Exile Because of Idolatry

2 Kings 17

7 For h so it was that the children of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and they had i feared other gods, 8 and j had walked in the statutes of the nations whom the LORD had cast out from before the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel, which they had made. 9 Also the children of Israel secretly did against the LORD their God things that were not right, and they built for themselves 1 high places in all their cities, k from watchtower to fortified city. 10 l They set up for themselves sacred pillars and m wooden images 2 3 n on every high hill and under every green tree. 11 There they burned incense on all the high places, like the nations whom the LORD had carried away before them; and they did wicked things to provoke the LORD to anger, 12 for they served idols, o of which the LORD had said to them, p "You shall not do this thing." 13 Yet the LORD testified against Israel and against Judah, by all of His q prophets, r every seer, saying, s "Turn from your evil ways, and keep My commandments and My statutes, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by My servants the prophets."

14 Nevertheless they would not hear, but t stiffened their necks, like the necks of their fathers, who u did not believe in the LORD their God. 15 And they v rejected His statutes w and His covenant that He had made with their fathers, and His testimonies which He had testified against them; they followed x idols, y became idolaters, and went after the nations who were all around them, concerning whom the LORD had charged them that they should z not do like them. 16 So they left all the commandments of the LORD their God, a made for themselves a molded image and two calves, b made a wooden image and worshiped all the c host of heaven, d and served Baal. 17 e And they caused their sons and daughters to pass through the fire, f practiced witchcraft and soothsaying, and g sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke Him to anger. 18 Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel, and removed them from His sight; there was none left h but the tribe of Judah alone.

19 Also i Judah did not keep the commandments of the LORD their God, but walked in the statutes of Israel which they made. 20 And the LORD rejected all the descendants of Israel, afflicted them, and j delivered them into the hand of plunderers, until He had cast them from His k sight.

21 For l He tore Israel from the house of David, and m they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king. Then Jeroboam drove Israel from following the LORD, and made them commit a great sin. 22 For the children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they did not depart from them, 23 until the LORD removed Israel out of His sight, n as He had said by all His servants the prophets. o So Israel was carried away from their own land to Assyria, as it is to this day.

