Table Of Contents...

High Places. What Are They? Places Of Worship!

For they also built them high places, and images, and groves, on
every high hill, and under every green tree. (1 Kings 14:23)[1].
 

High Places. What Are They?
The Israelites, forever turning away from the CREATOR, practiced Molech
worship and built high places to sacrifice to Baal. (Jeremiah 32:30-35).

High places are elevated areas on which altars have been erected for worship in the belief that, as they were nearer heaven than the plains and valleys, they are more favourable places for prayer. High places were prevalent in almost all ancient cultures as centers of [mostly false] deity worship.

High places [Bamowth (Strong's #H1120)] or [bamah (Strong's #H1116)] in Israelite and Canaanite culture, were open-air shrines usually erected on an elevated site. Prior to the conquest of Canaan by the Israelites in the 12th - 11th century BC, the high places served as shrines of the Canaanite fertility deities ['Goddesses'], as well as the 'Baals' [Lords]. In addition to an altar, stone pillars ['matstsebah' (Strong's #H4676)] representing the presence of the divine [asherah (Strong's #H842)] or [mizbeach (Strong's #H4196)] were erected.

The practice of worship at high places became frequent among the Hebrews, although after the first temple was built, it was forbidden. However, worship at high places was not easily abolished, despite being denounced time after time by the prophets as an affront to Yahweh. See: (Leviticus 26:30, Numbers 33:52, Deuteronomy 12:2, 1 Kings 11:7, 2 Kings 17:11, 2 Kings 18:4, 2 Kings 23:5, 2 Chronicles 14:3, 2 Chronicles 28:25, Jeremiah 32:35, Ezekiel 20:28-29).

Even though some scholars translate bamah as "high place" or "hill shrines," there is reason to believe that many of the shrines were located in urban centers. Since they are often found at city gates (2 Kings 23:8), and in valleys, and mountains, and hills, and under every green tree (Deuteronomy 12:2, Jeremiah 32:35, Ezekiel 6:3), Martin J. Selman, director of postgraduate studies and deputy principal at Spurgeon's College, London, says, "The essential feature of a bamah [high place] was, therefore, not its location or height, though it usually consisted of at least a [human-formed] platform, sometimes with an associated building or buildings (2 Kings 17:29, 2 Kings 23:19), but its function as a site for religious purposes". It may then be easiest to understand high places not as a reference to temporal space, but to a "higher" theological place.

Often attached to the bamot [altars] were buildings [shrines and temples] (1 Samuel 9:22-25; 1 Kings 3:1-4), where services were conducted and idols were kept and worshiped (1 Kings 12:27-33; 2 Kings 17:29-32, 2 Kings 23:1-20, 2 Chronicles 1:1-6).

High Places.

Yahweh was sometimes worshipped on high places.

(1 Samuel 9:12-14) (KJV) ¹²And they answered them, and said, He is; behold, he is before you: make haste now, for he came to day to the city; for there is a sacrifice of the people to day in the high place: ¹³As soon as ye be come into the city, ye shall straightway find him, before he go up to the high place to eat: for the people will not eat until he come, because he doth bless the sacrifice; and afterwards they eat that be bidden. Now therefore get you up; for about this time ye shall find him. ¹⁴And they went up into the city: and when they were come into the city, behold, Samuel came out against them, for to go up to the high place.

(1 Kings 3:1-4) (KJV) ¹And Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh's daughter, and brought her into the city of David, until he had made an end of building his own house, and the house of the ETERNAL, and the wall of Jerusalem round about. ²Only the people sacrificed in high places, because there was no house built unto the name of the ETERNAL, until those days. ³And Solomon loved the ETERNAL, walking in the statutes of David his father: only he sacrificed and burnt incense in high places. ⁴And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there; for that was the great high place: a thousand burnt offerings did Solomon offer upon that altar.

