The Autopsy of a Nation: Israel's Covenant Lawsuit Text: 2 Kings 17:7-23
Introduction: The High Cost of Adultery
We live in a sentimental age. We want a God who is all mercy and no judgment, all grace and no law, all patience and no wrath. We want a grandfatherly deity who winks at our indiscretions and assures us that everything will be fine in the end, regardless of how we live. But this is not the God of the Bible. The God of the Bible is a holy God, a just God, and a covenant-keeping God. And because He is a covenant-keeping God, He is also a covenant-enforcing God.
The passage before us today is the divine autopsy of a dead nation. It is God's own inspired commentary on why the northern kingdom of Israel was utterly destroyed, carted off into exile by the brutal Assyrians. This is not a political analysis or a sociological study. This is a theological indictment. It is a covenant lawsuit, with Yahweh as the plaintiff and judge, the prophets as His attorneys, and Israel as the guilty defendant. What we read here is the coroner's report, and the cause of death is listed as rampant, unrepentant, spiritual adultery.
This is not a pleasant passage. It is a long and detailed list of high treasons against the King of Heaven. But it is a necessary passage. It is necessary because we, like Israel, are a covenant people. And we, like Israel, are prone to wander. We are prone to flirt with the idols of our age, to secretly do things that are not right, to build high places in our hearts, and to stiffen our necks when God's Word confronts us. We must pay close attention, because the same principles of covenant faithfulness and covenant judgment that applied to them apply to us. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He does not grade on a curve. The wages of sin is still death, for individuals and for nations.
The modern church often wants to skip these hard passages. We want the comfort of the psalms and the glories of the New Jerusalem, but we want to ignore the stern warnings of the law and the prophets. But to do so is to create a god in our own image, an idol of our own making. It is to repeat the very sin that brought Israel to ruin. This text is a bucket of ice water in the face of our therapeutic, consumeristic, feel-good religiosity. It reminds us that our God is a consuming fire, and that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
The Text
Now this happened because the sons of Israel had sinned against Yahweh their God, who had brought them up from the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and they had feared other gods and walked in the statutes of the nations whom Yahweh had dispossessed from before the sons of Israel, and in the statutes of the kings of Israel which they had made. And the sons of Israel did things secretly which were not right against Yahweh their God. Moreover, they built for themselves high places in all their cities, from watchtower to fortified city. And they set for themselves sacred pillars and Asherim on every high hill and under every green tree, and there they burned incense on all the high places as the nations did which Yahweh had taken away into exile before them; and they did evil things provoking Yahweh to anger. And they served idols, concerning which Yahweh had said to them, “You shall not do this thing.” Yet Yahweh warned Israel and Judah by the hand of all His prophets and every seer, saying, “Turn from your evil ways and keep My commandments, My statutes according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by the hand of My slaves the prophets.” However, they did not listen, but stiffened their neck like their fathers, who did not believe in Yahweh their God. They also rejected His statutes and His covenant which He cut with their fathers and His warnings with which He warned them. And they followed vanity and became vain, and went after the nations which surrounded them, concerning which Yahweh had commanded them not to do like them. And they forsook all the commandments of Yahweh their God and made for themselves molten images, even two calves, and made an Asherah and worshiped all the host of heaven and served Baal. Then they made their sons and their daughters pass through the fire, and practiced divination and omens, and sold themselves to do what is evil in the sight of Yahweh, provoking Him to anger. So Yahweh was very angry with Israel and caused them to depart from His presence; none was left except the tribe of Judah alone. Also Judah did not keep the commandments of Yahweh their God, but walked in the statutes which Israel had made. So Yahweh rejected all the seed of Israel and afflicted them and gave them into the hand of plunderers, until He had cast them from His presence. When He had torn Israel from the house of David, they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king. Then Jeroboam drove Israel away from following Yahweh and made them sin a great sin. And the sons of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they did not depart from them until Yahweh caused Israel to depart from His presence, as He spoke through all His slaves the prophets. So Israel went into exile from their own land to Assyria until this day.
(2 Kings 17:7-23 LSB)
The Indictment: Treason Against the Redeemer King (vv. 7-8)
The divine prosecutor begins by laying out the foundational charge. The sin of Israel is not just breaking some abstract moral code; it is a profound act of personal betrayal.
