The Lord commanded a man of God [160] from Judah to go to the city of Bethel. King Jeroboam was standing at the altar offering incense when the man of God arrived.
Be my fortress, {\cf2\super [407]} the home I can run to for safety.You are my Rock, {\cf2\super [408]} my place of safety.So give the command to save me.
If you will respect the Lord and consider him holy, then he will be a safe place for you. But you don’t respect him. So God is like a rock that you people fall over. He is a rock that makes the two families of Israel stumble. The Lord is a trap to catch all the people of Jerusalem.
“So tell those people these things: The Lord our Master says, ‘It is true, I forced my people to go far away to other nations. I did scatter them among many countries. But I will be their temple for a short time while they are in those other countries.
God lives forever.
He is your place of safety.
God’s power continues forever!
He is protecting you.
God will force your enemies
to leave your land.
He will say,
‘Destroy the enemy!’
But you are a man of God. So you should stay away from all those things. Try to live in the right way, serve God, have faith, love, patience, and gentleness.
