A lot of people think that there are many contradictions in the Bible. In a sense, they are right. However, not all contradictions are contradictions.

Yes, I know, that doesn’t make any sense at all. Or then again, does it.

Take, as an example, the following passage from 2 Kings. Assyria had taken into exile many of the residents of Israel. Then the king of Assyria brought into the area of Samaria (the now defunct capital of Israel) other people groups whom the Assyrians had conquered. The author of 2 Kings 17 is summing up what happened and why it happened.

“2Kings 17:24   And the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the people of Israel. And they took possession of Samaria and lived in its cities. ²⁵ And at the beginning of their dwelling there, they did not fear the LORD. Therefore the LORD sent lions among them, which killed some of them. ²⁶ So the king of Assyria was told, “The nations that you have carried away and placed in the cities of Samaria do not know the law of the god of the land. Therefore he has sent lions among them, and behold, they are killing them, because they do not know the law of the god of the land.” ²⁷ Then the king of Assyria commanded, “Send there one of the priests whom you carried away from there, and let him go and dwell there and teach them the law of the god of the land.” ²⁸ So one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and lived in Bethel and taught them how they should fear the LORD.

2Kings 17:29   But every nation still made gods of its own and put them in the shrines of the high places that the Samaritans had made, every nation in the cities in which they lived. ³⁰ The men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, the men of Cuth made Nergal, the men of Hamath made Ashima, ³¹ and the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak; and the Sepharvites burned their children in the fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim. ³² They also feared the LORD and appointed from among themselves all sorts of people as priests of the high places, who sacrificed for them in the shrines of the high places. ³³ So they feared the LORD but also served their own gods, after the manner of the nations from among whom they had been carried away.

2Kings 17:34   To this day they do according to the former manner. They do not fear the LORD, and they do not follow the statutes or the rules or the law or the commandment that the LORD commanded the children of Jacob, whom he named Israel. ³⁵ The LORD made a covenant with them and commanded them, “You shall not fear other gods or bow yourselves to them or serve them or sacrifice to them, ³⁶ but you shall fear the LORD, who brought you out of the land of Egypt with great power and with an outstretched arm. You shall bow yourselves to him, and to him you shall sacrifice. ³⁷ And the statutes and the rules and the law and the commandment that he wrote for you, you shall always be careful to do. You shall not fear other gods, ³⁸ and you shall not forget the covenant that I have made with you. You shall not fear other gods, ³⁹ but you shall fear the LORD your God, and he will deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies.” ⁴⁰ However, they would not listen, but they did according to their former manner.

2Kings 17:41   So these nations feared the LORD and also served their carved images. Their children did likewise, and their children’s children—as their fathers did, so they do to this day.” (2 Kings 17:24-41, English Standard Version, bolding mine)

So, the author of 2 Kings says both that they did and did not fear the Lord. Which is true? Probably both. In a sense—and to a degree—the folks who had been shipped into Israel did fear the Lord, but their loyalties were divided. And so, in a deeper sense, they did not fear the Lord. The author of Kings is acknowledging that both of these things are true.

Contradictions? Yes, but no more contradictory than human nature is. In fact, the Bible acknowledges that Israel itself did not fear the Lord (17:7). We are confronted with the fact that neither Israel nor the forced migrants who replaced them were doing a good job of reverencing the Lord.

The way that the story goes back and forth invites (or forces?) us to look at our own selves. Do we truly fear the Lord, or do we have divided loyalties? What seems to be contradiction in the biblical text may actually be asking us to take a good, long look at ourselves. We may not like what we see.