High Places-Hebrew: במות bamot

 

Preface

"This study explores the biblical concept of "high places" (Hebrew: bamot), examining their historical and spiritual significance in the worship of Yahuah and their eventual corruption into unauthorized worship sites. It traces their use from divinely sanctioned altars by prophets like Samuel and EliYah during times of national crisis to their misuse as centers of idolatry, even when intended for Yahuah. The analysis highlights the tension between obedience to Yahuah’s chosen place of worship (Yerushalayim) and human tendencies to institutionalize sacred sites, leading to spiritual drift. Key themes include the dangers of tradition over covenant, the corruption of holy objects, and the ultimate fulfillment of worship in Yahusha, who redirects devotion to spirit and truth.

"In Scripture, “high places” (Hebrew: במות bamot) refer to elevated locations—such as hills, mountaintops, or constructed platforms—used primarily for worship, either of Yahuah or pagan mighty ones. While we look only at these altar's as pagan, we often overlook that these altars built by forefathers during national depravity or during a transitional phase which became worship centers later, other than Yerushalayim, and were not approved by Yahuah for worship of Him.

🔹 1. Altars by Prophets (EliYah, Samuel, etc.)

Prophets like EliYah and Samuel did build altars and offer sacrifices outside of Yerushalayim, and these were authorized by Yahuah at that moment because of national depravity, llack of centralized access to the legitimate altar (especially before Solomon’s Temple), and the prophetic need to call the people back to covenant.

• Samuel offered sacrifices at Mitspah, Gilgal, and Ramah (1 Samuel 7:9, 10:8).

At Mitspah: 

📖1Sa 7:8  And the children of Yisra’ěl said to Shemu’ěl, “Do not cease to cry out to יהוה our Elohim for us, that He would save us from the hand of the Philistines.” 

 📖1Sa 7:9  And Shemu’ěl took a suckling lamb and offered it as an ascending offering, completely, to יהוה. And Shemu’ěl cried out to יהוה for Yisra’ěl, and יהוה answered him. 

At Gilgal: 

 📖1Sa 10:8  “And you shall go down before me to Gilgal. And see, I am coming down to you to offer ascending offerings and slaughter slaughtering's of peace offerings. Wait seven days, till I come to you, then I shall make known to you what you should do.” 

Ramah:  

📖1Sa 7:15  And Shemu’ěl rightly ruled Yisra’ěl all the days of his life, 

📖1Sa 7:16  and each year he made the rounds of Běyth Ěl, and Gilgal, and Mitspah, and rightly ruled Yisra’ěl in all those places. 

1Sa 7:17  Then he returned to Ramah, for his home was there. And there he rightly ruled Yisra’ěl, and there he built a slaughter-place to יהוה. 

 📖1Sa 9:12  And they answered them and said, “He is. Look, ahead of you. Hurry now, for he came to this city today, for the people have a slaughtering on the high place today. 
 📖1Sa 9:13  “As you come into the city, you are going to find him before he goes up to the high place (bamah במה  H1116) to eat. For the people do not eat until he comes, for he blesses the slaughtering, afterward they who are invited eat. And now, go up, for you should find him about this time.” 

• There was spiritual depravity in the days of prophet Samuel as Eli's sons were evil and there was abominable things being done in the Tent of Yahuah by them and Eli had overlooked their sin. As a result the whole nation was in a spiritual depravity as the word of Yahuah was rare in those days and it came only to Samuel when he was instituted by Yahuah as a prophet and judge (judge after Eli's death).

📖1 Samuel 2:12 “Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they knew not Yahuah.

In the days of EliYah, 

EliYah rebuilt Yahuah’s altar on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18:30–38) in a dramatic call for national repentance.

📖1 Kings 18:30 “And EliYah said to all the people, ‘Come near to me.’ And all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar (מזבח) of Yahuah that was broken down.”

This verse proves that there was already an altar to Yahuah on Mount Carmel before EliYah’s contest with the prophets of Baal. It had been built earlier, and at some point was neglected or torn down — likely due to:

• Idolatry and Baal worship, encouraged by Ahab and Ayzebel (Jezebel).

• The nation’s spiritual apostasy, which included the destruction of Yahuah’s altars:

📖1 Kings 19:10 (EliYah later says): “...the children of Yisrael have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets...”

There were other prophets alive during EliYah's time who would have built the altar due to national depravity which people in obedience to Ahab and Ayzebel would have torn down the altar (because Baal altars were prevalent), and rebuilt by EliYah!

📖1 Kings 18:4 “And it came to be, when Izeḇel cut down the prophets of Yahuah, that Oḇaḏyahu took one hundred prophets and hid them, fifty to a cave, and fed them with bread and water.”

There were at least 100 known prophets of Yahuah still active at that time. Obadiah (a righteous official in Ahab's household) was protecting them. These prophets had to go into hiding, showing the level of persecution. The fact that it was “broken down” ( הרוץ, harutz – torn down, demolished) implies deliberate destruction — possibly by Baal followers under Ayzebel’s orders.

When EliYah repairs the altar, it’s not just about offering a sacrifice — it’s a prophetic statement of covenant renewal:

• He uses twelve stones (1 Kings 18:31), even though the kingdom was divided.

📖1Ki 18:31  And Ěliyahu took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Ya‛aqoḇ, to whom the word of יהוה had come, saying, “Yisra’ěl is your name.”

• He calls the people back to the name YasharEL .

• He’s declaring: Return to Yahuah! Return to covenant worship!

📖1 Kings 18:36–37 “Let it be known today that You are Elohim in Yisra’ĕl... and that You have turned their hearts back to You again.”

🔹Yerushalayim: The Chosen Place 

After Yahuah chose Yerushalayim, He made it the exclusive place for sacrificial worship:

📖 Deuteronomy 12:5–6 But you shall seek the place which Yahuah your Elohim will choose... and there you shall bring your burnt offerings...”

📖 2 Chronicles 6:6 “But I have chosen Yerushalayim, that My name might be there.”

From this point forward:

• Any ongoing sacrifice outside Yerushalayim became a violation, even if it was to Yahuah.

• The intention may have been right (Yahuah worship), but the location was now rebellion against His command.

• The people remembered that EliYah or Samuel sacrificed there.

• They likely thought: “If EliYah or Samuel did it here, it must be set-apart.”

• So, they kept returning to those places—even generations later—turning them into institutional high places.

But:

• Yahuah did not command this continual use.

• These became man-made worship systems, rooted in sentimentality or tradition, not obedience.

🔹  Levites may have supported it

Some Levites may have helped sustain this illicit system, especially under kings who tolerated or encouraged high places.

Examples:

• During the divided kingdom, Yeroboam appointed priests not from Levi for high places (1 Kings 12:31).

• But even some true Levites, out of confusion or political pressure, might have served at unauthorized altars.

Later reformers like Hezekiah and Yoshiyahu had to:

• Cleanse the priesthood.

