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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1708)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>S E C O N D K I N G S</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. XVII.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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This chapter gives us an account of the captivity of the ten tribes,
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and so finishes the history of that kingdom, after it had continued
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about 265 years, from the setting up of Jeroboam the son of Nebat. In
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it we have,
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I. A short narrative of this destruction,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+17:1-6">ver. 1-6</A>.
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II. Remarks upon it, and the causes of it, for the justifying of God
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in it and for warning to others,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+17:7-23">ver. 7-23</A>.
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III. An account of the nations which succeeded them in the possession
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of their land, and the mongrel religion set up among them,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+17:24-41">ver. 24-41</A>.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="2Ki17_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki17_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki17_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki17_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki17_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki17_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Samaria Besieged by the Assyrians; Israel Subdued by Assyria.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 730.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah began Hoshea the
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son of Elah to reign in Samaria over Israel nine years.
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2 And he did <I>that which was</I> evil in the sight of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>,
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but not as the kings of Israel that were before him.
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3 Against him came up Shalmaneser king of Assyria; and Hoshea
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became his servant, and gave him presents.
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4 And the king of Assyria found conspiracy in Hoshea: for he
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had sent messengers to So king of Egypt, and brought no present
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to the king of Assyria, as <I>he had done</I> year by year: therefore
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the king of Assyria shut him up, and bound him in prison.
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5 Then the king of Assyria came up throughout all the land, and
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went up to Samaria, and besieged it three years.
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6 In the ninth year of Hoshea the king of Assyria took Samaria,
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and carried Israel away into Assyria, and placed them in Halah
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and in Habor <I>by</I> the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the
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Medes.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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We have here the reign and ruin of Hoshea, the last of the kings of
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Israel, concerning whom observe,</P>
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<P>
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I. That, though he forced his way to the crown by treason and murder
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(as we read
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+15:30"><I>ch.</I> xv. 30</A>),
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yet he gained not the possession of it till seven or eight years after;
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for it was in the fourth year of Ahaz that he slew Pekah, but did not
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himself begin to reign till the twelfth year of Ahaz,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+17:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>.
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Whether by the king of Assyria, or by the king of Judah, or by some of
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his own people, does not appear, but it seems so long he was kept out
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of the throne he aimed at. Justly were his bad practices thus
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chastised, and the word of the prophet was thus fulfilled
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+10:3">Hos. x. 3</A>),
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<I>Now they shall say We have no king, because we feared not the
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Lord.</I></P>
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<P>
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II. That, though he was bad, yet not so bad as the kings of Israel had
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been before him
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+17:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>),
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not so devoted to the calves as they had been. One of them (that at
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Dan), the Jews say, had been, before this, carried away by the king of
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Assyria in the expedition recorded
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+15:29"><I>ch.</I> xv. 29</A>,
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(to which perhaps the prophet refers,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+8:5">Hos. viii. 5</A>,
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<I>Thy calf, O Samaria! has cast thee off</I>), which made him put the
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less confidence in the other. And some say that this Hoshea took off
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the embargo which the former kings had put their subjects under,
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forbidding them to go up to Jerusalem to worship, which he permitted
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those to do that had a mind to it. But what shall we think of this
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dispensation of providence, that the destruction of the kingdom of
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Israel should come in the reign of one of the best of its kings? <I>Thy
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judgments,</I> O God! <I>are a great deep.</I> God would hereby show
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that in bringing this ruin upon them he designed to punish,
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1. Not only the sins of that generation, but of the foregoing ages, and
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to reckon for the iniquities of their fathers, who had been long in
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filing the measure and treasuring up wrath against this day of wrath.
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2. Not only the sins of their kings, but the sins of the people. If
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Hoshea was not so bad as the former kings, yet the people were as bad
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as those that went before them, and it was an aggravation of their
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badness, and brought ruin the sooner, that their king did not set them
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so bad an example as the former kings had done, nor hinder them from
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reforming; he gave them leave to do better, but they did as bad as
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ever, which laid the blame of their sin and ruin wholly upon
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themselves.</P>
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<P>
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III. That the destruction came gradually. They were for some time made
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tributaries before they were made captives to the king of Assyria
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+17:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>),
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and, if that less judgment had prevailed to humble and reform them, the
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greater would have been prevented.</P>
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<P>
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IV. That they brought it upon themselves by the indirect course they
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took to shake off the yoke of the king of Assyria,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+17:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>.
