And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, but not as the kings of Israel that were before him.
The verse speaks of Hoshea, the last king of Israel, who did evil in the sight of the Lord though not to the degree of the kings before him, and whose reign belongs to the final breaking up of Samaria. God removed Israel out of His sight in his days because they never repented of the sin begun at the revolt, when Jeroboam set up two calves of gold at Bethel and Dan and made priests not of Levi, but went into worsening idolatry and refused to heed His prophets until carried away. Assyria then conquered the ten-tribe kingdom in 721-722 B.C. and carried its leaders and principal people captive into its provinces, leaving only a remnant in the land. By this the Lord delivered them into the hand of spoilers and cut them off from His presence so that Ephraim was broken from being a people and ceased to be His covenant nation, none being left but Judah only. That casting off was as a nation and not as individuals, for some from the tribes had joined in worship at Jerusalem and later returned to Judah, so the remnant there still represented God's people.
Hoshea and Israel's Fall
Hoshea was the last king of Israel, who did evil in the sight of the Lord, though not as much as the kings who had ruled before him. Ephraim is the ten tribes that revolted from the house of David and chose their own line of kings reigning in Samaria, called Israel and their kings the kings of Israel in distinction from the tribe and kings of Judah. His reign belongs to the account of Samaria's final breaking up.
That reign stood within the continuing history of transgression and conflict in the ten-tribe kingdom, which ended when Assyria conquered it in 721-722 B.C. and carried many of its people into captivity, leaving a remnant in the land. The king of Assyria took its leaders and principal people and scattered them through his provinces, as recorded in 2 Kings 17:1-6 of the carrying of the ten tribes of Israel into captivity. Some people from the tribes later returned to Judah, so the remnant there represented God's people. Shalmaneser, the mighty king of Assyria, overran Ephraim and carried the Israelites captive. An Assyrian relief depicting Sargon II and the capture of Samaria confirms the biblical record of that capture.
After the worsening idolatry of the ten tribes and their refusal to heed God's prophets and warnings, most of them were carried captive and people from other lands were settled in their former territory. The Assyrian king brought people from different nations into Palestine, and their descendants became the Samaritans, whose religion mixed worship of the true God with idolatry. They were of heathen origin, with an adulterated Judaism grafted onto their native religion, accepting the five books of Moses and looking for a Messiah. That possession of the law reaches back to the separation under Jeroboam, for after separating from Judah and Benjamin the ten tribes carried with them copies of the books of Moses. Israel was carried captive a little while after Amos prophesied about B.C. 787 just following the wicked reign of Jeroboam II, in a time of great apostasy, oppression and corruption not only in Israel but in Judah, when religion was only a form and the grinding of the poor was general.
Sin, Judgment and Prophecy
God removed Israel out of His sight in the days of Hoshea because Israel never repented of the sin begun after the revolt from the house of David, when Jeroboam made two calves of gold at Bethel and Dan to keep the people from going up to sacrifice at Jerusalem, made a house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people who were not of the house of Levi. The ten tribes went into worsening and deepest idolatry and refused to heed God's prophets and warnings until they were finally carried away captives, with most of them taken and people from other lands then settled in their former territory. Israel did not learn the lessons of Sinai but mocked the messengers of God and sinned exceedingly until there was no remedy, so the rod of affliction and punishment fell heavily and exile, captivity, and bondage overtook them.
Worse than downright disobedience was misinterpretation and perversion of the law by human doctrines and traditions that caused many to stumble, made worship vain, and made void the commandments of God. Israel's continued disobedience and refusal to heed the prophets' warnings led to its captivity by Assyria, with God ruling by allowing this consequence rather than compelling the people to serve Him. The Lord delivered Israel into the hand of spoilers and removed them out of His sight for their sins, cutting them off from His presence so that they ceased to be His covenant people. Ephraim was broken from being a people or nation as the end of the ten-tribed kingdom, and none was left but the tribe of Judah only.
The casting off of the ten tribes was as a nation, but not their rejection as individuals, for people from some or perhaps all of the tribes had joined in worshiping God at Jerusalem. Some people from the tribes later returned to Judah, so the remnant there represented God's people, while the king of Assyria took the leaders and principal people of the ten-tribed kingdom and scattered them through his provinces. The Assyrian judgment that overran Ephraim and carried Israel captive fulfills Isaiah's prediction that Assyria would be sent to tread down the people. Shalmaneser, the mighty king of Assyria, overran Ephraim and carried the Israelites captive, fulfilling Isaiah's prophecy against the kingdom and its capital, Samaria.
The breaking of Ephraim fulfills the prophecy that within sixty-five years Ephraim shall be broken that it be not a people, which does not embrace Manasseh king of Judah nor the tribe of Judah. The breaking of Ephraim as a nation marks the starting point for reckoning the 2,520 years of captivity and being trodden down, the appointed time of Israel's being broken and of the people of God being trodden down.
