2 Kings 17:7 - Exposition

For so it was, that the children of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God ; rather, And it came to pass , when , etc. The clauses from the present to the end of 2 Kings 17:17 depend on the "when" of this verse; the apodosis does not come till 2 Kings 17:18 , "When the children of Israel had done all that is stated in 2 Kings 17:7-17 , then the result was that the Lord was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight." Which had brought them up out of the land of Egypt. So commencing his long series of mercies to the nation, and indicating his gracious favor towards it. "The deliverance from Egypt," as Bahr well says, "was not only the beginning, but the symbol, of all Divine grace towards Israel, and the pledge of its Divine guidance." Hence the stress laid upon it, both here and by the Prophet Hoses (comp. Hosea 11:1 ; Hosea 12:9 , Hosea 12:13 ; Hosea 13:4 ). From under the hand — i.e. the oppression— of Pharaoh King of Egypt, and had feared other gods ; i.e. reverenced and worshipped them.