Hoshea was the last king of the north as God’s judgement finally came upon Israel some 200 years after the nation was divided. This was however not caused singularly by Hoshea although he was definitely also a contributor. In fact it was said of him that he did evil in the eyes of the Lord but he was not as bad as his predecessors (v2). That however was immaterial as he became the straw that broke the camel’s back.
The people of Israel would have known from their parents and priests that, according to the Law, suffering and exile would be the consequences of living apart from God’s way (Deut. 28).
The prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Amos, reminded the people of this again and again. Though these warnings of disaster seemed like bad news, they are actually words of mercy!
King Manasseh of Judah led God’s people astray, and they sunk into idolatry and injustice. Manasseh’s actions were heinous—he installed idols of the gods of Canaan in the holy temple of Jerusalem. Manasseh’s actions were monstrous—he burned his children according to the practices of the Canaanite god, Molech.
A series of terrible kings ruled Northern Kingdom of Israel without a break. One evil, rebellious king after another leading God’s people deeper and deeper into rebellion and idolatry. And when we compare Jehu (the 10th King) to the other kings (18 in all) of Israel, we see that he was the best of a bad group. For with all the kings of Israel it was recorded that they all “did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord.”
