High Places in Scripture: Idolatry & Worship

Discover the biblical significance of high places in 1 Kings 3. Learn how these sites served as both temporary worship locations and centers of idolatry, and why their removal was crucial to Israel’s spiritual survival and kingdom stability.

High Places in Scripture

In the Bible, high places are broadly divided into two categories. One is the high place as a site of idol worship, and the other is the high place as a temporary place of worship before the construction of the Temple.

1. High Places as Sites of Idol Worship

At the time of the Exodus, the Israelites were instructed to thoroughly destroy the high places upon entering Canaan (Num 33:52). This was because the Canaanite tribes at the time were worshiping idols centered around these high places. In fact, an oval-shaped high place believed to date back to around 3000 B.C. was discovered at Megiddo. Evidence found there indicates that the Canaanite tribes performed child sacrifice and lewd cultic rituals at the site. The Canaanite peoples erected and worshiped images of Baal, the chief Canaanite deity, and his consort Asherah at high places beneath green trees. When sacrifices were offered, licentious worship ceremonies were conducted under the direction of female priests. As a result, worship at the high places was not only idolatrous but also sexually corrupt and deeply immoral. For these reasons, all the high places in the land of Canaan were required to be abolished. However, after the Israelites entered Canaan, through the period of the Judges (Judg 2:12), into the period of the monarchy, and through the divided kingdom until the fall of the kingdom, they never removed the high places. In the end, the high places became one of the primary causes of the kingdom’s downfall.

2. The High Places as a Substitute for the Temple

When the Israelites entered Canaan, they erected the tabernacle at Shechem. The tabernacle was subsequently moved through Gilgal, Shiloh, Bethel, Shiloh again, Nob, and Gibeon, before finally being brought to Jerusalem during the reign of David (2 Sam 6:16). However, after the ark of the covenant was captured by the Philistines at the Battle of Aphek during the time of Eli the priest, Shiloh—which had served as the central sanctuary—effectively lost its role as the spiritual focal point of the nation. From that point on, the Israelites built high places throughout the land and offered sacrifices, worshiping God at these local sites. This system of worship centered on high places continued through the eras of Samuel and David, all the way until the time of Solomon, when the Temple was finally built. Although Solomon constructed the Temple and emphasized its function as the central sanctuary, he also took many foreign women as wives for the sake of political stability, and built high places on the hill east of Jerusalem for them to worship at. This became the turning point at which the high places descended into sites of idolatry. Consequently, with the exception of the reigns of Asa, Jehoshaphat, Hezekiah, and Josiah, the high places remained a persistent threat to the faith of Judah throughout its history. Kings such as Jeroboam, Jehoram, Ahaz, and Manasseh even went so far as to rebuild the high places and lead the people in idol worship.

In the final days of the kingdom of Judah, as destruction loomed on the horizon, the prophet Ezekiel sharply rebuked the people of Judah for their idolatry—roaming after high places and serving false gods—with the piercing question, “What are these high places you keep going to?” He urgently called the people to repentance. Yet it was only after the kingdom fell that the high places and their sacrifices finally disappeared from the land. In the post-exilic Jewish community, the practice of worship at high places was no longer tolerated.

Source: Dictionary of Biblical Backgrounds

high places, idolatry, Canaanite religion, biblical culture, history of Israel

Originally published in Korean at bible2u.com