Assyrian Empire after erasing Israel in 722 BC
Empire the size of Alaska
Assyria's empire during the low-numbered 700s BC was about the size of Mongolia—or Texas, California, and Colorado duct-taped together. Their warriors, infamous for impaling captives on stakes, dominated what is now known as the Middle East.
Assyrians lived mainly in what is now northern Iraq. Nineveh was one of their capital cities—Mosul today.
Assyrians dismantle Israel
The Assyrian king unleased a full-scale invasion of Israel. His army surrounded Israel’s capital city of Samaria in a siege that lasted three years. Then, in Hoshea’s ninth year as king, Assyrians broke through the defenses and captured Samaria. They took survivors back to Assyria and resettled them into immigrant communities.
Assyrian exile Israelites
Assyrians scattered the Israelites into the towns of Halah, Habor, and Gozan by the river. They sent some to the distant Mede frontier.
God was fed up with Israel's sin
Israel’s sin caused all of this, Bible writers said.
The LORD warned Israel and Judah. He sent prophets and seers who could see the future. They all warned the people to stop sinning. They said, “Stop your evil behavior. Respect the laws God gave your ancestors. Obey them all, as the prophets and God’s people tell you to do.” That went nowhere. Those people were as stubborn and as suspicious of God as their ancestors were. They didn’t trust God.
Israel broke their contract with God
They broke the contract with God that their ancestors had made—an agreement to obey his laws. Instead, they worshiped worthless idols, which turned them into a worthless nation. They adopted the customs of the people who used to live there even though God told them not to. And they abandoned God’s laws and made a new religion. They molded a pair of golden calf idols and a pole for worshiping Asherah. They worshiped gods of the sky and Baal as well.
So God invoked the penalty clause. He booted them out of the homeland.
Where to find more Bible maps
The Casual English Bible® has more than 900 Bible maps, many in 3D style. You can search for maps by place name, such as "Sea of Galilee."
Dedicated Bible map search engine
But you can also search for maps by Bible book, such as searching for all the maps in the book of Joshua. In addition, you can search by country, region, or era on a timeline, such as when Israel had kings or when Jesus was on earth. Here's a link to the dedicated Map Search Engine.