(2 Chronicles 33:13-17) (KJV) ¹³And prayed unto him: and he was intreated of him, and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the ETERNAL he was 'God'. ¹⁴Now after this he built a wall without the city of David, on the west side of Gihon, in the valley, even to the entering in at the fish gate, and compassed about Ophel, and raised it up a very great height, and put captains of war in all the fenced cities of Judah. ¹⁵And he took away the strange 'gods', and the idol out of the house of the ETERNAL, and all the altars that he had built in the mount of the house of the ETERNAL, and in Jerusalem, and cast them out of the city. ¹⁶And he repaired the altar of the ETERNAL, and sacrificed thereon peace offerings and thank offerings, and commanded Judah to serve the ETERNAL 'God' of Israel. ¹⁷Nevertheless the people did sacrifice still in the high places, yet unto the ETERNAL their 'God' only.

See: (HIGH PLACE in the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia).

HIGH PLACES MENTIONED IN SCRIPTURE:

Gibeon.

(1 Kings 3:4) (KJV) And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there; for that was the great high place: a thousand burnt offerings did Solomon offer upon that altar.

Arnon.

(Numbers 21:28) (KJV) For there is a fire gone out of Heshbon, a flame from the city of Sihon: it hath consumed Ar of Moab, and the lords of the high places of Arnon.

See: (Bible concordance for HIGH PLACES).

Baal.

(Numbers 22:41) (KJV) And it came to pass on the morrow, that Balak took Balaam, and brought him up into the high places of Baal, that thence he might see the utmost part of the people.

Tophet.

(Jeremiah 7:31) (KJV) And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my heart.

Bamah.

(Ezekiel 20:29) (KJV) Then I said unto them, What is the high place whereunto ye go? And the name thereof is called Bamah unto this day.

See: (HIGH PLACE in McClintock and Strong).

High places of Aven were the sin of Israel.

(Hosea 10:8) (KJV) The high places also of Aven, the sin of Israel, shall be destroyed: the thorn and the thistle shall come up on their altars; and they shall say to the mountains, Cover us; and to the hills, Fall on us.

High places were adorned with tapestry.

(Ezekiel 16:16) (KJV) And of thy garments thou didst take, and deckedst thy high places with divers colours, and playedst the harlot thereupon: the like things shall not come, neither shall it be so.

High places were surrounded with groves.

(1 Kings 14:23) (KJV) For they also built them high places, and images, and groves, on every high hill, and under every green tree.

High places were used for idolatrous worship.

(1 Kings 11:7-8) (KJV) ⁷Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon. ⁸And likewise did he for all his strange wives, which burnt incense and sacrificed unto their 'gods' [idols].

HIGH PLACES WERE BUILT BY:

Solomon.

(1 Kings 11:7) (KJV) Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon.

Jeroboam.

(1 Kings 12:31) (KJV) And he made an house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi.

Jehoram.

(2 Chronicles 21:11) (KJV) Moreover he made high places in the mountains of Judah, and caused the inhabitants of Jerusalem to commit fornication, and compelled Judah thereto.

Ahaz.

(2 Chronicles 28:25) (KJV) And in every several city of Judah he made high places to burn incense unto other 'gods', and provoked to anger the ETERNAL SOVEREIGN of his fathers.

Manasseh.

(2 Kings 21:3) (KJV) For he built up again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he reared up altars for Baal, and made a grove, as did Ahab king of Israel; and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them.

(2 Chronicles 33:3) (KJV) For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down, and he reared up altars for Baalim, and made groves, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them.

People of Judah.

(1 Kings 14:23) (KJV) For they also built them high places, and images, and groves, on every high hill, and under every green tree.

People of Israel.

(2 Kings 17:9) (KJV) And the children of Israel did secretly those things that were not right against the ETERNAL their CREATOR, and they built them high places in all their cities, from the tower of the watchmen to the fenced city.

The lowest of the people were ordained as priests for high places.

(1 Kings 12:32) (KJV) And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah, and he offered upon the altar. So did he in Bethel, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made.

(1 Kings 13:33) (KJV) After this thing Jeroboam returned not from his evil way, but made again of the lowest of the people priests of the high places: whosoever would, he consecrated him, and he became one of the priests of the high places.