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Had the king and people of Israel applied to God, made their peace with
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him and their prayers to him, they might have recovered their liberty,
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ease, and honour; but they withheld their tribute, and trusted to the
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king of Egypt to assist them in their revolt, which, if it had taken
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effect, would have been but to change their oppressors. But Egypt
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became to them the staff of a broken reed. This provoked the king of
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Assyria to proceed against them with the more severity. Men get nothing
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by struggling with the net, but entangle themselves the more.</P>
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<P>
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V. That it was an utter destruction that came upon them.
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1. The king of Israel was made a prisoner; he was shut up and bound,
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being, it is probable, taken by surprise, before Samaria was besieged.
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2. The land of Israel was made a prey. The army of the king of Assyria
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came up throughout all the land, made themselves master of it
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+17:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>),
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and treated the people as traitors to be punished with the sword of
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justice rather than as fair enemies.
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3. The royal city of Israel was besieged, and at length taken. Three
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years it held out after the country was conquered, and no doubt a great
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deal of misery was endured at that time which is not particularly
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recorded; but the brevity of the story, and the passing of this matter
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over lightly, methinks, intimate that they were abandoned of God and he
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did not now regard the affliction of Israel, as sometimes as he had
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done.
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4. The people of Israel were carried captives into Assyria,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+17:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>.
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The generality of the people, those that were of any note, were forced
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away into the conqueror's country, to be slaves and beggars there.
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(1.) Thus he was pleased to exercise a dominion over them, and to show
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that they were entirely at his disposal.
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(2.) By depriving them of their possessions and estates, real and
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personal, and exposing them to all the hardships and reproaches of a
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removal to a strange country, under the power of an imperious army, he
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chastised them for their rebellion and their endeavour to shake off his
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yoke.
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(3.) Thus he effectually prevented all such attempts for the future and
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secured their country to himself.
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(4.) Thus he got the benefit of their service in his own country, as
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Pharaoh did that of their fathers; and so this unworthy people were
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lost as they were found, and ended as they began, in servitude and
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under oppression.
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(5.) Thus he made room for those of his own country that had little,
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and little to do, at home, to settle in a good land, a land flowing
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with milk and honey. In all these several ways he served himself by
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this captivity of the ten tribes. We are here told in what places of
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his kingdom he disposed of them--in <I>Halah</I> and <I>Habor,</I> in
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places, we may suppose, far distant from each other, lest they should
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keep up a correspondence, incorporate again, and become formidable.
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There, we have reason to think, after some time they were so mingled
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with the nations that they were lost, and <I>the name of Israel was no
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more in remembrance.</I> Those that forgot God were themselves
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forgotten; those that studied to be like the nations were buried among
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them; and those that would not serve God in their own land were made to
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serve their enemies in a strange land. It is probable that they were
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the men of honour and estates who were carried captive, and that many
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of the meaner sort of people were left behind, many of every tribe, who
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either went over to Judah or became subject to the Assyrian colonies,
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and their posterity were <I>Galileans</I> or <I>Samaritans.</I> But
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thus ended Israel as a nation; now they became <I>Lo-ammi--not a
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people,</I> and <I>Lo-ruhamah--unpitied.</I> Now Canaan spued them out.
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When we read of their entry under Hoshea the son of Nun who would have
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thought that such as this should be their exit under Hoshea the son of
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Elah? Thus Rome's glory in Augustus sunk, many ages after, in
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Augustulus. Providence so ordered the eclipsing of the honour of the
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ten tribes that the honour of Judah (the royal tribe) and Levi (the
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holy tribe), which yet remained, might shine the brighter. Yet we find
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a number sealed of every one of the twelve tribes
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+7:1-8">Rev. vii.</A>)
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except Dan. James writes to the twelve tribes scattered abroad
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jam+1:1">Jam. i. 1</A>)
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and Paul speaks of the twelve tribes which <I>instantly served God day
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and night</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+26:7">Acts xxvi. 7</A>);
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so that though we never read of those that were carried captive, nor
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have any reason to credit the conjecture of some (that they yet remain
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a distinct body in some remote corner of the world), yet a remnant of
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them did escape, to keep up the name of Israel, till it came to be worn
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by the gospel church, the spiritual Israel, in which it will ever
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remain,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+6:16">Gal. vi. 16</A>.</P>
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<A NAME="2Ki17_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki17_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki17_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki17_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki17_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki17_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki17_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki17_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki17_15"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki17_16"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki17_17"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki17_18"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki17_19"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki17_20"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki17_21"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki17_22"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki17_23"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Wickedness of Israel.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 730.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>7 For <I>so</I> it was, that the children of Israel had sinned
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against the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> their God, which had brought them up out of the
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land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and
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had feared other gods,
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8 And walked in the statutes of the heathen, whom the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> cast
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out from before the children of Israel, and of the kings of
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Israel, which they had made.
