I will go and return to my place, until they acknowledge their offense, And seek my face. In their affliction they will seek me earnestly."
Now, when the Northern Kingdom was going to fall, Judah, rather than mourning over the fact that the Northern Kingdom had fallen, looked upon it eagerly as an opportunity to expand its boundaries. Inasmuch as Assyria is attacking from the north and all, if Israel falls to Assyria then Judah was looking at it as an opportunity to expand its borders. And so the Lord rebukes them for this attitude. Rather than mourning and lamenting over the fact that the Northern Kingdom had fallen, they were eager for the opportunity to expand their borders.