Sacrifices and incense were offered to idols at high places were.

(2 Kings 12:3) (KJV) But the high places were not taken away: the people still sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places.

(2 Kings 16:4) (KJV) And he sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places, and on the hills, and under every green tree.

Human sacrifices, enchantments, and witchcraft were used upon high places.

(Numbers 23:3) (KJV) And Balaam said unto Balak, Stand by thy burnt offering, and I will go: peradventure the ETERNAL will come to meet me: and whatsoever he sheweth me I will tell thee. And he went to an high place.

(Numbers 24:1) (KJV) And when Balaam saw that it pleased the ETERNAL to bless Israel, he went not, as at other times, to seek for enchantments, but he set his face toward the wilderness.

2 Chronicles 33:6 (KJV) And he [Manasseh] caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom: also he observed times, and used enchantments, and used witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit, and with wizards: he wrought much evil in the sight of the ETERNAL, to provoke him to anger.

High places of the Canaanites were to be destroyed.

(Numbers 33:52) (KJV) Then ye shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their pictures, and destroy all their molten images, and quite pluck down all their high places:

THE JEWS BUILT HIGH PLACES:

They built High Places in their cities.

(2 Kings 17:9) (KJV) And the children of Israel did secretly those things that were not right against the ETERNAL their CREATOR, and they built them high places in all their cities, from the tower of the watchmen to the fenced city.

They built High Places in all their streets.

(Ezekiel 16:24) (KJV) That thou hast also built unto thee an eminent place, and hast made thee an high place in every street.

(Ezekiel 16:31) (KJV) In that thou buildest thine eminent place in the head of every way, and makest thine high place in every street; and hast not been as an harlot, in that thou scornest hire;

They were condemned for building High Places.

(Ezekiel 16:23-34) (KJV) ²³And it came to pass after all thy wickedness, (woe, woe unto thee! saith the ETERNAL SOVEREIGN;) ²⁴That thou hast also built unto thee an eminent place, and hast made thee an high place in every street. ²⁵Thou hast built thy high place at every head of the way, and hast made thy beauty to be abhorred, and hast opened thy feet to every one that passed by, and multiplied thy whoredoms. ²⁶Thou hast also committed fornication with the Egyptians thy neighbours, great of flesh; and hast increased thy whoredoms, to provoke me to anger. ²⁷Behold, therefore I have stretched out my hand over thee, and have diminished thine ordinary food, and delivered thee unto the will of them that hate thee, the daughters of the Philistines, which are ashamed of thy lewd way. ²⁸Thou hast played the whore also with the Assyrians, because thou wast unsatiable; yea, thou hast played the harlot with them, and yet couldest not be satisfied. ²⁹Thou hast moreover multiplied thy fornication in the land of Canaan unto Chaldea; and yet thou wast not satisfied therewith. ³⁰How weak is thine heart, saith the ETERNAL SOVEREIGN, seeing thou doest all these things, the work of an imperious whorish woman; ³¹ In that thou buildest thine eminent place in the head of every way, and makest thine high place in every street; and hast not been as an harlot, in that thou scornest hire; ³²But as a wife that committeth adultery, which taketh strangers instead of her husband! ³³They give gifts to all whores: but thou givest thy gifts to all thy lovers, and hirest them, that they may come unto thee on every side for thy whoredom. ³⁴And the contrary is in thee from other women in thy whoredoms, whereas none followeth thee to commit whoredoms: and in that thou givest a reward, and no reward is given unto thee, therefore thou art contrary.

They provoked Yahweh with their High Places.

(1 Kings 14:22-23) (KJV) ²²And Judah did evil in the sight of the ETERNAL, and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins which they had committed, above all that their fathers had done. ²³For they also built them high places, and images, and groves, on every high hill, and under every green tree.

They were threatened with destruction for using High Places.

(Leviticus 26:30) (KJV) And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images, and cast your carcases upon the carcases of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you.

They were punished for building High Places.

