Search
Scripture Reading: 1 Kings 11:6-8; 12:26-32; 13:33-34; 14:22-24; 15:14, 34; 22:43; 2 Kings 12:2-3; 14:3-4; 15:3-4, 34-35; 17:5-12, 18-23; 23:29-35; 2 Chron. 36:5-20; Psa. 137:1-6; 1 Cor. 1:10-13a; Rom. 16:17-18; Titus 3:10
In Deuteronomy 12 Moses charged the children of Israel to “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” (v. 2). He also charged them to tear down their altars, crush their pillars, burn their Asherahs with fire, cut down the idols of their gods, and destroy their name from that place (v. 3). Having destroyed all these things, they were to come to the unique place of God’s choice. According to 1 Kings, the temple was built in Jerusalem, the place God had chosen. It was the desire of God’s heart for there to be a unique place for His presence. This one place protected God’s people from division. Therefore, it was God’s wisdom to require that all the places in which the nations served their gods be destroyed and that His people come to the unique place of His choice.
Although the children of Israel destroyed the places wherein the nations served their gods upon the mountains and hills and under the flourishing trees, 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 (11:6-8). 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” that he built up the high places.
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. Furthermore, Jeroboam made two calves of gold and said to the people, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” (v. 28). He then “set one in Bethel, and he put the other one in Dan” (v. 29). Furthermore, “Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like the feast that is in Judah” (v. 32). The month of this feast was “devised in his own heart” (v. 33). Jeroboam even appointed “priests from among the people who were not from the sons of Levi” (v. 31). 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.
Today it is common for Christians to elevate things in place of Christ. For example, some elevate the practice of baptism by immersion. Although it is right and scriptural to immerse people, it is not right to exalt immersion in place of Christ. To do this is to build a high place for the exaltation of a particular mode of baptism. The existence of such a high place always gives an opportunity for the indulgence of lust or for the fulfillment of ambition. However, the unique place of God’s choice kills our lust and restricts our ambition. Even a very good thing such as Bible study can open the way for lust and ambition to come in, if it is exalted above Christ. Lust is inevitably followed by idolatry. Ambition, in fact, is a form of idolatry.
When the children of Israel were about to cross the river Jordan and enter into the good land, Moses, out of his deep concern for them, charged them to destroy the heathen places of worship and to come to the unique place of God’s choice. He issued this charge because he realized that this matter of the unique place of God’s choice and the destroying of the heathen places was closely related to their destiny before God. If they were faithful to destroy the pagan centers of worship and to come to the place of God’s choice, they would be doing what was right in the eyes of the Lord. But if they failed to comply with this demand, they would be doing what was evil in His eyes. When they entered the good land, God’s people did destroy the high places and the names of the idols. Eventually, they were victorious in their battle to subdue the land. Men like Samuel and David are examples of those who absolutely followed God’s command given through Moses.
During the reign of Solomon the temple was built in Jerusalem. As we are told in 1 Kings 8, the glory of the Lord filled the temple. The age of the building of the temple was a golden time in the history of the children of Israel. However, not long after the temple was built, Solomon, the one under whom it was constructed, began to rebuild the high places. As we have pointed out, he did this to please his wives and concubines. This indicates clearly that the rebuilding of the high places was related to Solomon’s lust. Then, after the death of Solomon, Jeroboam, who was the rival of Rehoboam, king of Judah, built high places for the sake of his ambition. In both cases the building of the high places provoked God to wrath.
The account of the building of the high places under Solomon and Jeroboam is not merely a record of historical fact. This record has a spiritual significance, and it was written for our training. In Romans 15:4 Paul says, “The things that were written previously were written for our instruction.” Hence, what was written concerning Solomon and Jeroboam was written for our spiritual instruction today.
A number of important matters are not covered in the New Testament in a full way. I believe that the Lord intends for us to consider these matters in the light of the types and figures presented in the Old Testament. For example, concerning the damage and loss of the ground of oneness, the New Testament does not say a great deal. Regarding this, there is not much development. Only three brief portions of the Word are devoted to it: 1 Corinthians 1:10-13, Romans 16:17-18, and Titus 3:10. However, in the types and pictures in the Old Testament, the matter of division is developed in a full and complete way. Just as we need to consult the record of the passover in Exodus to receive a full understanding of Christ as the Lamb of God, so we need to consider the record in Deuteronomy, 1 and 2 Kings, and 1 and 2 Chronicles to have a full understanding of division and of the damage and loss of the ground of oneness. According to the Old Testament record, division is caused by lust and ambition. Solomon is an example of the former, and Jeroboam is an example of the latter. The Old Testament also reveals that only the unique place of God’s choice can deal with our lust and ambition. The reason so much emphasis is put on the matter of the place God has chosen is that only this place gives no opportunity for the indulgence of lust or the carrying out of ambition.