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9 And the children of Israel did secretly <I>those</I> things that
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<I>were</I> not right against the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> their God, and they built them
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high places in all their cities, from the tower of the watchmen
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to the fenced city.
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10 And they set them up images and groves in every high hill,
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and under every green tree:
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11 And there they burnt incense in all the high places, as
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<I>did</I> the heathen whom the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> carried away before them; and
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wrought wicked things to provoke the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> to anger:
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12 For they served idols, whereof the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> had said unto them,
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Ye shall not do this thing.
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13 Yet the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> testified against Israel, and against Judah, by
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all the prophets, <I>and by</I> all the seers, saying, Turn ye from
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your evil ways, and keep my commandments <I>and</I> my statutes,
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according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and
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which I sent to you by my servants the prophets.
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14 Notwithstanding they would not hear, but hardened their
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necks, like to the neck of their fathers, that did not believe in
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the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> their God.
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15 And they rejected his statutes, and his covenant that he
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made with their fathers, and his testimonies which he testified
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against them; and they followed vanity, and became vain, and went
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after the heathen that <I>were</I> round about them, <I>concerning</I> whom
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the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> had charged them, that they should not do like them.
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16 And they left all the commandments of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> their God,
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and made them molten images, <I>even</I> two calves, and made a grove,
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and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served Baal.
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17 And they caused their sons and their daughters to pass
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through the fire, and used divination and enchantments, and sold
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themselves to do evil in the sight of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, to provoke him to
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anger.
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18 Therefore the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> was very angry with Israel, and removed
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them out of his sight: there was none left but the tribe of Judah
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only.
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19 Also Judah kept not the commandments of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> their God,
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but walked in the statutes of Israel which they made.
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20 And the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> rejected all the seed of Israel, and afflicted
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them, and delivered them into the hand of spoilers, until he had
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cast them out of his sight.
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21 For he rent Israel from the house of David; and they made
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Jeroboam the son of Nebat king: and Jeroboam drave Israel from
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following the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, and made them sin a great sin.
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22 For the children of Israel walked in all the sins of
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Jeroboam which he did; they departed not from them;
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23 Until the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> removed Israel out of his sight, as he had
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said by all his servants the prophets. So was Israel carried away
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out of their own land to Assyria unto this day.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Though the destruction of the kingdom of the ten tribes was but briefly
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related, it is in these verses largely commented upon by our historian,
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and the reasons of it assigned, not taken from the second causes--the
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weakness of Israel, their impolitic management, and the strength and
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growing greatness of the Assyrian monarch (these things are
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overlooked)--but only from the First Cause. Observe,
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1. It was <I>the Lord that removed Israel out of his sight;</I> whoever
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were the instruments, he was the author of this calamity. It was
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<I>destruction from the Almighty;</I> the Assyrian was but the <I>rod
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of his anger,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+10:5">Isa. x. 5</A>.
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It was <I>the Lord that rejected the seed of Israel,</I> else their
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enemies could not have seized upon them,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+17:20"><I>v.</I> 20</A>.
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<I>Who gave Jacob for a spoil, and Israel to the robbers? Did not the
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Lord?</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+43:24">Isa. xliii. 24</A>.
