2 Kings 23:1–20

Josiah did not sit down in despair because of the serious things which Huldah made known to him. The judgments would not fall just yet. In the meantime, the energetic young king would do all he could to lead the people back into "the old paths." It is never too late to obey the Word of God.

Josiah was a man thoroughly in earnest. He felt the power of truth in his own soul. He could not rest content until he gathered the people around him, so that the light which had shone on him might shine on them too. He did not, he could not, rest in the promise that he would be gathered to his grave in peace, and that his eyes would not see the evil that was coming on Jerusalem... No, he thought of others, he felt for the people around him.

Josiah was king in Judah, and so he stood for all the people. He realised it was his responsibility to bring them all in to hear the Word of God. Beginning with the elders, he called the people to the house of the Lord. So elders, priests, prophets and ordinary people were gathered (vv.1-2).

He recognized something that is often overlooked: God's word applies to everyone. He also saw that everything God has written is of equal importance in its place, and equally to be obeyed... God's word spoke to him as king on his throne, but it spoke just as much to the humblest of his subjects.

What marks the spiritual revival under Josiah, as we have seen, is the importance of God's house on earth — the place where the Lord makes His name dwell — and the importance of the book of the covenant. Let us not hesitate to repeat: in the times in which we live these two things always characterize a true revival.

"And the king went up to the house of the LORD... And he read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant that had been found in the house of the LORD." What a delight for God and the angels to watch! What a thrill it would be to read in the newspapers that kings and presidents were calling mass meetings in their capitals to read the people the badly neglected Word of God! They would point out, with all seriousness, the things the people had got wrong, and urge them to come back humbly to their God.

There can be no question that it was real in the king himself. But if we read the opening chapters of Jeremiah, we find that the people's devotion was only skin-deep. They did not return to the LORD with their whole heart, but in pretense (Jer. 3:10).

Josiah was a man thoroughly in earnest. He felt the power of truth in his own soul. He could not rest until he had gathered the people around him, so that the light which had shone on him might shine on them too. He did not, he could not, rest in this: he would go to his grave in peace, and his own eyes would not see the evil that was coming on Jerusalem. No, he thought of others. He felt for the people around him. His own escape rested on his true repentance and humbling under the mighty hand of God. So he would use that same Word, which had worked with such power in his own heart, to lead others to the same repentance and humbling.

Being king in Judah and therefore the representative of all the people, Josiah realised his responsibility of involving them all in hearing the Word of God. Beginning with the elders, he called the people to the house of the Lord. So elders, priests, prophets and the common people were gathered. There Josiah himself read all the words of the Book of the Covenant, which would include the five books of Moses.

Josiah convened a great national gathering in Jerusalem. Elders, priests, Levites, prophets, and a crowd of people small and great responded. The plural word prophets should be noted. Clearly other men besides Jeremiah were active in the land for God, yet He chose to speak through Huldah! We are quite unable to interpret every detail of the ways of God, but we want to be subject to His perfect wisdom.

This book of the covenant included the covenant of Sinai. It also included the one made in the plain of Moab — that is to say, all the words of Deuteronomy. It applied exactly to the people's condition as it now was. God had described that condition beforehand in this book. Deuteronomy spoke above all of obedience. God had redeemed this people from Egypt, and their blessing or cursing now depended on obedience to the Word.

All the words of the law suggests a considerable amount of reading. The meeting was therefore a long one. What a contrast to the short sermons that are barely tolerated today! This is all the more sad, because we now have the complete Word of God. It reveals all His wonderful purposes of grace and glory, and they find their centre in Christ. Why are we satisfied with so little of the spiritual wealth that is within our reach?

What marks the spiritual revival under Josiah, as we have seen, is the importance of two things. One is God's house on earth, the place where the Lord causes His name to dwell. The other is the book of the covenant. Let us not hesitate to repeat it: in the times in which we live these two things always mark a true revival.

On the young king's part this was all real, no doubt, but one has only to read the earlier part of Jeremiah's prophecy to see how insincere it was with the mass of the people.

This book of the covenant included the covenant of Sinai. It also included the one made in the plain of Moab — that is, all the words of Deuteronomy. It applied exactly to the people's state as it now was, and God had described that state beforehand in this book. Deuteronomy spoke above all of obedience. God had redeemed this people from Egypt, and the book made their blessing or cursing depend on obedience to the Word.

