Chapter 17 in Melachim B is the chapter in which the kingdom of the ten tribes reaches its end. The last king is Hoshea ben Elah, and in his days the king of Ashur rises up, conquers Shomron, and exiles Israel to Ashur. But the prophet is not content to describe the political events alone: after the account of the exile he lays out before us the great reckoning of the soul - over what and why did Israel go into exile, and how did they descend lower and lower, step by step, from the fear of other gods all the way to complete addiction to doing evil in the eyes of Hashem.
בִּשְׁנַת שְׁתֵּים עֶשְׂרֵה לְאָחָז מֶלֶךְ יְהוּדָה מָלַךְ הוֹשֵׁעַ בֶּן־אֵלָה בְשֹׁמְרוֹן עַל־יִשְׂרָאֵל תֵּשַׁע שָׁנִים׃ וַיַּעַשׂ הָרַע בְּעֵינֵי יְהֹוָה רַק לֹא כְּמַלְכֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֲשֶׁר הָיוּ לְפָנָיו׃ - In the twelfth year of Achaz king of Yehudah, Hoshea ben Elah began to reign in Shomron over Israel for nine years. And he did what was evil in the eyes of Hashem, only not like the kings of Israel who were before him.
The verse testifies that Hoshea did evil in the eyes of Hashem, and nevertheless he was less wicked in his heart than the kings who preceded him. Why? First, because in his days there were no longer calves. The golden calves went into exile in the first two exiles: in the first exile Dan was taken, and there was one of the calves, and in the second exile, when Reuven and Gad were exiled, the calf that was in Beit El was taken. And this is what is said in Hoshea the prophet: "He too shall be carried off to Ashur" - the reference is to the god they made for themselves.
And since the calves were no longer present, Hoshea ben Elah abolished the prozdaot. What are the prozdaot? These are the guard posts that Yeravam ben Nevat, the first king over the ten tribes, set up so that Israel would not go up for the festivals. His fear was that if they went up to Yerushalayim they would come under the kingdom of Rechavam ben Shlomo, for in the courtyard only the kings of the House of David are permitted to sit and not the kings of Israel. Thus Yeravam would stand there like one of the commoners while Rechavam sat, and they would say: this one is a king and Yeravam is not a king. And more than this - there is a fear that people would arise there who would campaign and incite the ten tribes to accept upon themselves the kingdom of Rechavam. For this reason Yeravam made a substitute: idolatry in Beit El and in Dan, "these are your gods, Israel," and there is no need to go up to the Beit HaMikdash.
And let us mention by way of allusion what we have learned: seemingly, why did Yeravam not build them a substitute Beit HaMikdash, so that he could say - they have a Beit HaMikdash in Yerushalayim and we will have one here? Especially since Yeravam was righteous at the time he was anointed by the prophet to reign over Israel. Rather, Yeravam knew that he could never compete with the Beit HaMikdash of Shlomo. We learned in the first chapters of Sefer Melachim just how magnificent it was, the pinnacle of artistry, and an enormous fortune was invested in it. Any building that Yeravam would construct would be a cheap substitute, and the people would see and say: the original is better, this looks cheap, this is not serious - and they would return to going up to the true Beit HaMikdash. Therefore he told them: we are not competing with that building at all; we have calves, and through them we worship Hashem. And in the second stage they already began to worship the calves themselves as an independent power.
Now, in the days of Hoshea ben Elah, once the calves were exiled, there was no longer any obstacle to going up to the Beit HaMikdash, and he permitted anyone who wished to go up. And the wonder is that precisely at the moment he permitted them to go up - then they were exiled. Seemingly the logic is the opposite: as long as they were forbidden to go up, the people had the argument "we were coerced," whereas now that the gates were opened this is a benefit and spiritual progress. So why precisely then are they exiled? Rather, this itself is the point. As long as there were kings who forced upon them not to go up, they had an excuse in their mouths: the gates are closed, whoever crosses is killed, what can we do? But once Hoshea ben Elah came and opened the gates, and nevertheless they did not go up - their wickedness of heart was revealed, and the claim of coercion was nullified. If now you can go up and you do not go up, it is a sign that even until now it was out of the wickedness of your heart that you did not go up - and with this their verdict was sealed.
