2 Kings 17:8

“And walked in the statutes of the heathen, whom the Lord cast out from before the children of Israel, etc.] Meaning the Canaanites, in whose idolatrous ways they walked, and whom they imitated; though their ejection out of the land should have been a warning to them, and they were the more inexcusable, as they were particularly cautioned against walking in them, (<031803>Leviticus 18:3) and of the kings of Israel, which they had made; their laws and statutes, to worship the golden calves, and not go up to Jerusalem to worship.”

“Idolatry was worse in the Israelites than in other nations, since it argued not merely folly and a gross carnal spirit, but also black ingratitude Exodus 20:2-3. The writer subdivides the idolatries of the Israelites into two classes, pagan and native - those which they adopted from the nations whom they drove out, and those which their own kings imposed on them. Under the former head would come the great mass of the idolatrous usages described in 2 Kings 17:9-11, 2 Kings 17:17; “the high places” 2Ki 17:9, 2 Kings 17:11; the “images” and “groves” 2 Kings 17:10; the causing of their children to “pass through the fire” 2 Kings 17:17; and the “worship of the host of heaven” 2 Kings 17:16 :…”

“17:8-13 The catalog of Israel’s sins includes numerous pagan rites and practices. Whether done in the open or secretly, God was aware of them all. Many were even initiated by Israel’s kings who built pagan shrines, sacred pillars, and Asherah poles and emulated heathen sacrifices and idolatry (10:29; 15:18, 28; 1 Kgs 12:28-33; 15:34; 16:30-33). All levels of Israelite society, royalty and commoner alike, persisted in such sins despite denunciation and warning by God’s prophets, which included the writings of Isaiah, Hosea, Amos, and Micah.”

“walked: Kg2 16:3, Kg2 16:10, Kg2 21:2; Lev 18:3, Lev 18:27-30; Deu 12:30, Deu 12:31, Deu 18:9; Kg1 12:28; Kg1 16:31-33, Kg1 21:26; Psa 106:35; Jer 10:2 of the kings of Israel: Hos 5:11; Mic 6:16 4 Kings (2 Kings) 17:9”