This is excellent. An ounce of example is worth more than a ton of instruction. Joshua, in his final address to Israel, spoke in the same way: "But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD" (Joshua 24:15). Paul urged Timothy to "set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity" (1 Timothy 4:12).

On the young king's part this was all real, no doubt. But read the earlier part of Jeremiah's prophecy, and you see how hypocritical it was with most of the people. They had eagerly entered into covenants with the Lord before. The outcome was always the same — breakdown, and a wider departure from God than ever before.

Josiah went beyond stating his own intention; he made everyone present in Jerusalem and Benjamin join in the covenant. The king meant well, but how little he understood how changeable the human heart is! It was the old sad story of Sinai repeated. They had never learned the depths of their own evil, nor the holiness of God. At the burning mountain "all the people answered together and said, 'All that the LORD has spoken we will do'" (Exodus 19:8)… But outward correctness will not do for God. Jeremiah's sad pages tell us how little the people's hearts loved the will of God.

This covenant rested on the law. That is why people broke it as quickly as they broke the covenant of Sinai, and every other covenant made on the same terms. But these covenants give man a chance to learn in depth what the flesh is. That is why the law, as an obligation, is necessary.

Despite that, those who are faithful hold a moral restraint over souls, even over souls that are in fact far from God. In 2 Chronicles 34:33 we see that Josiah made everyone present in Israel serve the LORD their God. All his days they did not turn away from following the LORD, the God of their fathers. It is in this way that all the people here enter into the covenant.

Josiah is not satisfied with escaping the judgement himself. If there was grace for him there must be grace for others. He made "all the people great and small" hear the word. The king made a covenant to walk after the Lord "with all his heart" and "all his soul," and caused all to stand to it. We do not enter into a covenant with God. But we can have "steadfast purpose" and "remain faithful to the Lord" (Acts 11:23). We trust not in self but in His grace.

If anyone wants a correct idea of the practical state of things in Josiah's day, let him think over 2 Kings 23. The record is perfectly appalling. There were vessels made for Baal in the temple of the Lord. There were idolatrous priests burning incense in the high places, in the cities of Judah, and in Jerusalem. They burned incense to Baal, to the sun, to the moon, to the planets, and to all the hosts of heaven.

At this time there was energy of faith, chiefly in Josiah, to get rid of the idolatry introduced by Josiah's fathers, Manasseh and Amon. Josiah gave orders to Hilkiah the high priest, to the priests under him, and to the doorkeepers. They were to bring out of the temple all the articles made for Baal and Asherah and other false gods.

We have already noticed that Josiah purged the temple before he repaired it (2 Chronicles 34:8). This appalling list of abominations was still in the house where the Lord had set His name. It suggests that the first purging was not very thorough. But the second purging cleared every vile thing out. Why was the second purging more thorough than the first? Because the Book of the law had come to light between the two movements. The King, at least, now saw the hideousness of things people had long tolerated.

All the mischief, all the corruption and confusion, all the shame and dishonour, all the reproach and blasphemy — it all began with neglect of the Word of God... It mattered little to Josiah that these things were old, or that the fathers of the Jewish nation stood behind them. Nor was he moved by the thought that people might see these altars and high places, these groves and images, as proof of a large heart, a broad mind, and a generous spirit.

Energetic action must follow when the heart is going out towards God and His Word. "I hasten and do not delay to keep your commandments" (Psalm 119:60). Some believers today may stay in unscriptural associations because no one has set the Word of God before them about these things. Evil is no less evil when people fail to see its true character through inattention to the teaching of Scripture. But once the Word is brought to bear, God expects prompt action from His saints.

Josiah cleanses Jerusalem, Judah, and Israel completely, as far as his arm could reach, in his zeal for God and for God alone. In the fields of Kidron he burns all the objects that had piled up in the temple for the worship of Baal, Astarte, and the stars. He carries their dust to Bethel, the original site of Jeroboam's idolatry.

It was indeed a triumphant moment, but we need to be reminded of three things that led to such an achievement. First, Josiah thought of the house of the Lord. Second, he obeyed the word of the Lord. Last, he put away all that was evil... Without these three things, the passover would have been worthless in God's eyes, however solemnly people kept it.

Reader, think about this! Only consider kings of Judah, successors of David, ordaining priests to burn incense to Baal! Remember too what each of these kings of Judah was responsible to do. He had to write out his own copy of the book of the law. He was to keep it beside him and read it all the days of his life, so that he would learn to fear the Lord his God, keep all the words of this law and these statutes, and do them (See Deut. 17:18-19). How far they had strayed from the words of that law, when they could set about ordaining priests to burn incense to false gods!