• Destroy the high places.

• Centralize worship back to the Temple in Yerushalayim.

🔣 1. מצּבה (Matstsebah) = Standing Stone / Monument

➤ Hebrew meaning:

• Root: נצב (natsab) – to stand upright.

• מצּבה matstsebah literally means a standing pillar, monument, or memorial stone.

• Often used to mark a covenant, a divine encounter, or a memorial site.

➤ Biblical Examples:

• Genesis 28:18 – Yaaqob sets up a מצּבה standing pillar at Bethel after his vision of the ladder.

📖 Gen 28:18 And Ya‛aqoḇ rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put at his head, set it up as a standing column, and poured oil on top of it.

• Exodus 24:4 – Moses sets up 12 מצּבות matstsebah at Sinai for the 12 tribes.

📖Exo 24:4 And Mosheh wrote down all the Words of יהוה, and rose up early in the morning, and built a slaughter-place at the foot of the mountain, and twelve standing columns for the twelve tribes of Yisra’ěl.

• Joshua 4:7 – 12 stones from the Yarden were set up as a memorial.

📖Jos 4:7 “Then you shall answer them that the waters of the Yarděn were cut off before the ark of the covenant of יהוה. When it passed over the Yarděn, the waters of the Yarděn were cut off. And these stones shall be for a remembrance to the children of Yisra’ěl forever.”

➤ Problem in translation:

• In many English Bibles, when מצּבה Matstsebah is associated with Canaanite practices, it is translated as "image" or "idol," obscuring the neutral or even sacred use of the term in other contexts.

⚠️ This confuses the reader into thinking all matstsebah are inherently pagan, ignoring their use in worship of Yahuah.

🔣 2. אשׁירה (Asherah) = Groves? Goddess? Or... Joy?

➤ Hebrew meanings:

Asherah as a noun can mean:

A wooden cult pole (traditionally associated with fertility worship),

A goddess (possibly the Canaanite mother goddess),


Or a feminine noun from אשר (ashar), meaning to go straight, to be blessed, or to be happy.

אשר (asher) = that/which 

אשר  (asher) = I will go straight / be happy / bless

➤ Misinterpretation possibility:

• The question is whether all references to asherah were always pagan?

• The wooden pole or tree may have once symbolized life, joy, or blessing—later corrupted by Canaanite religious practice.

Like the serpent, what began as a symbol of deliverance may have become idolized.

 🔣 3. Hezekiah and the Nechushtan (2 Kings 18:4)

📖 2Ki 18:4 He took away the high places and broke the pillars, and cut down the Ashěrah, and broke in pieces the bronze serpent which Mosheh had made, for until those days the children of Yisra’ěl burned incense to it, and called it Neḥushtan.

🔎Key Pointers:

• The bronze serpent was made by Moses at Yahuah’s command (Numbers 21:8–9) as a means of healing, not as an idol.

📖 Num 21:8  And יהוה said to Mosheh, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole. And it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.” 
📖Num 21:9  So Mosheh made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole. And it came to be, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived. 

• Over centuries, the people began to venerate the object, burning incense before it.

• Hezekiah saw that the people were now worshiping the symbol, not Yahuah, and so destroyed it.

📌 Intentions matter: They may have thought they were worshipping Yahuah, but they were doing so through a medium, which became idolatry by Torah standards.

🔣4. Repeating Biblical Pattern 

🔥 High Places Used Temporarily by Prophets/Judges with Yahuah's Approval

🧭 Origin:

Person	Location	Context	Yahuah's Approval	Why Permitted?
Samuel	Ramah, Mizpah, Gilgal, Bethel	Samuel offered at high places (1 Sam 7:5–9; 1 Sam 9:12–14)	✅ Yes (1 Sam 9:12)	No centralized temple; he judged and interceded in emergency national repentance
Eliyahu	Mount Carmel	Confronted Baal prophets; built altar of 12 stones (1 Kings 18:30–38)	✅ Yes (fire from heaven)	National apostasy under Ahab; prophetic demonstration of true Elohim
David	Threshing Floor of Araunah	Built altar to stop plague (2 Sam 24:25); later became the Temple site	✅ Yes	Emergency intercession; Yahuah responded with fire, indicating approval

Object	Originally holy	Later corrupted
מצּבה (pillar)	Memorial to Yahuah	Became idol-like images
אשׁירה (Asherah)	Possibly symbol of blessing	Became fertility goddess or pole
נחש (bronze serpent)	Means of healing by Yahuah	Became object of incense worship

Prophetic Altar	Pagan / False High Place
Built in response to Yahuah’s word	Built for personal or national idolatry
Led to repentance and covenant	Led to mixture and false worship
Fire from heaven validated it	No divine approval or response
Temporary & situational	Institutionalized and normalized
Centered on Yahuah’s Name	Often led to type of worship of Baal, Asherah, Molech

All these show that set-apart things can become stumbling blocks when divorced from obedience and spiritual discernment. People worshiped in those places not realizing the line they crossed.

• Matstsebah does not always mean "image" or "idol." It can be a righteous monument.

• Asherah may not have always meant a goddess—it may have originally symbolized blessing or uprightness, later twisted.

• The bronze serpent was a legitimate divine object that was corrupted by use, not by origin.

🔥 Hezekiah’s reforms were not just iconoclastic—they were a return to the heart of Torah worship: no intermediaries, no objects, no locations can replace obedience and intimacy with Yahuah.

🔍 Key Themes in High Places:

Theme	Insight
🛑 Location ≠ Authorization	Just because Yahuah once appeared or allowed worship in a place (like Shiloh, Gibeon, Bethel), does not mean He authorizes it forever.
🏔 Elevation Symbolism	"High places" symbolize spiritual elevation or closeness, but they often became false substitutes for covenant obedience.
💔 Heart over Habit	Even when places started in obedience (Gilgal, Shiloh), they fell due to corruption and ritualism without repentance.
💡 Messiah's Fulfillment	Yahusha redirected worship away from location to spirit and truth (John 4:21–24). Zion now is a people, not a hill (Heb 12:22).

📜 High Places: Prophetic Comparison

This division follows Yaaqob’s prophetic blessings, family birth order, and territorial arrangements in the land. Weren’t the six tribes on Mount Gerezim seed of Leah and Rachel and Mount Eybal seed of Bilhah and Zilpah? Was Yahuah showing a difference between seeds?

📜 Tribal Division at Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal

✅ Mount Gerizim (Blessing Side)

Deuteronomy 27:12 — To bless the people:

1. Simeon – Leah

2. Levi – Leah

3. Judah – Leah

4. Issachar – Leah

5. Yoseph (Ephraim + Manasseh) – Rachel

6. Binyamin – Rachel

👉 All 6 are from Leah and Rachel — the wives, not handmaids.

