God allowed the Assyrians to take the northern kingdom of Israel captive because Israel's persistent sin, idolatry, and rebellion had so angered the LORD that He removed them out of His sight.
According to 2 Kings 17, the children of Israel had sinned against the LORD who brought them up out of Egypt and walked in all the sins of Jeroboam, departing not from them. Because of this, the LORD was very angry with Israel and removed them out of His sight, leaving none but the tribe of Judah only. Les Feldick explains that the northern tribes fell about 740–750 B.C. after the nation had been going down and down for hundreds of years, having turned their back on everything God had tried to do with them.
2 Kings 17:18 — This verse states the direct cause — the LORD was very angry with Israel and removed them out of His sight — leaving no tribe but Judah.
2 Kings 17:23 — This verse records the result: until the LORD removed Israel out of His sight, Israel was carried away to Assyria.
2 Kings 17:22 — Identifies the ongoing sin — they walked in all the sins of Jeroboam and departed not from them.
The Bible's own explanation is found in 2 Kings 17. The children of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, which had brought them up out of the land of Egypt, and feared other gods (2 Kings 17:7). They walked in all the sins of Jeroboam, which he did, and departed not from them (2 Kings 17:22). Because of this, the LORD was very angry with Israel: "Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight: there was none left but the tribe of Judah only" (2 Kings 17:18). The LORD rejected all the seed of Israel and afflicted them, delivering them into the hand of spoilers until He had cast them out of His sight (2 Kings 17:20). Scripture then gives the conclusion: "Until the LORD removed Israel out of his sight, as he had said by all his servants the prophets. So was Israel carried away out of their own land to Assyria unto this day" (2 Kings 17:23).
Les Feldick sets the historical context by reminding us that Israel was a divided nation: ten tribes to the north, with its capital at Samaria, and two tribes to the south, primarily Judah and Benjamin (Clip 0). The northern tribes set up their own separate government and their own religious system at Samaria (Clip 2). Les teaches that the fall of the northern tribes came about 740–750 B.C., after hundreds of years of going "down and down and down." He explains that God could not take it anymore — the people had turned their back on everything He had tried to do with them, which is why God had to deal so severely with them (Clips 2, 4). A key factor was Israel's failure to cleanse the land of the Canaanites: they incorporated them into their lifestyle, and within a couple of generations Israel was headlong after the gods of the Canaanites (Clips 5, 6). Les also emphasizes that God acted in His sovereignty: more than once God took them out of the land, taking the ten tribes of the north up into Assyria (Clip 3). And he draws the principle that anytime Israel lost its separated character and belief in God, God's judgment fell (Clip 7).
According to 2 Kings 17, the children of Israel had sinned against the LORD who brought them up out of Egypt and feared other gods (2 Kings 17:7). They walked in all the sins of Jeroboam, which he did, and departed not from them (2 Kings 17:22). Les Feldick adds that Israel had set up its own religious system at Samaria and, after sparing the Canaanites, incorporated them into their lifestyle until within a couple of generations Israel had turned her back on Jehovah and was headlong after the gods of the Canaanites (Clips 2, 6).
The Scripture is explicit: the LORD was very angry with Israel and removed them out of His sight, and the LORD rejected all the seed of Israel and delivered them into the hand of spoilers until He cast them out of His sight (2 Kings 17:18, 20). Les Feldick explains that in His sovereignty God took the ten tribes of the north out of the land into Assyria — part of a repeated pattern in which God sovereignly removed Israel from the land (Clip 3).
Les Feldick notes that Jeremiah foretold all these things and tried to warn Israel as well as Judah, even though Jeremiah was predominantly in the southern kingdom. He points to Jeremiah 44 as showing the mentality of the Israelites — they had turned their back on everything God had tried to do with them, which is why God had to deal so severely with them (Clip 4).