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We lose the benefit of national judgments if we do not eye the hand of
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God in them, and the fulfilling of the scripture, for that also is
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taken notice of here
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+17:23"><I>v.</I> 23</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>The Lord removed Israel</I> out of his favour, and out of their own
|
|
land, <I>as he had said by all his servants the prophets.</I> Rather
|
|
shall heaven and earth pass than one tittle of God's word fall to the
|
|
ground. When God's word and his works are compared, it will be found
|
|
not only that they agree, but that they illustrate each other. But why
|
|
would God ruin a people that were raised and incorporated, as Israel
|
|
was, by miracles and oracles? Why would he undo that which he himself
|
|
had done at so vast an expense? Was it purely an act of sovereignty?
|
|
No, it was an act of necessary justice. For,
|
|
|
|
2. They provoked him to do this by their wickedness. Was it God's
|
|
doing? Nay, it was their own; by their <I>way and their doings</I> they
|
|
<I>procured all this to themselves,</I> and it was their own wickedness
|
|
that did correct them. This the sacred historian shows here at large,
|
|
that it might appear that God did them no wrong and that others might
|
|
hear and fear. Come and see what it was that did all this mischief,
|
|
that broke their power and laid their honour in the dust; it was sin;
|
|
that, and nothing else, separated between them and God. This is here
|
|
very movingly laid open as the cause of all the desolations of Israel.
|
|
He here shows,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. What God had done for Israel, to engage them to serve him.
|
|
|
|
1. He gave them their liberty
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+17:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>):
|
|
|
|
He <I>brought them from under the hand of Pharaoh</I> who oppressed
|
|
them, asserted their freedom (<I>Israel is my son</I>), and effected
|
|
their freedom with a high hand. Thus they were bound in duty and
|
|
gratitude to be his servants, for he had loosed their bonds; nor would
|
|
he that rescued them out of the hand of the king of Egypt have
|
|
contradicted himself so far as to deliver them into the hand of the
|
|
king of Assyria, as he did, if they had not, by their iniquity,
|
|
betrayed their liberty and sold themselves.
|
|
|
|
2. He gave them their law, and was himself their king. They were
|
|
immediately under a divine regimen. They could not plead ignorance of
|
|
good and evil, sin and duty, for God had particularly charged them
|
|
against those very things which here he charges them with
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+17:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>That they should not do like the heathen.</I> Nor could they be in
|
|
any doubt concerning their obligation to observe the laws which they
|
|
are here charged with rejecting, for they were <I>the commandments and
|
|
statutes</I> of the Lord their God
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+17:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>),
|
|
|
|
so that no room was left to dispute whether they should keep them or
|
|
no. He had not <I>dealt so with other nations,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+147:19,20">Ps. cxlvii. 19, 20</A>.
|
|
|
|
3. He gave them <I>their land,</I> for he <I>cast out the heathen from
|
|
before them</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+17:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>),
|
|
|
|
to make room for them; and the casting out of them for their idolatries
|
|
was as fair a warning as could be given to Israel not to do like
|
|
them.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. What they had done against God, notwithstanding these engagements
|
|
which he had laid upon them.
|
|
|
|
1. In general. They <I>sinned against the Lord their God</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+17:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>),
|
|
|
|
they <I>did those things that were not right</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+17:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>),
|
|
|
|
but <I>secretly.</I> So wedded were they to their evil practices that
|
|
when they could not do them publicly, could not for shame or could not
|
|
for fear, they would do them secretly--an evidence of their atheism,
|
|
that they thought what was done in secret was from under the eye of God
|
|
himself and would not be required. Again, they wrought wicked things in
|
|
such a direct contradiction to the divine law that they seemed as if
|
|
they were done on purpose to <I>provoke the Lord to anger</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+17:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>),
|
|
|
|
in contempt of his authority and defiance of his justice. They
|
|
<I>rejected God's statutes and his covenant</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+17:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>),
|
|
|
|
would not be bound up either by his command or the consent they
|
|
themselves had given to the covenant, but threw off the obligations of
|
|
both, and therefore God justly rejected them,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+17:20"><I>v.</I> 20</A>.
|
|
|
|
See
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+4:6">Hos. iv. 6</A>.
|
|
|
|
They <I>left all the commandments of the Lord their God</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+17:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>),
|
|
|
|
left the way, left the work, which those commandments prescribed them
|
|
and directed them in. Nay, lastly, they <I>sold themselves to do evil
|
|
in the sight of the Lord,</I> that is, they wholly addicted themselves
|
|
to sin, as slaves to the service of those to whom they are sold, and,
|
|
by their obstinately persisting in sin, so hardened their own hearts
|
|
that at length it had become morally impossible for them to recover
|
|
themselves, as one that has sold himself has put his liberty past
|
|
recall.