In 1 Kings 8 Solomon offered a marvelous prayer. As the one who wrote the Song of Songs, Solomon was very deep in spiritual things. Nevertheless, in 1 Kings 11 we see that Solomon’s “heart turned away from Jehovah the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice, and who had commanded him concerning this very matter, not to go after other gods” (vv. 9-10). However, Solomon “did not keep that which Jehovah had commanded” (v. 10). How far Solomon had fallen! His fall should be a warning to us. If we do not accept the restriction of God’s choice, we also may fall in the same way Solomon did. In fact, this has been the experience of a number of saints who once had part in the Lord’s recovery. They seemed to be very useful to the Lord in the building up of the church. At a certain stage, they were today’s Solomon building the temple or writing the Song of Songs. But due to some kind of lust, they eventually became divisive. They set up a “high place” for the satisfaction of their lust. I have observed this both in China and in the United States.
In 1963 those from certain Christian groups proposed to meet jointly with us in Los Angeles. At the start of this joint meeting, I gave a message from Romans 14, warning the saints about divisions caused by different opinions. I pointed out that we all must learn the lesson of oneness according to Romans 14. Nevertheless, after a very short period of time, at least two high places were set up: a high place that elevated speaking in tongues and another high place that uplifted the teaching of biblical doctrine. Those involved in these high places, these divisions, had not the least concern for the unique place of God’s choice. In other words, they had no genuine concern for oneness. On the contrary, they cared only for the satisfaction of their desire, their lust. Furthermore, some became divisive because of ambition. As a result, ambitious to be leaders, they left the Lord’s recovery. Because their ambition could not be fulfilled in the church life, they turned their back on the church and even began to oppose it. At first, they regarded the Lord’s recovery very highly. But simply because their ambition for leadership was not fulfilled in the recovery, they left and set up a little “hill” to fulfill their ambition. This hill, another high place, was a cause of division.
It is crucial that we take heed to all the points in Deuteronomy 12. We must learn to fear the Lord our God and not to do what is right in our own eyes. Rather, fearing the Lord, we must do what is right in His eyes. Nothing requires us to fear God as much as the keeping of the oneness. If some Christians were to establish a place of worldly entertainment, we would immediately condemn that practice. However, not many would condemn just as vigorously the establishment of a divisive Christian meeting. At the most, the majority of Christians would say simply that they do not agree with that meeting. Some may even justify it, claiming that it helps people to know the Bible and to follow the Lord. Apparently, such a meeting is designed to render spiritual help. Actually, it is a division that has its source in someone’s lust or ambition. At such a high place something other than Christ is exalted.
When I first went to Shanghai in 1933, I met a particular brother who was very active in the church life. He had come into the church in 1927 and was one who sought the Lord. One day Brother Nee pointed out to me that this brother was ambitious to be an elder. Eventually, in 1948, seeing that his desire for eldership had not been fulfilled, he left the church. He started a meeting in his home and hired a traveling preacher to minister. He turned his back wholly against the church. Furthermore, the preacher hired by him wrote a long book criticizing and defaming Brother Nee and spreading rumors about him. After twenty-one years in the church life, this brother left the church in order to set up a certain kind of high place.
If you investigate the situation of today’s Christianity, you will learn that every division is an elevation of some kind. It is good to teach the Bible. But Bible study should not become an elevation that separates God’s people from one another. The same is true regarding pray-reading. You may find pray-reading very helpful. However, you should not elevate it by insisting on the practice of pray-reading in the meetings. If you elevate pray-reading, you will make even pray-reading a cause of division. We need to ask the Lord to grant us mercy that we may not elevate anything in place of Christ. If we hold to an attitude of elevating our opinion or preference, we set up a high place, a place of division. This is what happened among some of those who desired to have that joint meeting in Los Angeles in 1963. Those who opposed speaking in tongues elevated their attitude and preference, whereas those who advocated it uplifted theirs. Neither group was willing to regard my word about caring for the feeling of others. They desired to have their own way. Such a desire led them to set up high places.
All of us, especially the young people, must learn not to elevate anything other than the Lord Jesus. He alone should be exalted. In the church life we should not have any high places. Instead, we should all be on one level to exalt Christ.
The high places built by Solomon and Jeroboam seriously damaged the ground of oneness. If this matter of the high places were not of great significance, the Old Testament would not mention it repeatedly. In 1 Kings 14:22 and 23 we are told that “Judah did what was evil in the sight of Jehovah” for “they also built for themselves high places and pillars and Asherahs on every high hill and under every flourishing tree.” The word every used with respect to the high hills and the flourishing trees shows that this practice was common and very widespread. Once they were set up, these high places were not easily removed, even by good kings such as Asa. Although Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and “removed all the idols that his fathers had made,” the “high places were not removed; otherwise the heart of Asa was perfect with Jehovah all his days” (15:12, 14). The people might have excused or justified the existence of high places by saying that they did not use them for the worship of pillars or Asherahs but for sacrificing to God and for offering incense to Him. Regarding Jehoshaphat, we are told that “he walked in all the way of Asa his father; he turned not aside from it, doing what was right in the sight of Jehovah. Nevertheless the high places were not removed; the people offered sacrifices and burned incense still on the high places” (22:43). Furthermore, although Jehoash also did what was right in the sight of the Lord, the high places were not removed during his reign. Rather, “the people still sacrificed and burned incense in the high places” (2 Kings 12:3). Time and time again we are told that “the people still sacrificed and burned incense in the high places” (14:3-4; 15:3-4, 34-35).