"Now this happened because the sons of Israel had sinned against Yahweh their God, who had brought them up from the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and they had feared other gods and walked in the statutes of the nations whom Yahweh had dispossessed..." (2 Kings 17:7-8)
Notice the first thing God establishes: His identity as their Redeemer. He doesn't just say they sinned against "God," but against "Yahweh their God, who had brought them up from the land of Egypt." This is covenant language. Their relationship with Him was not based on their performance, but on His gracious, saving act. He rescued them from slavery. He bought them with a mighty hand. Their sin, therefore, is not merely lawbreaking; it is treason. It is like a wife spitting in the face of the husband who rescued her from a burning building. The gravity of the sin is measured by the magnitude of the grace that was shown.
And what was the nature of this treason? They "feared other gods." This is the root of everything that follows. They exchanged the fear of Yahweh, which is the beginning of wisdom, for the fear of impotent, man-made deities. This is the essence of idolatry. You will fear something. If you do not fear God, you will fear man, or failure, or public opinion, or the economy, or the state. Israel feared the gods of the Canaanites, hoping to secure their blessings of fertility and prosperity. In doing so, they began to "walk in the statutes of the nations whom Yahweh had dispossessed." They adopted the lifestyles, the worship practices, and the moral filth of the very people God had judged and driven out before them. This is a profound warning. When a people forgets their Redeemer, they will inevitably begin to resemble the world He saved them from.
The Proliferation of Idolatry: From Secret Sins to Public Abominations (vv. 9-12)
The indictment now moves from the general principle to the specific charges. The cancer of idolatry, which began in the heart, metastasized throughout the entire nation.
"And the sons of Israel did things secretly which were not right... they built for themselves high places in all their cities... they set for themselves sacred pillars and Asherim on every high hill and under every green tree... and they served idols, concerning which Yahweh had said to them, 'You shall not do this thing.'" (2 Kings 17:9-12)
Sin always begins in secret. "They did things secretly which were not right." They thought God couldn't see. This is the practical atheism that underlies all sin. But secret sins never stay secret. They grow. What starts as a private thought becomes a public monument. They built "high places in all their cities, from watchtower to fortified city." This means their idolatry was systemic. It was everywhere, from the smallest rural outpost to the largest urban center. It was institutionalized.
They set up "sacred pillars and Asherim on every high hill and under every green tree." The pillars were phallic symbols representing the male god Baal, and the Asherim were wooden poles representing his female consort. This was Canaanite fertility worship, which was shot through with ritual prostitution and orgiastic rites. They were not just bowing to statues; they were engaging in the most degrading forms of sexual immorality as part of their "worship." They took the good gift of creation, the high hills and green trees, and turned them into venues for spiritual and physical adultery. And they did all this in direct, defiant violation of God's explicit command: "You shall not do this thing." Their sin was not out of ignorance, but out of rebellion.
The Merciful Warnings and the Stiff-Necked Response (vv. 13-15)
Before judgment falls, God always sends warning. Our God is not trigger-happy. He is patient and long-suffering, not willing that any should perish. But His patience has a limit.
"Yet Yahweh warned Israel and Judah by the hand of all His prophets and every seer, saying, 'Turn from your evil ways and keep My commandments...' However, they did not listen, but stiffened their neck like their fathers, who did not believe in Yahweh their God." (2 Genesis 17:13-14)
God did not leave them to their own devices. He sent a constant stream of messengers, "all His prophets and every seer." Men like Elijah, Elisha, Amos, and Hosea were sent with a clear, consistent message: "Turn from your evil ways." This is the call to repentance. God's warnings are always gracious invitations to return. But notice their response: "they did not listen, but stiffened their neck." This is the biblical image for stubborn, defiant pride. A stiff-necked ox refuses to submit to the yoke. A stiff-necked people refuse to submit to the Word of God. Their ears were open, but they refused to hear. Their problem was not intellectual; it was volitional.
And the root of this stubbornness was unbelief. They were "like their fathers, who did not believe in Yahweh their God." They rejected His statutes, His covenant, and His warnings. They treated the Word of God as if it were nothing. And what did they follow instead? "They followed vanity and became vain." The Hebrew word for vanity is hebel, the same word used in Ecclesiastes. It means vapor, smoke, nothingness. The idols they chased were nothing, and in chasing them, they became nothing. You become what you worship. If you worship a block of wood, you become a blockhead. If you worship the god of money, you become hollow and empty. If you worship the god of self, you become a spiritual black hole. They became as empty as the idols they served.
The Catalogue of Depravity and the Divine Response (vv. 16-18)
The prosecutor now lists the final, damning evidence. This is the culmination of their rebellion, a complete and total abandonment of their covenant Lord.
