Audio Recording:

Jeroboam's construction of temples in unauthorised high places might have seemed like providing convenient and flexible venues for the Israelites to worship God, but his real aim was to ensure the stability of his kingdom. Ironically, this seemingly clever approach became a hidden danger that eventually led to the downfall of Israel. Jeroboam's high places symbolise the petty cleverness inherent in humanity. However, God never approves of such half-hearted, opportunistic mindsets.

Reflection Questions:

Why did Israel consistently fail to eliminate the high places?

In the present era, what high places might hinder God's will?

Examine your own life. How do you safeguard yourself from Jeroboam's sin?

The High Places Were Not Removed: Walking in the Sin of Jeroboam

In 2 Kings chapter 16, it is recorded that the kingdom of Israel was on the brink of collapse, representing its last struggles before its demise. The kingdom of Judah would soon follow, surviving only about a hundred years longer. Nevertheless, there are several events recorded here that should command our attention. The first is, However the high places were not taken away(See 2 Kings 15:4, 2 Kings 15:35). The second is, did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin.(See 2 Kings 15:9, 2 Kings 15:18, 2 Kings 15:24, 2 Kings 15:28).

We Must Abandon the High Places in Our Hearts

Let's first consider the statement, the high places were not taken away. What was the purpose of these high places? They were used for sacrifices and incense, dedicated to idols. Regardless of the claimed intention, the underlying reality was a form of idolatry. The stated purpose is one thing, but what is the true state of mind? However the high places were not taken away; as yet the people had not directed their hearts to the God of their fathers. (2 Chronicles 20:33). Not removing the high places signifies a lack of wholehearted devotion to Jehovah God, indicating a wavering commitment. A similar condition may exist in our church.

What exactly are the high places? They could be work, studies, or anything else. Let me be crystal clear, I encourage brothers and sisters to study diligently, to work hard, but I emphatically discourage anyone from treating work as a high place, a place where we offer sacrifices. It should only be a place where we are blessed. These things must not be allowed to control you, to prevent you from trusting in God. I encourage everyone to read and improve their abilities, but this must never be allowed to become a barrier to your determination to follow God. If it becomes an obstacle to your resolve to follow God, then I suggest you set aside the time that belongs to God, consecrate it to Him, no matter what. In this way, the high place in your heart is torn down. The high places were not removed, a problem that exists in a person's heart, and that is the root of the problem—a lack of wholehearted commitment to follow Jehovah God.

Why is there a lack of wholehearted commitment in people's hearts to follow Jehovah God? Because in their hearts, they do not believe Jehovah God can solve all their problems, and yet they are unwilling to give up the blessings that Jehovah God has promised them. On the one hand, they offer sacrifices at the high places, and on the other hand, they seek the benefits from Jehovah God. But the Bible says that this is not possible. Having a divided heart wanting both the benefits that come from God, and on the other hand offering sacrifices at the high places which means unwilling to spend time on the things of God, this cannot please God. We have all received benefits from God, and when we face real situations, that is the best test.

For example, at 6:30 or 7:00 in the evening, do you leave the company to go to church for Bible study, or do you stay and work overtime? After a period of struggle, the decision is made to work overtime because of fear of offending the boss. But, if we choose to draw near to God, God will surely help us deal with our boss. God really can sort things out for us, but people are not wholeheartedly following God, and do not want to follow Jehovah God wholeheartedly, feeling that God cannot completely solve the problems in our lives. But, in fact, God can absolutely control your boss's thoughts! There was a sister among us who had such an experience. One Friday, her boss said, Tonight is our company's annual company dinner, and everyone must attend. Later, that sister told her boss that she would not go, and the boss asked her what she was doing, and she replies that she was going to study the Bible. We might all think that this boss would be offended, but on the contrary, this boss was not offended, but rather liked our sister very much. This is because we are determined to follow God, and we must tear down our high places. If we tear it down, God will take authority for us!

In fact, in the Bible, there are records of some kings of Judah who tore down the high places. What happened after that? Nothing happened. They offended many people, but God did not allow any disaster to occur in their lives. If you have no fear of man in your heart, but only reverence for God, there will absolutely be no high places in you. Why are there high places? It is fear of man. People want to be double-minded, to gain the benefits of God and not be determined to follow God. This is impossible to obtain any benefits. Only those who are determined to follow God will certainly receive benefits from God.

Therefore, the Bible says: And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, and are careful to observe them. So you shall not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right or the left, to go after other gods to serve them. (Deuteronomy 28:13-14). Don't be double-minded, you will not get any benefits with a double mind. God doesn't care about you, hates you, shows his anger towards you, and the devil also torments you. How can you live this life?

