1 Kings 17

Passage overview

2 Kings 17 is a very important chapter that deals with historical events surrounding the fall of the northern kingdom of Israel. It provides a detailed account of how Samaria was captured by Assyria during the reign of the last king of Israel, Hoshea, leading to the downfall of northern Israel. Overall, this chapter has the following structure:

  • Verses 1-6: Hoshea’s reign and the downfall of northern Israel (the fall of Samaria)
  • Verses 7-23: a theological explanation of the causes of the downfall of northern Israel
  • Verses 24-33: the situation in which Assyria relocated foreign peoples to Samaria, resulting in a mixed religion
  • Verses 34-41: the religious life of the new residents and the continued disobedience of the Israelites

1verseElijah the Tishbite, who was one of the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.”

2verseThen the LORD’s word came to him, saying,

3verse“Go away from here, turn eastward, and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, that is before the Jordan.

4verseYou shall drink from the brook. I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.”

5verseSo he went and did according to the LORD’s word, for he went and lived by the brook Cherith that is before the Jordan.

6verseThe ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening; and he drank from the brook.

7verseAfter a while, the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land.

8verseThe LORD’s word came to him, saying,

9verse“Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and stay there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to sustain you.”

10verseSo he arose and went to Zarephath; and when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and said, “Please get me a little water in a jar, that I may drink.”

11verseAs she was going to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.”

12verseShe said, “As the LORD your God lives, I don’t have anything baked, but only a handful of meal in a jar and a little oil in a jar. Behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and bake it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.”

13verseElijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go and do as you have said; but make me a little cake from it first, and bring it out to me, and afterward make some for you and for your son.

14verseFor the LORD, the God of Israel, says, ‘The jar of meal will not run out, and the jar of oil will not fail, until the day that the LORD sends rain on the earth.’”

15verseShe went and did according to the saying of Elijah; and she, he, and her household ate many days.

16verseThe jar of meal didn’t run out and the jar of oil didn’t fail, according to the LORD’s word, which he spoke by Elijah.

17verseAfter these things, the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became sick; and his sickness was so severe that there was no breath left in him.

18verseShe said to Elijah, “What have I to do with you, you man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to memory, and to kill my son!”

19verseHe said to her, “Give me your son.” He took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into the room where he stayed, and laid him on his own bed.

20verseHe cried to the LORD and said, “LORD my God, have you also brought evil on the widow with whom I am staying, by killing her son?”

21verseHe stretched himself on the child three times, and cried to the LORD and said, “LORD my God, please let this child’s soul come into him again.”

22verseThe LORD listened to the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived.

23verseElijah took the child and brought him down out of the room into the house, and delivered him to his mother; and Elijah said, “Behold, your son lives.”

24verseThe woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the LORD’s word in your mouth is truth.”

The Flow and Key Meaning of 2 Kings 17

The central point of this chapter is that the northern kingdom of Israel ultimately fell because it departed from God’s law and commandments and adopted idol worship and various evil practices. Beyond being a mere political incident, it emphasizes that the downfall came as the result of abandoning the covenant with God. It also warns against the appearance of a mixed religion in which the people of Samaria worshiped foreign gods and the Lord at the same time. This record is not simply a account of the past; it provides warnings and lessons to those who live as God’s people.

Meditation Points

  • Let us think deeply about how important it is to keep the covenant with God, and what results follow when we repeatedly abandon that covenant.
  • Let us also look back to see whether there are elements in our own faith that prevent us from serving God fully and instead distract our hearts with other things.

Apply It to Yourself

  • Let us examine our priorities in life and the purity of our faith, and focus on restoring our relationship with God.
  • Let the failure of northern Israel serve as a boundary marker for my own life, and then reflect and make a decision about whether there are areas where I compromise in my faith life, or—without realizing it—am leaning on something other than God.

As part of Coupang Partners activities, this post may earn a commission from qualifying purchases.