[1]
2 Chronicles
17:6 and 20:33 New
Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
6 His heart was courageous in the ways of
the Lord; furthermore, he removed the high places and the sacred poles
(or Asherah) from Judah.
Since January I have been following a plan to read the Old
Testament this calendar year. Today, May 31, I read 2 Chronicles 17-20. I don’t
think I ever read these four chapters together in one sitting before. 2nd
Kings and 2nd Chronicles trace the history of divided kingdom of
Judah, amongst other things. There were two classes of kings of Judah. One
class did right in the eyes of the Lord, and the other class did evil in the
sight of the Lord. For those kings who did right, a phrase is usually added
stating that although they did right, they did not remove the high places.
My thoughts have always run like this when I read these
books. “High places” were common and had existed from the days of Abraham and
his offering of Isaac on Mt. Moriah when God substituted a ram for his
sacrifice. Solomon, following his worship of God at the high place in Gibeon, received
the famous promise by the Lord to be made wiser than any other king. So high
places were the traditional places to worship God in those days. However, they
often became corrupted, and false gods were also worshipped there.
Most good kings did not take any action against these high
places. However, Hezekiah and Josiah did make concerted efforts to remove them.
I began to feel that ancient scribes in Hezekiah’s or Josiah’s time who copied
the Bible and preserved it for future generations added the criticism that each
“good” king was guilty of not removing these high places, to accentuate the
reputation of Hezekiah or Josiah, as “better” kings.
Somehow it escaped my notice that in describing the reign of
Jehoshaphat, the text indicates that he removed the high places in 17:6, but in
20:33 the standard criticism was attached that he had not been able to remove
them. One way to handle this obvious contradiction is to postulate that some
scribe had indeed amended the text like I suggest above, but it had escaped his/her
notice that what is written in chapter 17 contradicts the later generic statement.
Ellen White comments: “I saw that God had especially guarded
the Bible; yet when copies of it were few, learned men had in
some instances changed the words, thinking that they were making it more plain,
when in reality they were mystifying that which was plain, by causing it to
lean to their established views, which were governed by tradition. But I
saw that the Word of God, as a whole, is a perfect chain, one portion linking
into and explaining another. True seekers for truth need not err; for not only
is the Word of God plain and simple in declaring the way of life, but the Holy
Spirit is given as a guide in understanding the way to life therein revealed.”[2]
God has preserved His Word with its messages to us to lead
us unerringly into His kingdom. And now He is seeing to it that His Word is
being provided to everyone who wishes to read His offer of salvation.
Thank You, Lord, for preserving Your Word from antiquity until
now.
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