What is the meaning of 2 Kings 17:30? The men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth • 2 Kings 17:24–29 explains that the Assyrian king resettled people from Babylon and other regions into Samaria after Israel’s exile. These newcomers “built for themselves shrines on every high hill and under every spreading tree,” continuing the pattern Israel had followed. • By fashioning Succoth-benoth, the Babylonians introduced a brand-new false god into the heartland that God had set apart for His name alone (Deuteronomy 12:5-7). • Exodus 20:3, the first commandment, still spoke with full authority: “You shall have no other gods before Me”. Their idol was not merely an alternate cultural expression—it was open rebellion against the living God. • Jeremiah 50:2 foretells Babylon’s judgment: “Bel announce; Marduk is shattered.” Every Babylonian deity would ultimately fall before the LORD. 2 Kings 17:30 records the seed of that judgment being sown in Samaria. • Lesson: importing foreign worship never leaves true faith unchanged. Mixing causes dilution, then replacement. the men of Cuth made Nergal • Cuth (also called Cuthah) lay within Babylonian influence, so its settlers shared a mindset of honoring regional gods rather than the Creator. • Psalm 96:5 reminds us, “All the gods of the nations are worthless idols, but the LORD made the heavens”. Nergal, however popular in Cuthah, lacked power to save. • Isaiah 46:1 pictures idols like Bel and Nebo stooping under judgment. Nergal belonged to that same doomed fraternity. • 2 Kings 17:25-26 notes that when lions attacked the immigrants, they sensed a spiritual problem—but instead of abandoning their idols, they added token worship of the LORD. This half-measure exposed a divided heart that God never accepts (Deuteronomy 6:13-15). • Lesson: clinging to cherished idols while giving God lip service equals spiritual adultery. the men of Hamath made Ashima • Hamath stood north of Israel in Syria; its people brought Ashima, another regional deity. The pattern continues: every group crafts its own shrine, multiplying confusion. • 1 Kings 14:22-24 previously recorded Judah’s slide into similar practices, proving that location or lineage does not immunize anyone against idolatry. • 2 Kings 17:31 lists even more imported gods (Adrammelech, Anammelech). The catalogue underscores the human tendency to create substitutes for the true God. • By accepting Ashima alongside the LORD, Samaria built a patchwork religion. 2 Kings 17:34 comments that these settlers “do not fear the LORD; they neither practice His statutes nor His ordinances.” • Lesson: every additional god subtracts from wholehearted devotion. The LORD alone deserves the altar. summary 2 Kings 17:30 illustrates how the nations relocated to Samaria filled the spiritual vacuum left by Israel’s exile with their own idols—Succoth-benoth, Nergal, and Ashima. Each name stands as a warning that importing false worship corrupts covenant land, that divided allegiance provokes divine judgment, and that only exclusive, wholehearted devotion to the LORD brings life and protection. |
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