Israel's Sin Caused Their Exile

3Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up to attack Hoshea, who had been Shalmaneser’s vassal and had paid him tribute. 4But the king of Assyria discovered that Hoshea was a traitor, for he had sent envoys to So^a king of Egypt, and he no longer paid tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year. Therefore Shalmaneser seized him and put him in prison. 5The king of Assyria invaded the entire land, marched against Samaria and laid siege to it for three years. 6In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and deported the Israelites to Assyria. He settled them in Halah, in Gozan on the Habor River and in the towns of the Medes.

7All this took place because the Israelites had sinned against the Lord their God, who had brought them up out of Egypt from under the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. They worshiped other gods 8and followed the practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before them, as well as the practices that the kings of Israel had introduced. 9The Israelites secretly did things against the Lord their God that were not right. From watchtower to fortified city they built themselves high places in all their towns. 10They set up sacred stones and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every spreading tree. 11At every high place they burned incense, as the nations whom the Lord had driven out before them had done. They did wicked things that aroused the Lord’s anger. 12They worshiped idols, though the Lord had said, “You shall not do this.”^b 13The Lordwarned Israel and Judah through all his prophets and seers: “Turn from your evil ways. Observe my commands and decrees, in accordance with the entire Law that I commanded your ancestors to obey and that I delivered to you through my servants the prophets.”

14But they would not listen and were as stiff-necked as their ancestors, who did not trust in the Lord their God. 

Thoughts: The northern kingdom of Israel was exiled from their land when the Capital city of Samaria fell in 722.  2 Kings speaks of not trusting in God but trusting idols as the major cause.  2 Chronicles adds not keeping the Sabbath holy as a major reasons.  We too deserve god's anger for we have treated the Lord as if He is one among many and not important.  We have devalued and degraded His name and power.  We deserve exile too.  May God have mercy on us, and may we turn back 

Thoughts: Lord, keep my heart trusting in you. Help our leaders to trust in you, too.