|
|
|
|
2. In particular. Though they were guilty (no doubt) of many
|
|
immoralities, and violated all the commands of the second table, yet
|
|
nothing is here specified, but their idolatry. <I>This</I> was the sin
|
|
that did most easily beset them; this was, of all sins, most provoking
|
|
to God: it was the spiritual adultery that broke the marriage-covenant,
|
|
and was the inlet of all other wickedness. Hence it is again and again
|
|
mentioned here as the sin that ruined them.
|
|
|
|
(1.) They feared other gods
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+17:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>),
|
|
|
|
that is, worshipped them and paid their homage to them, as if they
|
|
feared their displeasure.
|
|
|
|
(2.) They <I>walked in the statutes of the heathen,</I> which were
|
|
contrary to God's statutes
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+17:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>),
|
|
|
|
did <I>as did the heathen</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+17:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>went after the heathen that were round about them</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+17:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>),
|
|
|
|
so prostituting the honour of their peculiarity, and defeating God's
|
|
design concerning them, which was that they should be distinguished
|
|
from the heathen. Must those that were taught of God go to school to
|
|
the heathen--those that were appropriated to God take their measures
|
|
from the nations that were abandoned by him?
|
|
|
|
(3.) They <I>walked in the statutes of the</I> idolatrous <I>kings of
|
|
Israel</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+17:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>in all the sins of Jeroboam,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+17:22"><I>v.</I> 22</A>.
|
|
|
|
When their kings assumed a power to alter and add to the divine
|
|
institutions they submitted to them, and thought the command of their
|
|
kings would bear them out in disobedience to the command of their God.
|
|
|
|
(4.) They <I>built themselves high places in all their cities,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+17:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>.
|
|
|
|
If in any place there was but the tower of the watchmen (a country
|
|
tower that had no walls, but only a tower to shelter the watch in time
|
|
of danger), or but a lodge for shepherds, it must be honoured with a
|
|
high place, and that with an altar. If there was a fenced city, it must
|
|
be further fortified with a high place. Having forsaken God's only
|
|
place, they knew no end of high places, in which every man followed his
|
|
own fancy and directed his devotion to what god he pleased. Sacred
|
|
things were hereby profaned and laid common, when their altars were
|
|
<I>as heaps in the furrows of the field,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+12:11">Hos. xii. 11</A>.
|
|
|
|
(5.) They <I>set them up images and groves--Asherim</I> (even <I>wooden
|
|
images,</I> so some think the term, which we translate <I>groves,</I>
|
|
should be rendered) or <I>Ashtaroth</I> (so others)--directed contrary
|
|
to the second commandment,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+17:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>.
|
|
|
|
They served idols
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+17:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>),
|
|
|
|
the works of their own hands and creatures of their own fancy, though
|
|
God had warned them particularly not to do this thing.
|
|
|
|
(6.) They <I>burnt incense in all the high places,</I> to the honour of
|
|
strange gods, for it was to the dishonour of the true God,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+17:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>.
|
|
|
|
(7.) They followed vanity. Idols are called so, because they could do
|
|
neither good nor evil, but were the most insignificant things that
|
|
could be; those that worshipped them were like unto them, and so they
|
|
became vain and good for nothing
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+17:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>),
|
|
|
|
vain in their devotions, which were brutish and ridiculous, and so
|
|
became vain in their whole conversation.
|
|
|
|
(8.) Besides the molten images, even the two calves, they <I>worshipped
|
|
all the host of heaven</I>--the sun, moon, and stars: for it is not
|
|
meant of the heavenly host of angels; they could not rise so far above
|
|
sensible things as to think of them. And, withal, they served Baal, the
|
|
deified heroes of the Gentiles,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+17:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>.
|
|
|
|
(9.) <I>They caused their children to pass through the fire,</I> in
|
|
token of their dedicating them to their idols.
|
|
|
|
(10.) They used divinations and enchantments, that they might receive
|
|
directions from the gods to whom they paid their devotions.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. What means God used with them, to bring them off from their
|
|
idolatries, and to how little purpose. He testified against them,
|
|
showed them their sins and warned them of the fatal consequences of
|
|
them by all the prophets and all the <I>seers</I> (for so the prophets
|
|
had been formerly called), and pressed them to <I>turn from their evil
|
|
ways,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+17:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>.
