June 3: Evil Kings, Asherath Poles, Male Prostitutes, Jezebel, and High Places
2 Chronicles 14:9-15
Amplified Bible (AMP)
9 There came out against Judah Zerah the Ethiopian with a host of a million [that is, too many to be numbered] and 300 chariots, and came as far as Mareshah.
10 Then Asa went out against him, and they set up their lines of battle in the Valley of Zephathah at Mareshah.
11 Asa cried to the Lord his God, O Lord, there is none besides You to help, and it makes no difference to You whether the one You help is mighty or powerless. Help us, O Lord our God! For we rely on You, and we go against this multitude in Your name. O Lord, You are our God; let no man prevail against You!
12 So the Lord smote the Ethiopians before Asa and Judah, and the Ethiopians fled.
13 Asa and the people with him pursued them to Gerar; and the Ethiopians were overthrown, so that none remained alive; for they were destroyed before the Lord and His host, who carried away very much booty.
14 And they smote all the cities round about Gerar, for the fear of the Lord came upon them. They plundered all the cities, for there was much plunder in them.
15 They smote also the cattle encampments and carried away sheep in abundance and camels; and they returned to Jerusalem.
2 Chronicles 15:1-7
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15 The Spirit of God came upon Azariah son of Oded.
2 And he went out to meet Asa and said to him, Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: the Lord is with you while you are with Him. If you seek Him [inquiring for and of Him, craving Him as your soul’s first necessity], He will be found by you; but if you [become indifferent and] forsake Him, He will forsake you.
3 Now for a long time Israel was without the true God, without a teaching priest, and without law.
4 But when they in their trouble turned to the Lord, the God of Israel, and [in desperation earnestly] sought Him, He was found by them.
5 And in those times there was no peace to him who went out nor to him who came in, but great andvexing afflictions and disturbances were upon all the inhabitants of the countries.
6 Nation was broke in pieces against nation, and city against city, for God vexed and troubled them with all sorts of adversity.
7 Be strong, therefore, and let not your hands be weak and slack, for your work shall be rewarded.
1 Kings 15:12-15
Amplified Bible (AMP)
12 He put away the sodomites (male cult prostitutes) out of the land and removed all the idols that his fathers [Solomon, Rehoboam, and Abijam] had made or promoted.
13 Also Maacah his mother he removed from being queen mother, because she had an image made for [the goddess] Asherah. Asa destroyed her image, burning it by the brook Kidron.
14 But the high places were not removed. Yet Asa’s heart was blameless with the Lord all his days.
15 He brought the things which his father had dedicated and the things which he himself had dedicated into the house of the Lord—silver, gold, and vessels.
2 Chronicles 15:9-15
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9 And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin and the strangers with them out of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon, for they came over to Asa out of Israel in large numbers when they saw that the Lord his God was with him.
10 So they gathered at Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa.
11 And they sacrificed to the Lord on that day from the spoil which they had brought—700 oxen and 7,000 sheep.
12 And they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers, and to yearn for Him with all their heart’s desire and with all their soul;
13 And that whoever would not seek the Lord, the God of Israel, should be put to death, whether young or old, man or woman.
14 They took an oath to the Lord with a loud voice, with shouting, with trumpets, and with cornets.
15 And all Judah rejoiced at the oath, for they had sworn with all their heart and sought Him [yearning for Him] with their whole desire, and He was found by them. And the Lord gave them rest and peace round about.
1 Kings 15:13
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13 Also Maacah his mother he removed from being queen mother, because she had an image made for [the goddess] Asherah. Asa destroyed her image, burning it by the brook Kidron.
2 Chronicles 15:16
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16 Also Maacah, King Asa’s mother, he removed from being queen mother, because she had made an abominable image for [the goddess] Asherah. Asa cut down her idol, crushed it, and burned it at the brook Kidron.
1 Kings 21:25-26
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25 For there was no one who sold himself to do evil in the sight of the Lord as did Ahab, incited by his wife Jezebel.
26 He did very abominably in going after idols, as had the Amorites, whom the Lord cast out before the Israelites.
1 Kings 16:31-33
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31 As if it had been a light thing for Ahab to walk in the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, he took for a wife Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and served Baal and worshiped him.
32 He erected an altar for Baal in the house of Baal which he built in Samaria.
33 And Ahab made an Asherah [idolatrous symbol of the goddess Asherah]. Ahab did more to provoke the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel before him.
