Things aren’t going so well for Israel and Judah. Beset on the west by the Egyptians, the east by the Assyrians, and each other from the north and south, God’s chosen people are battling for their lives. But their hardships are due to their own wicked ways as they offend Yahweh at every turn. However, they didn’t know that what they were doing was wrong, because, according to the text, they hadn’t yet been told of their covenant with Yahweh.