Ⅱ
For the recovery and preservation of the genuine, all-inclusive oneness, we must destroy the high places—1 Kings 11:7-8; 12:26-33; 13:33-34; 14:22-23; 15:14; 22:43; 2 Kings 12:2-3; 14:3-4; 15:3-4, 34-35:
A
High places were the places where the Gentile people worshipped their idols.
B
When the children of Israel entered into the land of Canaan to possess it, God commanded them to destroy all the high places of the nations—Deut. 12:1-3:
１
To set up a high place is to have a division; hence, the significance of high places is division.
２
To preserve the oneness of His people, God required that they come to the unique place of His choice; the high places were a substitute and an alternative for this unique place—vv. 8, 11, 13-14, 18.
３
In 1 Kings, two kings—Solomon and Jeroboam—took the lead to set up the high places, the former because of the indulgence of lust and the latter because of ambition—11:7-8; 12:27.
C
A high place is an elevation, something lifted above the common level:
１
This indicates that a high place involves the exaltation of something.
２
In principle, every high place, every division, in Christianity involves the uplifting, the exaltation, of something other than Christ—cf. Col. 1:18.
Morning Nourishment
Deut. 12:2 You shall completely destroy all the places where the nations whom you will dispossess have served their gods, on the high mountains and on the hills and under every flourishing tree.Col. 1:18 And He is the Head of the Body, the church; He is the beginning, the Firstborn from the dead, that He Himself might have the first place in all things.
Although the children of Israel destroyed the places wherein the nations served their gods... and although the temple was built in Jerusalem, eventually the very things that had been destroyed came back. The high places (1 Kings 11:6-8; 12:31), the flourishing trees, the pillars, the Asherahs, and the idolatrous names were restored. In fact, Solomon, the very one who built the temple according to God’s desire on the ground of oneness, took the lead to build up the high places once again... He built up again the very high places Moses had charged the people to destroy. These high places were related to fornication and idolatry. Solomon’s setting up of the high places was especially connected with the indulgence of lust. It was for the sake of “all his foreign wives” [11:8] that he built up the high places. (CWWL, 1979, vol. 2, “The Genuine Ground of Oneness,” pp. 313-314)
Today’s Reading
To set up a high place is to have a division. Hence, the significance of high places is division. God’s intention with the children of Israel in the Old Testament was that His people be kept in oneness in order to worship Him in a proper way. To preserve the oneness of His people, God required that they come to the unique place of His choice. The high places, however, were a substitute and an alternative for this unique place. This indicates that division is a replacement for oneness. The unique place, Jerusalem, signifies oneness, whereas the high places signify division. Just as all manner of evil and abominable things were related to the setting up of the high places, so, in New Testament terms, all manner of evil is related to division.According to the record in 1 Kings, two kings—Solomon, a good king, and Jeroboam, an evil king—took the lead to set up the high places. In the case of Solomon, the building of the high places was related to the indulgence of lust. Solomon had hundreds of wives and concubines. In order to satisfy their desire, he built up high places. His wives had “turned his heart after other gods” (11:4). In the case of Jeroboam, the building of the high places was related to ambition (12:26-32). Jeroboam wanted to maintain his empire. Fearing that the kingdom would return to the house of David if the people went to Jerusalem to worship, Jeroboam “made a house of high places” (v. 31). Hence, Jeroboam’s ambition was the cause of his decision to build up high places... What evil is associated with high places! The high places were related to lust, ambition, and idolatry. Since high places signify divisions, this indicates that the divisions among Christians today are related to these evil things.
Not many Christians realize that division is connected to lust, ambition, and idolatry. Most Christians would not go beyond saying that divisions are wrong and unscriptural and that they cannot agree with them. However, in the eyes of the Lord, division involves such things as lust, ambition, and idolatry. Remember, a high place is an elevation, something lifted above the common level. This indicates that a high place involves the exaltation of something. In principle, every high place, every division, in Christianity today involves the uplifting, the exaltation, of something other than Christ. The things that are exalted may not be evil. On the contrary, they may be very good and may include even Bible study or Bible teaching. Surely it is a good thing to teach the Bible. But Bible study may be related to division. In such a case, even a meeting for the study of the Scriptures becomes a high place; it may lead to the exaltation of something in place of Christ. (CWWL, 1979, vol. 2, “The Genuine Ground of Oneness,” pp. 314-315)
Further Reading: CWWL, 1979, vol. 2, “The Genuine Ground of Oneness,” chs. 8-9