2 Kings 17:38

Study note

Setting — God speaks to the northern kingdom of Israel at the moment of their exile following the fall of Samaria. He issues a final charge before detailing the consequences of their repeated idolatry.

The words — The Hebrew בְּרִית (berit) denotes "covenant," paired with the verb כָּרַת (karat), "to cut" or "make," yielding the literal sense "the covenant I cut/made." The imperative תִּשְׁכַּח (tishkach) commands "do not forget," stressing active retention of the agreement rather than passive memory.

The thread — The warning against forgetting God’s covenant appears in Deut 4:23, Deut 6:12, and Deut 8:14, where Israel is repeatedly instructed not to forget the Lord who delivered them from Egypt. These passages tie covenant remembrance directly to ongoing obedience and divine protection.

Why it lands — The text commands the reader to actively preserve the terms of God’s agreement and reject foreign deities. It demands deliberate, sustained obedience that prevents idolatry and secures deliverance from enemies.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.