Seek me and live; do not seek Bethel, do not go to Gilgal

 Amos 3:9-5:9

“An enemy will overrun your land, pull down your strongholds and plunder your fortresses.”  This is what the Lord says: “As a shepherd rescues from the lion’s mouth only two leg bones or a piece of an ear, so will the Israelites living in Samaria be rescued, with only the head of a bed and a piece of fabric from a couch.

“On the day I punish Israel for her sins,  I will destroy the altars of Bethel; the horns of the altar will be cut off  and fall to the ground. I will tear down the winter house  along with the summer house; the houses adorned with ivory will be destroyed  and the mansions will be demolished,” declared the Lord.

He who forms the mountains, who creates the wind, nd who reveals his thoughts to mankind, who turns dawn to darkness, and treads on the heights of the earth— the Lord God Almighty is his name.

Hear this word, Israel, this lament I take up concerning you: Fallen is Virgin Israel, never to rise again, deserted in her own land, with no one to lift her up.”

Seek me and live; do not seek Bethel, do not go to Gilgal, do not journey to Beersheba.
For Gilgal will surely go into exile, and Bethel will be reduced to nothing.

Why?

Seek the Lord and live, regardless of the place or temple.

How?

Seek the Lord is the best way to live.