When we wholeheartedly followed our God in the past, when the devil came to destroy us, we drove the devil away. When people came to destroy us, God helped us drive these people away, and in the end nothing happened. The sister I just mentioned, a miracle happened after a few months. Among her group of people, the boss just felt that she was good, and her salary was increased by 10%. God made her boss forget the offended thing. So we don't have to worry or be afraid. Abandoning the high places represents wholeheartedly following Jehovah God!

Abandoning High Places is a Manager's Responsibility

If you are the head of the household, and the wife and children at home build high places, you are responsible for removing them and tearing them down. Just like Gideon's father in the Book of Judges said, if that idol is the true God, let the idol come and make trouble for me, let it speak for itself. The idol has already been burned, if it is a true God, let him argue for himself (see Judges 6:28-32). So everyone begins to learn to abandon all the high places in the place you govern, because that is your responsibility. The responsibility of the kings of Judah was to tear down all the high places in this place, which was the responsibility God gave them. If they do not tear it down, they will suffer the loss themselves.

But this problem is not as serious as did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin. That sin provokes God's anger even more. Everyone begins to learn a lesson at the high places that have not been removed, that is, to begin to take on your responsibility, and to abandon all the high places within the scope of your jurisdiction, no matter what. The matter of abandoning the high places is something we should think more about, and go back and figure out whether there is fear of people in it. If you are afraid of people, you will build high places. Because once you are afraid of people, you will not dare to wholeheartedly follow God, which will become an obstacle that prevents you from knowing and following God.

Stay Away from the Sin of Jeroboam

Let's look at the second sentence we mentioned at the beginning, which is the sin of Jeroboam. The author who wrote the Book of Kings actually wrote it after the fall of Israel and Judah. He was writing the history of the kingdom of Judah and the kingdom of Israel for about two to three hundred years. This is a bit like us writing the history of the Qing Dynasty in this era. The person who wrote the history has already summed it up that the root cause of the fall of the kingdom of Israel was being trapped in the sin of Jeroboam. That is to say, using Jeroboam's set of methods to manage the country will cause the country to perish. Using Jeroboam's set of thinking methods to manage your family will cause your family to perish. Using this set of methods to manage your own life, your own life will be a mess. In fact, this does not need to be proven, because before we believed in the Lord, we were all Jeroboam's thoughts, and we all lived a mess before we believed in the Lord. Then one by one we came out of the sin of Jeroboam and began to walk the path of wholeheartedly following God, and our lives were all turned around.

Jeroboam's sin is to worship idols. What are Jeroboam's idols? They are gods made by human hands. Gods made by human hands cannot solve problems, and gods made by human hands will bring about human destruction. However, this god made by human hands can solve some problems. What problems can be solved? That is, it can govern the country of Israel and fool the people here. It can hinder people and prevent them from worshiping the true God, so that everyone will listen to the king. But basically few people who are trapped in the sin of Jeroboam live decently. What is the root of sin? It is to use human power to protect one's position. If we are in our jobs and wholeheartedly worship Jehovah God, we do not need to protect our positions. If we are promoted in our jobs and become a boss, we do not need to use our own set of methods to consolidate our position. We only need to wholeheartedly follow God, and our position will definitely be very stable, because God will definitely protect us. If people use their own methods to protect their position, they are trapped in the sin of Jeroboam. People are very easy to get trapped in this. Although we did not make two golden calves when the Israelites came out of Egypt, people's titles will cause people to use various human methods to consolidate their positions.

Many of us have taken on middle management positions, or middle and low-level management positions. We must learn to wholeheartedly rely on Jehovah God, so that your position will be extremely stable. Not only will it be stable, but God will also promote you step by step and exalt you, so that you will continue to be above and not beneath, the head and not the tail in your job. It is a very dangerous move for people to use their own methods to protect their position. Even if you use all your methods, but God is not pleased with you, then there must be many problems in your job.

Facing real problems, you often need to make a choice. One choice is that I am willing to entrust these problems to God, and the other is that I still have to solve my problems by myself. If you focus your eyes on your problems and cannot begin to entrust them to God, you will soon fall into the sin of Jeroboam. When your eyes are fixed on that problem, thinking about it over and over again, you will soon forget that God can help you.

Abandoning the High Places and Turning Away from the Sin of Jeroboam: Resolving to Follow God Wholeheartedly

Being trapped in the sin of Jeroboam (including the situation where the high places are not abolished) often happens in the lives of Christians, and also in the lives of pastors. Pastor Zhou Shenzhu taught me a lesson: have a sense of security. Once you don't have a sense of security, you can't serve. Today, I don't need to have a sense of security, because no one is competing with me for this position. But when you have more employees, that is a test, testing whether you trust God alone, or whether you take various methods to build your political position, which is very dangerous.

