16 And they
left all the commandments of the LORD their God, and
made them molten images, even two calves, and made a grove, and worshipped
all the host of heaven, and served Baal.
17 And they caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the
fire, and used divination and enchantments, and sold themselves to do evil
in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.
18 Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel, and
removed them out
of his sight: there was none left but the tribe of Judah only.
The northern kingdom, sometimes
called "the House of Israel" or "the Lost Ten Tribes", disappeared. It
is one of the great mysteries of history. To this day there is no
definitive answer to the question of their location. It appears
that they have assimilated into the societies around them; never to return.
A central event, however, in prophecy
IS the redemption of the northern
kingdom (at the end of the age) and its reunification with the southern kingdom.
In the
meantime, Judah (the southern kingdom) would, also go into captivity.
2 Kings
24:10
10 At
that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against
Jerusalem, and the city was besieged.
14 And
he carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men
of valor, even ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths:
none remained, save the poorest sort of the people of the land.