|
|
|
|
We have read of prophets, more or less, in every reign. Though they had
|
|
forsaken God's family of priests, he did not leave them without a
|
|
succession of prophets, who made it their business to teach them the
|
|
good knowledge of the Lord, but all in vain
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+17:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>);
|
|
|
|
they would not hear, but hardened their necks, persisted in their
|
|
idolatries, and were like their fathers, that would not bow their necks
|
|
to God's yoke, because they <I>did not believe in him,</I> did not
|
|
receive his truths, nor would venture upon his promises: it seems to
|
|
refer to their fathers in the wilderness; the same sin that kept them
|
|
out of Canaan turned these out, and that was unbelief.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
IV. How God punished them for their sins. He <I>was very angry with
|
|
them</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+17:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>);
|
|
|
|
for, in the matter of his worship, he is a jealous God, and resents
|
|
nothing more deeply than giving that honour to any creature which is
|
|
due to himself only. He afflicted them
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+17:20"><I>v.</I> 20</A>)
|
|
|
|
and <I>delivered them into the hand of spoilers,</I> in the days of the
|
|
judges and of Saul, and afterwards in the days of most of their kings,
|
|
to see if they would be awakened by the judgments of God to consider
|
|
and amend their ways; but, when all these corrections did not prevail
|
|
to drive out the folly, God first <I>rent Israel from the house of
|
|
David,</I> under which they might have been happy. As Judah was hereby
|
|
weakened, so Israel was hereby corrupted; for they made a man king who
|
|
<I>drove them from following the Lord and caused them to sin a great
|
|
sin,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+17:21"><I>v.</I> 21</A>.
|
|
|
|
This was a national judgment, and the punishment of their former
|
|
idolatries; and, at length, he <I>removed them quite out of his
|
|
sight</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+17:18,23"><I>v.</I> 18, 23</A>),
|
|
|
|
without giving them any hopes of a return out of their captivity.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
<I>Lastly,</I> Here is a complaint against Judah in the midst of all
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+17:19"><I>v.</I> 19</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>Also Judah kept not the commandments of God;</I> though they were
|
|
not as yet quite so bad as Israel, yet they <I>walked in the statutes
|
|
of Israel;</I> and this aggravated the sin of Israel, that they
|
|
communicated the infection of it to Judah; see
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+23:11">Ezek. xxiii. 11</A>.
|
|
|
|
Those that bring sin into a country or family bring a plague into it
|
|
and will have to answer for all the mischief that follows.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="2Ki17_24"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Ki17_25"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Ki17_26"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Ki17_27"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Ki17_28"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Ki17_29"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Ki17_30"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Ki17_31"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Ki17_32"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Ki17_33"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Ki17_34"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Ki17_35"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Ki17_36"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Ki17_37"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Ki17_38"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Ki17_39"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Ki17_40"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Ki17_41"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Samaritans' Idolatry.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 720.</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>24 And the king of Assyria brought <I>men</I> from Babylon, and from
|
|
Cuthah, and from Ava, and from Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and
|
|
placed <I>them</I> in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of
|
|
Israel: and they possessed Samaria, and dwelt in the cities
|
|
thereof.
|
|
25 And <I>so</I> it was at the beginning of their dwelling there,
|
|
<I>that</I> they feared not the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>: therefore the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> sent lions
|
|
among them, which slew <I>some</I> of them.
|
|
26 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.
|
|
27 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.
|
|
28 Then one of the priests whom they had carried away from
|
|
Samaria came and dwelt in Beth-el, and taught them how they should
|
|
fear the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
|
|
29 Howbeit every nation made gods of their own, and put <I>them</I>
|
|
in the houses of the high places which the Samaritans had made,
|
|
every nation in their cities wherein they dwelt.
|
|
30 And the men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, and the men of
|
|
Cuth made Nergal, and the men of Hamath made Ashima,
|
|
31 And the Avites made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvites
|
|
burnt their children in fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the
|
|
gods of Sepharvaim.
|
|
32 So they feared the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, 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.
|
|
33 They feared the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, and served their own gods, after the
|
|
manner of the nations whom they carried away from thence.
|
|
34 Unto this day they do after the former manners: they fear
|
|
not the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, neither do they after their statutes, or after
|
|
their ordinances, or after the law and commandment which the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>
|
|
commanded the children of Jacob, whom he named Israel;
|
|
35 With whom the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> 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:
|
|
36 But the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, 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.
|
|
37 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.
|
|
38 And the covenant that I have made with you ye shall not
|
|
forget; neither shall ye fear other gods.
