Commentaries:
<< 2 Kings 17:17 2 Kings 17:19 >>
2 Kings 17:18
God was thorough. He just wiped them all out of the land of Canaan and sent them into the cities of the Medes and into Assyria—exiled. And in a way, they are still in exile. God has led them to the lands that He was holding for them.
The descendants of Israel who went into exile do not know that their homeland is back in Canaan. They have never gone back. That is a detail of how thorough God's exile of Israel was—they forgot everything. Just as He prophesied in Deuteronomy 28, the Israelites went into other lands and took gods of wood and stone and completely forgot their past.
Richard T. Ritenbaugh
How to Survive Exile
Other Forerunner Commentary entries containing 2 Kings 17:18:
| << 2 Kings 17:17 | 2 Kings 17:19 >> |
Join 135,000+ readers
A Verse and a Thought, Every Morning
The Berean delivers one scripture and a short, insightful commentary to your inbox each day — a starting point for reflection and study.
What Does 2 Kings 17:18 Mean?
The LORD's anger led to the complete removal of Israel from Canaan, as seen in 2 Kings 17:18, leaving only the tribe of Judah. The people of Israel were exiled to the cities of the Medes and Assyria, a thorough banishment that persists to this day. Their descendants remain unaware of their original homeland in Canaan, having never returned. This exile was so absolute that they forgot their past entirely. As foretold in Deuteronomy 28, they adopted foreign gods of wood and stone in other lands, losing all connection to their heritage and identity.