מלכים ב, פרק י״ג, פסוק ו׳

Divine intervention and answered prayers do not always mean the people have truly changed their ways. When King Jehoahaz asked God for help, he made his plea while still holding tightly to his wrongdoings [מצודת דוד]. Therefore, the rescue the Israelites experienced was not a result of true repentance, nor did it mean that His anger had cooled. Instead of abandoning the deep-rooted sins initiated by Jeroboam, the people continued to multiply their offenses [מלבי״ם]. This stubborn persistence in a destructive path can be understood as either the personal failure of King Jehoahaz himself or a collective failure of the entire nation [ביאור שטיינזלץ].

Beyond the inherited sins of Jeroboam, the physical symbols of idolatry remained untouched. Specifically, the Asherah pole was left standing in the capital city of Samaria [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. This idol survived because the previous king, Jehu, despite successfully wiping out the worship of Baal, deliberately chose not to cut down the Asherah [רד״ק].