II Kings 17:24-41
“And the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Ava, and from Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel: and they possessed Samaria, and dwelt in the cities thereof.” (II Kings 17:24)
For almost thirty years, Assyria had possessed most of Israel and for a time had allowed Pekah and Hoshea to continue to reign subject to their oversight. When Hoshea conspired with Egypt to revolt against they took him prisoner. The Jews refused to surrender for three more years, so when they were defeated, Shalmaneser had them relocated to remove any possibility of further resistance.
Knowing that Egypt was looking to expand her territory, he didn’t dare leave the area unoccupied so he moved in people from various ethnic groups who had established their loyalty to replace the Israelites. Doing so minimized the risk of invasion by Egypt or revolution of the people.
“And so it was at the beginning of their dwelling there, that they feared not the LORD: therefore the LORD sent lions among them, which slew some of them.” (II Kings 17:25)
Our world is very concerned pollution of the soil, the water and the air and many laws have been enacted to prevent it. Unfortunately, the worst and most harmful form of pollution is moral pollution. It is ultimately the cause of the physical pollution we are so concerned about, because our moral values and attitudes determine our physical actions. Leviticus 18:24-25 commands, “Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you: And the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants.”
When pollution, whether moral or physical reaches a certain level, the land becomes uninhabitable without remediation. For over a hundred fifty years, Israel had been morally polluting the land, although they had learned to limit the level of pollution to a level where they could continue to exist as a result of the prophets’ teachings and God’s judgments. Eventually, the accumulated pollution caused them to lose the land.
When the groups the Assyrians relocated came, they had no idea of the level of moral pollution and continued their lives as they had lived before, practicing their former customs and religions, unaware that it would push to pollution level over the limit. It led to and invasion of lions attacking people, somewhat similar to the invasion of bears and coyotes that has been experienced in Albuquerque.
“Wherefore they spake to the king of Assyria, saying, The nations which thou hast removed, and placed in the cities of Samaria, know not the manner of the God of the land: therefore he hath sent lions among them, and, behold, they slay them, because they know not the manner of the God of the land.” (II Kings 17:26)
Being more aware of the natural world around them and the principles of cause and effect than most modern people, they recognized that the problem was deeper than simply eliminating the lions or protecting the water supply. They realized they needed to deal with the moral pollution.
“Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, Carry thither one of the priests whom ye brought from thence; and let them go and dwell there, and let him teach them the manner of the God of the land.
Then one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and dwelt in Bethel, and taught them how they should fear the LORD. Howbeit every nation made gods of their own, and put them in the houses of the high places which the Samaritans had made, every nation in their cities wherein they dwelt. And the men of Babylon made Succothbenoth, and the men of Cuth made Nergal, and the men of Hamath made Ashima, And the Avites made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvites burnt their children in fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim.
So they feared the LORD, and made unto themselves of the lowest of them priests of the high places, which sacrificed for them in the houses of the high places. They feared the LORD, and served their own gods, after the manner of the nations whom they carried away from thence.” (II Kings 17:27-33)
To weaken Israel’s ties to Judah, Jeroboam had formed a religion with enough similarity to the Jewish religion to be readily accepted, but enough different to prevent their joining together readily, much as the Protestants did during the reformation to weaken their country’s ties to Rome.
Not knowing the difference, the Assyrian king had one of the priests from Jeroboam’s religion come and teach the new inhabitants about God. They practiced both their traditional religions, and the perverted form of Judaism Jeroboam had developed, with it’s moral standard.
“Unto this day they do after the former manners: they fear not the LORD, neither do they after their statutes, or after their ordinances, or after the law and commandment which the LORD commanded the children of Jacob, whom he named Israel; With whom the LORD had made a covenant, and charged them, saying, Ye shall not fear other gods, nor bow yourselves to them, nor serve them, nor sacrifice to them: But the LORD, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt with great power and a stretched out arm, him shall ye fear, and him shall ye worship, and to him shall ye do sacrifice.
And the statutes, and the ordinances, and the law, and the commandment, which he wrote for you, ye shall observe to do for evermore; and ye shall not fear other gods. And the covenant that I have made with you ye shall not forget; neither shall ye fear other gods. But the LORD your God ye shall fear; and he shall deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies. Howbeit they did not hearken, but they did after their former manner.” (II Kings 17:34-40)
The original Judaism Jeroboam broke away from was already turned away from what God had specified in the Law, refusing to turn back, and Jeroboam was even farther from what God had intended. While they believed they were practicing Judaism, and retained certain practices and beliefs, the new Samaritan religion had as little in common with the worship God had established as most groups today who claim to be Christian have with the church Christ started..
“So these nations feared the LORD, and served their graven images, both their children, and their children's children: as did their fathers, so do they unto this day.” (II Kings 17:41)
When the modern state of Israel was formed in 1948, the descendants of the Philistines and of the Samaritans were forced into the area along the west bank of the Jordan river formerly known as Samaria. Today we know them as the Palestinians.