|
|
39 But the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> your God ye shall fear; and he shall deliver
|
|
you out of the hand of all your enemies.
|
|
40 Howbeit they did not hearken, but they did after their
|
|
former manner.
|
|
41 So these nations feared the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, and served their graven
|
|
images, both their children, and their children's children: as
|
|
did their fathers, so do they unto this day.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
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|
<P>
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Never was land lost, we say, for want of an heir. When the children of
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Israel were dispossessed, and turned out of Canaan, the king of Assyria
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soon transplanted thither the supernumeraries of his own country, such
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as it could well spare, who should be servants to him and masters to
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the Israelites that remained; and here we have an account of these new
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inhabitants, whose story is related here that we may take our leave of
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Samaria, as also of the Israelites that were carried captive into
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Assyria.</P>
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<P>
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I. Concerning the Assyrians that were brought into the land of Israel
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we are here told,
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1. That they possessed Samaria and <I>dwelt in the cities thereof,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+17:24"><I>v.</I> 24</A>.
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It is common for lands to change their owners, but sad that the holy
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land should become a heathen land again. See what work sin makes.
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2. That at their first coming God <I>sent lions among them.</I> They
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were probably insufficient to people the country, which occasioned
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<I>the beasts of the field to multiply against them</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+23:29">Exod. xxiii. 29</A>);
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yet, besides the natural cause, there was a manifest hand of God in it,
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who is Lord of hosts, of all the creatures, and can serve his own
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purposes by which he pleases, small or great, lice or lions. God
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ordered them this rough welcome to check their pride and insolence, and
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to let them know that though they had conquered Israel the God of
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Israel had power enough to deal with them--that he could have prevented
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their settling here, by ordering lions into the service of Israel, and
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that he permitted it, not for their righteousness, but the wickedness
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of his own people--and that they were now under his visitation. They
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had lived without God in their own land, and were not plagued with
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lions; but, if they do so in this land, it is at their peril.
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3. That they sent a remonstrance of this grievance to the king their
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master, setting forth, it is likely, the loss their infant colony had
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sustained by the lions and the continual fear they were in of them, and
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stating that they looked upon it to be a judgment upon them for not
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worshipping the God of the land, which they could not, because they
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knew not how,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+17:26"><I>v.</I> 26</A>.
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The God of Israel was the God of the whole world, but they ignorantly
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call him the <I>God of the land,</I> apprehending themselves therefore
|
|
within his reach, and concerned to be upon good terms with him. Herein
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they shamed the Israelites, who were not so ready to hear the voice of
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God's judgments as they were, and who had not served the <I>God of that
|
|
land,</I> though he was the God of their fathers and their great
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|
benefactor, and though they were well instructed in the manner of his
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worship. Assyrians begged to be taught that which Israelites hated to
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be taught.
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4. That the king of Assyria took care to have them taught <I>the manner
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|
of the God of the land</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+17:27,28"><I>v.</I> 27, 28</A>),
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not out of any affection to that God, but to save his subjects from the
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lions. On this errand he sent back one of the priests whom he had
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|
carried away captive. A prophet would have done them more good, for
|
|
this was but one of the priests of the calves, and therefore chose to
|
|
dwell at Bethel for old acquaintance' sake, and, though he might teach
|
|
them to do better than they did, he was not likely to teach them to do
|
|
well, unless he had taught his own people better. However, he came and
|
|
dwelt among them, to teach them how they should <I>fear the Lord.</I>
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|
Whether he taught them out of the book of the law, or only by word of
|
|
mouth, is uncertain.
|
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5. That, being thus taught, they made a mongrel religion of it,
|
|
worshipped the God of Israel for fear and their own idols for love
|
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+17:33"><I>v.</I> 33</A>):
|
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|
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<I>They feared the Lord,</I> but they <I>served their own gods.</I>
|
|
They all agreed to worship the God of the land according to the manner,
|
|
to serve the Jewish festivals and rites of sacrificing, but every
|
|
nation made gods of their own besides, not only for their private use
|
|
in their own families, but to be put <I>in the houses of their high
|
|
places,</I>
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+17:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>.
