Israel put away

In 2 Kings 17, the fall of Israel is told in summary. This is speaking of the northern 10 tribes. Judah remained in place and the Levites had no land. The reason given was simple: Jeroboam was entrusted by God (1 Kings) to lead the north, as Solomon was led astray by his wives. Jeroboam, however, did not follow the LORD and each ruler got progressively worse than the last. Ultimately, we read of such terrible leaders that they were attacking their own cities and slitting open the wombs of pregnant women only to then slaughter them (2 Kings 15:16).

The punishment from God for this is the invasion of Assyria. They come in and subdue as far south as Samaria, yet Judah, under the rule of Hezekiah, remains set apart. Hezekiah tore down alters and idols, following God all the days of his life, despite his awful father’s leadership (Ahaz).