High places have always been valued, not only as sacred places, but as fortresses as well. They give you the obvious strategic advantage of height over your enemy. Isn’t it profound that places of worship become places of battle? Life is a spiritual battle.
When we were in Israel earlier this year (on sabbatical) the tour included a trip to the ancient fortress of Masada.(Pictured)
Masada was one of a number of fortress-palaces built by King Herod the Great. It became the scene of the last holdout of the Jewish rebels as they fled from the Roman army in the first century AD. They held out for three whole years before finally choosing mass suicide over surrender. Maybe you got to see the movie (1981) starring Peter O’Toole as General Cornelius Flavious Silva and Peter Strauss as Eleazar ben Yair.
The defendable quality of ‘high places’ make them very strategic in times of war. They become prizes to be won. Remember Caleb in the book of Joshua … “Give me that mountain.” And then there is that very wise question we need to ask ourselves at those critical points in our lives … “Is this a mountain worth dying on?”
When Florence and I were in Georgia this spring, we got to spend a day at the Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park where, in June of 1864, Maj. Gen. William T Sherman’s 100,000 man Union army faced Gen. Joseph E. Johnston’s 65,000 confederates. That mountain was one of the last great holdouts before the northern forces moved on the city of Atlanta and burnt it to the ground. I have some pictures of the Battlefield Park but I’m trying really hard to restrain myself here!!!
There is a sense of safety and security that comes from being able to ‘perch’ ourselves on high. I’m sure this is why our two cats (‘Bobby’ & ‘Pumpkin’) like high places too. They like the top of the fridge, or the top of the steps, so that they can look down upon their enemies (usually each other).
When it comes to ‘succeeding’ in life, it’s all about position.
The Bible declares Jesus to be THE King. Consider these passages…
“I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill… I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. You will rule them with an iron scepter… sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet… On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: ‘King of kings and Lord of lords’.” (Psa 2:6-9 ; 110:1 ; Rev 19:16)
Speaking of Christ, Paul writes, “… God exalted him to the highest place and gave him a name that is above every name… and God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over every thing …” (Phil 2:9 ; Eph 1:22)
And what about those of us who put our trust in Him? The little phrase -‘In Christ’ - is one of the most often repeated statements to describe the ‘position’ of the believer in the New Testament.
Check this out – “And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus… ” (Eph 2:6)
How high is that?!
And, “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” (Col 3:1-4)
A word really comes to mind here – security.
And here is one more passage just to ‘drive the point home’, and I have no doubt that God wants to have this point ‘driven home’:
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?... No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us…” (Rom 8:35,37)
Our victory ; our security, is in Him. He is ‘the lifter of our heads’.
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