❌ Mount Ebal (Curse Side)

Deuteronomy 27:13 — To curse the people:

1. Reuben – Leah (but disgraced by sleeping with Bilhah, Yaaqob's concubine)

2. Gad – Zilpah

3. Asher – Zilpah

4. Zebulun – Leah

5. Dan – Bilhah

6. Naphtali – Bilhah

👉 Of these:

• 4 are from handmaids (Bilhah and Zilpah),

• 2 are from Leah, but Reuben had lost his birthright (Genesis 49:3–4), and Zebulun is fell into darkness.

🔍 So, is this division based on the mothers?

Mother	Tribes	Mount
Leah	Simeon, Levi, Yahudah, Issachar	Gerizim (Blessing)
Rachel	Yoseph, Binyamin	Gerizim (Blessing)
Zilpah	Gad, Asher	Ebal (Curse)
Bilhah	Dan, Naphtali	Ebal (Curse)
Leah (fallen)	Reuben, Zebulun	Ebal (Curse)

🔑 Symbolic Message

1. Children of the covenant wives (Rachel & Leah) = Blessing side

   • The sons of promise (like Yoseph and Binyamin) are on Mount Gerizim.

   • Even Levi (priesthood tribe) and Yahudah (kingship tribe) stand on the side of blessing.

2. Children of the handmaids (Bilhah & Zilpah) = Cursing side

   • Possibly showing a secondary status in the inheritance line.

   • Also hints at natural vs. spiritual seed distinction — the pattern of chosen vs. not chosen.

3. Reuben on Mount Ebal is critical:

• Though he’s Leah’s son, he lost the birthright due to defilement (Genesis 35:22, 49:3–4).

• Yahuah may be signaling spiritual disqualification, not just bloodline.

🧬 Deeper Prophetic Meaning?

• Blessing is linked to the promise seed, not merely to birth order or tribe.

• Inheritance flows through spiritual obedience, not only heritage.

• Covenant status matters more than physical descent.

📖 Mat 4:13  And leaving Natsareth, He came and dwelt in Kephar Naḥum, which is by the sea, in the borders of Zeḇulun and Naphtali, 

📖 Mat 4:14  to fill what was spoken by Yeshayahu the prophet, saying, 

📖 Mat 4:15  “Land of Zeḇulun and land of Naphtali, the way of the sea, beyond the Yarděn, Galil of the nations – 

📖 Mat 4:16  the people who sat in darkness saw a great light, and upon those who sat in the land and shadow of death, light arose to them.”

Few questions that need to answered here:  When did Zebulun and Naphtali fall? Why were they considered sitting in darkness. Reuben ( Leah’s seed) we can understand as he lost his birthright as he went up to his fathers bed and slept with Bilhah (spiritually he chose Ebal), Naphtali was again Bilhah’s son. But Zebulun was Leah’s son. When did he fall? 

Zebulun and Naphtali were part of the northern kingdom of Israel (10 tribes), which fell to Assyria. 

📖 2 Kings 15:29  “In the days of Pekah king of YasharEL, Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria came and took Ijon, Abel Beth Maachah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali; and he carried them captive to Assyria.”

That region includes the territory of Naphtali and Zebulun, especially Galilee, which came under Gentile (heathen) control.

So they “fell” when:

• Their land was conquered.

• Their people were exiled.

• Gentiles populated the region (creating "Galilee of the nations").

YashaYahu (Isaiah)  

📖Isa 9:1  But there is no gloom upon her who is distressed, as when at first He humbled the land of Zeḇulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward more heavily oppressed her, by the way of the sea, beyond the Yarděn, in Galil of the nations. 
📖Isa 9:2  The people who were walking in darkness have seen a great light; upon those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death a light has shone. 

This "darkness" refers to:

a. Spiritual darkness

• After Assyria’s conquest, these tribes were never fully restored.

• The region of Galilee became spiritually cut off from the Temple-centered worship in Yerushalayim.

• Over time, they adopted a mixed religion (like the Samaritans), losing their identity and covenant clarity.

b. Political & national exile

• The tribes of the north were removed and scattered.

• Gentiles (Assyrians and others) settled the region, fulfilling “Galilee of the nations” (Isaiah 9:1).

c. Messianic silence

• No prophet or major move of Elohim came from this region for centuries — until Yahusha came.

• They were under Roman rule, and considered "lowly" or “corrupt” by Yahudim  (John 1:46: “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”).

❓Why Zebulun, a son of Leah, is included with Naphtali in the darkness?

• Biological lineage alone didn't protect from spiritual decline.

• Although Zebulun was from Leah (blessing side in Deuteronomy 27), his tribe:

  • Was part of the northern kingdom, which set up alternate worship centers (Dan and Bethel),

  • Had no access to the Yerushalayim temple,

  • And ultimately followed Yeroboam’s golden calf religion (1 Kings 12:28–30).

So, despite Leah’s maternal lineage, Zebulun fell with the rest of the north, because of national apostasy and separation from Torah-centered worship.

🥠Prophetic Beauty: Restoration Begins in Darkness

This is why Yahusha began His ministry in that very region — Galilee of the nations — to restore the tribes who were first exiled:

Matthew 4:16
“…a great light has dawned…”

It fulfills Isaiah 9's promise: those first plunged into darkness would be the first to receive the Light (Messiah).

♒Genesis 49:13 — Yaaqob’s Blessing to Zebulun

“Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for a haven of ships; and his border shall be unto Tsidon.” 

This hints at Zebulun’s proximity to Gentile trade routes and coastal regions. Their openness to foreign influence was perhaps a foreshadowing of the spiritual dilution they would experience. By Yahusha’s time, this became Galilee of the nations — a melting pot of cultures and beliefs. 

📖Deuteronomy 33:18-19 — Moses’ Blessing : “Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going out... They shall call the peoples to the mountain; there they shall offer righteous sacrifices...”

• Zebulun was meant to be a light to the nations — but they lost this calling and sat in darkness until Yahusha restored it.

⛳ Summary: Why Zebulun Stood on Mount Ebal?

Tribe	Lineage	Mountain	Reason for Ebal Assignment
Zebulun	Leah	Ebal	Prophetic warning of future apostasy and mixing with Gentiles
Reuben	Leah	Ebal	Personal sin (incest with Bilhah) + loss of birthright
Naphtali	Bilhah	Ebal	Spiritual detachment in Northern Kingdom

🔹 Samaritan Woman’s Perception

In 📖John 4, the Samaritan woman says:

“Our fathers worshipped on this mountain, but you Yahudim say that in Yerushalayim is the place where one ought to worship.” (John 4:20)

She represents a descendant of the northern tribes, from Manasseh, now disconnected from Torah-true worship.

Her people:

• Claimed Yaaqob as their ancestor (John 4:12),

• Worshiped on Mount Gerizim (not Ebal),

• Were ignorant of true covenantal worship.

Yahusha responded with:

📖 John 4:22 “You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is of the Yahudim...” 

