Seek ye Me, and ye shall live. .. But seek not Bethel, nor enter into Gilgal.
I. The blessings of Israel. Gilgal and Bethel were places in Israel’s history bedewed by showers of blessing.
1. Gilgal was the scene of new life.
2. Bethel was the scene of the manifestation of the Divine presence.
II. Israel had misused these blessings.
1. “All their wickedness is in Gilgal.” The sanctuary had been desecrated.
2. Bethel, the house of God, had become “the king’s chapel and the king’s court.”
Jeroboam had set up the golden calf there as a convenient place for the worship of God, but in violation of the second commandment.
III. Misused blessings become curses. Gilgal and Bethel were marked for destruction on account of these idolatries. This was the retribution that should follow abuse of privileges.
IV. Gilgal and bethel have their counterparts in the Christian life. Gilgal may represent the new start in life which is taken at confirmation, after sickness, etc. Bethel represents the Sundays and the services which should be as gates to heaven in the house of God. Satan intrudes into our most sacred seasons and places, and introduces idolatry. He fills our minds with other thoughts, so that we forget our resolutions, make light of our blessings, and sacred things become an occasion of falling. The safeguard against misuse of blessing, is to keep in memory the redemption that has been wrought and the promised presence of the Lord. (W. Walters, M. A.)
The search which ends in life, and the search which ends in ruin
I. THE SEARCH WHICH ENDS IN LIFE. The end of such search is life. “Ye shall live.” Doubtless that form was given to the promise because of the calamities which were impending over the State. But there is something more than preservation from the scourge of sin. Life of the soul--full exercise of its powers, full pleasure in its blessings, with that “life for evermore” which God gives to those who seek Him.
II. The search which ends in ruin. Bethel, Gilgal, and Beersheba were the centres of idol worship in Israel (Amos 4:4; Amos 8:14). They could not keep themselves from ruin, what then must be the fate of their worshippers? The deluded people brought their sacrifices; but when trouble came it was in vain to turn to Bethel and Gilgal--even their deities perished. Application. Verse 6 shows that God would punish the nation, and none would be able to stay His hand. From Bethel in the days of vengeance there should be no deliverance. The sinner must meet his Judge, whom he had despised and refused to seek, and meet Him alone. (J. Telford, B. A.)