"Therefore they left the house of the LORD God of their fathers, and served wooden images and idols; and wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem because of their trespass."
Look at the sad thing that happens to people--even folks who are in the outward covenant--when they abandon Christ, the church, and the gospel: they end up worshipping sticks, stones, and idols. And what reward to they get for their perverted religious efforts?: the wrath of God (which comes down upon them).
Let faithful churchmen learn from this, that there is only One God, and that He will not countenance any "competitors." If we are to stay connected to Jesus, we need "the house of the Lord," and we dare not leave it. If we do, one result is inevitable: we will end up worshipping something else, and doing that will take a great toll on us.
[Puritan quote of the day: "A drop of [God's] heavenly comfort is enough to sweeten a sea of worldly sorrow." --Thomas Watson, in, "A Body of Divinity"]
