There are two things that should be noted. In the first place, the grief that was shown was not the godly sorrow of repentance (see 2 Corinthians 7:9–10), that is, a sorrow for having offended God by their sins. Rather, it was a self-centred sorrow of not receiving from the Lord the blessings as they desired. In the second place, the pagans were accustomed to inordinate displays of grief in their worship in an attempt to arouse the pity of their gods (Hosea 7:14, Ezekiel 8:14). Think of the priests of Baal whose unanswered pleas on Mount Carmel induced them “to cry aloud and cut themselves after the custom with swords and lances, until blood gushed out upon them” (1 Kings 18:28). For these two reasons, the tears, weeping, and groaning were in themselves offensive to the Lord.
13 And this second thing you do. You cover the LORD’s altar with tears, with weeping and groaning because he no longer regards the offering or accepts it with favor from your hand.