This shows:

• The northern tribes lost the knowledge of Yahuah, even if they had ancestral zeal,

• Zebulun’s descent into darkness wasn’t due to one sin, but a slow disconnection from the presence and knowledge of Yahuah.

🎋Firstly, who were Samaritans/Shomeri’s?

The word ‘Shomeri’ comes from the root word ‘shamar’ which means ‘guard/keeper/watcher’. The Samaritans claim descent from the tribe of Ephraim and Manasseh & both these tribes were on Mt Gerizim on the blessing end.

The Samaritans had invented an alternate way of worship, when the Torah said that Yerushalayim is the place to worship they chose Mt Gerizim as the place to worship, this action was a continuation of Yeroboam's policy of separating the ten northern tribes from the one true Elohim at Yerushalayim.

The Samaritans, therefore represented all the worst of the Yahudi’s in that they opposed Elohim’s choice of Daud/David, Yerushalayim and polluted their bloodlines which disqualified them from producing the Mashiyach. In about 538 BC, after Yahudah returned from Babylonian captivity, the Samaritans chose Mt. Gerizim as the location of sacrifice rather than Yerushalayim (maybe because they thought Yahuah asked YasharEL to proclaim blessings from Mount Gerizim-please read Josh 8:30-35), nevertheless they were Yahudite’s who lost their Hebrew roots and we see Yahusha ha Mashiyach visiting them and turning them back to him. The Samaritans, influenced by Yeroboam, adopted Shekem as their home base with Mt. Gerizim as their "real Yerushalayim"

The sons of Yoseph Ephraim and Manasseh shared their borders with each other on the mountains of Ephraim where Yeroboam dwelt by building the city of Shekem (1 Kings 12:25).

🗞️ Moses’ Command:

Deuteronomy 11:29  “When Yahuah your Elohim has brought you into the land... you shall set the blessing on Mount Gerizim, and the curse on Mount Ebal.”

Deuteronomy 27:4–6 (Masoretic Text)
“You shall set up these stones... on Mount Ebal, and you shall build there an altar…”

So according to the Masoretic Hebrew text, the altar was to be built on Mount Ebal.

🚩 Joshua’s Fulfillment:

Joshua 8:30–31 “Then Joshua built an altar to Yahuah Elohim of YasharEL on Mount Ebal, as Moses… had commanded.”

• Yahushua obeyed Moses’ instruction and built the altar on Mount Ebal, the mount of cursing, not Gerizim.

⚠️ Samaritan Pentateuch Difference:

Interestingly, the Samaritan Pentateuch alters the reading of Deut. 27:4, changing “Mount Ebal” to Mount Gerizim.

This textual change forms part of their theological justification for:

• Building a temple on Mount Gerizim, and

• Rejecting Yerushalayim as the chosen place of worship.

📌 This textual difference is one of the oldest and clearest ideological splits between Yahudim and Samaritans.

Aspect	Mount Gerizim	Mount Ebal
Torah blessing	Proclaimed from here	—
Torah curse	—	Proclaimed from here
Altar built	❌ (Masoretic text: none)	✅ Joshua built it here
Samaritan claim	Sacred mountain, rightful worship site	Changed in their Torah
Tribal location	Within Manasseh’s territory	Adjacent

It was clear that Yahusha in His interaction with the Samaritan woman, didn't approve of their altar as He said 📖 Joh 4:22  “You worship what you do not know. We worship what we know, because the deliverance is of the Yahuḏim.

Hence, Mt Gerizim became a high place, where Yahuah was worshipped without His approval as Yerushalayim was the place where He was to be worshipped as per Torah.

⛳What about Mt Ebal? 

📖 Deuteronomy 27:4–8  “Therefore it shall be when you have crossed over the Yarden, that on Mount Ebal you shall set up these stones, which I command you today, and you shall whitewash them with lime. And there you shall build an altar to Yahuah your Elohim, an altar of stones..

It is obvious, no one would use the altar made there as a witness because of the curses pronounced for disobedience to Torah. People always sought altars which had blessing of a prophet who acted on Yahuah's command.

🪜Gideon’s Altar at Ophrah

Judges 6:24 – “Then Gideon built an altar there to Yahuah and called it Yahuah Shalom…”

• Gideon built an altar at Yahuah’s command after receiving a divine visitation.

• This was a one-time act of obedient worship.

• But later, Ophrah became a snare to his house.

📖Jdg 8:27  And Giḏ‛on made it into a shoulder garment and set it up in his city, Ophrah. And all Yisra’ěl went whoring after it there. And it became a snare to Giḏ‛on and to his house. 

🔎 Seeing within the altar: A once-sanctified site of worship can become a center of idolatry if maintained outside Yahuah’s continuing instruction.

🌠Solomon at Gibeon

📖1Ki 3:3  And Shelomoh loved יהוה, walking in the laws of his father Dawiḏ, except that he slaughtered and burned incense at the high places. 

📖1Ki 3:4  And the sovereign went to Gib‛on to slaughter there, for that was the great high place. Shelomoh offered a thousand ascending offerings on that slaughter-place. 

Solomon worshiped Yahuah at Gibeon, “the great high place.” Though Yahuah appeared to him there (1 Kings 3:5), the text is already hinting disapproval: “Only he sacrificed at high places.”

❓Who had built the altar at Gibeon?

The altar at Gibeon was originally part of the Mishkan (Tabernacle) system—the authorized worship structure from Moses’ time—but it ended up being separated from the Ark of the Covenant, and used as a high place during the time of Solomon. The city of Gibeon was inhabited by the Gibeonites, who made a covenant with Yahushua through deception (Joshua 9). They were assigned as servants to the tabernacle: woodcutters and water carriers for Yahuah’s altar (Joshua 9:27). So, Gibeon was tied to the Levitical system early on.

📖Jos 9:27  And that day Yahushua made them woodcutters and drawers of water for the congregation and for the slaughter-place of יהוה, even to this day, at the place that He should choose. 

📖 1 Chronicles 16:39–40 And [David] left Zadok the priest and his brothers the priests before the tabernacle of Yahuah at the high place in Gibeon to offer burnt offerings…”

• Under David, the Tabernacle of Moses (with the bronze altar) was at Gibeon.

• But the Ark of the Covenant was moved by David to Yerushalayim (2 Samuel 6:17).

📖2Sa 6:16  And it came to be, when the ark of יהוה came into the City of Dawiḏ, that Miḵal, daughter of Sha’ul, looked through a window and saw Sovereign Dawiḏ leaping and dancing before יהוה, and she despised him in her heart. 

📖2Sa 6:17  So they brought the ark of יהוה in, and set it in its place in the midst of the Tent that Dawiḏ had pitched for it. And Dawiḏ brought ascending offerings before יהוה, and peace offerings. 

