For thus says the LORD to the house of Israel:
“Seek Me and live;
But do not seek Bethel,
Nor enter Gilgal,
Nor pass over to Beersheba;
For Gilgal shall surely go into captivity,
And Bethel shall come to nothing.
Seek the LORD and live,
Lest He break out like fire in the house of Joseph,
And devour it,
With no one to quench it in Bethel—
You who turn justice to wormwood,
And lay righteousness to rest in the earth!”
He made the Pleiades and Orion;
He turns the shadow of death into morning
And makes the day dark as night;
He calls for the waters of the sea
And pours them out on the face of the earth;
The LORD is His name.
He rains ruin upon the strong,
So that fury comes upon the fortress.
Comment: It seems as if every time they were caught doing wrong they made a big thing of going to a big sacrifice centre and with great pomp and ceremony acting out their sorrow with many tears and a good few dollars. Enough of that mockery – Seek me, look into my eyes, think about Whom you are trying to buy off! Think beyond the spilt blood of a few animals; God can scoop up the sea and pour it out as rain! You’re mixing supposed justice with evil stuff. Be careful God may well stop pouring out rain and flood the earth with ruin. And a fortress won’t be enough to stop Him!
Prayer: Thank You that You are calling us still to repentance. It is not hopeless if we repent,O Lord!
As I read it! 