Then the king of Assyria commanded: "Send back one of the priests you carried off from Samaria, and have him go back to live there and teach the requirements of the God of the land." Then the king of Assyria commanded:The king of Assyria at this time was likely Shalmaneser V or Sargon II, who were responsible for the conquest and deportation of the Israelites from the Northern Kingdom. The Assyrian Empire was known for its policy of relocating conquered peoples to prevent rebellion. This command reflects the Assyrian strategy of maintaining control over newly acquired territories by addressing local religious practices. Send back one of the priests you carried off from Samaria:
The priests of Samaria were part of the religious leadership of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. The deportation of these priests was part of the Assyrian policy to disrupt the local culture and religion. By sending a priest back, the king aimed to appease the local population and prevent further unrest. This action also highlights the syncretistic nature of Israel's worship practices at the time, as the priests were not strictly following the worship of Yahweh according to the Mosaic Law. and have him go back to live there:
The return of a priest to live in Samaria was intended to re-establish some form of religious continuity. This reflects the ancient belief that the favor of local deities was tied to the land and its inhabitants. The priest's presence was meant to ensure that the religious customs of the land were observed, which was believed to bring stability and prosperity. and teach the requirements of the God of the land:
The "God of the land" refers to Yahweh, the God of Israel. However, the understanding and worship of Yahweh in the Northern Kingdom had been corrupted by idolatry and syncretism, as seen in the establishment of golden calves in Bethel and Dan (1 Kings 12:28-30). The teaching of the requirements was an attempt to placate the deity believed to have power over the land. This reflects a common ancient Near Eastern belief that each land had its own god who needed to be appeased. Theologically, this situation underscores the failure of Israel to maintain covenant faithfulness, leading to their exile, as warned by prophets like Hosea and Amos. Persons / Places / Events 1. King of AssyriaThe ruler who conquered the Northern Kingdom of Israel and deported its people. He is responsible for the resettlement of foreign peoples in Samaria. 2. SamariaThe capital of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, which fell to the Assyrians. It became a melting pot of different cultures and religions after the Assyrian conquest. 3. PriestsReligious leaders from Israel who were taken captive. One was sent back to teach the new inhabitants about the God of Israel. 4. God of the LandRefers to Yahweh, the God of Israel, whose laws and requirements were to be taught to the new inhabitants of Samaria. 5. Assyrian Resettlement PolicyA strategy used by the Assyrians to control conquered territories by relocating different peoples, which led to a mix of religious practices. Teaching Points The Importance of True WorshipUnderstanding and following God's requirements is crucial for true worship. The priest's role was to teach the new inhabitants about Yahweh, emphasizing the need for correct worship practices. Consequences of DisobedienceThe fall of Samaria serves as a warning about the consequences of turning away from God. It reminds us to remain faithful and obedient to God's commands. Cultural and Religious SyncretismThe mixing of different religious practices in Samaria illustrates the dangers of syncretism. Believers are called to maintain the purity of their faith amidst diverse cultural influences. God's Sovereignty Over NationsThe events in 2 Kings 17 demonstrate God's control over nations and history. Despite human actions, God's purposes prevail, and He uses even foreign rulers to accomplish His will. The Role of Spiritual LeadersThe priest's mission to teach God's requirements highlights the responsibility of spiritual leaders to guide others in understanding and living out their faith. Bible Study Questions 1. How does the Assyrian resettlement policy in Samaria illustrate the challenges of maintaining religious purity in a multicultural society? 2. In what ways can we ensure that our worship remains true to God's requirements, avoiding the pitfalls of syncretism? 3. Reflect on a time when you faced consequences for disobedience. How does this passage encourage you to remain faithful to God's commands? 4. How can spiritual leaders today effectively teach and guide their communities in understanding God's requirements? 5. Considering God's sovereignty over nations, how can we trust in His control over current world events and our personal lives? Connections to Other Scriptures 2 Kings 17:24-41Provides context for the events, describing how the Assyrians resettled people in Samaria and the resulting syncretism in religious practices. Leviticus 18:26-30Highlights the importance of following God's statutes and the consequences of failing to do so, which is relevant to the teaching of God's requirements to the new inhabitants. Ezra 4:1-2Shows the long-term effects of the Assyrian resettlement, as the mixed population of Samaria later opposed the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem. People Adrammelech, Ahaz, Anammelech, Avites, Avvites, David, Elah, Hoshea, Israelites, Jacob, Jeroboam, Nebat, Pharaoh, Sepharvites, ShalmaneserPlaces Assyria, Avva, Babylon, Bethel, Cuth, Cuthah, Egypt, Gozan, Habor River, Halah, Hamath, Samaria, SepharvaimTopics Abide, Asshur, Assyria, Captive, Carried, Carry, Cause, Commanded, Commandeth, Custom, Dwell, Exile, Law, Manner, Order, Orders, Priests, Removed, Requires, Samaria, Saying, Teach, Teaching, Thence, ThitherDictionary of Bible Themes 2 Kings 17:18-28 7324 calf worship 2 Kings 17:23-27 5305 empires 2 Kings 17:24-33 4215 Babylon 2 Kings 17:24-41 7560 Samaritans, the 2 Kings 17:27-28 7740 missionaries, call 2 Kings 17:27-34 8720 double-mindedness Library Divided Worship
'These nations feared the Lord, and served their own gods.'--2 KINGS xvii. 33. The kingdom of Israel had come to its fated end. Its king and people had been carried away captives in accordance with the cruel policy of the great Eastern despotisms, which had so much to do with weakening them by their very conquests. The land had lain desolate and uncultivated for many years, savage beasts had increased in the untilled solitudes, even as weeds and nettles grew in the gardens and vineyards of Samaria. …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy ScriptureA Kingdom's Epitaph
