◄ 2 Kings 17:33 ►
They worshiped the LORD, but they also served their own gods according to the customs of the nations from which they had been carried away.
Study Bible
They worshiped the LORD
This phrase highlights the syncretistic practices of the people. Despite acknowledging the LORD, their worship was not exclusive or pure. This reflects the broader context of Israel's history, where the worship of Yahweh was often mixed with pagan practices, contrary to the first commandment (Exodus 20:3). The divided heart of the Israelites is a recurring theme, as seen in Elijah's challenge on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18:21).

but they also served their own gods
The Israelites' service to other gods indicates a failure to fully commit to the covenant with Yahweh. This practice was influenced by the surrounding nations and was a direct violation of the covenantal laws given in Deuteronomy 6:14-15. The worship of other gods often included idolatry and practices detestable to the LORD, leading to spiritual and moral decline.

according to the customs of the nations
The adoption of foreign customs was a significant issue for Israel, as it led them away from the distinct identity and practices commanded by God. This phrase underscores the influence of Canaanite and other pagan cultures on Israel, which often included rituals and sacrifices that were abominable to the LORD (Leviticus 18:3). The Israelites' failure to remain separate from these customs was a recurring problem throughout their history.

from which they had been carried away
This refers to the Assyrian exile, where the Northern Kingdom of Israel was conquered and its people were deported. The Assyrians had a policy of relocating conquered peoples to prevent rebellion, which led to the mixing of populations and religious practices. This historical context explains the syncretism observed in the verse, as the Israelites were influenced by the religious practices of the regions to which they were exiled. The exile was a fulfillment of prophetic warnings given by prophets like Hosea and Amos, who called Israel to repentance.

Persons / Places / Events
1. The Israelites
The Northern Kingdom of Israel, which had been taken into exile by the Assyrians due to their disobedience to God.

2. The Assyrians
The empire that conquered the Northern Kingdom and resettled people from various nations into the land of Israel.

3. The Nations
Various peoples brought by the Assyrians to inhabit the land of Israel, each with their own gods and customs.

4. The LORD (Yahweh)
The one true God whom the Israelites were commanded to worship exclusively.

5. The Exile
The event where the Israelites were taken from their land due to their persistent idolatry and disobedience.
Teaching Points
Exclusive Worship of God
God demands exclusive worship. The Israelites' attempt to serve both God and other deities was a direct violation of the first commandment. Believers today must examine their lives for any divided loyalties.

Cultural Influence and Compromise
The Israelites were influenced by the customs of the nations around them. Christians must be vigilant against cultural influences that lead to compromise in their faith.

The Consequences of Disobedience
The exile was a direct result of Israel's disobedience. This serves as a warning that turning away from God can lead to severe consequences.

The Danger of Syncretism
Mixing true worship with other religious practices dilutes and distorts faith. Believers are called to maintain purity in their worship and doctrine.
Bible Study Questions
1. What are some modern-day "gods" or idols that can compete with our worship of the one true God?

2. How can we guard against cultural influences that may lead us away from exclusive worship of God?

3. In what ways might we be tempted to serve two masters, and how can we overcome this temptation?

4. Reflect on a time when you faced consequences for disobedience. How did that experience shape your faith journey?

5. How can we ensure that our worship and faith practices remain pure and undiluted by external influences?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Exodus 20:3-5
This passage emphasizes the commandment against idolatry, highlighting the Israelites' failure to worship God alone.

1 Kings 18:21
Elijah's challenge to the Israelites to choose between God and Baal reflects the divided worship seen in 2 Kings 17:33.

Matthew 6:24
Jesus' teaching that one cannot serve two masters parallels the divided loyalties of the Israelites.

James 1:8
The concept of being double-minded is relevant to the Israelites' attempt to worship both God and other deities.
Sermons
Alloy in the ChurchR. Venting.2 Kings 17:33
An Altar in Reserve2 Kings 17:33
Christ's Religion Requires Thoroughness2 Kings 17:33
Divided WorshipAlexander Maclaren2 Kings 17:33
Double-DealingW. Birch.2 Kings 17:33
Inconsistency2 Kings 17:33
Mongrel ReligionSpurgeon, Charles Haddon2 Kings 17:33
No Possible CompromiseJohn Ruskin.2 Kings 17:33
On Indecision of CharacterEssex Remembrancer2 Kings 17:33
The Inconsistent WorshipA. K. H. Boyd.2 Kings 17:33
True and False FearF. Addison Alexander, D. D.2 Kings 17:33
Christians Condemned by Men of the WorldJ. Parker, D. D.2 Kings 17:24-41
Heathen Occupants of the LandJ. Orr 2 Kings 17:24-41
Samaria and its ReligionC.H. Irwin 2 Kings 17:24-41
Subjects Worth Thinking AboutDavid Thomas, D. D.2 Kings 17:24-41
Subjects Worth Thinking AboutD. Thomas 2 Kings 17:24-41
People
Adrammelech, Ahaz, Anammelech, Avites, Avvites, David, Elah, Hoshea, Israelites, Jacob, Jeroboam, Nebat, Pharaoh, Sepharvites, Shalmaneser
Places
Assyria, Avva, Babylon, Bethel, Cuth, Cuthah, Egypt, Gozan, Habor River, Halah, Hamath, Samaria, Sepharvaim
Topics
Accordance, Carried, Custom, Customs, Exile, Feared, Fearing, Gods, Honour, Manner, Nations, Prisoners, Removed, Served, Serving, Thence, Whence, Worship
Dictionary of Bible Themes
2 Kings 17:33

     5286   custom
     6213   participation, in sin
     8304   loyalty
     8345   servanthood, and worship
     8752   false worship

2 Kings 17:24-33

     4215   Babylon

2 Kings 17:24-41

     7560   Samaritans, the

2 Kings 17:27-34

     8720   double-mindedness

2 Kings 17:29-33

     7442   shrine

2 Kings 17:32-33

     5811   compromise

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 Scripture

A 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

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