What was the Assyrian captivity?

from the old testament

• The background leading to the Assyrian captivity was a major split in Israel. Under King Saul, David, and Solomon, Israel was a single kingdom. However, because Solomon sinned, God said that He would split the kingdom after Solomon died (1 Kings 11:11–13). God kept His promise, and through Solomon’s son and the poor counsel of his friends, the Kingdom was split (1 Kings 12:16–20). He also promised to preserve David’s line through Judah (1 Kings 11:13; cf. 2 Samuel 7:12–13).
• Jeroboam, one of Solomon’s servants (1 Kings 11:26), saw an opening and took over what is now known as the Northern Kingdom (1 Kings 12:20). That kingdom consisted of all the tribes of Israel except for Judah and the small tribe of Benjamin, which was located inside the Judean territory (1 Kings 12:20–21). Because it included most of the tribes, the Northern Kingdom was known from then on as Israel, while the Southern Kingdom was known as Judah.
• Second Kings 17 details the Assyrian captivity. It says God’s anger against Israel caused it. That detail opens with the summary, “This occurred because the people of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other gods and walked in the customs of the nations whom the LORD drove out before the people of Israel, and in the customs that the kings of Israel had practiced” (2 Kings 17:7–8).
• It goes on to describe specifics of their idolatry (2 Kings 17:9–17): they acted like the pagan nations; they set up “high places” (in the ANE, “high places” were thought to be where gods lived), set up Asherim pillars all over the land, and worshiped the hosts of heaven and Baal. Additionally, they burnt their children as offerings to the false gods and practiced the occult.
• In short, they were as wicked as other nations. The result was that “the LORD was very angry with Israel and removed them out of his sight. None was left, but the tribe of Judah only” (2 Kings 17:18). Judah was not perfect (2 Kings 17:19), but better than Israel, which is why God delayed capturing them for another 135 years.
• The Assyrian captivity happened in stages. It began under King Hoshea, who ruled Israel for its final nine years (2 Kings 17:1, 6). At first, Shalmaneser, Assyria’s king, made Israel a vassal state and required it to pay tribute to Assyria (2 Kings 17:3). However, “the king of Assyria found treachery in Hoshea, for he had sent messengers to So, king of Egypt, and offered no tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year” (2 Kings 17:4). Hoshea tried going to Assyria’s enemies, Egypt, enraging Shalmaneser. He put Hoshea in prison (2 Kings 17:4) and then attacked Israel, besieging it for 3 years (2 Kings 17:5).
• The Northern Kingdom’s final fate is summarized in 2 Kings 17:6: “In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria, and he carried the Israelites away to Assyria and placed them in Halah, and on the Habor, the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.” From beginning to end, the captivity occurred somewhere between 734 and 722 BC.
• After capturing Israel, Assyria took over Samaria (2 Kings 17:24–41). The tribes of the Northern Kingdom largely disappeared, with only rare references to them in Scripture after that point. Judah would remain until God punished them with the Babylonian captivity (2 Kings 25:1–11).

from the new testament

• The Assyrian captivity is not recorded in the New Testament.

implications for today

Although the Assyrian captivity was centuries ago and now seems like nothing more than a historical curiosity, it’s a story that highlights God’s patience, His judgment against the unrepentant, and even His mercy.

Israel had the special, even unique privilege of the true God choosing them (Deuteronomy 7:6), rescuing them (Exodus 14:30–31), and protecting them (Deuteronomy 1:30–31). Yet, despite seeing His miracles and power, they rejected Him as their God. Instead, they became like all the other sinful nations around them. God patiently gave them every opportunity to repent until finally He judged them by removing them from the land (2 Kings 17:13–14). However, when He later expelled Judah, the last remaining Israelites, He promised to save them (Ezekiel 36:24–28). In that way, even while judging them, God remained merciful.

Christians are also chosen by God (Ephesians 1:4–5). Yet, though we’ve seen God change our hearts, if we’re not careful, we can find ourselves confirmed to the world rather than transformed by God (Romans 12:2). Indeed, Scripture warns that some who claim to be Christians will ultimately prove they never were by their lack of obedience to God (Matthew 7:21–23).

However, even true Christians sin. Because of that, while God promises never to leave us (Hebrews 13:5), He disciplines us. He does so to correct us lovingly, just like human fathers do to their children (Hebrews 12:6–11).

Consider yourself. Are you saved but living a life where no one would see any difference between you and the rest of the world? That’s a spiritually dangerous place to be. First, examine yourself to make sure you are genuinely saved (2 Corinthians 13:5). Then, repent and strive to obey. God faithfully forgives those who come to Him with a contrite heart (Psalm 51:17; 1 John 1:9)!