As shown in previous episodes, the Northern Kingdom did not turn away from its idolatry and disobedience to God. In 722 BC, God finally had enough. He allowed the Assyrians to completely destroy the Northern Kingdom and scatter its survivors among the other nations it dominated. That final end of the Northern Kingdom resulted in its ten tribes losing their identity and becoming known as the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel.
The demise of the Northern Kingdom could have been averted if its kings and people had listened to the prophets God sent them. The last of those prophets were Jonah, Amos and Hosea. They prophesied during the times of the last five kings of the Northern Kingdom, from Joash to Hoshea. Except for a brief respite under King Jeroboam II, the Northern Kingdom suffered economically and politically during these times.
Jonah was a unique Jewish prophet, because God sent him to preach to the Assyrians, not the Jews. Although he took a three-day detour in the belly of a big fish, Jonah eventually reached Ninevah, the capital of Assyria and the biggest, most powerful city in the known world. When Jonah preached his simple message, the people of Assyria responded so well that God chose not to destroy them.
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