  1. Cross References
    Joshua 23:16
    "When you have transgressed the covenant of the LORD your God, which He commanded you, and have gone and served other gods, and bowed down to them, then the anger of the LORD will burn against you, and you shall perish quickly from the good land which He has given you."
  2. Cross References
    Judges 6:10
    'Also I said to you, "I am the LORD your God; do not fear the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell." But you have not obeyed My voice.'"
  3. Cross References
    Leviticus 18:3
    According to the doings of the land of Egypt, where you dwelt, you shall not do; and according to the doings of the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you, you shall not do; nor shall you walk in their ordinances.
    Deuteronomy 18:9
    When you come into the land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations.
    2 Kings 16:3
    But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel; indeed he made his son pass through the fire, according to the abominations of the nations whom the LORD had cast out from before the children of Israel.
  4. Cross References
    2 Kings 18:8
    He subdued the Philistines, as far as Gaza and its territory, from watchtower to fortified city.
  5. Cross References
    1 Kings 14:23
    For they also built for themselves high places, sacred pillars, and wooden images on every high hill and under every green tree.
    Isaiah 57:5
    Inflaming yourselves with gods under every green tree, Slaying the children in the valleys, Under the clefts of the rocks?
  6. Cross References
    Exodus 34:12 - 14
    Take heed to yourself, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land where you are going, lest it be a snare in your midst.
    Deuteronomy 16:21
    You shall not plant for yourself any tree, as a wooden image, near the altar which you build for yourself to the LORD your God.
    Micah 5:14
    I will pluck your wooden images from your midst; Thus I will destroy your cities.
  7. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 12:2
    You shall utterly destroy all the places where the nations which you shall dispossess served their gods, on the high mountains and on the hills and under every green tree.
    2 Kings 16:4
    And he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree.
  8. Cross References
    Exodus 20:3 - 5
    You shall have no other gods before Me.
    Leviticus 26:1
    You shall not make idols for yourselves; neither a carved image nor a sacred pillar shall you rear up for yourselves; nor shall you set up an engraved stone in your land, to bow down to it; for I am the LORD your God.
    Deuteronomy 5:7
    You shall have no other gods before Me.
    Deuteronomy 5:8
    You shall not make for yourself a carved image - any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
  9. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 4:19
    And take heed, lest you lift your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun, the moon, and the stars, all the host of heaven, you feel driven to worship them and serve them, which the LORD your God has given to all the peoples under the whole heaven as a heritage.
  10. Cross References
    Nehemiah 9:29
    And testified against them, That You might bring them back to Your law. Yet they acted proudly, And did not heed Your commandments, But sinned against Your judgments, 'Which if a man does, he shall live by them.' And they shrugged their shoulders, Stiffened their necks, And would not hear.
    Nehemiah 9:30
    Yet for many years You had patience with them, And testified against them by Your Spirit in Your prophets. Yet they would not listen; Therefore You gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands.
  11. Cross References
    1 Samuel 9:9
    (Formerly in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he spoke thus: "Come, let us go to the seer"; for he who is now called a prophet was formerly called a seer.)
  12. Cross References
    Jeremiah 18:11
    "Now therefore, speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, 'Thus says the LORD: "Behold, I am fashioning a disaster and devising a plan against you. Return now every one from his evil way, and make your ways and your doings good." '"
    Jeremiah 25:5
    They said, 'Repent now everyone of his evil way and his evil doings, and dwell in the land that the LORD has given to you and your fathers forever and ever.
    Jeremiah 35:15
    I have also sent to you all My servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, 'Turn now everyone from his evil way, amend your doings, and do not go after other gods to serve them; then you will dwell in the land which I have given you and your fathers.' But you have not inclined your ear, nor obeyed Me.
    Ezekiel 18:31
    Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O house of Israel?
  13. Cross References
    Exodus 32:9
    And the LORD said to Moses, "I have seen this people, and indeed it is a stiff-necked people!
    Exodus 33:3
    " Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; for I will not go up in your midst, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people."
    Deuteronomy 31:27
    For I know your rebellion and your stiff neck. If today, while I am yet alive with you, you have been rebellious against the LORD, then how much more after my death?
    Proverbs 29:1
    He who is often rebuked, and hardens his neck, Will suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.
    Acts 7:51
    You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you.
  14. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 9:23
    Likewise, when the LORD sent you from Kadesh Barnea, saying, 'Go up and possess the land which I have given you,' then you rebelled against the commandment of the LORD your God, and you did not believe Him nor obey His voice.
    Psalms 78:22
    Because they did not believe in God, And did not trust in His salvation.
  15. Cross References
    Jeremiah 44:3
    Because of their wickedness which they have committed to provoke Me to anger, in that they went to burn incense and to serve other gods whom they did not know, they nor you nor your fathers.
  16. Cross References
    Exodus 24:6 - 8
    And Moses took half the blood and put it in basins, and half the blood he sprinkled on the altar.
    Deuteronomy 29:25
    Then people would say: 'Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD God of their fathers, which He made with them when He brought them out of the land of Egypt.
  17. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 32:21
    They have provoked Me to jealousy by what is not God; They have moved Me to anger by their foolish idols. But I will provoke them to jealousy by those who are not a nation; I will move them to anger by a foolish nation.
    1 Kings 16:31
    And it came to pass, as though it had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took as wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians; and he went and served Baal and worshiped him.