The time at which the prozdaot were abolished was on the fifteenth of Av, and therefore this is one of the reasons that Israel would make the fifteenth of Av a festival: the prozdaot were abolished by Hoshea ben Elah.
עָלָיו עָלָה שַׁלְמַנְאֶסֶר מֶלֶךְ אַשּׁוּר וַיְהִי־לוֹ הוֹשֵׁעַ עֶבֶד וַיָּשֶׁב לוֹ מִנְחָה׃ - Against him came up Shalmaneser king of Ashur, and Hoshea became his servant and paid him tribute.
Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against him, meaning he conquered him and made him a subject. This was the accepted practice in those days: a kingdom that conquered another was not obligated to exile the entire people, but rather made them bearers of tribute, obligating them to pay a tax and submit to the conquering king.
And why does it say "וַיָּשֶׁב לוֹ מִנְחָה" ("he brought back tribute to him") rather than "he brought up tribute to him"? The Metzudat David explains: every single year he had to return and give it again, bringing it back and back again, and therefore it is called "וישב" (he brought back). The Malbim explains differently: at first he was a servant to Tiglath Pileser, and when Tiglath Pileser died he rebelled and did not bring up tribute. When Shalmaneser came up and Hoshea became his servant, he retroactively demanded from him the tax of the period during which he had rebelled. Therefore "he brought back tribute to him" - he had to pay back for that period as well.
וַיִּמְצָא מֶלֶךְ־אַשּׁוּר בְּהוֹשֵׁעַ קֶשֶׁר אֲשֶׁר שָׁלַח מַלְאָכִים אֶל־סוֹא מֶלֶךְ־מִצְרַיִם וְלֹא־הֶעֱלָה מִנְחָה לְמֶלֶךְ אַשּׁוּר כְּשָׁנָה בְשָׁנָה וַיַּעְצְרֵהוּ מֶלֶךְ אַשּׁוּר וַיַּאַסְרֵהוּ בֵּית כֶּלֶא׃ - And the king of Assyria found a conspiracy in Hoshea, for he had sent messengers to So king of Egypt and had not brought up tribute to the king of Assyria as year by year; so the king of Assyria shut him up and bound him in prison.
The king of Assyria discovers that Hoshea is plotting a conspiracy against him: he sends messengers to seek help from So king of Egypt, and not only that, but he also stopped bringing up the fixed tribute, the tax. As a result the king of Assyria arrested him and imprisoned him in prison.
וַיַּעַל מֶלֶךְ־אַשּׁוּר בְּכׇל־הָאָרֶץ וַיַּעַל שֹׁמְרוֹן וַיָּצַר עָלֶיהָ שָׁלֹשׁ שָׁנִים׃ בִּשְׁנַת הַתְּשִׁעִית לְהוֹשֵׁעַ לָכַד מֶלֶךְ־אַשּׁוּר אֶת־שֹׁמְרוֹן וַיֶּגֶל אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵל אַשּׁוּרָה וַיֹּשֶׁב אוֹתָם בַּחְלַח וּבְחָבוֹר נְהַר גּוֹזָן וְעָרֵי מָדָי׃ - And the king of Assyria went up throughout all the land, and went up to Samaria and besieged it three years. In the ninth year of Hoshea the king of Assyria captured Samaria and exiled Israel to Assyria, and settled them in Halah and in Habor by the river of Gozan, and in the cities of Media.
For three years the king of Assyria besieged Samaria, and in the ninth year of Hoshea he captured it. This is the absolute end of the kingdom of Samaria. He exiles Israel to Assyria and settles them in Halah and in Habor. Note that it does not say "and by the river of Gozan," and from this we learn that the river of Gozan is connected to Halah and Habor. Therefore the Metzudat David explains: Halah and Habor which sit upon the river of Gozan, and that is why there is no connecting vav between them. And "the cities of Media" - that he settled them also in the rest of the cities of Media.
