What is the meaning of 2 Kings 17:20? So the LORD rejected all the descendants of Israel. • The word “rejected” carries the idea of God actively turning His face away. Just as 1 Samuel 15:26 records Samuel telling Saul, “You have rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD has rejected you as king,” so here God’s covenant people experience the same consequence of persistent disobedience (cf. Hosea 4:6). • “All the descendants” shows the scope: the northern kingdom’s entire population comes under disciplinary judgment, not just its leaders. This fulfills the warning in Deuteronomy 28:62–64 that national unfaithfulness would result in scattering. • God’s rejection is never capricious; 2 Kings 17:7–17 details centuries of idolatry, child sacrifice, and hardened hearts. Their rebellion exhausted the longsuffering mercy noted in Exodus 34:6–7. He afflicted them • Affliction is God’s purposeful pressure meant to expose sin and call to repentance, paralleling Judges 2:14–18 where the LORD “handed them over to raiders” yet raised up deliverers when they cried out. • Psalm 107:10–12 reminds us that God “humbled their hearts with hard labor” so they might seek Him. In Israel’s case, however, the affliction did not lead to national repentance (2 Kings 17:13–14). • Discipline proves covenant faithfulness: Hebrews 12:6 says, “For the Lord disciplines the one He loves.” Even this harsh affliction underscores His righteous commitment to His word. and delivered them into the hands of plunderers, • The Assyrians are the immediate “plunderers,” fulfilling Isaiah 10:5–6 where Assyria is called “the rod of My anger.” • God “delivered” them—He remained sovereign, orchestrating events just as He did when He “gave” Judah into Babylon’s hand in Daniel 1:2. History may name Tiglath-Pileser or Shalmaneser, but Scripture credits the LORD. • Plunder was comprehensive: people, land, and temple treasures (2 Kings 15:29; 17:6). The covenant curses in Deuteronomy 28:47–52 unfold verbatim—another testament to Scripture’s reliability. until He had banished them from His presence. • “Until” sets a timeline: judgment continued until exile was complete—722 BC, when Samaria fell (2 Kings 17:6). • “His presence” refers to the land where God placed His name (Deuteronomy 12:5). Being cast out mirrors Eden’s expulsion in Genesis 3:23 and Cain’s lament in Genesis 4:14—sin separates from God. • Yet even in exile, hope glimmers. Prophets like Hosea 3:5 and Ezekiel 11:16 promise eventual restoration. God’s banishment is severe but not terminal; His covenant love remains (Jeremiah 31:37). summary 2 Kings 17:20 records the climax of centuries of covenant breach: the LORD, wholly just and faithful, turns from Israel, afflicts them, hands them over to their enemies, and drives them from the land. Each phrase echoes earlier warnings and later reflections, underscoring that God’s judgments are deliberate, righteous, and always aimed at ultimate redemption for those who will return to Him. |
    |