Les Feldick teaches that all the way through the Old Testament, any time Israel had a knowledge of God and His Word, Israel was a separated people — and as soon as they lost that separation, God's judgment fell. He illustrates this with the Balaam incident, where 23,000 Jews had to be put to death because they lost their separated character (Clip 7). The same principle explains why judgment fell on the northern kingdom.
Historical Context: The Divided Kingdom
Les sets the stage for the captivity by explaining that Israel was a divided nation — ten tribes to the north with the capital at Samaria, and two tribes (Judah and Benjamin) to the south.
The LORD Removed Israel Out of His Sight
Les reads 2 Kings 17:18–23, showing that the LORD was very angry with Israel, removed them out of His sight, and Israel was carried away to the Assyrians because they walked in all the sins of Jeroboam.
Centuries of Decline Led to the Fall
Les explains that by the fall of the northern tribes around 740–750 B.C., Israel had been going down and down for hundreds of years, having set up a separate government and religious system at Samaria.
God's Sovereign Removal of Israel
Les emphasizes that more than once God in His sovereignty took Israel out of the land — taking the ten tribes of the north up into Assyria — while promising to bring them back according to His promises.
Warnings Given Through Jeremiah
Les notes that Jeremiah foretold the judgment and warned Israel as well as Judah, but Israel had turned its back on everything God had tried to do, so God had to deal severely with them.
Failure to Cleanse the Land
Les explains that God told Israel to cleanse the land of the Canaanites, with the warning that if they did not, they would go down to their level — and they did.
Incorporating the Canaanites Led to Idolatry
Les recounts how Israel spared the Canaanites and incorporated them into their lifestyle, and within a couple of generations Israel had turned from Jehovah to the gods of the Canaanites.
Loss of Separation Brings Judgment
Les draws the principle that whenever Israel lost its separated character and belief in God, God's judgment fell — the same dynamic behind the Assyrian captivity.
2 Kings 17:7: For so it was, that the children of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, which had brought them up out of the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other gods,
This verse gives the root cause — Israel sinned against the very God who delivered them from Egypt.
2 Kings 17:18: Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight: there was none left but the tribe of Judah only.
This is the specific judgment — the LORD removed Israel out of His sight.
2 Kings 17:20: And the LORD rejected all the seed of Israel, and afflicted them, and delivered them into the hand of spoilers, until he had cast them out of his sight.
Shows the LORD rejected and afflicted Israel, delivering them into the hand of spoilers.
2 Kings 17:21: For he rent Israel from the house of David; and they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king: and Jeroboam drave Israel from following the LORD, and made them sin a great sin.
Explains that Israel seceded from the house of David and made Jeroboam king, who drove Israel into sin.
2 Kings 17:22: For the children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they departed not from them;
Identifies the ongoing sin that continued until the captivity.
2 Kings 17:23: Until the LORD removed Israel out of his sight, as he had said by all his servants the prophets. So was Israel carried away out of their own land to Assyria unto this day.
This is the direct answer — Israel was carried away to Assyria because the LORD removed them out of His sight.
Yes. According to 2 Kings 17, the LORD was very angry with Israel and removed them out of His sight because the children of Israel had sinned against Him. The LORD rejected all the seed of Israel and delivered them into the hand of spoilers until He had cast them out of His sight.
Les Feldick places the fall of the northern tribes at about 740 or 750 B.C. He notes that this came after hundreds of years in which the nation had been going down and down, having set up their own government and religious system at Samaria.
Idolatry was central. Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam, who made Israel sin a great sin, and they departed not from those sins. Les Feldick adds that after Israel incorporated the Canaanites into their lifestyle, within a couple of generations they turned from Jehovah to the gods of the Canaanites.
Yes. Les Feldick explains that more than once, God in His sovereignty took Israel out of the land — He took the ten tribes of the north up into Assyria. Scripture confirms it: 'Until the LORD removed Israel out of his sight... So was Israel carried away out of their own land to Assyria unto this day.'
Watch the Teaching: The Lost Ten Tribes of Israel — What the Bible Really Says