‘ And the people came to Bethel and sat there until the evening before God, and lifted up their voices and wept grievously.'
Having carried out their dreadful massacre the people suddenly realised the consequences of what they had done, they had destroyed a tribe in Israel. This struck them so vividly that they went to Bethel to seek God's guidance on the matter. This fact would again confirm that the Tabernacle had been moved temporarily to Bethel.
“Sat there until the evening before God.” Compare Judges 20:26. This seems to be the custom for seeking God when some disaster has struck. And as they sat there they wept. They realised what they had done. To lose a tribe was like losing a near relative, indeed a brother. The use of ‘God' indicates how dreadfully they felt this hole in the Confederacy. A tribe was missing from the covenant. It was breached. It was as though Yahweh was far away.