    1 Corinthians 8:4
    Therefore concerning the eating of things offered to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other God but one.
  18. Cross References
    2 Chronicles 13:7
    Then worthless rogues gathered to him, and strengthened themselves against Rehoboam the son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was young and inexperienced and could not withstand them.
    Jeremiah 2:5
    Thus says the LORD: "What injustice have your fathers found in Me, That they have gone far from Me, Have followed idols, And have become idolaters?
    Romans 1:21 - 23
    Because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
  19. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 12:30
    "take heed to yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed from before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, 'How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise.'
    Deuteronomy 12:31
    You shall not worship the LORD your God in that way; for every abomination to the LORD which He hates they have done to their gods; for they burn even their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods.
  20. Cross References
    Exodus 32:8
    "They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them. They have made themselves a molded calf, and worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, 'This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!'"
    1 Kings 12:28
    Therefore the king asked advice, made two calves of gold, and said to the people, "It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, O Israel, which brought you up from the land of Egypt!
  21. Cross References
    1 Kings 14:15
    For the LORD will strike Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water. He will uproot Israel from this good land which He gave to their fathers, and will scatter them beyond the River, because they have made their wooden images, provoking the LORD to anger.
  22. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 4:19
    And take heed, lest you lift your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun, the moon, and the stars, all the host of heaven, you feel driven to worship them and serve them, which the LORD your God has given to all the peoples under the whole heaven as a heritage.
  23. Cross References
    1 Kings 16:31
    And it came to pass, as though it had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took as wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians; and he went and served Baal and worshiped him.
    1 Kings 22:53
    For he served Baal and worshiped him, and provoked the LORD God of Israel to anger, according to all that his father had done.
  24. Cross References
    Leviticus 18:21
    And you shall not let any of your descendants pass through the fire to Molech, nor shall you profane the name of your God: I am the LORD.
    2 Kings 16:3
    But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel; indeed he made his son pass through the fire, according to the abominations of the nations whom the LORD had cast out from before the children of Israel.
    Ezekiel 23:37
    For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands. They have committed adultery with their idols, and even sacrificed their sons whom they bore to Me, passing them through the fire, to devour them.
  25. Cross References
    Leviticus 19:26
    You shall not eat anything with the blood, nor shall you practice divination or soothsaying.
    Deuteronomy 18:10 - 12
    There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer.
  26. Cross References
    1 Kings 21:20
    So Ahab said to Elijah, "Have you found me, O my enemy?" And he answered, "I have found you, because you have sold yourself to do evil in the sight of the LORD:
  27. Cross References
    1 Kings 11:13
    "However I will not tear away the whole kingdom; I will give one tribe to your son for the sake of My servant David, and for the sake of Jerusalem which I have chosen."
    1 Kings 11:32
    (but he shall have one tribe for the sake of My servant David, and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel).
  28. Cross References
    Jeremiah 3:8
    Then I saw that for all the causes for which backsliding Israel had committed adultery, I had put her away and given her a certificate of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but went and played the harlot also.
  29. Cross References
    Judges 2:14
    And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel. So He delivered them into the hands of plunderers who despoiled them; and He sold them into the hands of their enemies all around, so that they could no longer stand before their enemies.
    2 Kings 13:3
    Then the anger of the LORD was aroused against Israel, and He delivered them into the hand of Hazael king of Syria, and into the hand of BenHadad the son of Hazael, all their days.
    2 Kings 15:29
    In the days of Pekah king of Israel, TiglathPile'ser king of Assyria came and took Ijon, Abel Beth Maachah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali; and he carried them captive to Assyria.
  30. Cross References
    2 Kings 24:20
    For because of the anger of the LORD this happened in Jerusalem and Judah, that He finally cast them out from His presence. Then Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.
  31. Cross References
    1 Kings 11:11
    Therefore the LORD said to Solomon, "Because you have done this, and have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant.
    1 Kings 11:31
    And he said to Jeroboam, "Take for yourself ten pieces, for thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: 'Behold, I will tear the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon and will give ten tribes to you
  32. Cross References
    1 Kings 12:20
    Now it came to pass when all Israel heard that Jeroboam had come back, they sent for him and called him to the congregation, and made him king over all Israel. There was none who followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah only.
    1 Kings 12:28
    Therefore the king asked advice, made two calves of gold, and said to the people, "It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, O Israel, which brought you up from the land of Egypt!
  33. Cross References
    1 Kings 14:16
    "And He will give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, who sinned and who made Israel sin."
    Isaiah 8:4
    "for before the child shall have knowledge to cry 'My father' and 'My mother,' the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be taken away before the king of Assyria."
  34. Cross References
    2 Kings 17:6
    In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria took Samaria and carried Israel away to Assyria, and placed them in Halah and by the Habor, the River of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.
New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
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