One must know that these ten tribes have been lost from then until this very day. There is a dispute among Chazal: some say that one of the prophets went and brought back the ten tribes, and afterward, at the destruction of the Second Temple, they were exiled forever; and some say that the ten tribes never returned at all, and since the First Temple they are still in exile. Likewise they disagree as to whether they are destined to return: some say that the ten tribes are not destined to return at all, and some say that they are indeed destined to return.
And so we hope, and so too it stands to reason, for the people of Israel is a complete body only when it is composed of all the tribes; and if a tribe is missing, God forbid, it is as though it has a blemish. As we saw when the tribe of Benjamin was about to be wiped out following the incident of the concubine at Givah, and everyone sought a remedy for how to preserve the tribe and how to arrange wives for them, even though they had sworn by an oath not to give them wives, until they found a loophole in the oath and made sure that no tribe would be cut off from Israel. From here we see the tremendous importance of not lacking even a single tribe, and therefore it stands to reason that the opinion that the ten tribes are destined to return is the accepted one.
וַיְהִי כִּי־חָטְאוּ בְנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל לַיהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵיהֶם הַמַּעֲלֶה אֹתָם מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם מִתַּחַת יַד פַּרְעֹה מֶלֶךְ־מִצְרָיִם וַיִּירְאוּ אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים׃ - And it came to pass, because the children of Israel had sinned against Hashem their God, who brought them up out of the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and they feared other gods.
From here onward the prophet comes to explain what the exile was for, describing the decline step by step. The opening is that they sinned against Hashem "who brought them up out of the land of Egypt." And the explanation of the matter is this: the nations of the world are placed under the rule of nature and under the stars, and when they serve the host of heaven they bear no guilt in it, provided that they also believe in Hashem. When a gentile prays, he does not turn directly to Hashem; rather his prayer ascends by way of his ministering angel in heaven. Not so Israel, of whom it is said "For what great nation is there that has God so near to it as Hashem our God" - you turn directly to Hashem and have no need of intermediaries.
Therefore, according to most of the halachic authorities, the gentile was not warned against shituf (association), and it is permitted for him to worship idolatry in association. Christianity, for example, is idolatry in association. For us it is forbidden to enter their house of worship, because idolatry in association is forbidden to us, and consequently it is for us a house of idolatry; but for them, who believe in the impure trinity, it suffices that they also believe in Hashem. For indeed it is said of the sun and the moon "which Hashem your God has allotted to all the peoples" - the rule under the constellations the Holy One, blessed be He, gave to the gentiles and not to Israel.
It follows that for Israel it is forbidden to be in awe of or to fear any other power apart from Hashem, blessed be He. And this is what the verse emphasizes: Hashem brought you up out of the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh with individual providence, without any other power - "I and not an angel, I and not a seraph." And how is it that afterward "they feared other gods"? If Hashem is bound to you, it is forbidden for you to worship any deity, even if your entire intention is for the sake of the Creator of the world, and even if you regard it as one of the officials of nature who will convey your request to the Creator. This is the first deviation: we are not yet speaking of one who abandoned Hashem entirely, but of idolatry in association - that they feared not only Hashem but also other gods. This was the beginning of the decline.
וַיֵּלְכוּ בְּחֻקּוֹת הַגּוֹיִם אֲשֶׁר הוֹרִישׁ יְהֹוָה מִפְּנֵי בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וּמַלְכֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֲשֶׁר עָשׂוּ׃ - And they walked in the statutes of the nations whom Hashem drove out from before the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel which they had made.
They added transgression upon their transgression: at first they had merely feared them, and in the second stage they began actually to walk in the statutes of the nations, and also in the statutes of the kings of Israel. And this stemmed from the fact that they believed in higher powers, that is, in the stars and constellations, and concerning this it is said "Be not dismayed at the signs of heaven, for the nations are dismayed at them." Instead of heeding the voice of Hashem their God, they walked also in matters of governance according to the statutes of the nations.