(2 Kings 17:11) (KJV) And there they burnt incense in all the high places, as did the heathen whom the ETERNAL carried away before them; and wrought wicked things to provoke the ETERNAL to anger:

(2 Kings 17:18) (KJV) Therefore the ETERNAL was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight: there was none left but the tribe of Judah only.

HIGH PLACES WERE DESTROYED BY:

Asa, partially destroyed High places.

(2 Chronicles 14:3) (KJV) For he took away the altars of the strange 'gods', and the high places, and brake down the images, and cut down the groves:

(2 Chronicles 15:17) (KJV) But the high places were not taken away out of Israel: nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect all his days.

Jehoshaphat destroyed High places.

(2 Chronicles 17:6) (KJV) And his heart was lifted up in the ways of the ETERNAL: moreover he took away the high places and groves out of Judah.

Hezekiah destroyed High places.

(2 Kings 18:4) (KJV) He removed the high places, and brake the images, and cut down the groves, and brake in pieces the brasen serpent that Moses had made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan.

(2 Chronicles 31:1) (KJV) Now when all this was finished, all Israel that were present went out to the cities of Judah, and brake the images in pieces, and cut down the groves, and threw down the high places and the altars out of all Judah and Benjamin, in Ephraim also and Manasseh, until they had utterly destroyed them all. Then all the children of Israel returned, every man to his possession, into their own cities.

Josiah destroyed High places.

(2 Kings 23:8) (KJV) And he brought all the priests out of the cities of Judah, and defiled the high places where the priests had burned incense, from Geba to Beersheba, and brake down the high places of the gates that were in the entering in of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city, which were on a man's left hand at the gate of the city.

(2 Chronicles 34:3) (KJV) For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet young, he began to seek after the SOVEREIGN of David his father: and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images.

HIGH PLACES WERE NOT REMOVED BY:

Jehoash kept the High places.

(2 Kings 12:1-3) (KJV) ¹In the seventh year of Jehu Jehoash began to reign; and forty years reigned he in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Zibiah of Beersheba. ²And Jehoash did that which was right in the sight of the ETERNAL all his days wherein Jehoiada the priest instructed him. ³But the high places were not taken away: the people still sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places.

Amaziah kept the High places.

(2 Kings 14:1-4) (KJV) ¹In the second year of Joash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel reigned Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah. ²He was twenty and five years old when he began to reign, and reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem. ³And he did that which was right in the sight of the ETERNAL, yet not like David his father: he did according to all things as Joash his father did. ⁴Howbeit the high places were not taken away: as yet the people did sacrifice and burnt incense on the high places.

Azariah kept the High places.

(2 Kings 15:1-4) (KJV) ¹In the twenty and seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel began Azariah son of Amaziah king of Judah to reign. ²Sixteen years old was he when he began to reign, and he reigned two and fifty years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Jecholiah of Jerusalem. ³And he did that which was right in the sight of the ETERNAL, according to all that his father Amaziah had done; ⁴Save that the high places were not removed: the people sacrificed and burnt incense still on the high places.

Jotham kept the High places.

(2 Kings 15:32-35) (KJV) ³²In the second year of Pekah the son of Remaliah king of Israel began Jotham the son of Uzziah king of Judah to reign. ³³Five and twenty years old was he when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Jerusha, the daughter of Zadok. ³⁴And he did that which was right in the sight of the ETERNAL: he did according to all that his father Uzziah had done. ³⁵Howbeit the high places were not removed: the people sacrificed and burned incense still in the high places. He built the higher gate of the house of the ETERNAL.

Conclusion.

The Hebrew word for high place is 'bamah' (Strongs #H1116 'bamah') meaning: high place, ridge, height, mountain. According to (1 Kings 14:22-23), "And Judah did evil in the sight of the ETERNAL, and they provoked Him to jealousy with their sins which they had committed, above all that their fathers had done. For they also built them high places, and images, and groves, on every high hill, and under every green tree".

Mentioned 92 times in Scripture, the Israelites were commanded to tear down the high places. Even before Israel crossed the Jordan into Canaan, Moses exhorted the Israelites to "demolish all their high places; or they will become as pricks in their eyes and as thorns in their sides". (Numbers 33:52,55).