Zephaniah names "the Chemarim" — that is, idolatrous priests, mentioned elsewhere only in 2 Kings 23:5 and Hosea 10:5 — alongside "the priests." What made this idolatry so offensive was the joining of the idols of the nations with Jehovah. To be a plain, outright idolater was not nearly so evil. The worse thing is to show that you know the true God and yet put false gods on a level with Him.

The Hebrew word is mazzaloth. It is thought to refer to the twelve signs or constellations of the Zodiac, as the margin shows. The Israelites worshipped these, along with the sun, moon, and "all the host of heaven." 2 Kings 23:5. The word occurs nowhere else.

If they lifted their eyes to heaven, above the level of creatures on earth, they were to look higher still. They were to look above the sun, moon and stars to the One who created all these things, instead of worshipping these visible works of God's hands… God has created these wonderful heavenly bodies. But they are there only to turn our attention to their unseen Maker.

But there was much more to do in cleansing Judah from the overflowing tide of idolatry that had invaded the land. Josiah removed the idolatrous priests from the high places in the cities of Judah, and all those who burned incense to Baal, to the sun, to the moon and to the constellations of stars in the whole heaven (v.5). Judah had multiplied her gods beyond measure. A wooden image had been put in the house of the Lord, just as many churches introduce images that look nice but are an insult to the Lord Jesus.

The house where Jehovah had set His name still held this appalling list of detestable things. That suggests the first cleansing was not very thorough. But the second cleansing cleared every vile thing out. Why did the second go deeper than the first? Because the book of the law had come to light between the two efforts. Now the King, at least, saw how hideous these long-tolerated things really were.

God enabled him to take his stand on the unchangeable truth of God. By that perfect standard he tested all the errors and evils he found around him, and he rejected them all. Josiah felt that there was no reason to go on for a single hour with anything contrary to the mind of Jehovah. He was right before God to feel it. It did not matter to him the weight of a feather — nor should it to anyone — who had first started the error or evil. It was enough for him that it was error and evil… It was not a question of Josiah versus Solomon, but of truth versus error.

asherah, asherath. The word "grove" suggests a row of trees. But that cannot be the meaning, since people set up groves "under every green tree" (1 Kings 14:23; 2 Kings 17:10). Manasseh set a carved image of the grove that he had made in the temple (2 Kings 21:7). Josiah removed it, burned it, and ground it to powder (2 Kings 23:6). This was doubtless made of metal, but the groves were of wood, as we learn from the fact that they were cut down and burned (Judges 6:25-26; 2 Kings 23:14-15). They are always associated with idols and images, and Judges 3:7 speaks of them being served along with the Baals.

Scripture makes a point of noting that "he brought out the Asherah from the house of the LORD … and burned it at the brook Kidron and beat it to dust." "The grove" appears to have been an image of Astarte. Imagine such a horror standing in the house of Jehovah! God had once said of that house that His eyes and His heart would be there always (2 Chron. 7:16). How low Israel had fallen, that such a thing stood in the most sacred spot on earth!

This is the valley, or wide dry riverbed, between the east of Jerusalem and the west of the Mount of Olives… In Old Testament times people treated it as a defiled place. Asa burned his mother's idol there (1 Kings 15:13). Josiah also burned the symbols of idolatry there (2 Kings 23:4, 6, 12). From 2 Kings 23:6 and Jeremiah 31:40 it appears to have been the common burial ground.

A wooden image had been put in the house of the LORD, just as many churches introduce images that look nice but are an insult to the Lord Jesus. Josiah burned the image at the brook Kidron and threw the ashes on graves (v.6), signifying that the idolatry was worthy only of the corruption of death.

Our devoted young king was able to "grind into dust, and beat into powder" an enormous pile of error. All of it had its origin in the gross neglect of this most precious sentence: "IT IS WRITTEN." It mattered little to Josiah that all these things could boast of age, and the authority of the fathers of the Jewish nation.

The appalling things still left in the house where Jehovah had set His name suggest that the first cleansing was not thorough. The second cleansing cleared every vile thing out. But why was the second cleansing more thorough than the first? Because the Book of the law had come to light between the two. The ugliness of things people had long tolerated was now clear, at least to the King.