וַיְחַפְּאוּ בְנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל דְּבָרִים אֲשֶׁר לֹא־כֵן עַל־יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵיהֶם וַיִּבְנוּ לָהֶם בָּמוֹת בְּכׇל־עָרֵיהֶם מִמִּגְדַּל נוֹצְרִים עַד־עִיר מִבְצָר׃ - And the children of Israel did secretly things that were not right against Hashem their God, and they built themselves high places in all their cities, from the watchtower to the fortified city.
"Vayechap'u" is from the root meaning to cover over and to conceal. Our Sages said that they would say: just as this pillar neither sees nor hears, so too, as it were, Hashem does not see and does not hear. As it were, they concealed the knowledge from Hashem, as though the Holy One, blessed be He, did not know what they were doing. And as the prophet Yechezkel said, they would say "Hashem does not see us, Hashem has forsaken the land," and likewise Yeshayahu expressed their words: "Who sees us and who knows us?"
And understand: denial of individual providence is among the first stages, for if there is no individual providence the way is open to do whatever your heart desires. As long as there is providence, there is One before whom I will give an accounting, there is reward and there is punishment. But if there is no providence, no one will demand anything of you.
And they built high places in all their cities "from the watchtower to the fortified city." The "watchtower" (migdal notzrim) is the guards' booth that they would build over the field, for "notzrim" are watchmen, and there they would guard the fields against robbers. That is to say, from the poorest structure that could be, up to the strongest and most established place, a fortified city - in all places without distinction they built high places and pillars.
וַיַּצִּבוּ לָהֶם מַצֵּבוֹת וַאֲשֵׁרִים עַל כׇּל־גִּבְעָה גְבֹהָה וְתַחַת כׇּל־עֵץ רַעֲנָן׃ - And they set up for themselves pillars and Asherim on every high hill and under every leafy tree.
There was no place where they did not set up pillars and Asherim. A pillar in its plain sense, like the pillar Yaakov Avinu made to offer upon it to Hashem and poured oil upon it. In the days of the Avot the pillar was beloved, but afterward, when idolaters adopted it, the Torah forbade it: "And you shall not set up for yourself a pillar which Hashem your God hates."
And the Asherah is a tree that they would plant beside the altar, about which it is said, "You shall not plant for yourself an Asherah, any tree, beside the altar of Hashem your God." What was its purpose? It is known that one of the places where demons dwell is in trees, and a tree has an added power over a stone, for a stone is inanimate while a tree grows. Therefore they would set up a tree beside the pillar or beside the altar to serve as a vessel to receive spiritual influences, and in truth what descended and clothed itself in the tree were forces of impurity, demons and spirits. This is the Asherah, and it they actually worshiped. (By the way, the fir tree has nothing to do with this at all, and even the Christians do not worship it.)
וַיְקַטְּרוּ־שָׁם בְּכׇל־בָּמוֹת כַּגּוֹיִם אֲשֶׁר־הֶגְלָה יְהֹוָה מִפְּנֵיהֶם וַיַּעֲשׂוּ דְּבָרִים רָעִים לְהַכְעִיס אֶת־יְהֹוָה׃ - And they burned incense there on all the high places, like the nations that Hashem had exiled before them, and they did evil things to provoke Hashem to anger.
They burned incense to idolatry on all the high places in the manner of the nations, and they did not learn: if Hashem exiled the nations before you because of these very deeds, do not repeat them. "And they did evil things to provoke Hashem to anger" is a further stage in the deterioration: whereas until now there was still room to say that they did this out of fear of the idolatry, here the verse tells you that it was done in order to provoke.
וַיַּעַבְדוּ הַגִּלֻּלִים אֲשֶׁר אָמַר יְהֹוָה לָהֶם לֹא תַעֲשׂוּ אֶת־הַדָּבָר הַזֶּה׃ - And they served the idols, concerning which Hashem had said to them, "You shall not do this thing."