"And they forsook all the commandments of Yahweh their God and made for themselves molten images... and worshiped all the host of heaven and served Baal. Then they made their sons and their daughters pass through the fire... and sold themselves to do what is evil in the sight of Yahweh, provoking Him to anger. So Yahweh was very angry with Israel and caused them to depart from His presence..." (2 Kings 17:16-18)
They forsook all the commandments. This was not a minor slip-up; it was a wholesale apostasy. They made the two golden calves, a direct violation of the second commandment. They worshipped the "host of heaven," the sun, moon, and stars, which is astrological paganism. They served Baal, the chief god of the Canaanites. And then, the ultimate abomination: "they made their sons and their daughters pass through the fire." This was child sacrifice to the god Molech. They took the greatest gift God had given them, their own children, and offered them up on the altars of their false gods. When a culture begins to kill its children to secure its prosperity or convenience, that culture is ripe for judgment. This is the bottom of the slippery slope.
The summary is stark: they "sold themselves to do what is evil." They were slaves to their sin. And the result was inevitable: "So Yahweh was very angry with Israel." This is not the petty temper of a Greek god. This is the settled, righteous, holy wrath of a spurned and betrayed covenant Lord against evil. And the judgment fits the crime. They wanted to depart from His presence, so He "caused them to depart from His presence." He gave them what they wanted. He cast them out of the land. This is the terror of God's judgment: He often punishes us by giving us exactly what our sinful hearts desire.
The Contagion of Sin and the Sovereignty of God (vv. 19-23)
The chapter concludes by showing that this sin was not contained to the northern kingdom and that God was sovereign over the entire process, from the initial sin to the final judgment.
"Also Judah did not keep the commandments... So Yahweh rejected all the seed of Israel... When He had torn Israel from the house of David, they made Jeroboam... king... Jeroboam drove Israel away from following Yahweh... until Yahweh caused Israel to depart from His presence, as He spoke through all His slaves the prophets." (2 Kings 17:19-23)
Sin is a spiritual virus. Judah saw what was happening to her sister nation to the north and, instead of repenting, she "walked in the statutes which Israel had made." This is a warning against spiritual complacency. We cannot look at the judgment falling on others and assume we are safe. We are all cut from the same sinful cloth.
But the final word belongs to God's sovereignty. Notice the active verbs. It was God who "rejected" them. It was God who "afflicted them." It was God who "gave them into the hand of plunderers." It was God who "had torn Israel from the house of David." And it was God who "caused Israel to depart from His presence." The Assyrians were not the ultimate cause of the exile; they were the instrument. The sin of Jeroboam was not the ultimate cause; it was the means. God is sovereign over the sinful choices of men and the geopolitical movements of empires. He is weaving all of it, even the ugliest parts, into His perfect plan. The exile was not a tragic accident; it was a divine judgment, foretold by His prophets, and executed by His hand.
Conclusion: The Covenant-Keeping God
This is a grim story. It is the story of a nation that had every advantage, every blessing, every warning, and threw it all away for the cheap thrill of idolatry. It is a story of covenant unfaithfulness and its devastating consequences.
So where is the good news? The good news is that the story does not end here. The good news is that God's covenant has two sides: blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience. And God is faithful to His covenant. He is faithful to bring the curses He promised. But this very faithfulness is the foundation of our hope. Because if He is faithful to His warnings, He is also faithful to His promises.
And God had promised that even in their unfaithfulness, He would not utterly destroy them. He had promised a remnant. He had promised a new covenant. He had promised a true King, one who would not lead them into sin like Jeroboam, but who would save them from their sins. This entire sordid history of Israel's failure is the dark backdrop against which the glorious faithfulness of Jesus Christ shines all the more brightly.
Israel stiffened her neck; Christ submitted His neck to the yoke of the cross. Israel sold herself to do evil; Christ sold Himself to redeem a people from evil. Israel sacrificed her children to idols; God the Father sacrificed His only Son to save us. Israel was cast out of God's presence for her sin; Christ was cast out of God's presence on the cross, crying "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" so that we, who believe in Him, might be brought into God's presence forever.
This passage is a warning, and we must heed it. Do not trifle with sin. Do not flirt with the idols of this world. Do not stiffen your neck to the Word of God. But it is also an invitation. It is an invitation to flee from the covenant of works, which we have all broken, and to take refuge in the covenant of grace, secured by the blood of Jesus Christ. He is the true Israel who never failed, and only in Him can our adulterous hearts be made faithful.