The End of the Northern Kingdom of Israel

Click here to read II Kings 17.

Chapter 17 records the end of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. It began with the division of the United Kingdom of Israel in 925 BC. and ended with the fall of the Capitol City of Samaria in 722 BC, after about 200 years of disobedience to the Lord.

Hoshea became the 19th. King of Israel in 732 BC. and he reigned for 9 years. He was considered an evil King. In the first year of his reign, King Shalmaneser, of Assyria, attacked and defeated the troops of Israel. For 5 years Israel paid a heavy tribute to Assyria, then Hoshea rebelled and sought the aid of King So of Egypt but the Assyrian King discovered the plot and came and captured Hoshea and put him in chains.

For 3 years the Assyrians besieged Samaria, the Capitol of Israel. In 722 BC. Samaria fell to the Assyrians. The people of Israel were carried away as captives to their Capitol City of Ninaveh. Now according to historians, only the young and physically strong were taken. By depriving them of their country and their possessions and moving them to a strange land, the King of Assyria effectively prevented any future rebellion. So Assyria got the benefit of free labor and eliminated any future threat by Israel. Also, they got well built cities and good land which they took from the Israeli and brought in their own people to inhabit.

Note where the people were taken: Some were taken to the city of Halah in Mesopotamia, others to the city of Gozan on the River Harbor, a branch of the Euphrates and still others were taken to the cities of the Medes, present day Iran. The Medes had been captured by the Assyrians before the Israelis and their cities were stripped of the Medes and populated by the Assyrians also. We have reason to believe that the Israelis were broken up into small bands and spread over most of the Assyrian Empire. They became, in 70 years, so mingled with other nations, that they were lost forever.

This disaster came upon Israel just as it will any nation that disobeys God and worships other gods. For 200 years the Lord had warned them through His Prophets but they refused to repent and obey Him. When the Assyrians came into Israel to possess the land, the Lord sent lions to kill them and they realized it was because they did not know the Lord of Israel. So they asked the King of Assyria to send them one of the exiled Priests of Israel back to teach them how to worship the God of Israel. They learned to worship God, but continued to worship their pagan gods also.

Previous Chapter

Return to Outline

Ask Questions

Next Chapter