Context No. 2528 of 4322 · 2 Kings

2 Kings 17:29-41: in context

29However every nation made gods of their own, and put them in the houses of the high places which the Samaritans had made, every nation in their cities in which they lived. 30The men of Babylon made Succoth Benoth, and the men of Cuth made Nergal, and the men of Hamath made Ashima, 31and the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak; and the Sepharvites burned their children in the fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim. 32So they feared the LORD, and also made from among themselves priests of the high places for themselves, who sacrificed for them in the houses of the high places. 33They feared the LORD, and also served their own gods, after the ways of the nations from among whom they had been carried away. 34To this day they do what they did before. They don’t fear the LORD, and they do not follow the statutes, or the ordinances, or the law, or the commandment which the LORD commanded the children of Jacob, whom he named Israel; 35with whom the LORD had made a covenant and commanded them, saying, “You shall not fear other gods, nor bow yourselves to them, nor serve them, nor sacrifice to them; 36but you shall fear the LORD, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt with great power and with an outstretched arm, and you shall bow yourselves to him, and you shall sacrifice to him. 37The statutes and the ordinances, and the law and the commandment which he wrote for you, you shall observe to do forever more. You shall not fear other gods. 38You shall not forget the covenant that I have made with you. You shall not fear other gods. 39But you shall fear the LORD your God, and he will deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies.” 40However they didn’t listen, but they did what they did before. 41So these nations feared the LORD, and also served their engraved images. Their children did likewise, and so did their children’s children. They do as their fathers did to this day.

After Israel's exile, the nations resettled in Samaria brought their own gods, and the writer describes a strange arrangement: they feared the LORD, and also served their own gods. They set up local priests, kept their idols, and slotted the God of Israel in among the rest. The verdict is repeated and damning: to this day they do as they did before; they fear the LORD and serve their carved images at the same time.

The problem is not that they ignored God entirely; it is that they tried to add him to a crowded shelf. They wanted the LORD and their old gods, a hedged devotion that keeps every option open. But God had said plainly, you shall not fear other gods, and that command cannot be half kept. Divided worship is not partial faith; it is its own kind of unbelief, because it refuses him the one thing he asks, to be God alone. A heart that fears the LORD and also serves its idols has not actually made him Lord of anything.

Where do I fear the LORD and also quietly serve my own gods, keeping a hedged devotion that refuses him the throne alone?

Sources

2 Kings 17:33: They feared the LORD, and also served their own gods, after the ways of the nations from among whom they had been carried away.
2 Kings 17:41: So these nations feared the LORD, and also served their engraved images.
2 Kings 17:35: You shall not fear other gods, nor bow yourselves to them, nor serve them, nor sacrifice to them.