Hoshea the Last King of Israel

2 Kings 17

Hoshea became king of Israel in Samaria. It was in the 12th year that Ahaz was king of Judah. Hoshea ruled for nine years. He was the son of Elah.

2 Hoshea did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord. But he wasn’t as evil as the kings of Israel who ruled before him.

3 Shalmaneser came up to attack Hoshea. Shalmaneser was king of Assyria. He had been Hoshea’s master. He had forced Hoshea to bring him gifts.

4 But the king of Assyria found out that Hoshea had turned against him. Hoshea had sent messengers to So, the king of Egypt. Hoshea didn’t send gifts to the king of Assyria anymore. He had been sending them every year. So Shalmaneser grabbed him and put him in prison.

5 The king of Assyria marched into the whole land of Israel. He marched to Samaria and surrounded it for three years. From time to time he attacked it.

6 Finally, the king of Assyria captured Samaria. It was in the ninth year of Hoshea. The king of Assyria took the Israelites away from their own land. He sent them off to Assyria. He made some of them live in Halah. He made others live in Gozan on the Habor River. And he made others live in the towns of the Medes.

북이스라엘의 가장 마지막 왕은 호세아였습니다. 호세아 왕 당시 앗수르 왕에게 매년 조공을 바쳤으나 애굽의 왕 소에게 사절을 보낸 후 앗수르왕을 배반했습니다. 힘이 강했던 앗수르 왕은 호세아 왕을 가두고 3년동안 사마리아를 포위했습니다. 결국 북이스라엘은 망했고, 백성들은 포로가 되어 앗수르로 이주되었습니다. 국민, 영토, 주권이 있어야 국가가 성립됩니다. 북이스라엘은 이제 영토도 빼앗기고 국민도 다른 나라로 이주되었고 주권도 빼앗겼습니다. 북이스라엘이 무너졌습니다.

The last king of the northern kingdom of Israel was Hoshea. During his reign, he paid annual tribute to the king of Assyria. However, after sending envoys to So, the king of Egypt, Hoshea rebelled against the Assyrian king. The powerful Assyrian king then imprisoned Hoshea and besieged Samaria for three years. Ultimately, the northern kingdom of Israel fell, and its people were taken captive and relocated to Assyria. For a nation to exist, it needs people, territory, and sovereignty. The northern kingdom of Israel had now lost its territory, its people were relocated to another country, and its sovereignty was stripped away. The northern kingdom of Israel had collapsed.

Israel Is Forced to Leave the Land Because of Sin

7 All of this took place because the Israelites had sinned against the Lord their God. He had brought them up out of Egypt. He had brought them out from under the power of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. But they worshiped other gods.

8 The Lord had driven out other nations to make room for Israel. But they followed the evil practices of those nations. They also followed the practices that the kings of Israel had started.

9 The Israelites did things in secret against the Lord their God. What they did wasn’t right. They built high places for worship in all their towns. They built them at lookout towers. They also built them at cities that had high walls around them.

10 They set up sacred stones. And they set up poles used to worship the female god named Asherah. They did that on every high hill and under every green tree.

11 The Lord had driven out nations to make room for Israel. But the Israelites burned incense at every high place, just as those nations had done. The Israelites did evil things that made the Lord very angry.

12 They worshiped statues of gods. They did it even though the Lord had said, “Do not do that.” 

이렇게 된 것은, 이스라엘 주 하나님을 거역하여, 죄를 짓고 다른 신들을 섬겼기 때문입니다. 그리고 이방 나라들의 관습과, 이스라엘의 역대 왕들이 잘못한 것을, 그대로 따랐기 때문입니다. 이스라엘 자손은 하나님을 거역하여 옳지 못한 일을 저질렀습니다. 온 성읍 안에 그들 스스로 산당을 세웠고, 또 높은 언덕과 푸른 나무 아래에는 어느 곳에나 돌기둥들과 아세라 목상들을 세웠습니다. 하나님이 가장 싫어하시는 우상숭배를 했습니다.  

This happened because they defied the Lord God of Israel, sinned, and worshiped other gods. They followed the customs of foreign nations and the wrongdoings of the former kings of Israel. The children of Israel committed unrighteous acts against God. They built high places in all their cities, and set up sacred pillars and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree. They engaged in idolatry, which God detested the most.

얼핏 보기에 호세아 왕은 정치적 판단을 잘 하지 못해서 국가를 망하게 한 것 같이 보입니다 그러나 성경 전체를 살펴보면 이스라엘은 하나님을 거역하고 이방신을 섬겼기 때문임을 알 수 있습니다. 하나님께서는 우리의 일상 하나 하나를 개입하고 계십니다. 영적으로 깨어서 우리의 일상에서 하나님을 거역하는 일은 없는지 체크합시다.  내가 하나님 아버지 보다도 더 우선순위에 두고 있는 것이 있는지요? 우리의 육신과 의지가 약해서 우리의 마음이 온전히 하나님께 향하고 있지 않다면 회개하고, 우리의 약함을 아시는 예수그리스도만 의지합시다. 나의 모든 죄를 이미 사해 주신 그리스도를 믿음으로 우리는 의롭다 하심을 받았습니다. 그리스도로 의로운 자 된 우리는 삶 속에서 성령의 열매를 맺을 수 있도록 더욱 말씀 안에 삽시다. 

At first glance, it may seem that King Hoshea's poor political judgment led to the downfall of the nation. However, when we examine the Bible as a whole, we see that Israel fell because they defied God and worshipped foreign gods. God is involved in every aspect of our daily lives. Let us remain spiritually vigilant and check if there are any ways we are defying God in our daily lives. Is there anything we prioritize above God the Father? If our hearts are not wholly turned towards God due to our weak flesh and will, let us repent and rely solely on Jesus Christ, who knows our weaknesses. Through faith in Christ, who has already forgiven all our sins, we are deemed righteous. As those made righteous by Christ, let us live in the Word so that we may bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit in our lives.