…Hoshea son of Elah became king of Israel, and he ruled in Samaria for nine years. He sinned against the Lord, but not as much as the kings who had ruled Israel before him.
The first positive thing said about one of the Israelite kings – and the last. May your evaluation of me be absolute, Lord (2 Kings 18:3).
Emperor Shalmaneser of Assyria made war against him; Hoshea surrendered to Shalmaneser and paid him tribute every year. But one year Hoshea sent messengers to So, king of Egypt, asking for his help, and stopped paying the annual tribute to Assyria. When Shalmaneser learned of this, he had Hoshea arrested and put in prison.
The enemy of my enemy: the age old appeal to Egypt in times of trouble (2 Kings 18:19-21).
Then Shalmaneser invaded Israel and besieged Samaria. In the third year of the siege, …the Assyrian emperor captured Samaria, took the Israelites to Assyria as prisoners, and settled some of them in the city of Halah, some near the Habor River in the district of Gozan and some in the cities of Media.
The end. That said, these people will be deported to what will one day become a world power (Esther 1:1-3). Three years into a siege is when people start eating their own children (2 Kings 6:26-29).
Samaria fell because…
We always search for a reason to explain bad things happening – but sometimes there isn’t one (John 9:1-3).
They worshiped worthless idols and became worthless themselves…
An important principle. May I always cling to you, Lord, always respecting my word (Jeremiah 34:8-22).
The Lord was angry with the Israelites and banished them from his sight, leaving only the kingdom of Judah.
Judgement can tarry at times but it always comes (Genesis 15:16).