will lie down together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
8 The infant will play near the cobra’s den,
and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest.
9 They will neither harm nor destroy
on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.
10 In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious. 11 In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the surviving remnant of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush,[b] from Elam, from Babylonia,[c] from Hamath and from the islands of the Mediterranean.
12 He will raise a banner for the nations
and gather the exiles of Israel;
he will assemble the scattered people of Judah
from the four quarters of the earth.
13 Ephraim’s jealousy will vanish,
and Judah’s enemies[d] will be destroyed;
Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah,
nor Judah hostile toward Ephraim.
14 They will swoop down on the slopes of Philistia to the west;
together they will plunder the people to the east.
They will subdue Edom and Moab,
and the Ammonites will be subject to them.
15 The Lord will dry up
the gulf of the Egyptian sea;
with a scorching wind he will sweep his hand
over the Euphrates River.
He will break it up into seven streams
so that anyone can cross over in sandals.
16 There will be a highway for the remnant of his people
that is left from Assyria,
as there was for Israel
when they came up from Egypt.
It will take a while, but it’s going to get a lot better.
In that day you will say:
“I will praise you, Lord.
Although you were angry with me,
your anger has turned away
and you have comforted me.
2 Surely God is my salvation;
I will trust and not be afraid.
The Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my defense[a];
he has become my salvation.”
3 With joy you will draw water
from the wells of salvation.
4 In that day you will say:
“Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name;
make known among the nations what he has done,
and proclaim that his name is exalted.
5 Sing to the Lord, for he has done glorious things;
let this be known to all the world.
6 Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion,
for great is the Holy One of Israel among you.”
Songs are the resonable response after everything that is foretold comes through.
Now, we will move on to the 2 Kings part.
***
Here’s how this whole mess goes down for the Northern kingdom of Israel.
In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah, Hoshea son of Elah became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned nine years.
He was probably evil because he didn’t last very long compared to others.
2 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord,
Yeah, I was right.
but not like the kings of Israel who preceded him.
It was terrible, but not as bad as it could have been. Suddenly there’s some sort of ranking system?
3 Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up to attack Hoshea, who had been Shalmaneser’s vassal and had paid him tribute.
Not a particularly healthy situation.
4 But the king of Assyria discovered that Hoshea was a traitor, for he had sent envoys to So[a] king of Egypt, and he no longer paid tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year. Therefore Shalmaneser seized him and put him in prison.
This was supposed to be a clip from Better Off Dead that I was reminded of when I read this passage..
5 The king of Assyria invaded the entire land, marched against Samaria and laid siege to it for three years. 6 In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and deported the Israelites to Assyria. He settled them in Halah, in Gozan on the Habor River and in the towns of the Medes.
From Wikipedia
7 All this took place because the Israelites had sinned against the Lord their God, who had brought them up out of Egypt from under the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. They worshiped other gods 8 and followed the practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before them, as well as the practices that the kings of Israel had introduced. 9 The Israelites secretly did things against the Lord their God that were not right.
They may have thought it was secret, but God knew what they were doing.
From watchtower to fortified city they built themselves high places in all their towns. 10 They set up sacred stones and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every spreading tree. 11 At every high place they burned incense, as the nations whom the Lord had driven out before them had done. They did wicked things that aroused the Lord’s anger. 12 They worshiped idols, though the Lord had said, “You shall not do this.”[b] 13 The Lord warned Israel and Judah through all his prophets and seers: “Turn from your evil ways. Observe my commands and decrees, in accordance with the entire Law that I commanded your ancestors to obey and that I delivered to you through my servants the prophets.”
14 But they would not listen and were as stiff-necked as their ancestors, who did not trust in the Lord their God. 15 They rejected his decrees and the covenant he had made with their ancestors and the statutes he had warned them to keep. They followed worthless idols and themselves became worthless. They imitated the nations around them although the Lord had ordered them, “Do not do as they do.”
16 They forsook all the commands of the Lord their God and made for themselves two idols cast in the shape of calves, and an Asherah pole. They bowed down to all the starry hosts, and they worshiped Baal. 17 They sacrificed their sons and daughters in the fire. They practiced divination and sought omens and sold themselves to do evil in the eyes of the Lord, arousing his anger.
A brief summary of everything that had happened so far.
18 So the Lord was very angry with Israel and removed them from his presence. Only the tribe of Judah was left,
However, Judah was not the good son.
19 and even Judah did not keep the commands of the Lord their God. They followed the practices Israel had introduced. 20 Therefore the Lord rejected all the people of Israel; he afflicted them and gave them into the hands of plunderers, until he thrust them from his presence.
