Verse 14

“Certainly when I punish Israel for their covenant transgressions, I will destroy Bethel’s altars. The horns of the altar will be cut off and fall to the ground.

Referenced Verses

  • 2 Kgs 23:15 : 15 He also tore down the altar in Bethel at the high place made by Jeroboam son of Nebat, who encouraged Israel to sin. He burned all the combustible items at that high place and crushed them to dust; including the Asherah pole.
  • Hos 10:5-8 : 5 The Calf Idol and Idolaters of Samaria Will Be Exiled The inhabitants of Samaria will lament over the calf idol of Beth Aven. Its people will mourn over it; its idolatrous priests will wail over it, because its splendor will be taken from them into exile. 6 Even the calf idol will be carried to Assyria, as tribute for the great king. Ephraim will be disgraced; Israel will be put to shame because of its wooden idol. 7 Samaria and its king will be carried off like a twig on the surface of the waters. 8 The high places of the“House of Wickedness” will be destroyed; it is the place where Israel sins. Thorns and thistles will grow up over its altars. Then they will say to the mountains,“Cover us!” and to the hills,“Fall on us!”
  • Hos 10:14-15 : 14 Bethel Will Be Destroyed Like Beth Arbel The roar of battle will rise against your people; all your fortresses will be devastated, just as Shalman devastated Beth Arbel on the day of battle, when mothers were dashed to the ground with their children. 15 So will it happen to you, O Bethel, because of your great wickedness! When that day dawns, the king of Israel will be destroyed.
  • Amos 5:5-6 : 5 Do not seek Bethel! Do not visit Gilgal! Do not journey down to Beer Sheba! For the people of Gilgal will certainly be carried into exile; and Bethel will become a place where disaster abounds.” 6 Seek the LORD so you can live! Otherwise he will break out like fire against Joseph’s family; the fire will consume and no one will be able to quench it and save Bethel.
  • Amos 9:1 : 1 I saw the Lord standing by the altar and he said,“Strike the tops of the support pillars, so the thresholds shake! Knock them down on the heads of all the people, and I will kill the survivors with the sword. No one will be able to run away; no one will be able to escape.
  • Mic 1:6-7 : 6 “I will turn Samaria into a heap of ruins in an open field, into a place for planting vineyards! I will dump the rubble of her walls down into the valley, and lay bare her foundations. 7 All her carved idols will be smashed to pieces; all her metal cult statues will be destroyed by fire. I will make a waste heap of all her images. Since she gathered the metal as a prostitute collects her wages, the idols will become a prostitute’s wages again.”
  • 2 Chr 31:1 : 1 When all this was over, the Israelites who were in the cities of Judah went out and smashed the sacred pillars, cut down the Asherah poles, and demolished all the high places and altars throughout Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh. Then all the Israelites returned to their own homes in their cities.
  • 2 Chr 34:6-7 : 6 In the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, as far as Naphtali, and in the ruins around them, 7 he tore down the altars and Asherah poles, demolished the idols, and smashed all the incense altars throughout the land of Israel. Then he returned to Jerusalem.
  • Exod 32:34 : 34 So now go, lead the people to the place I have spoken to you about. See, my angel will go before you. But on the day that I punish, I will indeed punish them for their sin.”
  • 1 Kgs 13:2-5 : 2 He cried out against the altar with the LORD’S message,“O altar, altar! This is what the LORD has said,‘Look, a son named Josiah will be born to the Davidic dynasty. He will sacrifice on you the priests of the high places who offer sacrifices on you. Human bones will be burned on you.’” 3 That day he had also given a sign, saying,“This is the sign that the LORD has declared: The altar will split open and the ashes on it will pour out.” 4 When the king heard the prophet’s message that he had cried out against the altar in Bethel, Jeroboam took his hand from the altar and pointed it saying,“Seize him!” Then the hand that he had pointed at him stiffened up and he could not pull it back. 5 Meanwhile the altar split open and the ashes poured from the altar in fulfillment of the sign the prophet had given with the LORD’s message.