In my Bible readings the past couple weeks, I’ve been going through the books of 1 & 2 Kings. These books are meant to be record of the history of the kings of Israel and Judah. With each king, the author will give information about how long the king reigned, some of the events that happened during his reign, and also a defining marker about what kind of king he was. On almost every king, he will be categorized into one of two sides: a king that did was right in the eyes of God or a king who did what was evil in the eyes of God.
But one of the things that caught my attention as I was reading through these stories, had to do with the “good” kings. Along with the statement about doing what was right, six “good” kings in a row also had the qualifier of “but the high places were not taken away.” While Solomon was king, he spent many years building a great temple for the presence of the Lord to dwell in. At the same time, he also built these “high places” for people to offer their sacrifices to God. Once the temple was built, all of the high places should have been taken away by Solomon. But he didn’t, and neither did these six “good” kings after Solomon. These high places became a source of idolatry and pagan worship. Problems that could have been eliminated had the kings done away with them.
All of this got me to thinking about my life. I would like to think that if someone wrote a quick synopsis of my life, they would write that ‘I did what was right in the eyes of God’. But the deeper question is, would they also have to write, ‘Nevertheless, the high places were not taken away’? Are there areas of my life that I allow idol worship to continue? Is it because I enjoy worshipping those idols? Or is it because it’s too much work to get rid of them? What am I worshipping in those high places – myself, my abilities, my wife, my kids, my kids’ activities, sports, food, sleep, attention, praise, ‘stuff’? Probably all of those things at different points of my life.
We are all sinful. We will struggle with sins and idols for the rest of our lives. But we must strive to eliminate the high places. Idly allowing these habits to continue greatly decreases our effectiveness for the Lord. Accepting them or loving them could mean that we have not truly understood what salvation costs. If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple…any of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14:26-27, 33)
May we not allow these high places to remain in our lives. Let us strive to put them away and follow after the Lord whole-heartedly.
-Kendall
But one of the things that caught my attention as I was reading through these stories, had to do with the “good” kings. Along with the statement about doing what was right, six “good” kings in a row also had the qualifier of “but the high places were not taken away.” While Solomon was king, he spent many years building a great temple for the presence of the Lord to dwell in. At the same time, he also built these “high places” for people to offer their sacrifices to God. Once the temple was built, all of the high places should have been taken away by Solomon. But he didn’t, and neither did these six “good” kings after Solomon. These high places became a source of idolatry and pagan worship. Problems that could have been eliminated had the kings done away with them.
All of this got me to thinking about my life. I would like to think that if someone wrote a quick synopsis of my life, they would write that ‘I did what was right in the eyes of God’. But the deeper question is, would they also have to write, ‘Nevertheless, the high places were not taken away’? Are there areas of my life that I allow idol worship to continue? Is it because I enjoy worshipping those idols? Or is it because it’s too much work to get rid of them? What am I worshipping in those high places – myself, my abilities, my wife, my kids, my kids’ activities, sports, food, sleep, attention, praise, ‘stuff’? Probably all of those things at different points of my life.
We are all sinful. We will struggle with sins and idols for the rest of our lives. But we must strive to eliminate the high places. Idly allowing these habits to continue greatly decreases our effectiveness for the Lord. Accepting them or loving them could mean that we have not truly understood what salvation costs. If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple…any of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14:26-27, 33)
May we not allow these high places to remain in our lives. Let us strive to put them away and follow after the Lord whole-heartedly.
-Kendall
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