'In the ninth year of Hoshea the king of Assyria took Samaria, and carried Israel away into Assyria, and placed them in Halah and in Habor by the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes. 7. For so it was, that the children of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God, which had brought them up out of the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other gods, 8. And walked in the statutes of the heathen, whom the Lord cast out from before the children of …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture September the Eleventh a Fatal Divorce
"They feared the Lord, and served their own gods." --2 KINGS xvii. 24-34. And that is an old-world record, but it is quite a modern experience. The kinsmen of these ancient people are found in our own time. Men still fear one God and serve another. But something is vitally wrong when men can divorce their fear from their obedience. And the beginning of the wrong is in the fear itself. "Fear," as used in this passage, is a counterfeit coin, which does not ring true to the truth. It means only the …
John Henry Jowett—My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year Upon Our Lord's SermonOn the Mount
Discourse 9 "No man can serve two masters; For either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. "Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: For they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father …
John Wesley—Sermons on Several Occasions Mongrel Religion
I. I shall first call your attention to THE NATURE OF THIS Mongrel Religion. It had its good and bad points, for it wore a double face. These people were not infidels. Far from it: "they feared the Lord." They did not deny the existence, or the power, or the rights of the great God of Israel, whose name is Jehovah. They had not the pride of Pharaoh who said, "Who is Jehovah that I should obey his voice?" They were not like those whom David calls "fools," who said in their hearts, "There is no God." …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 27: 1881 Building in Troublous Times
'Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the children of the captivity builded the temple unto the Lord God of Israel; 2. Then they came to Zerubbabel, and to the chief of the fathers, and said unto them, Let us build with you: for we seek your God, as ye do; and we do sacrifice unto Him since the days of Esar-haddon king of Assur, which brought us up hither. 3. But Zerubbabel, and Joshua, and the rest of the chief of the fathers of Israel, said unto them, Ye have nothing to do …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture Profession and Practice.
18th Sunday after Trinity. S. Matt. xxii. 42. "What think ye of Christ?" INTRODUCTION.--Many men are Christians neither in understanding nor in heart. Some are Christians in heart, and not in understanding. Some in understanding, and not in heart, and some are Christians in both. If I were to go into a Temple of the Hindoos, or into a Synagogue of the Jews, and were to ask, "What think ye of Christ?" the people there would shake their heads and deny that He is God, and reject His teaching. The …
S. Baring-Gould—The Village Pulpit, Volume II. Trinity to Advent The Original Text and Its History.
1. The original language of the Old Testament is Hebrew, with the exception of certain portions of Ezra and Daniel and a single verse of Jeremiah, (Ezra 4:8-6:18; 7:12-26; Dan. 2:4, from the middle of the verse to end of chap. 7; Jer. 10:11,) which are written in the cognate Chaldee language. The Hebrew belongs to a stock of related languages commonly called Shemitic, because spoken mainly by the descendants of Shem. Its main divisions are: (1,) the Arabic, having its original seat in the …
E. P. Barrows—Companion to the Bible The Prophet Hosea.
GENERAL PRELIMINARY REMARKS. That the kingdom of Israel was the object of the prophet's ministry is so evident, that upon this point all are, and cannot but be, agreed. But there is a difference of opinion as to whether the prophet was a fellow-countryman of those to whom he preached, or was called by God out of the kingdom of Judah. The latter has been asserted with great confidence by Maurer, among others, in his Observ. in Hos., in the Commentat. Theol. ii. i. p. 293. But the arguments …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament A Sermon on Isaiah xxvi. By John Knox.
[In the Prospectus of our Publication it was stated, that one discourse, at least, would be given in each number. A strict adherence to this arrangement, however, it is found, would exclude from our pages some of the most talented discourses of our early Divines; and it is therefore deemed expedient to depart from it as occasion may require. The following Sermon will occupy two numbers, and we hope, that from its intrinsic value, its historical interest, and the illustrious name of its author, it …
John Knox—The Pulpit Of The Reformation, Nos. 1, 2 and 3. 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 A More Particular view of the Several Branches of the Christian Temper, by which the Reader May be Farther Assisted in Judging what He Is, And
1, 2. The importance of the case engages to a more particular survey what manner of spirit we are of.--3. Accordingly the Christian temper is described, by some general views of it, as a new and divine temper.--4. As resembling that of Christ.--5. And as engaging us to be spiritually minded, and to walk by faith.--6. A plan of the remainder.--7. In which the Christian temper is more particularly considered with regard to the blessed God: as including fear, affection, and obedience.--8, 9. Faith and …
Philip Doddridge—The Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul Solomon's Temple Spiritualized
or, Gospel Light Fetched out of the Temple at Jerusalem, to Let us More Easily into the Glory of New Testament Truths. 'Thou son of man, shew the house to the house of Isreal;--shew them the form of the house, and the fashion thereof, and the goings out hereof, and the comings in thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the laws thereof.'--Ezekiel 43:10, 11 London: Printed for, and sold by George Larkin, at the Two Swans without Bishopgate, …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3 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 17:27 NIV2 Kings 17:27 NLT2 Kings 17:27 ESV2 Kings 17:27 NASB2 Kings 17:27 KJV
2 Kings 17:27 Commentaries
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