Partial Holiness - 2 Kings 17

"So while these nations feared the LORD, they also served their idols" -verse 41

I'm lost. Doesn't fearing the Lord mean obeying Him? I count 50 places in Psalms and Proverbs alone where "fear of the Lord" leads to some sort of holiness or better-ness. I wish verse 41 read "So while these nations seemed to fear the LORD..."

2 Corinthians 5:11 "Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are made manifest to God..."

Acts 9:31 "So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria...going on in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it continued to increase"

Here are my only three options so far:
Option 1) They did fear God. God approved of them. They worshipped idols out of ignorance, but God didn't mind so much because their hearts were with Him. Application: my lack of ignorance does not make me a better Christian and my pushing my religious practices, however noble, good and right, on others is a waste of time and not helpful to anyone with respect to gaining God's approval.

Option 2) They were not on God's "A" list because they only followed Him partially. In fact, they were "lukewarm", as defined in the book of Revelation, and God was extremely displeased with them. However, as God inspired the Bible, it was completely accurate that they DID fear God, and He didn't leave that out. Fear of God alone just wasn't good enough. Application: Just because I recognize God and His power; just because I am constantly aware that He is Lord doesn't mean that I'm making decisions that are pleasing to Him. I have to evaluate my heart, but I should also check the gauge of my actions, because certainly Satan seems afraid of God and yet is anything but pleasing to Him.

In fact, as a tangent, the Bible says that eventually, "at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord..." (Phil 2) Certainly not all of those "on earth" or "under the earth" will be beings that are pleasing to God, right? An admission of Christ's Lordship by every single being does not mean the salvation of every single being, right? ...unless you don't believe in either Hell or the New Testament.

Option 3) The Bible is inconsistent. After evaluating this passage, I don't believe that there is any way that God could be consistent and still have written this. Application: give up my Christian pursuit and be a committed atheist forever or until I find a different God who is consistent. (I'm not ready to make this jump, but I will admit that I'm surprised to find verse 41 in the Bible.)