The record makes a point of saying that "he brought the Asherah out of the house of the LORD ... and burned it at the brook Kidron and beat it to dust" (2 Kings 23:6). The Asherah, which older translations call "the grove," appears to have been an image of Astarte. Imagine such a horror standing in the house of the LORD! Of that house He once said that His eyes and His heart would be there always (2 Chron. 7:16). Next to the temple stood the houses of the male cult prostitutes! Horror upon horror; how low Israel had fallen, to have such depravity in the most sacred spot on earth! The history of Christendom has been just as fearful.

Few serious readers, I think, will agree with the notion that this word means a holy woman or seer. Far more probable is the ordinary view, which takes it as a "consecration" to the corrupt Astarte, or Venus, of early and later idolatry. … The masculine form of the word occurs in Deut. 23:17; 1 Kings 14:24; 2 Kings 23:7; Job 36:14. Can it be argued that holy men, or seers, are intended here? They are forms of the same word, and the idea of holiness, or consecration, of course runs through both. … Terrible to say, prostitution was an almost universal element of heathen sanctity!

On the whole it seems most probable that the groves were wooden symbols of a goddess. They took the form of images or pillars, or plain tree trunks set in the earth. In 2 Kings 23:7 we read that women wove "hangings" for the groves. The word really means "houses" or "tents." So these coverings enclosed the groves, probably for impure purposes, since immorality went almost always with idolatry.

"The account of Josiah's later reformation shows both the extent and the shameless immorality of the idolatry now common (2 Kings 23:4-8). Earlier kings had brought in practices of their own. But one thing must have been the work of Manasseh. He placed a class of priests, probably in the outer court of the temple, whose unnatural vice combined a kind of madness with the deepest moral degradation. Beside them, and in fellowship with them, he placed priestesses of Astarte."

Look with the prophet through the hole in the wall, into the rooms full of images in the idol's temple. See the almost unbelievable horrors pictured there; human corruption in its lowest forms. You say, how could a people think that was religious worship? Dear friends, it is just what all men do. They turn away from God as He has revealed Himself to us in Christ. They make a god of their own imagination. They give free rein to the desires of their own hearts. That is why there is so much corruption in the name of religion. It should make us tremble to think that if you or I leave the path of obedience to God, and begin to serve a god of our own imagining, God will give us up to the desires of our own corrupt hearts.

No one ever rooted out idolatry as thoroughly as Josiah did, right across the land of Israel. He killed all the priests, burned their bones on their altars, and then destroyed the altars themselves, grinding them to powder. Such thoroughness God loves. The Corinthian believers were very slow to deal with wickedness in the assembly. Yet they were active in avenging their personal wrongs, even taking one another to the world's courts (1 Cor. 5:6).

We are speaking of the high places used for worship, which seemed to be everywhere in the Lord's land… The time soon came, sadly, when Israel chose high places for themselves. Some of these were for idolatrous worship, and some for the worship of the Lord. But all the high places were offensive in His sight, whatever the motives of those who set them up. They were the expression of creative self-will, of hearts not subject to His commandments.

The high place was, we might say, a kind of necessity, brought in by the failure and disordered state of the people at large… They were not always connected with idolatry. In fact, at the beginning they were devoted to the true worship of God. To some extent they were places where He Himself in grace recognised the need and met with His people, though not according to the order He Himself had provided. Later on, however, He established His centre. He placed His name at Jerusalem, and the temple of His glory was there. From that time the worship of the high places was direct disobedience to His will.

Clearly man is not to determine his own ways as a worshipper. Willingness in worship is right; wilfulness destroys it all… We are to worship "in spirit" — that is most true — in the grace and liberty of the Holy Spirit given to us. But we are to worship "in truth" also, according to God's revelation of Himself and of His worship. The keeping up of groves and high places in Israel was always the witness that the people had not properly prepared their hearts to seek the Lord God of Israel. He is the only true God, and He had set His name at Jerusalem.

The energetic Josiah cleared away all the high places, and he brought away from them all the priests who had burned incense on them. But they had disobeyed the Word of the Lord, so they could not carry out priestly duties in Jerusalem. "The priests of the high places did not come up to the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem, but they ate unleavened bread among their brothers" (2 Kings 23:8-9). Even unfaithful men must not be left to starve!

It is clear they had no energy of faith to break completely with the idolatry they were used to. Yet they ate unleavened bread among their brothers (v.9). Was this not a way of covering their sin with a show of religious zeal? For the unleavened bread stands for separation from evil, but the show without the reality of separation is hypocrisy.

