HIGH PLACES 4 | BUILT BY (3)

1. High Places

a) During Bible History, high places were usually natural (e.g. hills and mountains) but sometimes man-made (e.g. towers) places where people worshiped or made sacrifices. 


b) The only True God often appeared, or was sometimes worshiped, atop mountains (e.g. Mount Sinai) or hills (1 Samuel 9:19).


c) The Canaanite "high places" were notorious for pagan worship where various heathenistic idols, altars or buildings were located, and where some of the most wicked and horrendous behavior imaginable went on. As such, when the Israelites entered the Promised Land they were commanded by God not only to have nothing to do with high places, but to destroy them because they would be corrupted by their presence - a command that was largely disobeyed, to their regret.


2. Built by


a) Priests ordained for.

1 Kings 12:32 

And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah, and he offered upon the altar. So did he in Bethel, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made.

1 Kings 13:33 

After this thing Jeroboam returned not from his evil way, but made again of the lowest of the people priests of the high places: whosoever would, he consecrated him, and he became one of the priests of the high places.

b) Sacrifices and incense offered to idols upon.


2 Kings 12:3 

But the high places were not taken away: the people still sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places.

2 Kings 16:4 

And he sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places, and on the hills, and under every green tree.

c) Enchantments used upon.


Numbers 23:3 
And Balaam said unto Balak, Stand by thy burnt offering, and I will go: peradventure the LORD will come to meet me: and whatsoever he sheweth me I will tell thee. And he went to an high place.

Numbers 24:1 

And when Balaam saw that it pleased the LORD to bless Israel, he went not, as at other times, to seek for enchantments, but he set his face toward the wilderness.

d) Of the Canaanites to be destroyed.


Numbers 33:52 
Then ye shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their pictures, and destroy all their molten images, and quite pluck down all their high places. 

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