There is a story of two young men in a rowboat floating down a river. Although the river was calm where they floated, they were approaching an area where the water increased in speed and roughness as it headed toward a very steep, tall waterfall.A man along the shore noticed the two men on the river and called out, “Hello! The rapids are in front of you and are followed by the waterfall!”The young men heard the warning, but they felt fine about what they were doing and the boat was easily controlled. They continued laughing and joking, paying no attention to the man on the shore or the danger ahead.The man on the shore shouted again with some urgency, “The rapids and falls will soon be upon you!”The two men still did not seem to care. As the water began increasing in speed, however, the men became a little worried and tried to get the boat to shore. But it was too late. The current was too powerful, and over the falls they went to their death. Their fate could have been avoided had they listened to the warning voice (see David O. McKay, Gospel Ideals [1953], 912).This imaginary story is much like the situation of the Israelites in 2 Kings 17, especially the position of the Northern Kingdom, where, as you have read in 1–2 Kings, virtually every king in some way promoted idolatry. From the time of the splitting of the two kingdoms after Solomon until the time of the events in 2 Kings 17 was about two hundred years. In other words, the Lord gave Israel two hundred years to change and put Him and His laws above all other things, but they would not. Surely the Lord was merciful in allowing such a long time for the Israelites to repent. Chapter 17 of 2 Kings is also where we read how the Lord allowed the Assyrians to take the Israelites captive, removing them from their land of promise.The Assyrians were one of the most brutal of all conquering kingdoms in history. They treated their captive prisoners in some of the most savage ways known to man. In addition, in order to extend their own kingdom and culture, they did everything they could to separate those whom they captured from their culture. Consequently, when the Assyrians captured thousands of Israelites from the Northern Kingdom, we never really find out what happened to them. Although some remained in the land and intermarried with their Assyrian captors, most became “lost” from our knowledge and are known as the “lost ten tribes of Israel.”As you read, look for reasons why the Israelites lost the Lord’s protection and were taken captive by the Assyrians.