The verse speaks of Hoshea, the last king of Israel, who did evil in the sight of the Lord though not to the degree of the kings before him, and whose reign belongs to the final breaking up of Samaria. God removed Israel out of His sight in his days because they never repented of the sin begun at the revolt, when Jeroboam set up two calves of gold at Bethel and Dan and made priests not of Levi, but went into worsening idolatry and refused to heed His prophets until carried away. Assyria then conquered the ten-tribe kingdom in 721-722 B.C. and carried its leaders and principal people captive into its provinces, leaving only a remnant in the land. By this the Lord delivered them into the hand of spoilers and cut them off from His presence so that Ephraim was broken from being a people and ceased to be His covenant nation, none being left but Judah only. That casting off was as a nation and not as individuals, for some from the tribes had joined in worship at Jerusalem and later returned to Judah, so the remnant there still represented God's people.
Hoshea and Israel's Fall
Hoshea was the last king of Israel, who did evil in the sight of the Lord, though not as much as the kings who had ruled before him. Ephraim is the ten tribes that revolted from the house of David and chose their own line of kings reigning in Samaria, called Israel and their kings the kings of Israel in distinction from the tribe and kings of Judah. His reign belongs to the account of Samaria's final breaking up.
That reign stood within the continuing history of transgression and conflict in the ten-tribe kingdom, which ended when Assyria conquered it in 721-722 B.C. and carried many of its people into captivity, leaving a remnant in the land. The king of Assyria took its leaders and principal people and scattered them through his provinces, as recorded in 2 Kings 17:1-6 of the carrying of the ten tribes of Israel into captivity. Some people from the tribes later returned to Judah, so the remnant there represented God's people. Shalmaneser, the mighty king of Assyria, overran Ephraim and carried the Israelites captive. An Assyrian relief depicting Sargon II and the capture of Samaria confirms the biblical record of that capture.
After the worsening idolatry of the ten tribes and their refusal to heed God's prophets and warnings, most of them were carried captive and people from other lands were settled in their former territory. The Assyrian king brought people from different nations into Palestine, and their descendants became the Samaritans, whose religion mixed worship of the true God with idolatry. They were of heathen origin, with an adulterated Judaism grafted onto their native religion, accepting the five books of Moses and looking for a Messiah. That possession of the law reaches back to the separation under Jeroboam, for after separating from Judah and Benjamin the ten tribes carried with them copies of the books of Moses. Israel was carried captive a little while after Amos prophesied about B.C. 787 just following the wicked reign of Jeroboam II, in a time of great apostasy, oppression and corruption not only in Israel but in Judah, when religion was only a form and the grinding of the poor was general.
Sin, Judgment and Prophecy
God removed Israel out of His sight in the days of Hoshea because Israel never repented of the sin begun after the revolt from the house of David, when Jeroboam made two calves of gold at Bethel and Dan to keep the people from going up to sacrifice at Jerusalem, made a house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people who were not of the house of Levi. The ten tribes went into worsening and deepest idolatry and refused to heed God's prophets and warnings until they were finally carried away captives, with most of them taken and people from other lands then settled in their former territory. Israel did not learn the lessons of Sinai but mocked the messengers of God and sinned exceedingly until there was no remedy, so the rod of affliction and punishment fell heavily and exile, captivity, and bondage overtook them.
Worse than downright disobedience was misinterpretation and perversion of the law by human doctrines and traditions that caused many to stumble, made worship vain, and made void the commandments of God. Israel's continued disobedience and refusal to heed the prophets' warnings led to its captivity by Assyria, with God ruling by allowing this consequence rather than compelling the people to serve Him. The Lord delivered Israel into the hand of spoilers and removed them out of His sight for their sins, cutting them off from His presence so that they ceased to be His covenant people. Ephraim was broken from being a people or nation as the end of the ten-tribed kingdom, and none was left but the tribe of Judah only.
The casting off of the ten tribes was as a nation, but not their rejection as individuals, for people from some or perhaps all of the tribes had joined in worshiping God at Jerusalem. Some people from the tribes later returned to Judah, so the remnant there represented God's people, while the king of Assyria took the leaders and principal people of the ten-tribed kingdom and scattered them through his provinces. The Assyrian judgment that overran Ephraim and carried Israel captive fulfills Isaiah's prediction that Assyria would be sent to tread down the people. Shalmaneser, the mighty king of Assyria, overran Ephraim and carried the Israelites captive, fulfilling Isaiah's prophecy against the kingdom and its capital, Samaria.
The breaking of Ephraim fulfills the prophecy that within sixty-five years Ephraim shall be broken that it be not a people, which does not embrace Manasseh king of Judah nor the tribe of Judah. The breaking of Ephraim as a nation marks the starting point for reckoning the 2,520 years of captivity and being trodden down, the appointed time of Israel's being broken and of the people of God being trodden down.