The High Price of High Places Text: 2 Kings 15:32-38
Introduction: The Almost Reformation
The history of God's people is a history of reformation and relapse, of faithfulness and failure. It is a story that often leaves us frustrated. We see a good king arise, a man who fears God and seeks to obey His law, and we begin to cheer. But then we come to that recurring, disheartening refrain: "Only the high places were not taken away." It is the story of the almost reformation, the ninety-percent obedience, the well-intentioned compromise. And as we see in the life of Jotham, even a good king's compromise can set the stage for the next generation's apostasy.
We live in an age that despises antithesis. Our culture wants to have its cake and eat it too. It wants Christian morality without Christ, Christian blessings without Christian obedience, and a form of godliness that denies its power. We want to do what is right in the sight of the Lord, but we also want to keep a few high places of our own. We want to worship Yahweh in the temple, but we also want to burn a little incense to the gods of convenience, or prosperity, or cultural acceptance on the side. We want a king who does right, but not one who does right all the way.
The account of Jotham is a short one, tucked away at the end of a chapter filled with the bloody and chaotic reigns of Israel's kings. Jotham stands in stark contrast to them. He is a good man, a godly ruler. But his story is a cautionary tale. It teaches us that covenantal faithfulness is an all-or-nothing proposition. God does not grade on a curve. He requires total allegiance, and the failure to render it, even in what seems like a small matter, has consequences that ripple through generations.
This passage is not just a dry historical record. It is a mirror. It forces us to ask ourselves: What are our high places? Where have we compromised? Where have we settled for an almost reformation in our own lives, in our families, and in our churches? Jotham's reign shows us the precarious nature of a divided heart and a compromised kingdom.
The Text
In the second year of Pekah the son of Remaliah king of Israel, Jotham the son of Uzziah king of Judah became king. He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Jerusha the daughter of Zadok. And he did what was right in the sight of Yahweh; he did according to all that his father Uzziah had done. Only the high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. He built the upper gate of the house of Yahweh. Now the rest of the acts of Jotham and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? In those days Yahweh began to send Rezin king of Aram and Pekah the son of Remaliah against Judah. And Jotham slept with his fathers, and he was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father; and Ahaz his son became king in his place.
(2 Kings 15:32-38 LSB)
A Righteous King with a "But" (vv. 32-34)
The account begins with the standard formula for a king of Judah.
"In the second year of Pekah the son of Remaliah king of Israel, Jotham the son of Uzziah king of Judah became king. He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Jerusha the daughter of Zadok. And he did what was right in the sight of Yahweh; he did according to all that his father Uzziah had done." (2 Kings 15:32-34)
On the surface, this is a glowing report. Jotham follows in the footsteps of his father, Uzziah, who also, for the most part, was a good king. He "did what was right in the sight of Yahweh." This is the fundamental standard for any ruler. The question is not whether a king is popular, or effective, or pragmatic. The question is whether his reign conforms to the revealed will of God. A throne is established by righteousness, not by political savvy or popular opinion. Jotham understands this. He is a man who seeks to govern under God's authority.
We see the principle of generational faithfulness at work. Jotham did "according to all that his father Uzziah had done." This is both a blessing and a warning. It is a blessing because Uzziah provided a godly pattern for his son to follow. Faithfulness is meant to be passed down, from father to son, generation to generation. God's covenant mercy is to a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep His commandments. When a father walks in righteousness, he clears a path for his children to follow.
But it is also a warning, because Uzziah's record was not perfect. Uzziah's reign ended in tragedy when his heart was lifted up in pride, and he trespassed against the Lord by entering the temple to burn incense, a task reserved for the priests (2 Chronicles 26:16-21). He was struck with leprosy for his presumption. Jotham follows his father's good example, but as we will see, he also inherits his father's compromises. Sins, like blessings, can flow downhill. A father's blind spots often become his son's gaping wounds.
The Stubborn High Places (v. 35)
Here we come to the great asterisk on Jotham's reign, the fly in the ointment of his otherwise commendable rule.
"Only the high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. He built the upper gate of the house of Yahweh." (2 Kings 15:35 LSB)
What were these high places? They were local, unauthorized shrines, often on hilltops, where the people would worship. Initially, some may have been used for the worship of Yahweh, but they were a direct violation of God's command to have a central sanctuary (Deuteronomy 12). God's law was clear: He was to be worshipped in the place He chose, and in the way He commanded. These high places represented a syncretistic, will-worship approach to God. It was worship on their own terms, convenient and customized. And because they were not rooted in God's explicit command, they inevitably became centers of pagan idolatry, blending the worship of Yahweh with the foul practices of the Canaanites.
Jotham's failure here is significant. He does what is right, but he does not do all that is right. He tolerates a known sin in the land. Why? Perhaps it was a matter of political calculation. Tearing down the high places would have been deeply unpopular. It would have been seen as an attack on local traditions and popular piety. It would have required immense courage and a willingness to confront the settled habits of the people. Jotham, it seems, was a good man, but not a courageous one. He was willing to be righteous, but not zealous.
