Other texts on removing high places?
What other scriptures discuss the significance of removing high places in Israel?

Setting the Scene: 2 Chronicles 20:33

“Nevertheless, the high places were not removed; the people had not yet set their hearts on the God of their fathers.”


What Were the High Places?

• Elevated sites—hilltops, ridges, even man-made platforms—where people built altars, erected Asherah poles, and blended worship of the LORD with the practices of surrounding nations.

• They symbolized lingering compromise: outward devotion to God, yet hidden pockets of idolatry.


God’s Clear Command to Tear Them Down

Deuteronomy 12:2-3 – “You must utterly destroy all the places where the nations you are dispossessing have served their gods… Tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, burn their Asherah poles…”

Leviticus 26:30 – “I will destroy your high places, cut down your incense altars, and heap your dead bodies on the lifeless forms of your idols; and My soul will abhor you.”

Why so firm? The high places threatened pure covenant worship and invited judgment.


Early Attempts and Mixed Results

1 Kings 3:2-4 – Even Solomon “sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.”

1 Kings 15:11-14 – Asa “did what was right… The high places were not removed.”

2 Chronicles 14:2-5 – Earlier in Asa’s reign he “removed the foreign altars and the high places.” (A picture of initial zeal yet incomplete follow-through.)

2 Chronicles 17:6 – Jehoshaphat “removed the high places,” yet 20:33 records that many still remained.


Kings Who Finished the Job

2 Kings 18:3-4 – Hezekiah “removed the high places, smashed the sacred pillars, and cut down the Asherah poles.”

2 Chronicles 31:1 – After Passover renewal, the people “smashed the sacred pillars, cut down the Asherah poles, and tore down the high places and altars… until they had destroyed them all.”

2 Kings 23:13-15 – Josiah “defiled the high places… smashed the sacred pillars… pulled down the altar at Bethel… burned the high place and ground it to powder.”

2 Chronicles 34:3-7 – Josiah “began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places… he smashed the altars and the Asherah poles.”

These revivals show wholehearted obedience, national cleansing, and renewed blessing.


Prophets Who Condemned Persistent High Places

Hosea 10:8 – “The high places of Aven, the sin of Israel, will be destroyed; thorns and thistles will overgrow their altars.”

Amos 7:9 – “The high places of Isaac will be deserted, and the sanctuaries of Israel will be in ruins.”

Micah 1:3-5 – The LORD “will come down and tread on the high places… What is the high place of Judah? Is it not Jerusalem?”

Prophets linked unremoved high places with incoming judgment, underscoring their spiritual danger.


Why Removing High Places Mattered

• Pure worship: God alone determines how He is to be approached.

• National unity: One altar at Jerusalem kept Israel from splintering into tribal cults.

• Covenant faithfulness: Idolatry voided blessings and invited curses.

• Heart reality: Outward reform without destroying idols leaves roots of rebellion intact (2 Chronicles 20:33).


A Timeless Lesson

God still calls His people to eliminate anything that competes for affection, even if it looks respectable or “religious.” Like Hezekiah and Josiah, decisive obedience brings renewal, while half-measures leave strongholds intact.

How does 2 Chronicles 20:33 reflect on the people's commitment to God?
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