…the Lord had separated Israel from Judah…
It was indeed the Lord’s doing (1 Kings 11:9-13). It didn’t turn out to be the hoped for liberation (1 Kings 12:16). The consequences of sin…
The emperor of Assyria took people from the cities of Babylon, Cuth, Ivvah, Hamath, and Sepharvaim, and settled them in the cities of Samaria in place of the exiled Israelites. …When they first settled there, they did not worship the Lord, and so he sent lions, which killed some of them.
Reinforcing the idea that gods were connected to the land (1 Kings 4:14). Interesting: this is true with respect to spiritual authorities (Deuteronomy 32:8).
…the people who settled in Samaria continued to make their own idols… they worshiped the Lord, but they also worshiped their own gods according to the customs of the countries from which they had come. …and to this day their descendants continue to do the same.
How cultural roots run deep (Ezekiel 4:14)! And how all these religious details will be transcended one day (John 4:20-24). Oh, that your true Gospel would be diffused through the earth, Jesus (Acts 21:20)!
…Hezekiah son of Ahaz became king of Judah… Following the example of his ancestor King David, he did what was pleasing to the Lord. He… trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel; Judah never had another king like him, either before or after his time. He was faithful to the Lord and never disobeyed him
I so wish you will one day say that of me, Jesus (Luke 19:16-17)!
He also broke in pieces the bronze snake that Moses had made, which was called Nehushtan. Up to that time the people of Israel had burned incense in its honor.
Ca alors… How we are so infatuated with things (Luke 21:5).
…the Lord was with him, and he was successful in everything he did.
May you likewise be with me, Lord (Joshua 1:5)!