2Ki 17:24 | KingComments | STEP | In , the thread of history is taken up again. We see how the cities of Samaria were doing after having been carried away into exile. These cities have new inhabitants, people from other nations. Their character is the same as that of God’s people who lived there first, for they feared not the LORD either ( ). For this reason, the LORD sent lions among them. A natural reason may be that the number of inhabitants was insufficient to populate the land, giving the wild beasts a chance to multiply ( ). In any case, the hand of God was in it. He used lions to make these people remember that He was there and that they were in His land. The people who had come to live there were people who had nothing to do with God, they did not relate to Him. However, God did interfere with them. Because these people lived in His land, He sent a judgment. God is not only the God of the land of Israel, but also of the whole world. The inhabitants of the Samaritan cities drew the right conclusion, but the solution to their problem was not correct. While God’s action was aimed at people asking for Him, they approached the king of Assyria instead. It was clear to him that the lions were sent because of the lack of knowledge of the God of the land. To change this, the king of Assyria commanded a priest to go there and “teach them the custom of the god of the land”. The priest who was sent would undoubtedly be one of the priests of the golden calves, a priest of a mixed religion. This man introduced even more mixed worship among the new inhabitants of the cities of Samaria. What he taught the people of the land about the service of God was nothing but the observance of outward forms as he had done when he himself still lived there. This terrible mixture is also seen in professing Christianity. Priests of the roman-catholic church have established a mixed religion all over the world. It is a mixture of truth and the world. People are driven by the sword into the water to be baptized. That is what made Europe Christian. How much the name ‘Christian’ has become a hollow concept today, goes without saying for those who love and know God’s Word.

‏ 2 Kings 17:24

The New Inhabitants of Samaria

In 2Kgs 17:24, the thread of history is taken up again. We see how the cities of Samaria were doing after having been carried away into exile. These cities have new inhabitants, people from other nations. Their character is the same as that of God’s people who lived there first, for they feared not the LORD either (2Kgs 17:25). For this reason, the LORD sent lions among them.

A natural reason may be that the number of inhabitants was insufficient to populate the land, giving the wild beasts a chance to multiply (Exo 23:29). In any case, the hand of God was in it. He used lions to make these people remember that He was there and that they were in His land. The people who had come to live there were people who had nothing to do with God, they did not relate to Him. However, God did interfere with them. Because these people lived in His land, He sent a judgment. God is not only the God of the land of Israel, but also of the whole world.

The inhabitants of the Samaritan cities drew the right conclusion, but the solution to their problem was not correct. While God’s action was aimed at people asking for Him, they approached the king of Assyria instead. It was clear to him that the lions were sent because of the lack of knowledge of the God of the land. To change this, the king of Assyria commanded a priest to go there and “teach them the custom of the god of the land”.

The priest who was sent would undoubtedly be one of the priests of the golden calves, a priest of a mixed religion. This man introduced even more mixed worship among the new inhabitants of the cities of Samaria. What he taught the people of the land about the service of God was nothing but the observance of outward forms as he had done when he himself still lived there.

This terrible mixture is also seen in professing Christianity. Priests of the roman-catholic church have established a mixed religion all over the world. It is a mixture of truth and the world. People are driven by the sword into the water to be baptized. That is what made Europe Christian. How much the name ‘Christian’ has become a hollow concept today, goes without saying for those who love and know God’s Word.