And do not search for Bethel, and to Gilgal you must not come, and to Beer-sheba you must not pass over [that is, pass over to this enclave city of Simeon];

It was not by making pilgrimages to Bethel, Gilgal and Beer-sheba, all these being cities of the northern kingdom of Israel, that the Israelites could hope to escape calamity. Searching for divine favor at these places would only bring God’s wrath upon the people. Bethel, Gilgal and Beer-sheba, along with their sanctuaries, would come to nothing. Israel’s only hope was to “search for Jehovah,” to return to him with a complete heart.