דברי הימים ב, פרק ל׳, פסוק י׳

Messengers from the southern kingdom traveled throughout the northern territories, carrying an invitation to return and worship God in Jerusalem. Instead of being welcomed, they faced intense mockery and scorn. The local inhabitants laughed at the messengers and completely rejected their message. This harsh reaction stemmed from two different but connected factors.

From a political and historical perspective, the messengers of the king of Judah held no authority or legal standing in the northern areas. Furthermore, the northern tribes had not visited Jerusalem for hundreds of years. The sudden suggestion to travel to the Temple seemed entirely absurd and ridiculous to the general public [ביאור שטיינזלץ].

At the same time, this rejection was a deep spiritual and moral failure rather than the result of government pressure. During this period, under the rule of Hoshea, the people actually had full permission to travel to Jerusalem to worship God. The government did not force them to remain in their cities. Instead, their laughter and scorn were rooted in their own wickedness and personal sins. They freely chose to reject the opportunity to return. Because they showed such deep disrespect and willingly turned away, their fate was finally sealed, and the decree for these tribes to be sent into exile became permanent [מלבי״ם].