Why are they called "gilulim"? Because of their form as disgusting and repulsive beasts and animals, and Chazal said that it is from the word gelel, dung, to tell you how repulsive these things were. If so, what logic is there in worshiping them? To this the verse says: "concerning which Hashem had said to them, You shall not do this thing" - that is the whole reason. Hashem said no, and therefore they specifically worshiped them, as a continuation of what was said earlier, "and they did evil things to provoke Hashem to anger."
וַיָּעַד יְהֹוָה בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל וּבִיהוּדָה בְּיַד כׇּל־נְבִיאֵי כׇל־חֹזֶה לֵאמֹר שֻׁבוּ מִדַּרְכֵיכֶם הָרָעִים וְשִׁמְרוּ מִצְוֺתַי חֻקּוֹתַי כְּכׇל־הַתּוֹרָה אֲשֶׁר צִוִּיתִי אֶת־אֲבֹתֵיכֶם וַאֲשֶׁר שָׁלַחְתִּי אֲלֵיכֶם בְּיַד עֲבָדַי הַנְּבִיאִים׃ - And Hashem warned Israel and Yehudah by the hand of every prophet and every seer, saying: Return from your evil ways and keep My commandments and My statutes, according to all the Torah that I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by the hand of My servants the prophets.
The prophet says: do not think there were no warnings. Hashem warned Israel and Yehudah - and Yehudah is mentioned because they too would eventually be exiled, except that their exile was delayed since their evil came later, and as we will see there was a significant difference between Yehudah and Israel.
And what is meant by "the prophets of every seer"? Rashi explains: the prophets of every vision, for "seer" (choze) here is a noun from the root chazon, vision, meaning prophets who possess prophecy. The Ralbag explains that the seer is a level higher than the prophet: even one to whom prophecy comes in a dream is called a prophet, whereas a "seer" is one who beholds in a vision, as if standing and seeing, a higher level than receiving prophecy in sleep. And the Metzudat David makes a precise point: throughout the Prophets we find that "prophet" is a title applied even to the prophets of the Baal, and sometimes even simply by the name "prophet." So we saw when Iddo went to the house of the false prophet who invited him to eat with him though it was forbidden to him, the verse calls that false prophet simply "the prophet." Therefore the verse stresses "the prophets of every seer": "seer" is not a name shared with the prophets of the Baal but applies only to a prophet of Hashem, and thus it becomes clear which prophet is meant, for only such a prophet is considered a true prophet coming from Hashem.
And Chazal expounded the word "every": The Holy One, blessed be He, said, how many prophets did I establish among them, one in the morning and one at dusk. For it is written that the prophets were twice as many as those who left Egypt, meaning Israel had a million two hundred thousand prophets. And how do we know only forty eight prophets and seven prophetesses? The answer: every prophecy that was needed for the generations was written down, and whatever was not needed for the generations was not written. Many prophets were sent to rebuke them, but their prophecy was not needed for the generations and therefore was not written. And this is "one in the morning and one at dusk": every single day prophets were sent to them, and in the end it was of no avail.
And not only was it of no avail, but the prophets were persecuted: "I gave my back to the smiters and my cheeks to those who pluck out the hair, I did not hide my face from insults and spitting." They did very harsh things to the prophets and despised them; they put Yirmeyahu into the prison courtyard, and he was almost drowned in the mire of the mud. They truly abused the prophets. Being a prophet was not a simple matter at all, it required very great self sacrifice.
וְלֹא שָׁמֵעוּ וַיַּקְשׁוּ אֶת־עׇרְפָּם כְּעֹרֶף אֲבוֹתָם אֲשֶׁר לֹא הֶאֱמִינוּ בַּיהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵיהֶם׃ - But they did not listen, and they stiffened their necks like the neck of their fathers, who did not believe in Hashem their God.
What does the expression "they stiffened their necks" mean? When one calls to a person from behind and he does not turn his head to see what is wanted of him, we say his neck is stiffened. His head is petrified. They call to him: sir, your direction is mistaken, you are about to fall into the abyss, and he does not move his head to see who is calling him, but goes his own way.