• So worship was now divided:

  1. The altar and sacrificial system stayed in Gibeon.
  
  2. The Ark and presence of Yahuah went to Yerushalayim.

This division set up a transitional period where Gibeon became a high place, even though it still had the altar of Moses, and the Temple was not yet built.

📖2Ch 1:3  And Shelomoh, and all the assembly with him, went to the high place that was at Giḇ‛on, for Elohim’s Tent of Appointment was there, which Mosheh the servant of יהוה had made in the wilderness. 

📖2Ch 1:4  However, Dawiḏ had brought up the ark of Elohim from Qiryath Ye‛arim to the place Dawiḏ had prepared for it, for he had pitched a tent for it in Yerushalayim. 

📖2Ch 1:5  And the bronze slaughter-place that Betsal’ěl son of Uri son of Ḥur had made, he put before the Dwelling Place of יהוה. And Shelomoh and the assembly sought it. 

The bronze altar made by Bezalel (Exodus 38:1), as part of the wilderness Tabernacle, had been relocated to Gibeon. Therefore, the altar at Gibeon was not newly built—it was the original altar of Moses, repositioned.

📖1 Kings 3:4 “And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there—for that was the great high place—Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar.”

• Solomon worshiped Yahuah at Gibeon, and Yahuah appeared to him in a dream (1 Kings 3:5).

• But the language ("great high place") signals that it had become questionable, not ideal.

Yahuah allowed it temporarily as Solomon was to build the temple in Yerushalayim, hence, it was a transitional period.

🔎 Seeing within: Even a true altar—if divorced from Yahuah’s presence and used out of tradition—can become a high place, tolerated but not ideal.

🗿Laban's idols

The issue of Laban’s household idols (in Hebrew, תרפים– teraphim), found in Genesis 31, raises important questions. On the surface, it seems to conflict with the idea that Laban, being closely related to the patriarchs, might have had some knowledge of Yahuah. 

📖Genesis 31:19 “And Laban went to shear his sheep, and Rachel stole the teraphim/images that were her father’s.”

📖 Genesis 31:30 – Laban says to Yaaqob: “Why have you stolen my mighty ones (elohim) ?”

• Laban was the son of Bethuel, the brother of Rebekah, and thus uncle to Yaaqob (Gen 24:29).

• He lived in Paddan-Aram (Mesopotamia).

• He had heard of Yahuah — note Genesis 24:50, when he and Bethuel say:

  “The thing proceedeth from Yahuah; we cannot speak unto you bad or good.”

So Laban clearly had awareness of Yahuah, the Elohim of Abraham and Nahor.

📖 Joshua 24:2 – Yahuah says: “Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the river, even Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor: and they served other mighty ones.”

 This verse openly acknowledges that Abraham's ancestry — including Terah — was idolatrous. The “River” refers to the Euphrates; they lived in Ur of the Chaldees (Babylonian territory). Abraham came out of an idolatrous system, not from within a fully righteous lineage. 

📖 Genesis 11:31–32 “And Terah took Abram his son... and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came to Haran, and dwelt there... and Terah died in Haran.”

Terah started the journey toward Canaan, but settled in Haran. He didn’t complete the calling — his death in Haran symbolizes partial incomplete transition. 

📖 Genesis 12:1 The Call After Terah’s Death : “And Yahuah said to Abram, ‘Go out from your country, and from your kindred, and from your father's house, to a land that I will show you.’”

This is the defining moment of separation. Yahuah called Abram to leave behind:

Country (Ur/Haran)

Kindred (Nahor’s house)

Father’s house (Terah’s legacy)

🗿So why did Laban have teraphim?

✅ 1. Ancestral heirlooms

• The teraphim may have been non-pagan ancestral images, used culturally to represent inheritance rights or family continuity. Just like family relics identifying the family lineage.

• If Laban was pagan, Yaaqob a true worshiper of Yahuah would not marry his daughters.

 Rachel may have stolen the teraphim to avenge her husband's hard labor all these years and Laban's crookedness in exploiting him. She deprived her father from the family identity which the teraphims proved the lineage.

From the beginning, Laban repeatedly deceived and oppressed Yaaqob, despite being his own relative:

📖 Genesis 31:7 “Your father has deceived me and changed my wages ten times, but Elohim did not allow him to hurt me.”

Genesis 29–31 shows:

• He tricked Yaaqob into marrying Leah.

• He kept changing the terms of his labor.

• He accused Yaaqob falsely when he fled.

Rachel grew up watching this exploitation unfold — she saw her husband serve 14+ years, and perhaps saw her own inheritance denied.

Rachel may have felt personally cheated by her father as well:

📖Genesis 31:14–16 – Rachel and Leah say: “Is there yet any portion or inheritance for us in our father’s house? Are we not counted by him as foreigners? For he has sold us, and also completely consumed our money.”

🗿Teraphim as Family Authority / Lineage Tokens 

In ancient Mesopotamian law (e.g., Nuzi tablets), teraphim were often tied to:

• Inheritance rights — possessing them could legally establish heirship.

• Family status — they often symbolized ancestral succession.

• Whoever possessed the teraphim could lay claim to the family’s headship.

If Laban intended to claim that Yaaqob had no right to leadership or inheritance, the teraphim were his evidence.

🔥 Rachel stealing them could be seen as:

• Stripping Laban of legal/spiritual claim over Yaaqob’s household.

• Cutting off her father from future inheritance claims.

• Symbolically severing his right to define family identity.

Yaaqob denounces the act:

📖Genesis 31:32 – “With whomever you find your mighty ones, let him not live…” (he didn’t know Rachel had them)

🛐People Worshiping Yahuah on High Places Under “Good” Kings

Many good kings failed to remove the high places, even though the people used them to worship Yahuah:

◾ Asa:

📖1 Kings 15:14 – “But the high places were not removed; nevertheless Asa’s heart was loyal to Yahuah.”

◾ Yahushapat:

📖2 Chronicles 20:33 – “The high places were not taken away: for the people had not yet prepared their hearts to the Elohim of their fathers.”

◾ Amaziah:

📖 2 Kings 14:4 – “However the high places were not taken away: the people still sacrificed and burned incense there.”