Not only in the church, but also in their respective workplaces, the influence of this Jeroboam is very powerful. Between the real problems you face and trusting in Jehovah God, we often need to make the right choices. So everyone must continue to keep their minds clear, never deviate in their lifetime, hold on to Him tightly, and acknowledge Him in all your ways, and He will direct your paths (Proverbs 3:6).

I recall my past days, in fact, I didn't talk much at work, focused on work, worked hard, and was gradually promoted by God. Later, when I talked too much, it was troublesome, and when I used my own methods, it was even more troublesome. As a result, I learned many lessons. This lesson is actually the sin of Jeroboam. A lack of security in the heart will cause people not to trust God, because they don't think God can help you, and then this begins to become your own snare. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Scripture

2Ki 15:1 In the twenty-seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Azariah son of Amaziah king of Judah began to reign.
2Ki 15:2 He was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-two years. His mother’s name was Jecoliah of Jerusalem.
2Ki 15:3 And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father Amaziah had done.
2Ki 15:4 The high places, however, were not removed; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there.
2Ki 15:5 The Lord afflicted the king with leprosy until the day he died. He lived in a separate house while Jotham his son had charge of the palace and governed the people of the land.
2Ki 15:6 As for the other events of Azariah’s reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah?
2Ki 15:7 Azariah rested with his ancestors and was buried near them in the City of David. And Jotham his son succeeded him as king.
2Ki 15:8 In the thirty-eighth year of Azariah king of Judah, Zechariah son of Jeroboam became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned six months.
2Ki 15:9 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, as his predecessors had done. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit.
2Ki 15:10 Shallum son of Jabesh conspired against Zechariah. He attacked him in front of the people, assassinated him and succeeded him as king.
2Ki 15:11 The other events of Zechariah’s reign are written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel.
2Ki 15:12 So the word of the Lord that he had spoken to Jehu was fulfilled: “Your descendants will sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation.”
2Ki 15:13 Shallum son of Jabesh became king in the thirty-ninth year of Uzziah king of Judah, and he reigned in Samaria one month.
2Ki 15:14 Menahem son of Gadi went up from Tirzah to Samaria. He attacked Shallum son of Jabesh in Samaria, assassinated him and succeeded him as king.
2Ki 15:15 The other events of Shallum’s reign, and the conspiracy he led, are written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel.
2Ki 15:16 At that time Menahem, starting from Tirzah, attacked Tiphsah and everyone in the city and its vicinity, because they refused to open their gates. He sacked Tiphsah and ripped open all the pregnant women there.
2Ki 15:17 In the thirty-ninth year of Azariah king of Judah, Menahem son of Gadi began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned ten years.
2Ki 15:18 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord. During his entire reign he did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit.
2Ki 15:19 Then Pul king of Assyria invaded the land, and Menahem gave him a thousand talents of silver to gain his support and strengthen his kingdom.
2Ki 15:20 Menahem exacted this silver from Israel. Every wealthy person had to pay fifty shekels of silver to give to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria withdrew and did not stay in the land.
2Ki 15:21 As for the other events of Menahem’s reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel?
2Ki 15:22 Menahem rested with his ancestors. And Pekahiah his son succeeded him as king.
2Ki 15:23 In the fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekahiah son of Menahem began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned two years.
2Ki 15:24 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit.
2Ki 15:25 Pekah son of Remaliah, one of his chief officers, conspired against him. Taking fifty men of Gilead with him, he assassinated Pekahiah, along with Argob and Arieh, in the citadel of the palace in Samaria. So Pekah killed Pekahiah and succeeded him as king.
2Ki 15:26 As for the other events of Pekahiah’s reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel?
2Ki 15:27 In the fifty-second year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekah son of Remaliah began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned twenty years.
2Ki 15:28 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit.
2Ki 15:29 In the time of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria came and took Ijon, Abel Beth Maakah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead and Galilee, including all the land of Naphtali; and he deported the people to Assyria.
2Ki 15:30 Then Hoshea son of Elah conspired against Pekah son of Remaliah. He attacked and assassinated him, and then succeeded him as king in the twentieth year of Jotham son of Uzziah.
2Ki 15:31 As for the other events of Pekah’s reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel?
2Ki 15:32 In the second year of Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel, Jotham son of Uzziah king of Judah began to reign.
2Ki 15:33 He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. His mother’s name was Jerusha daughter of Zadok.
2Ki 15:34 He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father Uzziah had done.
2Ki 15:35 The high places, however, were not removed; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there. Jotham rebuilt the Upper Gate of the Lord’s temple.
2Ki 15:36 As for the other events of Jotham’s reign, and what he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah?
2Ki 15:37 In those days the Lord began to send Rezin king of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah against Judah.
2Ki 15:38 Jotham rested with his ancestors and was buried with them in the City of David, the city of his father. And Ahaz his son succeeded him as king.