If this is your first viewing, please see my Introduction before reading this.
The kingdom of Israel has by this time (the late 8th century BC, about 250 years after king David’s time, and perhaps a hundred years after Elisha) become increasingly unstable. Chapters 15-17 list six kings of Israel over a 40 year period, although one lasted only a month and two others less than two years. In the time of king Menahem the Assyrians appear on the scene for the first time, and are paid off, but that can be done only once. A few years later they come back, this time taking Galilee and other areas of Israel. At this time, incredibly, Judah makes an alliance with the Assyrians against Israel, showing just how irrepairable has become the split between the two parts of what was once a single nation under God.
In Hoshea’s reign the Assyrians return a third time, this time capturing the Israelite capital Samaria, and taking large numbers into captivity. Chapter 17 acts as a summary of why all of the original kingdom of Israel with the exception of the tribe of Judah has gradually been lost to enemy invasions as a direct result of the sin of idolatry over the six centuries or so since they entered the promised land. But Judah’s time would come.