🔎 Seeing within: The people continued to worship Yahuah on high places—but Yahuah did not accept it because it was disobedient worship, done in the wrong place. Some of these altars built during national depravity by prophets, had served their purpose. The command was to worship at Yerushalayim, but people seek relics for belief and for fear of these people, the righteous kings left them untouched

🟫 𝙆𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝘼𝙝𝙖𝙯: Introduced a Pagan Altar into the Temple

📖 2 Kings 16:10–16

📖2Ki 16:10  And Sovereign Aḥaz went to meet Tiḡlath-Pileser sovereign of Ashshur at Dammeseq, and saw a slaughter-place that was at Dammeseq. And Sovereign Aḥaz sent to Uriyah the priest a sketch of the slaughter-place and its pattern, according to all its workmanship. 
📖2Ki 16:11  And Uriyah the priest built a slaughter-place according to all that Sovereign Aḥaz had sent from Dammeseq. And Uriyah the priest made it before Sovereign Aḥaz came from Dammeseq. 
📖2Ki 16:12  And when the sovereign came from Dammeseq, the sovereign saw the slaughter-place, and the sovereign approached the slaughter-place and made offerings on it. 
📖2Ki 16:13  And he burned his ascending offering and his grain offering. And he poured his drink offering and sprinkled the blood of his peace offerings on the slaughter-place. 
📖2Ki 16:14  And the bronze slaughter-place which was before יהוה he brought from the front of the House, from between the new slaughter-place and the House of יהוה, and put it on the north side of his slaughter-place. 
📖2Ki 16:15  And Sovereign Aḥaz commanded Uriyah the priest, saying, “On the great slaughter-place burn the morning ascending offering, and the evening grain offering, and the sovereign’s ascending offering, and his grain offering, with the ascending offering of all the people of the land, and their grain offering, and their drink offerings. And sprinkle on it all the blood of the ascending offering and all the blood of the slaughtering. And the bronze slaughter-place is for me to inquire by.” 
📖2Ki 16:16  And Uriyah the priest did according to all that Sovereign Aḥaz commanded.  

💔 What happened?

1. Ahaz visited Damascus to meet Tiglath-Pileser III, king of Assyria (verse 10).

2. There, he saw a pagan altar (likely Assyrian or Aramean in design).

3. He was so impressed that he sent a model of the altar to Urijah the priest with detailed plans.

4. Urijah, the Levitical priest, built the replica in Yerushalayim before Ahaz returned.

5. When Ahaz came back, he offered sacrifices on this foreign altar inside the Temple court.

6. He moved the bronze altar of Yahuah (built by Solomon) to the side, renaming it “the great altar” for his own inquiry purposes.

🕯️ Spiritual Insights:

1. He desecrated the temple court with foreign worship.

He merged Assyrian ritual with Yahuah's ordained system—a direct violation of Torah.

2. A Levitical priest participated.

Uriyah, a Levite, obeyed the king rather than the Torah. This showed the institutional corruption of the priesthood.

3. He didn’t abolish sacrifices—he just syncretized them.

He offered burnt offerings, grain offerings, and drink offerings—but on a pagan altar, meaning he was still outwardly religious but inwardly rebellious.

⚖️ False worship often imitates true worship—but its source, pattern, and authority are not from Yahuah.

⚔️YoshiYahu’s Total Destruction of High Places (including Bethel)

2 Kings 23:8–20 – Yoshiyahu tore down high places “from Geba to Beersheba,” broke sacred pillars, burned bones on altars, and destroyed Bethel—the counterfeit “worship center” Yeroboam set up.

Even places with ancient tradition were not spared.

📖 2 Kings 23:25 And before him there was no sovereign like him, who turned back to יהוה with all his heart, and with all his being, and with all his might, according to all the Torah of Mosheh; and after him none rose up like him. 

• It directly echoes the Shema (Deut 6:5):

  “You shall love Yahuah your Elohim with all your heart, soul, and might.”

• It says no king before or after Yoshiyahu turned to Yahuah in such total covenant obedience, especially according to the Torah of Moses.

🔎 Seeing within: Yoshiyahu’s reforms were thorough and symbolic—ending all man-centered worship systems, even those originally intended for Yahuah.

Place	Tribe / Location	Initial Purpose	Became a High Place?	Worship Approved by Yahuah?	Later Use / Outcome	Prophetic Message
Mount Ebal	Border of Ephraim/Manasseh	Covenant renewal; altar of uncut stones; Torah written (Deut 27; Josh 8)	❌ No	✅ One-time command	Never reused; remained silent witness	True worship begins in conviction (curses) — not emotion or location
Mount Gerizim	Near Shechem (Samaria)	Blessings proclaimed by six tribes (Deut 27)	✅ Yes (later)	❌ Samaritan rival site	Samaritan temple built; Yahusha rejected it (John 4:20–24)	Worship in "blessings" without obedience becomes deception
Bethel	Ephraim (north)	Yaaqob's vision (Gen 28); later ark housed there during Judges	✅ Yes	❌ Rejected after golden calf set up (1 Kgs 12:28–33)	Yeroboam made it site of false worship; denounced by prophets (Amos 3:14, 7:13)	Sacred history misused leads to idolatry
Dan	Northern Israel	Northern border region	✅ Yes	❌ Golden calf worship (1 Kgs 12:29–30)	One of Yeroboam's two golden calves; corrupted Levitical worship	Convenience over covenant corrupts worship
Shiloh	Ephraim	Tabernacle located here in days of Eli (Josh 18:1; 1 Sam 1:3)	⚠️ Legitimate → lost	✅ Then ❌ due to corruption	Destroyed after Philistine capture of Ark (Jer 7:12–14)	Even legitimate worship falls if sin is present
Gibeon	Binyamin (near Yerushalayim)	Great altar (2 Chr 1:3–6); place of Mosaic tent of meeting	✅ Yes (transitional)	✅ Temporarily (before Temple)	Solomon sacrificed there; later no longer used post-temple	Temporary provisions aren't permanent — transition to true worship
Yerushalayim (Tsiyon)	Yahudah	Chosen site for Yahuah’s Name; David brought Ark; Solomon built Temple	✅ Yes	✅ Yes (centralized worship)	Became corrupt under kings; destroyed; later rebuilt	True high place = where Yahuah puts His Name; not just elevation
Gilgal	Near Yericho	Circumcision, Passover celebration, covenant renewal (Josh 5)	⚠️ Yes (temporarily)	✅ Early, but later ❌	Condemned by Hosea & Amos for false worship (Hos 9:15; Amos 4:4)	Without heart obedience, covenant rituals mean nothing
High Places (general)	Throughout YasharEL	Pagan worship sites on hills or mountains (Num 33:52; 1 Kgs 14:23)	✅ Yes	❌ Strongly condemned	Hezekiah & Yoshiyahu tore them down (2 Kgs 18:4; 23:13–20)	Worship must be at Yahuah’s chosen place, not by human desire
Mount Sinai	Wilderness (Horeb)	Yahuah's presence; giving of Torah	❌ Not a “high place”	✅ Sacred event	Never reused for worship; not a pilgrimage site	Once-in-history theophany — not to be replicated or turned into ritual

🗝️ Summary Table: High Places Used to Worship Yahuah but Later Rejected

Instance	Place	Who	What Happened	Why Rejected
Gideon	Ophrah	Gideon	Built altar at Yahuah’s word	Became a snare; ephod/idolatry
Samuel	Mitspah, Ramah,Gilgal	Samuel	Sacrificed outside temple	Later became unauthorized altars
Solomon	Gibeon	Solomon	Worshiped Yahuah there	High place tolerated early on
Yeroboam	Bethel, Dan	Yeroboam	Alternate worship centers	Idolatrous copies of true worship
Asa, Yahushaphat, Amaziah	Various	People of Yahudah	Continued to offer to Yahuah	Worship in wrong place, disobedience
Yoshiyahu	All of Yahudah, Bethel	Yoshiyahu	Destroyed all high places	Restoration of Torah-based worship

🔥 Who Were the “Principalities and Powers” Messiah Disarmed?