But instead, these high places continued to be used and erected by Yahweh's people year after year. They just could not, and still can not, stay away! Why was the Almighty so concerned about these false deities? Just look at some of the 'gods' that people worshiped in these places:

Baal [H1168] 'Lord', supreme male divinity of the Phoenicians or Canaanites.
Ashtoreth [H6252] 'goddess' [Ashtaroth or Astaroth] = "star", false 'goddesses' in the Canaanite religion, usually related to fertility cult.
Dagon [H1712] A Philistine deity of fertility; represented with the face and hands of a man and the tail of a fish. In (1 Chronicles 10:8-10), when the Philistines found King Saul's dead body on Mount Gilboa, they "fastened his head in the house of Dagon".
Molech [H4432] The 'god' of the Ammonites and Phoenicians to whom some Israelites sacrificed their infants in the valley of Hinnom. At Gezer, archaeologists have found clay jars containing the charred bones of babies.
Chemosh [H3645] The national deity of the Moabites and a 'god' of the Ammonites. Also identified with 'Baal-peor', 'Baal-zebub', 'Mars' and 'Saturn'. Worship of this 'god' was introduced into Jerusalem by Solomon and abolished by king Josiah of Judah.

That's just five of several dozen major Canaanite 'gods and' 'goddesses' mentioned in scripture! High places were not harmless shrines. Yahweh's people committed flagrant sin at these altars. Isaiah rebuked them:

(Isaiah 57:5-7) (KJV) ⁵Enflaming yourselves with idols under every green tree, slaying the children in the valleys under the clifts of the rocks? ⁶Among the smooth stones of the stream is thy portion; they, they are thy lot: even to them hast thou poured a drink offering, thou hast offered a meat offering. Should I receive comfort in these? ⁷Upon a lofty and high mountain hast thou set thy bed: even thither wentest thou up to offer sacrifice.

Most people have an idea that these high places were just outside affairs built upon altars, but as we continue on in (verse 8), we see that these altars were made inside Behind the doors also and the posts of buildings:

(Isaiah 57:8) (KJV) Behind the doors also and the posts hast thou set up thy remembrance [shrines]: for thou hast discovered thyself to another than me, and art gone up; thou hast enlarged thy bed, and made thee a covenant with them; thou lovedst their bed where thou sawest it.

How do we deal with today's version of high places where false 'gods' abound? Worse yet, we continue to make 'graven images' and 'idols' of these false 'gods' and bow down to them in our modern-day 'high places' as if they were alive. All of this flies in the face of the first 3 of the 10 commandments (Exodus 20:1-17):

(Exodus 20:2-7) (KJV):
1st Commandment:
²I am the ETERNAL thy SOVEREIGN, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. ³Thou SHALT HAVE NO OTHER MIGHTY ONES before me.

2nd Commandment:
⁴Thou SHALT NOT MAKE unto thee ANY GRAVEN IMAGE, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: ⁵Thou SHALT NOT BOW DOWN THYSELF TO THEM, NOR SERVE THEM: for I the ETERNAL thy SOVEREIGN am a jealous SOVEREIGN, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; ⁶And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

3rd Commandment:
⁷Thou SHALT NOT TAKE THE NAME OF THE ETERNAL THY SOVEREIGN IN VAIN; for the ETERNAL will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
 

So how will you choose to handle this situation personally? Will you continue to play attend church these modern-day high places? Will you continue to bow down to these graven images and false 'gods' and serve their idols at their altars doing all their works? Here is what lay in store for those who continue to worship at the high places of the earth:

(Ezekiel 6:1-7) (KJV) ¹And the word of the ETERNAL came unto me, saying, ²Son of man, set thy face toward the mountains of Israel, and prophesy against them, ³And say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the ETERNAL SOVEREIGN; Thus saith the ETERNAL SOVEREIGN to the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys; Behold, I, even I, will bring a sword upon you, and I will destroy your high places. ⁴And your altars shall be desolate, and your images shall be broken: and I will cast down your slain men before your idols. ⁵And I will lay the dead carcases of the children of Israel before their idols; and I will scatter your bones round about your altars. ⁶In all your dwelling places the cities shall be laid waste, and the high places shall be desolate; that your altars may be laid waste and made desolate, and your idols may be broken and cease, and your images may be cut down, and your works may be abolished. ⁷And the slain shall fall in the midst of you, and ye shall know that I am the ETERNAL.