1 Kings 22:43-47
Amplified Bible (AMP)
43 He walked in all the ways or customs of Asa his father, never swerving from it, doing right in the sight of the Lord. However, the [idolatrous] high places were not taken away; for the people still sacrificed and burned incense in the high places.
44 And Jehoshaphat made peace with Israel’s king.
45 The rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, his might that he showed and how he warred, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?
46 And the remnant of the sodomites (the male cult prostitutes) who remained in the days of his father Asa, [Jehoshaphat] expelled from the country.
2 Chronicles 20:32-33
Amplified Bible (AMP)
32 And he walked in the ways of Asa his father and departed not from it, doing what was right in the sight of the Lord.
33 But the high places [of idolatry] were not taken away, for the people had not yet set their hearts on their fathers’ God.
Tearing Down High Places
"High places are seductive (Genesis 11:4). Before the Israelites entered the land of Canaan, the pagan religions built altars on hilltops to worship idols. These man-made shrines honored such gods as Baal, the storm god who allegedly brought rain and wealth, Ashtoreth the fertility goddess, and Molech a detestable god to whom people sacrificed their children. These religions often provided prostitutes as a part of their depraved “worship.” Such hedonistic religion appealed to peoples’ base senses of greed and sensuality.
No wonder God commanded Joshua to obliterate the Canaanites. Yet despite Joshua’s victories, remnants of the pagan peoples stubbornly remained (Joshua 17:12; Judges 1:27). Pagan worship centers continued to blight the nation’s hilltops. Appealing to peoples’ carnal nature, the high places were always popular (Judges 2:12-13, 17; 1 Kings 14:22-24).
Tragically, it was Israel’s leaders who allowed the despicable practices to continue. King Solomon actually built high places for gods such as Ashtoreth, Milcom, and Chemosh (1 Kings 11:6-7). King Jeroboam established high places in Bethel and Dan so the northern tribes would not travel to Jerusalem to worship the true God (1 Kings 12:25-33). Every leader in Israel and Judah had to decide what his approach to the high places would be. Some evil kings like Ahaz and Manasseh fully supported the high places and even made sacrifices to idols (2 Kings 16:4; 2 Kings 21:1-3). Few people matched Elijah’s courage in challenging King Ahab’s false religion on the top of Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18).
Perhaps most disappointing were kings such as Rehoboam (1 Kings 14:22-23), Asa (1 Kings 15:14), Jehoshaphat (1 Kings 22:43), Jehoash (2 Kings 12:2-3), Jehoahaz (2 Kings 13:6), Amaziah (2 Kings 14:4), Azariah (2 Kings 15:3-4), and Jotham (2 Kings 15:34-35). These monarchs generally sought to do good, but they stopped short of tearing down the high places. However, Judah’s two godliest leaders did have the courage to actively demolish the high places of their land: Hezekiah (2 Kings 18:4), and Josiah (2 Kings 23:4-20).
Ultimately God destroyed the nation of Israel for its debauched worship in the high places and the depravity that ensued (2 Kings 17:9-18). Scripture concludes: “Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel, and removed them from His sight” (2 Kings 17:18). Likewise, the nation of Judah became so perforated with centers of evil that even the righteous King Josiah could not dissuade God’s wrath and the destruction of his nation (2 Kings 23:26-27).
What are the high places of America today? They are the people, organizations, and centers that promote sinful attitudes and carnal practices. They are the groups that mock God and His word, and promote falsehood. Tearing down a nation’s high places is not easy. William Wilberforce recognized that many Christians were unconcerned or ignorant of the depravity their society embraced with the slave trade. After losing a critical vote in the Commons, Wilberforce lamented that there were enough Christian MP’s at the opera that evening to have deposed the slave trade had they cared enough to show up.
Are you satisfied, as were most of the leaders in Israel’s history, to merely mind your own business? Or, will you allow God to use your life and influence to bring the high places of our day crashing down?" Blackaby Spiritual Leadership
"Dear God, are there high places in my life, my family, and/or my ministry that I'm allowing and refusing to tear down? Reveal these high places to me, Oh Lord. Bring them to light so I can "clean house". I want to serve You and You alone. Please cleanse me first of all. Any root of bitterness or sinful pride has to go in Jesus name. Cleanse my family and my home. I can't just smile and wink at sin, O God. That's the same as allowing high places of idol worship. The same goes for my ministry. I must not choose to ignore sin and hope it goes away. Then it becomes MY sin. MY sin of allowing high places of idol worship. I give You all the glory and all the honor for what You are doing in my life, my family, and my ministry. In Jesus precious name, AMEN."
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