Week 18 2 Kings 17
Chapter 17 is the last chapter in the history of Israel North. Game over.
Once the dust had settled Assyria started reorganizing Israel North and part of reorganizing included a policy of two-way migration.
The writer says that first: Israel was carried off to the land of Assyria.
Secondly: the king of Assyria transported groups of people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim and resettled them in the towns of Samaria.
A kind of Out-Migration In-Migration musical-chairs operation.
One of the upshots was the importing of religion. The writer listed developments according to a religion’s geographic Point of Origin & then the name of the local god-in-residence…
Babylonia: Succoth-benoth
Cuthah: Nergal
Hamath: Ashima
Avva: Nibhaz-Tartak
Sepharvaim: Adrammelech-Anammelech.
To top off the list the Assyrians appointed a Hebrew priest who specialized in the local religious customs of Israel North. So… Israel: God.
The result was a kind of religious smorgasbord: while these new residents worshipped the Lord, they also worshipped their idols. Both…and.
Whatever current rational political sense the plan made the writer of the Kings reflected back on the benefits of the old exclusive covenant-of-Moses mandate. But it was pretty clear that that train had left-the-station.
By the end of the War with Assyria Israel North got totally rid of the One-God model in favour of a Multiple-Gods approach: and to this day – the writer ended – their descendants do the same.
Note: quotes from 2 Kings 17:23-24, 41 (NLT)