Jotham was the fourth of four successive kings of Judah, after Joash, Amaziah, and Uzziah, whom God singled out for failing to remove the high places. Many kings neither built high places nor destroyed them, yet God chose to highlight this negligence only in the reigns of these four. Jotham's inclusion in that group makes him, with the others, a study in carnality, the nature of sin and temptation, and the tendencies of leaders who are not wholly dedicated to God. His failure was not the outright idolatry of kings like Ahaz and Manasseh, who cast off restraint and built idolatrous places. It was a failure to act against what God had commanded Israel to destroy, since Deuteronomy 12:2-4 instructed the people to tear down pagan instruments of worship, including the high places. Such places, which Solomon's example had entrenched, remained a thorn in the spiritual side of Judah until Babylon conquered it. The lesson for today is that anything that draws a person toward the world and away from the true God can become a high place, and left unchecked it leads to disaster.