Purging the Groves and High Places

The Sapphire Review Vol. 2 | No. 10 • March 7, 2025

For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet young, he began to seek after the God 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.

2 Chronicles 34:3, KJV

Josiah and Conversion

Josiah, the last good king of Judah, embarked on a zealous mission of purging everything from the land that was displeasing unto God. When the forgotten law of God was found within the temple walls,¹ his efforts only intensified with the shining forth of this new light. A more detailed account of his actions can be read in the parallel scripture in 2 Kings 23:3-25.

In these verses, we see a picture of the path that follows true conversion. The number of groves and high places that exist in a heart will vary from person to person, and especially between those raised in God fearing homes versus those raised for worldly pleasure seeking. Nevertheless, the process remains the same.

When Christ, by His spirit, dwells within the heart of a person,² they become a new creature,³ and everything begins to change in their life from that point forward. The new and different relationship that they then have with Jesus Christ then necessitates a new and different relationship with sin and the world. Once living for one, they now live for the other.

When Jesus is loved supremely in a heart, there can no longer be a love for the world, neither the things of the world.

Groves and High Places

Where there is a love for the world and the things of the world, groves and high places of the heart will be tolerated, and the love of the Father will not be found in such a place.⁴

Instead of true conversion, marked by overcoming sin⁵ and upholding the commandments of God,⁶ there will be only a form of godliness. This form will be absent of the power to overcome sin⁷ and will not manifest a love for righteousness⁸ nor a hatred toward sin.⁹

The groves and high places of money, materialism, pleasure seeking, honor, power, entertainment, sports, TV, movies, video games, social media, pornography, lust, alcohol, smoking, idleness, gossip, evil surmising, coarse jesting, offenses, bitterness, unforgiveness, pride, self-gratification, self-justification, and traditions must all be torn down and ground into dust until no trace of them remains within one’s heart. This list is far from complete, but all who surrender fully to the yoke of Christ will learn of Him.¹⁰ When one obeys and demolishes the groves in one area of the heart, Jehovah will then shine a light upon other areas that must be torn down as well.

If one has never experienced, in some way, the process of overturning the idols in their lives and removing the high places of the heart, they must earnestly question the depth of their surrender and whether a conversion and true born again experience has taken place.¹¹

For those who have experienced these things, they must stay the course and remain in a place of full surrender, not simply relying upon past experiences alone. Some of the groves are buried deep within the hidden recesses of the heart, and it is only through the lifelong journey of sanctification that they become exposed. If we remain fully surrendered, we will be quick to act and demolish any grove that our Savior brings to our attention. We must not develop a mindset of saying “not this one, Lord… is it that bad?”

All must be torn down.

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Prayer

May Jehovah, our God and Father, give us help us to remove every grove and high place of the heart in following Josiah’s example. May He increase our love for righteousness and our hatred toward sin in following the example of His Son, our Lord and Savior - Jesus Christ.

God Bless,

Charles

SCRIPTURE INDEX / REFERENCES

1. 2 Kings 22:8

2. Jn 14:20, 15:4; Rom 8:9

3. 2 Cor 5:17

4. 1 Jn 2:15-16

5. Rom 6:14-15; Titus 2:11-12

6. Jn 14:15; Rom 3:31

7. 2 Tim 3:5

8. Mt 5:6

9. Psa 45:7

10. Mt 11:29

11. Jn 3:3