Today's Scripture Reading (June 2, 2026): 2 Kings 17
In 722
B.C.E, Sargon II ascended the throne of Assyria after overthrowing the king,
who we believe was also his brother, Shalmaneser V. The caveat that we think
Shalmaneser was Sargon's brother is necessary because Sargon II makes a great
effort to divorce himself from any concept of the past. The tale that Sargon
seems to want the people to believe is that Ashur, the national god of the
Assyrians, had called him specifically to be King over the Assyrians. Sargon
describes his brother as a crooked and deceitful King who had brought disgrace
to Assur, the city of Ashur, and had driven his people into a kind of slavery. As
a result, Ashur had placed the responsibility for leading the nation on the
shoulders of Sargon.
One of the
first things that Sargon did was finish the siege of Samaria, the capital city
of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. The siege was begun under the leadership of
Shalmaneser, but Sargon believed that he was raised to power to end it. Here is
how Sargon II describes the decision
The men of Samaria with their king were hostile to me and
consorted together not to carry out their vassal obligations and bring tribute
to me, so they fought me… I clashed with them and took as booty 27,280 people
with their chariots and their gods in whom they trusted. I incorporated 200
chariots into my army. The rest of the people I made to dwell within Assyria. I
restored the city of Samaria and made it greater than before (Inscribed Prisms of Sargon II from Nimrud).
The process
would not have been pretty. Sargon would have had the inhabitants of Samaria
stripped naked; fishhooks would have been inserted into the lower lips of the
captives with a series of strings that would tie the Samarians together. And
then they would be forced to march hundreds of kilometers to their new home.
Only the lowest class of people would be left in the former territory of the
Northern Kingdom. Those who were considered smart or talented enough would be
retrained to serve the Assyrian Empire, while the rest would be forced into a
life of slavery.
The Bible
makes it clear that all of this took place because of the sin of Israel and its
people. After two hundred years and the nineteen kings who had served Israel
since the civil divorce the nation had experienced with Judah and the House of
David, the Kingdom came to an end as King Hoshea surrendered his Kingdom to Sargon
and the Assyrians. And the Northern Kingdom would fade into the pages of
history, never to return.
Tomorrow's
Scripture Reading: 2 Chronicles 29
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