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The idols of each country are here named,
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+17:30,31"><I>v.</I> 30, 31</A>.
|
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The learned are at a loss for the signification of several of these
|
|
names, and cannot agree by what representations these gods were
|
|
worshipped. If we may credit the traditions of the Jewish doctors, they
|
|
tell us that Succoth-Benoth was worshipped in a hen and chickens,
|
|
Nergal in a cock, Ashima in a smooth goat, Nibhaz in a dog, Tartak in
|
|
an ass, Adrammelech in a peacock, Anammelech in a pheasant. Our own
|
|
tell us, more probably, that Succoth-Benoth (signifying <I>the tents of
|
|
the daughters</I>) was Venus. Nergal, being worshipped by the Cuthites,
|
|
or Persians, was <I>the fire,</I> Adrammelech and Anammelech were only
|
|
distinctions of Moloch. See how vain idolaters were in their
|
|
imaginations, and wonder at their sottishness. Our very ignorance
|
|
concerning these idols teaches us the accomplishment of that word which
|
|
God has spoken, that these false gods should all perish
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+10:11">Jer. x. 11</A>);
|
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|
|
they are all buried in oblivion, while the name of the true God shall
|
|
continue for ever.
|
|
|
|
6. This medley superstition is here said to <I>continue unto this
|
|
day</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+17:41"><I>v.</I> 41</A>),
|
|
|
|
till the time when this book was written and long after, above 300
|
|
years in all, till the time of Alexander the Great, when Manasse,
|
|
brother to Jaddus the high priest of the Jews, having married the
|
|
daughter of Sanballat, governor of the Samaritans, went over to them,
|
|
got leave of Alexander to build a temple in Mount Gerizim, drew over
|
|
many of the Jews to him, and prevailed with the Samaritans to cast away
|
|
all their idols and to worship the God of Israel only; yet their
|
|
worship was mixed with so much superstition that our Saviour told them
|
|
they knew not what they worshipped,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+4:22">John iv. 22</A>.</P>
|
|
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|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. Concerning the Israelites that were carried into the land of
|
|
Assyria. This historian has occasion to speak of them
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+17:22"><I>v.</I> 22</A>),
|
|
|
|
showing that their successors in the land did as they had done
|
|
(<I>after the manner of the nations whom they carried away</I>), they
|
|
worshipped both the God of Israel and those other gods; but what did
|
|
the captives do in the land of their affliction? Were they reformed,
|
|
and brought to repentance, by their troubles? No, they did after the
|
|
former manner,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+17:34"><I>v.</I> 34</A>.
|
|
|
|
When the two tribes were afterwards carried into Babylon, they were
|
|
cured by it of their idolatry, and therefore, after seventy years, they
|
|
were brought back with joy; but the ten tribes were hardened in the
|
|
furnace, and therefore were justly lost in it and left to perish. This
|
|
obstinacy of theirs is here aggravated by the consideration,
|
|
|
|
1. Of the honour God had put upon them, as the seed of Jacob, <I>whom
|
|
he named Israel,</I> and from him they were so named, but were a
|
|
reproach to <I>that worthy name by which they were called.</I>
|
|
|
|
2. Of the covenant he made with them, and the charge he gave them upon
|
|
that covenant, which is here very fully recited, that they should
|
|
<I>fear and serve the Lord Jehovah</I> only, who had <I>brought them up
|
|
out of Egypt</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+17:36"><I>v.</I> 36</A>),
|
|
|
|
that, having received his statutes and ordinances in writing, they
|
|
should <I>observe to do them for evermore</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+17:37"><I>v.</I> 37</A>),
|
|
|
|
and never forget that covenant which God had made with them, the
|
|
promises and conditions of that covenant, especially that great article
|
|
of it which is here thrice repeated, because it had been so often
|
|
inculcated and so much insisted on, that they <I>should not fear other
|
|
gods.</I> He had told them that, if they kept close to him, he would
|
|
<I>deliver them out of the hand of all their enemies</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+17:39"><I>v.</I> 39</A>);
|
|
|
|
yet when they were in the hand of their enemies, and stood in need of
|
|
deliverance, they were so stupid, and had so little sense of their own
|
|
interest, that they did after the former manner
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+17:40"><I>v.</I> 40</A>),
|
|
|
|
they served both the true God and false gods, as if they knew no
|
|
difference. <I>Ephraim is joined to idols, let him alone.</I> So they
|
|
did, and so did the nations that succeeded them. Well might the apostle
|
|
ask, <I>What then, Are we better than they? No, in no wise, for both
|
|
Jews and Gentiles are all under sin,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+3:9">Rom. iii. 9</A>.</P>
|
|
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