Away With the High Places!

Away With the High Places!

“You shall utterly destroy all the places where the nations which you shall dispossess served their gods, on the high mountains and on the hills and under every green tree. You shall not worship the Lord your God with such things. But you shall seek the place where the Lord your God chooses, out of all your tribes, to put His name for His habitation; and there you shall go.” Deut. 12:2, 4-5.

When the Gentiles sacrificed or wanted to perform some good works, they did it on the high places so they could be seen. However, Israel was expressly commanded not to worship God as the heathen did. They were to destroy the places where the heathen brought their sacrifices. Yet we read that the kings in Israel did not manage to take away the high places. 1 Kings 2:43. Even today it is difficult to do away with these high places.

We can imagine that when the children of Israel took the finest ram of the flock, without blemish, that they just had to advertise it. We can see them as they went over the hills and the high mountains, leading the ram while the people watched. In the same way, many religious people, when they contribute something to a collection, go up to the altar holding a fifty-dollar bill behind their back or by one corner before putting it into the collection box. We also see how they, by publishing statistics and through the use of newspaper articles, go up to the high places with their good works in full view of the people just as the worldly institutions do.

You can also hear it in a testimony when someone who has sacrificed something for Jesus’ sake tries to bring it up to the high places to make this sacrifice seem great before people.

“Take heed to yourself that you do not offer your burnt offerings in every place that you see . . . .” Deut. 12:13.

We are inclined to choose our own place to offer our strength, our means, and our time. It is easy to deny yourself in full view of the people. Where we can gain some honor we can give of our means and strength; but take heed, it says, that you do not choose the place yourself but that you bring your offerings in the place the Lord has chosen. The home is an excellent place of sacrifice, but many people forget their own children to take care of the children of others. Some people are meek when they are among people, but they are hot-tempered at home. The place of employment is also an excellent place of sacrifice. There God wants to show you your self-life, but you think that as rather insignificant; instead you want to show who you really are at a festive occasion. It requires a profound fear of God to take away these high places. Nevertheless, let this be our motto: Away with the high places!!!