WHAT ARE OUR HIGH PLACES?

“THEN THE LORD SPOKE TO MOSES IN THE PLAINS OF MOAB BY THE JORDAN OPPOSITE JERICHO, SAYING, ‘SPEAK TO THE SONS OF ISRAEL AND SAY TO THEM, ‘ WHEN YOU CROSS OVER THE JORDAN INTO THE LAND OF CANAAN, THEN  YOU SHALL DRIVE OUT ALL THE INHABITANTS OF THE LAND FROM BEFORE YOU, AND DESTROY ALL THEIR FIGURED STONES, AND DESTROY ALL THEIR MOLTEN IMAGES AND DEMOLISH ALL OF THEIR HIGH PLACES; AND YOU SHALL TAKE POSSESSION OF THE LAND AND LIVE IN IT, FOR I HAVE GIVEN THE LAND TO YOU TO POSSESS IT.”  NUMBERS 33:50-53

God’s instructions were explicit to the Israelites: “You shall have no other gods before Me” (Exodus 20:3) and “You shall not make for yourself an idol” (Exodus 20:4) are the first two of The Ten Commandments.  When the Israelites crossed over the Jordan and possessed the land flowing with milk and honey, they were to be careful to destroy every idol, every image and every high place that was dedicated to a false god. Instead of worshiping on the high places, the nation of Israel was to “seek the Lord at the place which the Lord your God shall choose from all your tribes, to establish His name there for His dwelling, and there you shall come.” (Deuteronomy 12:5). 

The place that He ultimately chooses is the Temple built by King Solomon. When  the temple was built and dedicated by Solomon, “the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.” (I Kings 8:11) It was to be the central place for sacrifice, worship, forgiveness of sins, and where “all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God; there is no one else’. (I Kings 8:60)

So were the high places torn down once the temple was built?  No.  Matter of fact, sadly years later when Solomon was old, his foreign wives turned his heart away from serving the Lord fully and he built a high place for the detestable idol of Moab which was “evil in the sight of the Lord.” (I Kings 11:6) Because of this, the Lord stated He would tear the kingdom from his hands.  And so He did.

So what were the high places anyway?   The Hebrew word for high place is “bamah” which translates: high place, ridge, height, mountain, battlefield, place of worship, technical term for cultic platform.  (#1116-Strong’s Concordance.)  It is also the very same word used by Satan when he declares: “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” (Isaiah 14:14). It is equating something else or someone else as equal to God, worthy of worship and sacrifice.

Then, for each king that ruled after Solomon, there is a summation statement on what they each did with the high places during their reign.  These kings, approximately 40 kings over a 500 year span, were divided into 3 categories:

·        BUILT UP THE HIGH PLACES: The majority of kings did evil in the sight of the Lord and sacrificed and burned incense on the high places to other gods.  “They rejected His statues and His covenant which He made with their fathers and His warnings with which He warned them.  And they followed vanity and became vain, and went after the nations which surrounded them, concerning which the Lord had commanded them to do like them.” (II Kings 17:15) THE APPLICATION FOR US TODAY: If you do not dedicate yourself to the Lord and His ways, you will worship something else in His place.

·         DID NOT TEAR DOWN THE HIGH PLACES: A small minority of the kings did right in the sight of the Lord “but the high places were not taken away.” (I Kings 15:14, 22:43, II Kings 2:3, 14:4, 15:4, 15:35).  THE APPLICATION FOR US TODAY:  You can worship the Lord and do right in His sight but still have something else competing in your life that robs you of not trusting Him with all of your heart.

·         TORE DOWN THE HIGH PLACES: There are only 2 kings listed who did right in the sight of the Lord AND tore down the high places:  Josiah and Hezekiah.  What did they have in common?

a.       Their personal walk with the Lord was affected.  Josiah’s heart was tender, he humbled himself before the Lord, and he tore His clothes and wept before the Lord.  Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, clung to Him, and did not depart from following Him.

b.      They both opened up the doors of the temple, working on cleansing and repairing the temple.

c.       They carried away and destroyed the foreign idols found in the temple.

d.      Hezekiah declared there was only one alter of sacrifice and worship before the Lord, and that was in the temple. (II Chronicles 32:12).  Josiah discovered the Word of the Lord there and read it to all the people. Hezekiah commanded that the priests “devote themselves to the law of the Lord.” (II Chronicles 31: 4) They both reinstituted sacrifice, worship and celebrating the Passover.  The worship was so contagious and joyous during Hezekiah’s reign that the people celebrated for an additional 7 days.

e.      As an outflow of true worship, the high places were pulled down throughout the countryside, idols were destroyed and alters smashed.

 

THE APPLICATION FOR US TODAY:  Josiah and Hezekiah are our examples: we must humble our hearts and declare that there is only one way to worship God today, and that is through His Son Jesus Christ (John 14:6). We then need to spend time in His Word and allow His Holy Spirit to convict us and to cleanse us so there is no room for other idols on high places to creep in and rob us from loving Him with ALL our heart, soul, mind, and strength. It says in Ezekiel that “you made yourself a high place in every square” and “at the top of every street.” (Ezekiel 15:25-26).  Our idols are all around us, even if they are more subtle today than in ancient times.

How about you? What are your high places?  Where do you replace God and rob Him of His glory?

Here are some practical questions that might help you to identify some high places in your heart:

·         Where do I run for comfort? (II Corinthians 1:3-4) 

·         Where am I excessive with my finances, time, and/or energy? (Hebrews 13:5)

·         In what ways do I try to set myself apart from the “rest of the crowd”? (James 2:1-9)

·         Where in life am I highly praised or exalted?  (James 4:10)

·         Where do I store up my treasures? (Matthew 6: 19-24)

·         Where do I find my worth? (I Peter 2:9)

·         When is what I have never enough, always seeking more? (Philippians 4:11-12) 

·        What things do I think I must have for fulfillment and happiness that God is not going to provide? (James 1:17)  

·         When do I compromise my integrity in order to accomplish something else? (I Peter 3:13-17) 

 

·         What or whom do I love above all else?  (Matthew 22:37)

As He reveals and convicts you of the high places in your heart, then ask yourself: Can I give it up…Lay it down…Walk away…Set it aside…Put God back on the throne of my heart and lay it all at His feet? It says in Matthew 6:33,  “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”

 This is a constant, subtle walk with the Lord.  Good kings who did right in the sight of the Lord still had the high places that were not torn down.  It is easy for something of this world or a good gift from God: your home, your family, your career, your belongings, to slip into the wrong spot or get elevated up onto a high place in our lives without even realizing it. High places can be beautiful to behold but they always ultimately rob you of time, money, affections, and energy, and they do not let you experience abundant, overflowing, outrageous worship in your relationship with Jesus Christ by allowing God to be Lord of ALL things in your life.

The last words of Moses before he dies were this: “Blessed are you, O Israel; Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord, who is the shield of your help and the sword of your majesty!  So your enemies shall cringe before you, and you shall tread upon their high places.” (Deut. 33:29) Let Him tread upon your high places today.