Notice the contrast. He fails to tear down the illegitimate places of worship, but he does build up the legitimate one: "He built the upper gate of the house of Yahweh." This is the picture of so much of our modern evangelicalism. We are busy building bigger programs, polishing the gate of the temple, running our ministries, all while refusing to take a sledgehammer to the idols in our midst. We are for good things, but we are not against evil things with the same fervor. We are pro-temple, but we are not anti-high-place. But the kingdom of God advances by both construction and demolition. You must tear down the strongholds of Satan as you build the house of God.
This verse tells us that "the people still sacrificed." The king's compromise enabled the people's sin. A leader's failure to be thorough in his obedience gives his people permission to be casual in theirs. When the pulpit is silent on sin, the pews will be full of it.
The Unwritten History and the Coming Storm (vv. 36-37)
The record of Jotham's reign concludes with a familiar formula and an ominous foreshadowing.
"Now the rest of the acts of Jotham and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? In those days Yahweh began to send Rezin king of Aram and Pekah the son of Remaliah against Judah." (2 Kings 15:36-37 LSB)
The reference to the "Book of the Chronicles" reminds us that Scripture is giving us a theological, not an exhaustive, history. God has selected these details for our instruction. He wants us to see the connection between Jotham's compromise and the trouble that follows.
And the trouble comes immediately. "In those days Yahweh began to send..." Let that sink in. Rezin and Pekah were not random geopolitical forces. They were arrows from the quiver of a sovereign God. Yahweh sent them. God is the Lord of history, and He uses pagan kings as His rod of discipline. He is not a passive observer of world events; He is the one orchestrating them for His purposes. When God's people will not deal with their own sin, God will often send the pagans to do it for them.
Jotham was a good king. He did what was right. And yet, his kingdom comes under attack. This is a crucial lesson. Outward righteousness does not exempt us from God's fatherly discipline, especially when it is mixed with compromise. The Lord was beginning to stir the pot. The storm that would break in full fury on the head of Jotham's wicked son, Ahaz, began to gather on the horizon during the reign of the good-but-compromised father. Our failures, even our "small" ones, set up the next generation for a fall.
The End of the Matter (v. 38)
The final verse records Jotham's death and the succession of his son.
"And Jotham slept with his fathers, and he was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father; and Ahaz his son became king in his place." (2 Kings 15:38 LSB)
Jotham dies an honorable death and is buried with the kings of Judah. He is, by all accounts, a saved man, a righteous man. But his legacy is tragically mixed. He maintained the status quo of righteousness, but he did not advance it. He held the line, but he did not take new ground. And because of this, the ground he held was not secure.
And then comes the chilling final clause: "and Ahaz his son became king in his place." Anyone who knows the story of the kings knows what a disastrous turn this is. Ahaz would be one of the most wicked kings in Judah's history. He would shut the doors of the temple Jotham had just repaired, he would make idols for the Baals, and he would even sacrifice his own sons in the fire (2 Chronicles 28). The almost reformation of the father gave way to the all-out apostasy of the son.
How does a godly father like Jotham produce a monstrous son like Ahaz? The seed was sown in the compromise. When a father teaches his son that ninety-percent obedience is acceptable, he should not be surprised when the son decides that fifty-percent, or ten, or zero is just as good. A father's tolerated high places become the son's central altars. The father's flirtation with the world becomes the son's marriage to it.
Conclusion: No Place for High Places
The story of Jotham is a sober warning for us. We are called to a thorough-going, no-compromise Christianity. We are called to tear down every high place, every idol, every argument and pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God. We cannot be content with building the upper gate of the temple while leaving the pagan shrines untouched on the hillsides of our hearts.
This is not a call to sinless perfection. We will all stumble. But it is a call to ruthless repentance. It is a call to a zealous, courageous faith that refuses to make peace with any known sin. What are the high places in your life? Is it an ungodly habit you excuse as "not that bad"? Is it a relationship you know is displeasing to God? Is it a corner of your financial life, or your thought life, that you have refused to bring under the lordship of Christ?
The good news of the gospel is that a greater King has come, one with no "buts" or compromises. The Lord Jesus Christ did not just do what was right; He was righteousness itself. He did not just build the gate of the temple; He is the temple. And on the cross, He did not just attack the high places; He destroyed the very foundation of all idolatry. He tore down the stronghold of sin and death.
Because of His perfect, hundred-percent obedience, we who are in Him are counted as perfectly obedient. But this is not a license to tolerate our own high places. It is the power to destroy them. We are united to the one true King who gives us not only the command but also the grace to tear down every idol, to cleanse the land, and to worship God in spirit and in truth, not in the high places of our own making, but in the one place He has appointed: in and through His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.