And who are "their fathers who did not believe in Hashem their God"? This is the generation of the wilderness, of whom it is said, "and they tested me these ten times." There too there was no complete faith: "Can God set a table in the wilderness" - let us see whether He can do this. That same lack of faith was a root bearing poison that spread and multiplied until the children reached the point of stiffness of neck and idol worship. And one may also interpret "like the neck of their fathers" as referring to the worshippers of the calf in the days of Aharon.
וַיִּמְאֲסוּ אֶת־חֻקָּיו וְאֶת־בְּרִיתוֹ אֲשֶׁר כָּרַת אֶת־אֲבוֹתָם וְאֵת עֵדְוֺתָיו אֲשֶׁר הֵעִיד בָּם וַיֵּלְכוּ אַחֲרֵי הַהֶבֶל וַיֶּהְבָּלוּ וְאַחֲרֵי הַגּוֹיִם אֲשֶׁר סְבִיבֹתָם אֲשֶׁר צִוָּה יְהֹוָה אֹתָם לְבִלְתִּי עֲשׂוֹת כָּהֶם׃ - And they rejected His statutes and His covenant that He made with their fathers, and His testimonies with which He warned them, and they went after vanity and became vain, and after the nations that were around them, whom Hashem had commanded them not to act as they did.
Here they reached the utmost of evil. "And they rejected His statutes" - like something despised in his eyes. "And His covenant" - like "to break my covenant with you," they no longer want a covenant with Hashem. "And His testimonies" - like "and if even after these you will not listen to me." He despised this, despised the sages, despised the Torah, and they descended from bad to worse through all the levels until "they went after vanity": they were ready to choose a faith of vanity, a faith with no foundation, no purpose and no truth, utter vanity, like all the lusts of the nations, so long as they did not have to believe in Hashem.
And here a word of defense is needed, so that a person not err and say: if so, we are speaking of people limited in intellect, and what does one want from them? One who abandons the true God and goes to worship idolatry seemingly has a problem. But beyond the great lust there was for idolatry, one must know the words of Chazal: Israel worshipped idolatry only in order to permit themselves forbidden relations in public. That is, a large part of the matter of idolatry was throwing off the yoke. If I believe in Hashem, that obligates me. So let us give a bill of divorce to the Creator of the world, and through this I am free. For this a person is willing to believe in the greatest vanity, in the most extreme vanity, which has no truth in it and is clearly all falsehood.
Take for example the theory of Darwin. Huxley, one of Darwin's foremost disciples and a spreader of his theory, writes that they believed in "self creation," that the world was created by itself, not so much from evidence but because this belief gave them freedom, especially in matters of modesty. So he writes, and he even elaborated further. When there is a God, there is morality, there is conscience, and I am limited. So leave me alone from the limitations: there is no God, the world created itself, and I am just another zoological species. Why is a monkey permitted to do whatever it wants and I am not? I want that too.
It turns out that their belief in those vanities was not really belief at all, but merely a means to cast off faith in Hashem. In light of this we can understand what we saw earlier, that they believed in idolatry to such an extent that each and every day had its own idol, yet "they did not believe in Hashem": they did not set aside even a single day for the Creator of the world. Three hundred sixty five kinds of idolatry, and not one free day for the Creator? At least take Him as an option. But not even as an option. And what is the logic? It is as we explained: if I also take the Creator of the world as an option, immediately I begin to be limited, for there is One before whom I must give an accounting, One who tells me what to do and what not to do.
And here is what is "nice" about idolatry: it is liberal, it goes with the flow. Whatever you want, take it, do it. Notice that in all the religions the restrictions are very few, for anyone who wants to acquire many believers cannot impose endless restrictions upon them. But the Torah, which is the Torah of truth, enters not only into whatever you are doing at any given moment, but even into what you are thinking. Where is there another religion like this? The Holy One, blessed be He, demands perfection of a person, and that is a difficult demand. So let us take idolatry, which is far more lenient, and through it we will do whatever our heart desires.
