1 Reis 15

1 Reis 15

MacArthur says "Apparently, he did not remove all the high places or, once removed, they reappeared (cf. 1Ki 15:17; 1Ki 15:14). His son Jehoshaphat later had to remove them (cf. 2Ch 17:6), although not completely (cf. 2Ch 20:33). This was done in an effort to comply with Dt 12:2, 3. (See MacArthur Study Bible - Page 618) There is one other possible explanation suggested by 2 Chronicles 15:17 which says, “But the high places were not taken away from Israel.” If Israel here refers to the northern kingdom, it suggests that Asa removed the high places in Judah but could not remove those in the northern kingdom of Israel, which was under King Baasha at the time. Some questions will not be fully answered until we are in Heaven, for "now I know in part, but then I will know fully." (1Co 13:12+) John Schultz makes a good point regarding the high places - One thing lacking in Asa’s understanding of God’s will was the fact that he did not consider the place of worship of God to be the important issue. Although he removed the symbols of idolatry, he did not regard the temple in Jerusalem as the only place where God ought to be worshipped as He had indicated. As far as that was concerned he did not have David’s vision. Nevertheless (contrast) - This contrast seems to show that despite the failure to remove all the high places Asa's heart was still right with the Lord. The heart of Asa was wholly devoted (shalem; Lxx - teleios = having attained the end or purpose) to the LORD all his days - So in spite of not removing the high places, the writer says Asa had a "whole heart." See discussion of wholly devoted in comments on 1Ki 15:3. THOUGHT- Dear saint battling daily with sin, does God's assessment of Asa not encourage you to continue to run with endurance? That's rhetorical! Asa, like David, was hardly perfect, yet God designated his heart as wholly devoted. While God does not wink at our missteps, because of His mercies, which are new every morning (we need them every morning!), neither does He condemn us. In amazing grace, when we return and confess our sins, He bestows forgiveness and cleanses us from all unrighteousness. A wholly devoted heart WILL stumble, but the general direction of such a heart is to seek the Lord. High places (01116) bamah Six activities seem to be related to high places -- burning of incense, sacrificing, eating of sacrificial meals, praying, prostitution, child sacrifice (cf. bama in the valley, Je7:31). The first use in Lev 26:30 is God's declaration to Israel "I will destroy your high places." In Dt 32:13 speaking of Jacob (Israel) He declared "He made him ride on the high places of the earth," so clearly some uses of bamah are not negative. In a similar use God says Israel "you will tread upon their (Israel's enemies') high places." Another positive use is Psalm 18:33 where David declared Jehovah "makes my feet like hinds' feet, And sets me upon my high places." (cp Hab 3:19 - NET Note = David "compares his agility in battle to the ability of a deer to negotiate rugged, high terrain without falling or being injured.", cp Isa 58:14) We see he effect of Israel's high places on Jehovah in Ps 78:58 = "For they provoked Him with their high places and aroused His jealousy with their graven images." A sad phrase that is repeated again and again (speaking of Israel) is "the high places were not taken away" (1Ki 15:14, 2Chr 15:17 = King Asa but notice he did remove some of them - 2Chr 14:3, 5, 1Ki 22:43, 2Chr 20:33 = King Jehoshaphat, 2Ki 12:3 = King Jehoash, 2Ki 14:4 = King Amaziah, 2Ki 15:4 = King Azariah, 2Ki 15:35 = King Jotham son of Uzziah and look what his son did in 2Ki 16:1-4!, 2Chr 20:33). In many of these passages the context was of a king doing "spiritual house cleaning" so to speak and yet still failing to remove the high places. Isn't sin that way? We confess one or two sins but we have a little pet sin (better a "venomous viper") that we just don't have the heart to kill! God grant us spiritual eyes and hearts to learn from Israel's mistakes. Amen! Some kings like Hezekiah (1Ki 18:4, 2Chr 31:1, Isa 36:7) and Josiah (2Ki 23:4,8, 13, 15, 19-20, 2Chr 34:3 cp prophecy about Josiah 300 years earlier = 1Ki 13:2) did destroy the high places, but in Hezekiah's case his own son Manasseh rebuilt them (2Ki 21:1-2, 3, 2Chr 33:3) and in Josiah's case the people rebuilt them! We see the spiritual effect of high places on the people when King Jehoram (2Chr 21:5-10) "made high places in the mountains of Judah, and caused the inhabitants of Jerusalem to play the harlot and led Judah astray." (2Chr 21:11) We see the spiritual effect of high places on the people when King Jehoram (2Chr 21:5-10) "made high places in the mountains of Judah, and caused the inhabitants of Jerusalem to play the harlot and led Judah astray." (2Chr 21:11) Norman Geisler 1 KINGS 15:14—Did Asa destroy the high places or leave them standing? See When Critics Ask PROBLEM: 2 Chronicles 14:3 asserts that “he [Asa] removed the altars of the foreign gods and the high places.” But here, 1 Kings says that, during the reign of king Asa, “the high places were not removed.” SOLUTION: There are several possible explanations. One is that these passages may refer to different times in Asa’s reign. In his early period, he may have been more active in putting idolatry down. Or, it may have been that Asa was unsuccessful in carrying through his reforms, so that the high places were not completely removed. Some have suggested that he may have only torn down the high places to other gods (as 2 Chronicles notes) but allowed the ones to the Lord to remain (which 1 Kings speaks about). Any one of these would take care of the difficulty. G Campbell