All day long I have held out my hands
    to an obstinate people,
who walk in ways not good,
    pursuing their own imaginations –
3 a people who continually provoke me
    to my very face,
offering sacrifices in gardens
    and burning incense on altars of brick;
4 who sit among the graves
    and spend their nights keeping secret vigil;
who eat the flesh of pigs,
    and whose pots hold broth of impure meat;
5 who say, “Keep away; don’t come near me,
    for I am too sacred for you!”
Such people are smoke in my nostrils,
    a fire that keeps burning all day.

6 ‘See, it stands written before me;
    I will not keep silent but will pay back in full;
    I will pay it back into their laps –
7 both your sins and the sins of your ancestors,’
    says the Lord.
‘Because they burned sacrifices on the mountains
    and defied me on the hills,
I will measure into their laps
    the full payment for their former deeds.’

You can’t help but see the sharp contrast between the responsive Gentiles (1) and the rebellious Israelites (2-7). The Lord knows intimately, and more acutely than anyone else, the pain of unrequited love. We have here a portrait of a people pursuing their own ways, loving their gods and pagan practices. (Note ”altars of brick” v.3b. God’s altar was to be made of uncut stone: Ex.20:25). There is no doubt that all of this leads inexorably to judgment.

‘This was hardly the answer from God that the Israelites were expecting! God was not going to ”go easy” on those of His people who persistently engaged in such evil practices. God was drawing a clear line between good and evil, between godliness and ungodliness, and that line was not based on race or nationality; it was based on faith in God and obedience to His commands. The Israelites could claim no special privilege that would ”cover” or ”cancel out” their evil deeds.’ Tom Hale: ‘Applied Old Testament Commentary’, p.1071.