And by the way, this is also the reason many choose to be "religious according to my own opinion," religious lite, and all sorts of intermediate levels along the way. Why? Because if I go all the way, it demands and requires of me. So a person chooses a school of thought and an approach in which one can be religious and also go to the beach, and also have internet and television and everything, one can have it all together. But did you research and examine this approach? No, leave me alone with research and examination, this way is easier. It turns out that such a person serves himself and does not serve God. And such a person can, God forbid, even come to idolatry, for all he is seeking is what is easy for him and what he wants. And this is really the type of idolatry that existed then: they were ready to go after the vanity, because vanity makes no demands, while every other option is harder.
וַיַּעַזְבוּ אֶת־כׇּל־מִצְוֺת יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵיהֶם וַיַּעֲשׂוּ לָהֶם מַסֵּכָה שְׁנֵי עֲגָלִים וַיַּעֲשׂוּ אֲשֵׁירָה וַיִּשְׁתַּחֲווּ לְכׇל־צְבָא הַשָּׁמַיִם וַיַּעַבְדוּ אֶת־הַבָּעַל׃ - And they forsook all the commandments of Hashem their God, and made for themselves molten images, two calves, and made an Ashera, and bowed down to all the host of heaven, and served Baal.
If until now it could have been that here and there they still kept something, here they reach the stage where they abandon everything. "Masecha" comes from the language of casting metal, hence "molten images, two calves." "And made an Ashera": as we explained, the Ashera is for idolatry, and the Malbim explains that the Ashera was for the worship of the moon: they would worship the moon by means of the Ashera. Afterward, "and bowed down to all the host of heaven and served Baal": Baal is the worship of the sun, and these are the ones called "worshipers of sun images" (the meaning is not those who crack sunflower seeds, but sun worshipers). This worship existed in the days of Achav, who brought the worship of Baal as a personal import together with his wife.
וַיַּעֲבִירוּ אֶת־בְּנֵיהֶם וְאֶת־בְּנוֹתֵיהֶם בָּאֵשׁ וַיִּקְסְמוּ קְסָמִים וַיְנַחֵשׁוּ וַיִּתְמַכְּרוּ לַעֲשׂוֹת הָרַע בְּעֵינֵי יְהֹוָה לְהַכְעִיסוֹ׃ - And they passed their sons and their daughters through the fire, and practiced divination and sorcery, and sold themselves to do evil in the eyes of Hashem, to provoke Him.
"And they passed their sons and their daughters through the fire": this is the worship of the Molech, in which they would pass the children through fire. "And practiced divination and sorcery": against what the Torah said, "You shall be wholehearted with Hashem your God." "And sold themselves": like a slave sold to his master, who has no will of his own and all his deeds are only his master's will. So they sold themselves to do evil in the eyes of Hashem, until their entire aim was only to do evil and to provoke.
Chapter 17 describes the end of the kingdom of Israel: Hoshea ben Elah, who was less wicked than his predecessors and abolished the guard posts on the fifteenth of Av, and it was specifically in his days that the decree was sealed, for once the gates were opened and they still did not go up, it became clear that it was not coercion that had prevented them but the wickedness of their heart. The king of Ashur besieged Shomron for three years, captured it in the ninth year, and exiled Israel to Chalach and to Chavor the river of Gozan and to the cities of Madai. And from here the prophet lays out the ladder of descent: from fearing other gods in combination, to walking in the statutes of the nations, to denial of Divine providence ("vaychap'u"), to high places and pillars and Asheras everywhere, to incense on the high places "to provoke," to the worship of idols specifically because Hashem forbade it, and on to stiff neckedness, contempt for the statutes and the covenant, going after the vanity, calves and Ashera and the host of heaven and Baal, the Molech and sorcery and addiction to evil. And all this after Hashem testified against them through all His prophets, a prophet in the morning and a prophet in the evening, and even though they persecuted the prophets and scorned them. The lesson for the generations: the root of the entire fall is the desire to cast off the yoke and to be unlimited, and whoever seeks the easy and the comfortable ends up serving himself and not the Creator of the world.