Question 1

Why did God allow Israel to be taken away to Assyria?

Accepted Answer

This passage says Israel was taken to Assyria because they sinned against the Lord for a long time and would not turn back. God had brought them out of Egypt and made a covenant with them, but they followed other gods, copied the nations around them, built high places, and even practiced child sacrifice and witchcraft. God sent prophets and seers to call them to repent, but they hardened their hearts. The exile is shown as God’s judgment, not just Assyria’s strength. It is the sad result of long, stubborn rejection of God’s commands.

Question 2

Who was Hoshea and what did he do wrong in this passage?

Accepted Answer

Hoshea was the last king of the northern kingdom of Israel. He is said to have done evil in the Lord’s sight, though not as badly as earlier kings. At first he became a servant to the king of Assyria and paid tribute. Later he secretly sent messengers to So, king of Egypt, trying to form an alliance and stop paying tribute. This conspiracy was found out, and the Assyrian king imprisoned him and then attacked the land. Hoshea’s trust in political schemes instead of God led straight into Israel’s final defeat.

Question 3

What specific sins of Israel are listed as reasons for their exile?

Accepted Answer

The passage is very clear and detailed. Israel feared other gods, copied the customs of the nations, and used high places, images, and groves for worship. They made molten calves, bowed to the host of heaven, and served Baal. They offered their sons and daughters through the fire, used divination and enchantments, and did secret things that were not right before God. They rejected God’s statutes, covenant, and testimonies, left all his commandments, and would not listen to the prophets. All of this together led to God removing them from his sight.

Question 4

What does it mean that God “removed Israel out of his sight”?

Accepted Answer

“Removed Israel out of his sight” means God took away his favor, protection, and special presence from them as a nation. He allowed them to be conquered, their capital Samaria taken, and the people carried into Assyria. They lost the land he had given them and the place where they had lived as his covenant people. The phrase does not mean God stopped seeing them at all, but that he no longer owned them as his visible people in that land. It shows how serious it is to keep on in sin and refuse his warnings.

Question 5

Why does the passage mention prophets and seers so strongly?

Accepted Answer

The passage repeats that God spoke to Israel and Judah “by all the prophets and by all the seers,” telling them to turn from evil and keep his commandments. This shows that the exile did not come without warning. God was patient and gave many chances to repent. The people’s guilt is greater because they would not hear, but hardened their necks like their fathers. Mentioning the prophets underlines God’s kindness in calling them back, and the people’s stubbornness in ignoring the clear words he sent through his servants.

Question 6

Who are the new nations brought into Samaria, and what is their problem?

Accepted Answer

After Israel was taken away, the king of Assyria brought people from places like Babylon, Cuthah, Ava, Hamath, and Sepharvaim into the cities of Samaria. At first they did not fear the Lord at all, so God sent lions among them, and some were killed. They said they did not know “the manner of the God of the land,” so a priest from Israel was sent back to teach them. But instead of truly turning to the Lord, each nation kept making its own gods and used the high places, mixing some fear of the Lord with their old idol worship.

Question 7

What does it mean that they “feared the Lord and served their own gods”?

Accepted Answer

This line shows a mixed and empty kind of religion. They had some outward respect for the Lord, likely because of fear after the lions came, and they learned certain forms of worship from the priest. Yet they did not give up their old idols. Each group still made images and served its own gods. So they tried to honor the Lord and keep their old religion at the same time. The passage is clear that this is not real obedience. True fear of the Lord means turning away from other gods, not adding him to them.

Question 8

How does this passage describe the beginning of the Samaritans?

Accepted Answer

The passage shows how Samaria changed after Israel’s exile. Foreigners from different nations were settled in the cities of Samaria in place of the Israelites. One of the priests from Israel came back to Beth-el and taught them to fear the Lord, yet they also set up their own gods in the high places. Over time, their children and grandchildren kept this mixed worship. This background explains why later the people in that region had a blended religion, not fully following the law and covenant God had given to Jacob’s children.

Question 9

What does this chapter teach about God’s character and patience?

Accepted Answer

Here we see that God is patient but also just. He brought Israel out of Egypt with great power, made a covenant with them, gave them clear laws, and warned them many times through prophets and seers. He did not judge them at once. Their judgment was gradual, from tribute to siege to exile. Yet when they hardened their hearts, rejected his covenant, and gave themselves fully to idols and evil practices, he finally removed them from the land. God’s patience does not mean he ignores sin, but he gives many chances before he acts in judgment.

Question 10

How can believers today apply the warning in this passage?

Accepted Answer

This passage warns against drifting into half-hearted or mixed worship. Israel copied the nations around them, trusted human powers instead of God, and would not listen when God spoke through his word and his messengers. Today it calls believers to check what they love, trust, and obey. It pushes us to turn from any “modern idols” that take God’s place, to listen humbly when Scripture exposes sin, and to remember that God is kind but also holy. Staying close to his commands and relying on him, not on our own schemes, is the safe path.

2 Kings 17:1

In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah began Hoshea the son of Elah to reign in Samaria over Israel nine years.

Hoshea the Last King of Israel

Israel Carried Captive to Assyria

Samaria Resettled

Hoshea the Last King of Israel

Cross References

2 Kings 17:1

In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah began Hoshea the son of Elah to reign in Samaria over Israel nine years.

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Hoshea the Last King of Israel

Israel Carried Captive to Assyria

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Hoshea the Last King of Israel

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