Let’s break this down both spiritually and historically:

🔹 1. The Sanhedrin = Visible Principalities

• The Sanhedrin claimed to sit in Moses’ seat (Matt 23:2) but had long perverted Torah:

  • Adding oral traditions (Matt 15:3–9)

  • Using Torah as a weapon, not a mirror (John 8:3–5)

  • Claiming righteousness through works (Luke 18:11–12)

  • Persecuting those sent by Yahuah (Matt 23:29–36)

They became the visible “rulers” and “authorities” — empowered by fleshly Torah and political alignment with Rome.

Yahusha said to them: “You are of your father the devil...” (John 8:44) — though they claimed to be sons of Abraham.

🔹 2. Public Spectacle = Judicial Exposure

Yahusha triumphed over them not by violence, but by:

• Dying under their system — and rising without it.

• Exposing their hypocrisy (Matt 23),

• Revealing that Torah without the Spirit is dead,

• And showing that true authority is in serving, not in controlling (Luke 22:25–27).

He didn’t just defeat “Satan” as an abstract concept — He crushed the head of the serpent that spoke through carnal religious power (just like the serpent in Eden spoke “Torah” twisted).

🔹 3. Fulfillment of Isaiah’s Pattern:

📖Isa 28:14  Therefore hear the Word of יהוה, you men of scorn, who rule this people who are in Yerushalayim, 
📖Isa 28:15  because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death, and with She’ol we have effected a vision. When the overflowing scourge passes through, it does not come to us, for we have made lying our refuge, and under falsehood we have hidden ourselves.” 

The covenant of death was the priestly system without the Spirit — outwardly pure, inwardly corrupt.

Yahusha, the cornerstone, annulled it.

Principalities and Powers	How Yahusha Disarmed Them	Outcome
Sanhedrin (religious rulers)	Exposed their hypocrisy, rejected their verdict, rose from death	Public shame (Col 2:15), veil torn
Oral Torah / Traditions of men	Spoke Torah with authority, by the Ruach	Showed that the letter kills, Spirit gives life
Carnal Law of Sin & Death	Fulfilled Torah in love, then died once for all	Freed us from condemnation (Rom 8:1–3)
Satanic control through legalism	Endured the cross, despising shame (Heb 12:2)	Triumph over death and fear (Heb 2:14–15)

🕛How does this apply to us?

🔥 The rise of carnal Torah observance — relic-based, sight-based, fleshly righteousness — mirrors the misuse of high places, altars, and objects that once had divine purpose, but were later forsaken by Yahuah as everything transitioned into the heavenly pattern who is Yahusha.

📖 Galatians 4:24–26 “These are two covenants: one from Mount Sinai bearing children into bondage — this is Hagar…
But the Yerushalayim above is free — she is our mother.”

Sha’ul is not rejecting Torah’s truth — but exposing that:

• The Sinai covenant in carnal obedience alone results in bondage, if disconnected from the Ruach.

• The present earthly Yerushalayim (even in Shaul’s time) had become enslaved under carnal Torah of relics, legalism, pride, and false righteousness — without the Ruach.

The covenant with Hagar is religion without transformation — obedience without rebirth. The native born became a stranger to the covenant. Hagar means 'stranger'.

Today We See:

• Hebrew calendars, tzitzit, menorahs, shofars, Temple garments, oil, tefillin, mezuzahs — all being sold and merchandised, often to sincere seekers.

• People claim to be Torah-true, proclaiming Yahuah and Yahusha, yet:

  • Base righteousness on external markers.

  • Trust Judaism's OT carnal letter traditions more than the Ruach.

  • Reject the renewed covenant if it doesn't align with carnal sight.

Just like in the days of Hezekiah, Samuel, and Yahusha Himself — the fleshly system is being rebuilt, and it’s becoming a snare.

📖 Colossians 2:17 “These are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is Messiah.”

 🕊️ The call to worship in Ruach and Amath

📖 John 4:23–24 “The hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth…”

• Not on Mount Gerizim or earthly Yerushalayim, but in the Ruach (Spirit) — from above.

• Not using objects, but becoming living altars (Romans 12:1).

📖 Rom 12:1 I call upon you, therefore, brothers, through the compassion of Elohim, to present your bodies a living offering – set-apart, well-pleasing to Elohim – your reasonable worship.

📖 Hebrews 13:10 “We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat.”

The altar now is Messiah Himself, and the Temple is our body (1 Cor 6:19). Those outside the renewed covenant — even if Torah-observant — have no part in the true altar.

🛑Warning -Beware of Rebuilding What Yahuah Has Forsaken

📖 Galatians 2:18 “For if I build again those things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor.”

What Yahuah used as a shadow, we must not rebuild as substance. The flesh profits nothing (John 6:63). The renewed covenant is not about replicating ancient forms, but about becoming the image of the Son.

🌿 HIGH PLACES IN MESSIAH 🆚 HIGH PLACES OF PRINCIPALITIES

Aspect	High Places in Messiah 🕊️	High Places of Principalities 🕸️
Location	Heavenly places, seated with Messiah (Eph 2:6)	Spiritual wickedness in heavenly realms (Eph 6:12)
Nature	Exalted by Yahuah, through humility (Phil 2:9)	Exalted by self, pride, rebellion (Isa 14:13–14)
Worship	In spirit and in truth (John 4:23–24)	Idolatry, mixture, counterfeit Torah, carnal worship
Authority	Ruach-led, resurrection power (Col 3:1–4)	Flesh-led, religious systems, control, sorcery
Result	Life, freedom, light, truth, intimacy with Father	Bondage, blindness, shadows, legalism or lawlessness
Example	Yahusha's transfiguration on the mount (Matt 17)	Baal altars, Asherah poles, modern-day religious idolatry
Power Source	Ruach HaQodesh (Spirit of Yahuah)	Deceptive wisdom, signs, fleshly zeal (2 Thess 2:9–10)
Conflict	Pulling down strongholds, casting down imaginations (2 Cor 10:4–5)	Setting up strongholds in minds, resisting knowledge of Elohim
Inheritance	Zion above, new Jerusalem, the bride (Heb 12:22–24)	Babylon below, present Yerushalayim in bondage (Gal 4:24–26)

📜 KEY TEXTS: The War Between the Two High Places

🕊️ High Place in Messiah:

📖 Ephesians 1:20–21“...when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power...”

📖Colossians 3:1–2 “If then you were raised with Messiah, seek those things which are above... Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.” 

