Hosea 5:6

Hosea Warns Against Idolatry

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But the pride and self-reliance of Israel testifies against him.
Therefore Israel, and [especially] Ephraim, stumble and fall in their wickedness and guilt;
Judah also has stumbled with them.
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They will go with their flocks and with their herds
To seek the Lord [diligently searching for Him], but they will not find Him;
He has withdrawn from them [refusing to hear the prayers of the unrepentant].
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They have dealt treacherously against the Lord,
For they have borne illegitimate (pagan) children.
Now the New Moon will devour them along with their land [bringing judgment and captivity].

Flocks and Herds

Offer Sacrifice

Offer Sacrifices

Seek the Lord

To the Lord

Seek The Favor

Jehovah

Proverbs 1:28

“Then they will call upon me (Wisdom), but I will not answer;
They will seek me eagerly but they will not find me,

Micah 6:6-7

With what shall I come before the Lord [to honor Him]
And bow myself before God on high?
Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings,
With yearling calves?

Exodus 10:9

Moses said, “We will go with our young and our old, with our sons and our daughters, with our flocks and our herds [all of us and all that we have], for we must hold a feast to the Lord.”

Exodus 10:24-26

Then Pharaoh called to Moses, and said, “Go, serve the Lord; only your flocks and your herds must be left behind. Even your children may go with you.”

Proverbs 15:8

The sacrifice of the wicked is hateful and exceedingly offensive to the Lord,
But the prayer of the upright is His delight!

Proverbs 21:27

The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable and offensive [to the Lord].
How much more [unacceptable and insulting can it be] when he brings it with evil intention?

Song of Songs 5:6

“I opened for my beloved,
But my beloved had turned away and was gone.
My heart went out to him when he spoke.
I searched for him, but I could not find him;
I called him, but he did not answer me.

Isaiah 1:11-15

“What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me [without your repentance]?”
Says the Lord.
“I have had enough of [your] burnt offerings of rams
And the fat of well-fed cattle [without your obedience];
And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls or lambs or goats [offered without repentance].

Isaiah 66:3

“He who kills an ox [for pagan sacrifice] is [as guilty] as one who kills a man;
He who sacrifices a lamb, as one who breaks a dog’s neck;
He who offers a grain offering, as one who offers swine’s blood;
He who offers incense, as one who blesses an idol.
Such people have chosen their own ways,
And their soul delights in their repulsive acts;

Jeremiah 7:4

Do not trust in the deceptive and lying words [of the false prophets who claim that Jerusalem will be protected by God because of the temple], saying, ‘This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord.’

Jeremiah 11:11

Therefore thus says the Lord, “Behold I am bringing disaster and suffering on them which they will not be able to escape; though they cry to Me, I will not listen to them.

Lamentations 3:44

You have covered Yourself with a cloud
So that no prayer can pass through.

Ezekiel 8:6

Furthermore, He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing, the great repulsive acts which the house of Israel is committing here, to drive Me far away from My sanctuary? But you will again see greater repulsive acts.”

Ezekiel 8:18

Therefore, I indeed will deal in wrath. My eye will have no pity nor will I spare [them]; and though they cry loudly in My ears, yet I will not listen to them.”

Amos 5:21-23

“I hate, I despise and reject your [sacred] feasts,
And I do not take delight in your solemn assemblies.

Micah 3:4

Then they will cry to the Lord,
But He will not answer them;
Instead, He will even hide His face from them at that time [withholding His mercy]
Because they have practiced and tolerated and ignored evil acts.

Luke 5:16

But Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray [in seclusion].

John 7:34

You will look for Me, and will not [be able to] find Me; and where I am, you cannot come.”