Now we go back to a brief summary of the more recent past.
21 When he tore Israel away from the house of David, they made Jeroboam son of Nebat their king. Jeroboam enticed Israel away from following the Lord and caused them to commit a great sin. 22 The Israelites persisted in all the sins of Jeroboam and did not turn away from them 23 until the Lord removed them from his presence, as he had warned through all his servants the prophets. So the people of Israel were taken from their homeland into exile in Assyria, and they are still there.
This portion of 2 Kings was written before this time ended. Things get better, but not in the author’s lifetime.
24 The king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Kuthah, Avva, Hamath and Sepharvaim and settled them in the towns of Samaria to replace the Israelites. They took over Samaria and lived in its towns. 25 When they first lived there, they did not worship the Lord;
Later on, when we get into the New Testament Gospels, you will see that Samaritains are hated and looked down upon, unjustly at that point. Anyone who starts off reading the New Testament may wonder whay the Samaritains were hated so much when they were the ones to actually clue into Jesus’ teaching. That’s why it is mentioned “When they FIRST lived there they did not worship the Lord;” (Things got better later on for them) This is the event that caused all that hatred of Samaritians by Jewish leaders of the time in the New Testament. It wasn’t right, but that’s why. I will have to remember to hyperlink back to this later when we’ve moved through other parts of the story and may have forgotten.
so he sent lions among them and they killed some of the people.
Any time God instructs an animal to do something, the animal obeys immediately without questions or complaints. What does that say about us?
26 It was reported to the king of Assyria: “The people you deported and resettled in the towns of Samaria do not know what the god of that country requires. He has sent lions among them, which are killing them off, because the people do not know what he requires.”
27 Then the king of Assyria gave this order: “Have one of the priests you took captive from Samaria go back to live there and teach the people what the god of the land requires.” 28 So one of the priests who had been exiled from Samaria came to live in Bethel and taught them how to worship the Lord.
Things get slightly better.
29 Nevertheless, each national group made its own gods in the several towns where they settled, and set them up in the shrines the people of Samaria had made at the high places.
So much for progress.
30 The people from Babylon made Sukkoth Benoth, those from Kuthah made Nergal, and those from Hamath made Ashima; 31 the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvites burned their children in the fire as sacrifices to Adrammelek and Anammelek, the gods of Sepharvaim.
These are all the other fake gods the new folks worshipped. You know a god is fake when it’s a small g and not God, Yahweh, big G. “Big G” is not a name He goes by in scripture, I’m just trying to explain something here that I don’t think I explained as well earlier.
32 They worshiped the Lord, but they also appointed all sorts of their own people to officiate for them as priests in the shrines at the high places. 33 They worshiped the Lord, but they also served their own gods in accordance with the customs of the nations from which they had been brought.
This is not going to work, because God wants to be worshipped by Himself. Nobody else involved. He is the Most High and there can’t be others in the mix.
34 To this day they persist in their former practices. They neither worship the Lord nor adhere to the decrees and regulations, the laws and commands that the Lord gave the descendants of Jacob, whom he named Israel. 35 When the Lord made a covenant with the Israelites, he commanded them: “Do not worship any other gods or bow down to them, serve them or sacrifice to them. 36 But the Lord, who brought you up out of Egypt with mighty power and outstretched arm, is the one you must worship. To him you shall bow down and to him offer sacrifices. 37 You must always be careful to keep the decrees and regulations, the laws and commands he wrote for you. Do not worship other gods. 38 Do not forget the covenant I have made with you, and do not worship other gods. 39 Rather, worship the Lord your God; it is he who will deliver you from the hand of all your enemies.”
Just incase you’re wondering, the Israelites forgot again.
40 They would not listen, however, but persisted in their former practices. 41 Even while these people were worshiping the Lord, they were serving their idols. To this day their children and grandchildren continue to do as their ancestors did.
Serving God and something else is not serving God. You’re supposed to serve God ONLY.
Next, we will focus on the book of Isaiah up until the point where he and King Hezekiah cross paths. (Isaiah 36 and following for a bit) Then we will focus on King Hezekiah’s (Of Judah, Israel is toast right now) reign (The 2 Chronicles 2 Kings adventure) before returning to Isaiah when he has even more to say about Judah and what will become of them in the future. Of course these warnings are all from the Lord originally. Isaiah is the mouthpiece.
Scripture Discussed: Isaiah 8 through Isaiah 12 ; 2 Kings 17