2 Kings 17:1–41
Israel became weak and helpless. Her kings were murderers and idol worshipers. The Assyrians won many victories in war. Israelites were captured and carried away. Those left were robbed of all they had.
Nineteen kings ruled the ten tribes who lived in Israel. The first was Jeroboam; the last was Hoshea. In Hoshea’s time, Shalmanezer, king of Assyria, came to Samaria with a great army. He surrounded the city. No one could go in or come out. But Samaria was built on a hill. Shalmanezer couldn’t take the city easily and died before the victory. Sargon became king in his place.
In three years, Samaria fell to Assyria. Sargon killed Hoshea. Nearly all the people were carried away from the land. They went to faraway countries in the east: Mesopotamia, Media, and lands near the Caspian Sea.
In these distant lands, the people of Israel changed forever. They married the foreign people and worshiped their gods. They lost all knowledge of the Lord who rescued them from Egypt. This was the end of the ten tribes. They never saw their own land again. God’s ancient tribes became lost among the peoples of the Far East.
Questions: Why was Israel weak and helpless? What happened to the ten tribes of Israel in the Far East?