The Israelites are exiled (2 Kings 17:5-41)

Shalmanser is the Assyrian king who deported the Israelites. They were deported to Gozan, the river of Habor, and the towns of the Medes. The Medes were an area of present day Iran and the Habor is a tributary of the Euphrates River. This area will have other numerous empires sweep through and fall before the time of Christ. The Babylonian, Persian, and Macedonian (under Alexander the Great), are notable the highlights.

2 Kings 17 explains that this happened because Israel turned away from God. They had assimilated all the practices that the local inhabitants had done, including putting their sons and daughters into fire.

The chapter also describes the settlers that the Assyrians brought into Samaria. When they first settled there, they did not worship God, so God sent lions to harass and kill them. The Assyrian king heard of this and had a priest from those exiled sent back to Samaria to tell them how to worship God. Of course, they could have gone to the people of Judah for instruction, but we now have one person being brought from exile. Anyway, these people who resettled the Israel did worship God, but kept to their practices of worshipping other gods that they brought with them, including sacrificing their own children.

They eventually abandon the worship of God altogether by the writing of 2 Kings.