II Kings 17

"And they rejected His statutes and His covenant which He made with their fathers, and His warnings with which He warned them ..." (v15-16). After generations of stubborn sin, the Israelites were so far from God that they had no protection. Samaria, their northern capital, fell to the Assyrians. The Israelites had adopted the worst of pagan practices: sexual perversions and idolatry, witchcraft, and child sacrifice (v9-18). The covenant was broken, and northern Israel never recovered.

But God, in His mercy, offers living water even to Samaritans (John 4), and to all who break His covenants.