2 Kings 17:16-18
17:16 They abandoned all the commandments of the
Lord their God; they made two metal calves and an Asherah pole, bowed down to all the stars in the sky,
and worshiped
Baal.
17:17 They passed their sons and daughters through the fire,
and practiced divination and omen reading. They committed themselves to doing evil in the sight of the
Lord and made him angry.
17:18 So the Lord was furious with Israel and rejected them; only the tribe of Judah was left.
2 Kings 17:21-23
17:21 He tore Israel away from David’s dynasty, and Jeroboam son of Nebat became their king.
Jeroboam drove Israel away
from the
Lord and encouraged them to commit a serious sin.
17:22 The Israelites followed in the sinful ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat and did not repudiate
them.
17:23 Finally
the
Lord rejected Israel
just as he had warned he would do
through all his servants the prophets. Israel was deported from its land to Assyria and remains there to this very day.