"For Israel hath forgotten his Maker, and buildeth temples; and Judah hath multiplied fenced cities: but I will send a fire upon his cities, and it shall devour the palaces thereof."

In times of plenty, God's people stopped following the LORD and started worshiping their own gods and living by their own rules. Neither was truly "their own," though. The northern tribes of Israel began living like the other pagan people around them. They forgot about the poor and the stranger and took advantage of widows and the weak. God wanted them to know that He was watching everything they did. God wanted them to know that He would act and do what was right. The Sovereign LORD wanted the northern tribes of Israel to understand that they had brought their own destruction upon themselves. Even though they couldn't imagine it, God made sure it would happen because of their hard hearts and refusal to live with integrity. Their destruction is a great reminder to us that it doesn't matter if we call ourselves Christians or say we are God's chosen people and His holy priesthood (1 Peter 2) if our lives don't show His character, our hearts don't show His compassion, and our hands don't do what He wants.