{"id":89385,"date":"2025-11-16T22:39:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-17T06:39:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/club31women.com\/?post_type=devotional&p=89385"},"modified":"2025-11-16T19:19:32","modified_gmt":"2025-11-17T03:19:32","slug":"what-are-your-high-places-discovering-the-idols-in-your-life","status":"publish","type":"devotional","link":"https:\/\/club31women.com\/devotional\/what-are-your-high-places-discovering-the-idols-in-your-life\/","title":{"rendered":"What Are Your High Places? Discovering the Idols in Your Life"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I have a confession to make. My Bible reading plan was going really well until I got to
the end of 2 Kings. At that point it became very hard to not simply skip ahead to Psalms or Proverbs where I knew I would find a few more uplifting and encouraging passages to read. <\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many times I would catch myself muttering, \u201cYou just HAD to go and ask the Lord to give you kings!\u201d as I shook my head at the Israelites. But as I neared the very end of that book, knowing full well that there were long genealogy chapters awaiting me in 1 Chronicles, I did my best to stay focused. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Cycle of High Places<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It was then that I noticed the repetition of a single act as the reign of almost all the kings was described. Every time a righteous king would tear down the high places it is recorded that his successor would rebuild them. This happened over and over again and I had to make sure I wasn\u2019t just re-reading the same passage because it became such a familiar refrain. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What exactly were the high places?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHigh places, very simply, were places of worship on elevated pieces of ground. High
places were originally dedicated to idol worship (Numbers 33:52; Leviticus 26:30),
especially among the Moabites (Isaiah 16:12). These shrines often included an altar
and a sacred object such as a stone pillar or wooden pole in various shapes identified
with the object of worship (animals, constellations, goddesses, and fertility deities). It
seems that, at times, high places were set up in a spot that had been artificially
elevated; 2 Kings 16:4 seems to differentiate the \u201chigh places\u201d from the \u201chills.\u201d The
Israelites, forever turning away from God, practiced Molech worship and built high
places for Baal (Jeremiah 32:35). Although King Solomon built the temple of God in
Jerusalem, he later established idolatrous high places for his foreign wives outside of
Jerusalem. Solomon\u2019s compromise caused him to lose the kingdom (1 Kings 11:7\u201311).\u201d
(GotQuestions.org)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Cycle Continues<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps the saddest account to read is that of King Josiah. He laid waste to the high
places during his reign, demolishing every nook and cranny and even went so far as to
spread the bones of dead men over them. But after Josiah\u2019s death his son Jehoahaz
assumed the throne and immediately \u201cdid what was evil in the sight of the Lord.\u201d (2
Kings 23:32). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It wasn\u2019t the first time this happened, but it inevitably led to the capture of Jerusalem and eventually all of Judah. Often, as I\u2019ve been reading through the Old
Testament, I\u2019ve told my husband how very thankful I am that we are under the New
Covenant. And yet, I\u2019ve also remarked at how unchanging humans have been from the
moment sin entered the world. While it\u2019s easy to point out the repeated errors made by the Israelites, it\u2019s harder to recognize those same errors in ourselves. Like these kings and the people they ruled, we too can declare our love for the Lord while making
excuses for the things we cling to in our own high places. They didn\u2019t have a monopoly
on idolatry. While we may not have physical high places, we are certainly tempted to
build them in our hearts.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three Types of Modern High Places<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It would be impossible to list all the high places we could construct. So, I thought it
would be helpful to narrow it down to three categories where we see this happening the most.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Compromising on Scripture<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

As women, one of the greatest challenges we face is having our nature weaponized against us. God wired us to be empathetic, nurturing and compassionate. And with that comes the desire to be liked. But, in a world that tells us that kindness equals acceptance, we constantly bump up against the reality that the Gospel message is offensive to those who want to live according to their own version of the \u201ctruth\u201d. There can be a temptation to compromise on God\u2019s Word and what He clearly outlines as best for our flourishing but it\u2019s critical that we remember that we cannot be nicer than God. He has determined what is good, right and true so we must learn how to show
compassion without compromise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Disobedience of Commands<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Most of us have the Ten Commandments memorized. But the reality is that there are many other commands in the Bible as well. Throughout God\u2019s Word we find both positive (do this) and negative (don\u2019t do this) commands about how we are to live our lives and obey God. Our sanctification as followers of Jesus is a never-ending process of denying the desires of our flesh to become more like Him. Just because we know that we will never be fully perfected on this side of eternity doesn\u2019t mean that shouldn\u2019t be daily \u201ctaking up our cross\u201d in order to follow His commands even when
(especially when!) its costly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Going Beyond Scripture<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re warned repeatedly throughout the Bible that we are not to add or take away from God\u2019s Word. But lately it seems like there are many who are teaching that we must do \u201cextra\u201d things to have a higher level of closeness with the Lord. A certain posture, repetition of verses or words and incorporation of practices that are not rooted in Biblical Christianity. These seem to be particularly popular among women as they make our feelings and experiences of primary importance. We absolutely must be on our guard and discerning lest we be led astray.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    The sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross meant the end to all other sacrifices. But even in the New Testament with the security of the New Covenant, we see people attempting to return to the old ways of idolatry. We will definitely face similar temptations but as we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit we know we can ask for the high places in our lives to be revealed so that we can demolish them according to His power. \u201cWe demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.\u201d 2 Corinthians 10:5<\/p>\n\n\n