If we had been there at the time, we might have taken sides with those who sacrificed at the high places. Those who went to the high places might have argued that it was inconvenient to travel the long distance to Jerusalem three times a year. Christians still use this kind of excuse today. It seems that for every division in Christianity an excuse is offered to justify it. Nevertheless, in Old Testament times the Lord would not accept anything offered to Him at the high places. He regarded any sacrifice offered there as an abomination in His sight, for it was presented in a place of division, in a place that opened the door for the indulgence of lust and gave opportunity for the pursuit of ambition. Only the worship, the offerings, and the incense at the place of God’s unique choice were regarded as genuine. That place killed lust and gave no opportunity for ambition. Even to present a genuine offering in a place other than the unique place of God’s choice creates an opportunity for the indulgence of selfish desire. Any high place, even those at which genuine sacrifices are offered, causes damage to the ground of oneness. Those high places are used by people in their lust and ambition for the fulfillment of their own purpose.
From my experience in the Lord’s recovery on the mainland of China, I can testify that the unique place of God’s choice leaves no opportunity for the indulgence of lust or for the exercise of our ambition. During all the years in China, I was under the direction of Brother Nee’s ministry. In all my preaching I was the same as he. All the high places were torn down, and therefore there was no room for the indulgence of lust or the carrying out of selfish ambition. The same is true among us today. We care only to exalt Christ. If we maintain the ground of oneness, God’s unique choice, without elevating anything other than Christ, it will not be possible to have division. In the Lord’s recovery we elevate Christ and Christ alone. We may talk a great deal about life, but we do not even elevate life to the point of making it a high place. Certain brothers among us are very keen and have a good deal of natural ability. But their keenness and ability must be restricted by the ground of God’s choice. This restriction will keep them from elevating something in place of Christ. We in the Lord’s recovery can testify that, in contrast to today’s Christianity, we have no high places. In Christianity high places are found everywhere. Each denomination and independent group is an elevation, a high place. As we have pointed out repeatedly, these elevations are all related to lust or ambition.
According to the Old Testament record, after the ground of oneness was damaged, it was actually lost. Israel, the northern kingdom, was conquered by the Assyrians, and Judah, the southern kingdom, was conquered by the Babylonians. Because of the sin of Jeroboam in setting up the high places, the nation of Israel was led into captivity by the Assyrians. In His wrath God chose to cast them out of the Holy Land. Second Kings 17:22 and 23 say, “The children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they did not depart from them, until Jehovah removed Israel from His sight.” When the Israelites were in the Holy Land, they were in the Lord’s presence. But when they were carried away to Assyria, they were cast out of the presence of the Lord.
Israel’s captivity should have been a warning to Judah. The kingdom of Judah, however, did not heed this warning. As 2 Kings 17:19 says, “Judah also did not keep the commandments of Jehovah their God but walked in the statutes of Israel, which they had made.” Those in Judah built up more high places and gave more opportunity for evil to come in. This forced the Lord to send in Pharaoh Neco (23:29-35). Pharaoh Neco removed Jehoahaz from the kingship and made Eliakim king, changing his name to Jehoiakim (v. 34). Jehoahaz was taken to Egypt, where he died. Because Judah would not remove the high places, the Lord eventually sent in the Babylonian army under Nebuchadnezzar. Eventually, the temple was destroyed, and a great many of the people were carried away into captivity.
Formerly, all the children of Israel were in the good land. They were one people with a unique center of worship in Jerusalem. First, they damaged this oneness by setting up high places throughout the land. But eventually they went on to lose this oneness through the invasion of the Assyrians and the Babylonians. Having been cast out of the good land, God’s people became Egyptian Jews, Assyrian Jews, or Babylonian Jews. The ground of oneness had been lost absolutely.
Psalm 137:1-6 is a description of their plight in Babylon. God’s people were in a strange land, and they could not sing the Lord’s song. Instead, by the rivers of Babylon they sat down and wept when they remembered Zion. What a picture of the situation of Christians today! The vast majority of Christians have been carried away into captivity. The ground of oneness has not only been damaged — it has been fully lost. Very few Christians have any realization of what the ground of oneness is. As a result of their captivity, many of the children of Israel even forgot their language. They eventually became Egyptians, Assyrians, and Babylonians. This is a vivid portrait of today’s Christianity. May the Holy Spirit speak more to us concerning the damage and loss of the ground of oneness.