🕸️ High Places of Principalities:

📖Ephesians 6:12 “We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against... spiritual wickedness in heavenly places.”

📖Isaiah 14:13–14 (Heliel's boast) “I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of El... I will ascend above the heights (במות bamot) of the clouds...”

This is not just geography — it’s about spiritual elevation and dominion. Either one is seated in Messiah through death to self, or seated in pride and flesh, imitating the throne.

🧱 HOW THE ENEMY REBUILDS FALSE HIGH PLACES TODAY

🔁 Repeating the old pattern of altars, rituals, and objects — even in Yahuah’s Name — the enemy:

• Sanctifies the flesh, not the spirit

• Turns shadows into substance

• Blinds seekers by legalism or soulish worship

• Reinstates the Levitical system apart from Messiah's finished work

• Promotes Judaism + Messiah hybrids (Acts 15 tension)

• Trades in the relics of Torah: tzitzit, shofars, temple imagery — not as witnesses but as substitutes

Just like the bronze serpent once healed, then became idolatrous incense altar (2 Kings 18:4), the enemy turns past spiritual things into modern strongholds.

✝️ TRUE HIGH PLACE: MESSIAH HIMSELF

📖Hebrews 8:1–2 “We have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a Minister of the true tabernacle which Yahuah set up, and not man.”

• The true high place is not a mountain, relic, or religion — it is a Person, a position, and a people.

• We are called to live from above, not from flesh, even if dressed in Torah.

🕯️ FINAL WORD

📖Isaiah 2:2 “In the last days, the mountain of Yahuah’s House shall be exalted above all mountains...”

There’s only one high place that will stand — the mountain of Yahuah, with Messiah as the cornerstone, and you as living stones (1 Peter 2:5).

All other high places — even “Torah” high places rebuilt by flesh — will be brought low.

Summary: 

1. Prophetic Altars and Divine Approval:

   • Prophets like Samuel (Mitspah, Gilgal, Ramah; 1 Sam. 7:9, 10:8) and EliYah (Mount Carmel; 1 Kings 18:30–38) built altars outside Yerushalayim with Yahuah’s temporary approval during national depravity or pre-Temple times to call YasharEL back to covenant.

   • Samuel’s sacrifices addressed spiritual decay under Eli’s corrupt sons (1 Sam. 2:12). EliYah rebuilt an altar to confront Baal worship, using twelve stones to symbolize unified YasharEL (1 Kings 18:31).

   • David’s altar at Araunah’s threshing floor (2 Sam. 24:25) was approved to stop a plague, later becoming the Temple site.

2. Yerushalayim as the Chosen Place:

   • After Yahuah designated Yerushalayim for worship (Deut. 12:5–6; 2 Chron. 6:6), sacrifices elsewhere, even for Yahuah, became disobedient, rooted in tradition or sentimentality (e.g., citing Samuel or EliYah’s precedent).

   • High places became man-made worship systems, not authorized by Yahuah, despite good intentions.

3. Corruption of Sacred Objects:

   • Matstsebah (standing stones, e.g., Yaaqob’s at Bethel, Gen. 28:18) marked covenants but were later mis-translated as “idols” in pagan contexts, causing confusion.

   • Asherah may have originally symbolized blessing (ashar: to be happy) but was corrupted into fertility poles or goddess worship.

   • The bronze serpent (Nechushtan), made by Moses for healing (Num. 21:8–9), was later worshipped, prompting Hezekiah to destroy it (2 Kings 18:4).

4. Tribal Division at Gerizim and Ebal:

   • Mount Gerizim (blessing) hosted tribes from Leah and Rachel (Simeon, Levi, Yahudah, Issachar, Yoseph, Binyamin; Deut. 27:12), symbolizing covenant promise.

   • Mount Ebal (curse) included handmaid tribes (Gad, Asher, Dan, Naphtali) and Leah’s disgraced Reuben and Zebulun (Deut. 27:13), signaling spiritual disqualification over lineage.

   • Zebulun and Naphtali fell into “darkness” (Isa. 9:1–2) due to the northern kingdom’s apostasy under Yeroboam’s golden calf worship (1 Kings 12:28–30) and Assyrian exile (2 Kings 15:29).

5. Samaritan Missteps:

   • Samaritans (Shomeri, from shamar: guard), claiming descent from Ephraim and Manasseh, chose Mount Gerizim for worship, altering Deut. 27:4 to justify it, against Torah’s command for Yerushalayim (John 4:20–22).

   • Their worship, influenced by Yeroboam’s policies, represented a loss of covenant clarity, which Yahusha corrected, emphasizing spirit and truth (John 4:23–24).

6. Gideon and Solomon’s Altars:

   • Gideon’s altar at Ophrah (Judg. 6:24) was divinely sanctioned but later became idolatrous (Judg. 8:27).

   • Solomon worshipped at Gibeon’s “great high place” (1 Kings 3:4), using Moses’ bronze altar, but its use was transitional and questionable post-Yerushalayim (2 Chron. 1:3–5).

7. Laban’s Teraphim:

   • Laban’s teraphim (Gen. 31:19) were likely ancestral heirlooms tied to inheritance rights, not necessarily pagan idols, given his awareness of Yahuah (Gen. 24:50).

   • Rachel stole them to sever Laban’s claim over Yaaqob’s household, reflecting family disputes over lineage and authority (Gen. 31:14–16).

8. Good Kings’ Failure:

   • Kings like Asa (1 Kings 15:14), Yahushaphat (2 Chron. 20:33), and Amaziah (2 Kings 14:4) tolerated high places for Yahuah worship, but this was disobedient, as Torah mandated Yerushalayim.

9. Ahaz’s Syncretism:

   • King Ahaz introduced a pagan altar into the Temple, displacing Yahuah’s bronze altar (2 Kings 16:10–16), with Levite priest Urijah complying, showing institutional corruption and false worship mimicking true worship.

10. Yoshiyahu’s Reforms:

    • Yoshiyahu destroyed high places, including Bethel’s counterfeit center (2 Kings 23:8–20), restoring Torah-based worship with unmatched covenant obedience (2 Kings 23:25).

11. Yahusha’s Triumph:

    • Yahusha disarmed “principalities and powers” (Sanhedrin, oral traditions, carnal Torah; Col. 2:15) by exposing hypocrisy, fulfilling Torah in love, and rising from death, shifting worship to spirit and truth (John 4:23–24).

    • He began His ministry in Zebulun and Naphtali’s “darkness” (Matt. 4:13–16), fulfilling Isaiah’s promise of restoration (Isa. 9:1–2).

12. Modern Application:

    • Carnal Torah observance (e.g., reliance on tzitzit, shofars, menorahs) mirrors ancient high places, risking legalism and idolatry (Gal. 4:24–26; Col. 2:17).

    • True worship is in Messiah, the ultimate high place (Heb. 8:1–2), where believers are seated in heavenly places (Eph. 2:6), not in relics or earthly locations.