2 Kings - Chapter 17

In this chapter we see the conquest of the land of Israel:

"Then the king of Assyria invaded the entire land, and for three years he besieged the city of Samaria. Finally, in the ninth year of King Hoshea’s reign, Samaria fell, and the people of Israel were exiled to Assyria."

The king of Assyria transported groups of people from around his empire, replacing the people of Israel. They took possession of Samaria and lived in its towns. Then the king commanded, “Send one of the exiled priests back to Samaria. Let him live there and teach the new residents the religious customs of the God of the land.” So one of the priests who had been exiled from Samaria returned to Bethel and taught the new residents how to worship the Lord. These new residents worshiped the Lord, but they also appointed from among themselves all sorts of people as priests to offer sacrifices at their places of worship. And though they worshiped the Lord, they continued to follow their own gods according to the religious customs of the nations from which they came.

In the sermon on the mount Jesus made it clear that this attempt to worship both the true God and also other gods was not possible.

“No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other."