“And the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Ava, and from Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel: and they possessed Samaria, and dwelt in the cities thereof.” (II Kings 17:24)
For almost thirty years, Assyria had possessed most of Israel and for a time had allowed Pekah and Hoshea to continue to reign subject to their oversight. When Hoshea conspired with Egypt to revolt against they took him prisoner. The Jews refused to surrender for three more years, so when they were defeated, Shalmaneser had them relocated to remove any possibility of further resistance.
Knowing that Egypt was looking to expand her territory, he didn’t dare leave the area unoccupied so he moved in people from various ethnic groups who had established their loyalty to replace the Israelites. Doing so minimized the risk of invasion by Egypt or revolution of the people.
“And so it was at the beginning of their dwelling there, that they feared not the LORD: therefore the LORD sent lions among them, which slew some of them.” (II Kings 17:25)
Our world is very concerned pollution of the soil, the water and the air and many laws have been enacted to prevent it. Unfortunately, the worst and most harmful form of pollution is moral pollution. It is ultimately the cause of the physical pollution we are so concerned about, because our moral values and attitudes determine our physical actions. Leviticus 18:24-25 commands, “Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you: And the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants.”
When pollution, whether moral or physical reaches a certain level, the land becomes uninhabitable without remediation. For over a hundred fifty years, Israel had been morally polluting the land, although they had learned to limit the level of pollution to a level where they could continue to exist as a result of the prophets’ teachings and God’s judgments. Eventually, the accumulated pollution caused them to lose the land.
When the groups the Assyrians relocated came, they had no idea of the level of moral pollution and continued their lives as they had lived before, practicing their former customs and religions, unaware that it would push to pollution level over the limit. It led to and invasion of lions attacking people, somewhat similar to the invasion of bears and coyotes that has been experienced in Albuquerque.
“Wherefore they spake to the king of Assyria, saying, The nations which thou hast removed, and placed in the cities of Samaria, know not the manner of the God of the land: therefore he hath sent lions among them, and, behold, they slay them, because they know not the manner of the God of the land.” (II Kings 17:26)
Being more aware of the natural world around them and the principles of cause and effect than most modern people, they recognized that the problem was deeper than simply eliminating the lions or protecting the water supply. They realized they needed to deal with the moral pollution.
“Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, Carry thither one of the priests whom ye brought from thence; and let them go and dwell there, and let him teach them the manner of the God of the land.
Then one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and dwelt in Bethel, and taught them how they should fear the LORD. Howbeit every nation made gods of their own, and put them in the houses of the high places which the Samaritans had made, every nation in their cities wherein they dwelt. And the men of Babylon made Succothbenoth, and the men of Cuth made Nergal, and the men of Hamath made Ashima, And the Avites made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvites burnt their children in fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim.
So they feared the LORD, and made unto themselves of the lowest of them priests of the high places, which sacrificed for them in the houses of the high places. They feared the LORD, and served their own gods, after the manner of the nations whom they carried away from thence.” (II Kings 17:27-33)
To weaken Israel’s ties to Judah, Jeroboam had formed a religion with enough similarity to the Jewish religion to be readily accepted, but enough different to prevent their joining together readily, much as the Protestants did during the reformation to weaken their country’s ties to Rome.
Not knowing the difference, the Assyrian king had one of the priests from Jeroboam’s religion come and teach the new inhabitants about God. They practiced both their traditional religions, and the perverted form of Judaism Jeroboam had developed, with it’s moral standard.
“Unto this day they do after the former manners: they fear not the LORD, neither do they after their statutes, or after their ordinances, or after the law and commandment which the LORD commanded the children of Jacob, whom he named Israel; With whom the LORD had made a covenant, and charged them, saying, Ye shall not fear other gods, nor bow yourselves to them, nor serve them, nor sacrifice to them: But the LORD, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt with great power and a stretched out arm, him shall ye fear, and him shall ye worship, and to him shall ye do sacrifice.
And the statutes, and the ordinances, and the law, and the commandment, which he wrote for you, ye shall observe to do for evermore; and ye shall not fear other gods. And the covenant that I have made with you ye shall not forget; neither shall ye fear other gods. But the LORD your God ye shall fear; and he shall deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies. Howbeit they did not hearken, but they did after their former manner.” (II Kings 17:34-40)
The original Judaism Jeroboam broke away from was already turned away from what God had specified in the Law, refusing to turn back, and Jeroboam was even farther from what God had intended. While they believed they were practicing Judaism, and retained certain practices and beliefs, the new Samaritan religion had as little in common with the worship God had established as most groups today who claim to be Christian have with the church Christ started..
“So these nations feared the LORD, and served their graven images, both their children, and their children's children: as did their fathers, so do they unto this day.” (II Kings 17:41)
When the modern state of Israel was formed in 1948, the descendants of the Philistines and of the Samaritans were forced into the area along the west bank of the Jordan river formerly known as Samaria. Today we know them as the Palestinians.
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