The Almighty CREATOR And ETERNAL SOVEREIGN Of
The Universe Extends An Invitation To Return To Him.

The ETERNAL CREATOR wants you to love Him, as He loves you. Until He returns to gather His people and reunite the tribes of Israel during the time of Jacob's trouble, He wants you to seek for Him, and honor all of His commandments and way of life:

(Deuteronomy 4:29-31) (KJV) ²⁹But if from thence thou shalt seek the ETERNAL thy CREATOR, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul. ³⁰When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the ETERNAL thy CREATOR, and shalt be obedient unto his voice; ³¹(For the ETERNAL thy CREATOR is a merciful SOVEREIGN;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them.

(Deuteronomy 30:10) (KJV) If thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the ETERNAL thy CREATOR, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law, and if thou turn unto the ETERNAL thy CREATOR with all thine heart, and with all thy soul...

(Deuteronomy 30:15-20) (KJV) ¹⁵See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil; ¹⁶In that I command thee this day to love the ETERNAL thy CREATOR, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the ETERNAL thy CREATOR shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it. ¹⁷But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them; ¹⁸ I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it. ¹⁹I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: ²⁰That thou mayest love the ETERNAL thy CREATOR, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the ETERNAL sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.

(Leviticus 26:39-42) (KJV) ³⁹And they that are left of you shall pine away in their iniquity in your enemies' lands; and also in the iniquities of their fathers shall they pine away with them. ⁴⁰If they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, with their trespass which they trespassed against me, and that also they have walked contrary unto me; ⁴¹And that I also have walked contrary unto them, and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if then their uncircumcised hearts be humbled, and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity: ⁴²Then will I remember my covenant with Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land.

(2 Chronicles 15:4) (KJV) But when they in their trouble did turn unto the ETERNAL SOVEREIGN of Israel, and sought him, he was found of them.

(2 Chronicles 15:15) (KJV) And all Judah rejoiced at the oath: for they had sworn with all their heart, and sought him with their whole desire; and he was found of them: and the ETERNAL gave them rest round about.

(Nehemiah 1:9) (KJV) But if ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there.

(Isaiah 55:6-7) (KJV) ⁶Seek ye the ETERNAL while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: ⁷Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the ETERNAL, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

(Jeremiah 3:12-14) (KJV) ¹²Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the ETERNAL; and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the ETERNAL, and I will not keep anger for ever. ¹³Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the ETERNAL thy CREATOR, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the ETERNAL. ¹⁴Turn, O backsliding children, saith the ETERNAL; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion:

(Jeremiah 29:12-14) (KJV) ¹²Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. ¹³And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. ¹⁴And I will be found of you, saith the ETERNAL: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the ETERNAL; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.

Despite all the ideas that we must study His word at high places such as: Cathedrals, Chapels, Churches, Monasteries, Mosques, Synagogues, Temples etc.], and learn from men with [Religious Honorific] titles such as [Apostle, Bishop, Cardinal, Deacon, Elder, Imam, Minister, Monk, Mullah, Pastor, Preacher, Priest, Rabbi, Reverend, etc.], the ETERNAL makes it quite clear that He is the possessor of all knowledge, and the only one qualified to teach His word:

(Isaiah 8:20) (NKJV) To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.

It does NOT say "To the minister, or the priest, or the rabbi". Nor, does it say "To the church, or the synagogue or the temple" . No, it says "To the law and to the testimony", meaning the Holy Scriptures [the Tanakh or Old Testament]. Here are just a few, of the many Scriptures on how, and from whom, you should learn the Holy Scriptures:

(Deuteronomy 11:18-23) (NKJV) ¹⁸Therefore you shall lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. ¹⁹You shall teach them to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. ²⁰And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, ²¹that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land of which the ETERNAL swore to your fathers to give them, like the days of the heavens above the earth. ²²For if you carefully keep all these commandments which I command you to do, to love the ETERNAL your CREATOR, to walk in all His ways, and to hold fast to Him, ²³then the CREATOR will drive out all these nations from before you, and you will dispossess greater and mightier nations than yourselves.

(Joshua 1:8) (NKJV) This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

(Ezra 7:10) (NKJV) For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the Law of the ETERNAL, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel.

(Psalms 1:1-6) (NKJV) ¹Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; ²But his delight is in the law of the ETERNAL, And in His law he meditates day and night. ³He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper. ⁴The ungodly are not so, But are like the chaff which the wind drives away. ⁵Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. ⁶For the ETERNAL knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the ungodly shall perish.

(Psalms 92:1-2) (NKJV) ¹It is good to give thanks to the ETERNAL, And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; ²To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning, And Your faithfulness every night... See: (Psalms 92) for complete text.

(Psalm 119:9) (NKJV) How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word.

(Psalm 119:11) (NKJV) Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You.

(Psalm 119:17) (NKJV) Deal bountifully with Your servant, That I may live and keep Your word.

(Psalm 119:18) (NKJV) Open my eyes, that I may see Wondrous things from Your law.

(Psalm 119:99) (NKJV) I have more understanding than all my teachers, For Your testimonies are my meditation.

(Psalm 119:105) (NKJV) Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.

(Proverbs 2:1-5) (NKJV) ¹My son, if you receive my words, And treasure my commands within you, ²So that you incline your ear to wisdom, And apply your heart to understanding; ³Yes, if you cry out for discernment, And lift up your voice for understanding, ⁴If you seek her as silver, And search for her as for hidden treasures; ⁵Then you will understand the fear of the ETERNAL, And find the knowledge of the CREATOR.

(Proverbs 3:1-2) (NKJV) ¹My son, do not forget my law, But let your heart keep my commands; ²For length of days and long life And peace they will add to you.

(Isaiah 8:19-20) (NKJV) ¹⁹And when they say to you, "Seek those who are mediums and wizards, who whisper and mutter", should not a people seek their CREATOR? Should they seek the dead on behalf of the living? ²⁰To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.

(Isaiah 58:13-14) (GNT) ¹³The ETERNAL says, If you treat the Sabbath as sacred and do not pursue your own interests on that day; if you value my holy day and honor it by not traveling, working, or talking idly on that day, ¹⁴then you will find the joy that comes from serving me. I will make you honored all over the world, and you will enjoy the land I gave to your ancestor, Jacob. I, the ETERNAL, have spoken.

(Hosea 4:6) (TLB) My people are destroyed because they don't know me, and it is all your fault, you priests, for you yourselves refuse to know me; therefore, I refuse to recognize you as my priests. Since you have forgotten my laws, I will 'forget' to bless your children. - (ALL Versions)

In fact, the ETERNAL CREATOR goes out of His way in (Hosea 4:6) to condemn all so-called [priests, rabbis, ministers, etc.] for teaching falsehoods, lies, and obfuscations of His Laws and testimonies! And the greatest falsehood, lie, and obfuscation surrounding the Sabbath is "What day is it"?

Footnotes:

[1] [a]All scriptural links point to the Bible Gateway, A Searchable Online Bible In Over 100 Versions And 50 Languages, located at "BibleGateway.Com", a vast biblical resource containing all the major texts and reference materials useful for in-depth bible studies. Most scriptual quotations are from the (KJV) of the Bible, however versions noted in (parentheses) should also be consulted. [b]All Strong's scriptural references point to the Blue Letter Bible Lexicon, located at "BlueLetterBible.Org", another vast biblical resource which has over 4,000,000 links available, pointing to more than 165,000 pages of concordances, lexicons, dictionaries, commentaries, images, and several Bible versions.