Josiah, in firm decision for the Lord, brought all the priests from the cities of Judah and defiled the high places where the priests had burned incense, making the places unusable, from Geba to Beersheba, not a short distance.

The king also goes through all the cities of Israel, destroying the temples of the high places. He shows no pity to their idolatrous priests, whom he puts to death. By then the Assyrians had carried the people away, so the influence of these priests seemed to be gone. He acts in view of a future restoration, and his heart, fervent in the service of the Lord, is set on it.

What we have seen is enough to show the fearful lengths to which even the people of God may go. They need only turn aside, in the smallest measure, from the authority of Holy Scripture… The moment a man departs a hair's breadth from Scripture, there is no accounting for the monstrous extravagance into which he may rush.

He puts down the Chemarim — the priests set up by the kings of Judah to burn incense before false gods… He gathers together the priests who, under a repentant Manasseh, had gone on offering sacrifices to the Lord on the high places (2 Chron. 33:17). He does not treat them like the Chemarim, but he does not allow them to go up to the altar of the LORD at Jerusalem.

The Word alone must govern God's people in all matters of worship. The LORD would choose His own centre, and His people must come there with their burnt offerings and sacrifices… All the high places were offensive in His sight, whatever the motives of those who set them up. They expressed self-will — hearts not subject to His commandments… Josiah cleared away all the high places, and he brought away from them all the priests who had burned incense on them. But they had disobeyed the Word of the LORD, so they were not allowed to carry out priestly duties in Jerusalem… Even unfaithful men must not be left to starve! Should we not learn from all this that God expects His Word to be obeyed by His people? Or is it possible that some choose for themselves where and how they will worship and serve their God?

This religion had left idolatry behind, yet it had dared to despise the only gathering centre for the people. So all fellowship with it is firmly broken off. There is instruction here for our own day. This act of Josiah's shows us that a true revival cannot be joined to worship offered away from the Lord's Table, the only gathering centre for His own.

All the same, Josiah acknowledges the right of these priests to eat "unleavened bread among their brothers" (v. 9). The Lord had consecrated these men, and their personal holiness is fully recognised. But for the present, if not for ever, they are not allowed to serve in Israel's worship.

The priests of the high places lost their occupation, but they did not come up to the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem. They clearly had no energy of faith to break completely with the idolatry they were used to, but they ate unleavened bread among their brothers (v.9). Was this not an attempt to cover their sin with a show of religious zeal? For the unleavened bread stands for separation from evil. But a show without the reality of separation is hypocrisy.

The Levites, apart from the family of Zadok, are given the guard and the service of the house, but are kept out of the priestly office. In the government of God they are shut out from this higher place because of their previous history. They had followed the people into idolatry. Instead of resisting the evil that was coming in, they became a stumbling block that led others into sin… God calls the past to account. In His ways of holy government such departure from His revealed and known will must be remembered in judgment, though those subject to it are personally safe.

Here is that most inhuman rite, in which parents were so blinded by Satan that they gave their children as sacrifices to Molech or Moloch, and probably Malcham or Milcom. It was the guardian god of the Ammonites. From Jeremiah 19:5 it appears that Baal was worshipped in this way. Some have reasoned about "passing through the fire," here and elsewhere, so as to deny that they burned their children. But this seems a kindly attempt to soften the reality of the wickedness. It was the fullest, though not the only, profanation of the name of Israel's God. The Lord accepted a sheep or an ox, or even a much smaller sacrifice; Satan, under these names, demanded their sons.

People called this a sacrifice. But it did not come from unselfish love for Molech. It came from the selfish evil of wanting to get rid of a child... Molech was an image with its arms outstretched, and people would place their children in its arms while a fire was lit beneath. Then, with drums and noisy music, the cries of the child were drowned out as it was burned to death. So this religious wickedness made the torture and murder of an unwanted child look holy.

Topheth stood in these gardens, where the valleys of Hinnom and Kidron meet. Its name meant "the spitting out," or place of abomination. There an Ahaz, a Manasseh, and an Amon sacrificed their sons and daughters to Baal-Moloch, and burned incense to foul idols. Hinnom meant "moaning," and its name Gehinnom (valley of Hinnom — Gehenna) was rightly taken as the name for the place of final suffering.

Josiah also defiled Topheth, where idol worshippers offered their children to Molech by fire (v.10). How can people feel spiritual zeal while doing such disgusting things? But they are totally deceived by Satan.

The idol was a hideous ox-headed human figure of Moloch. It stood in the valley until less than thirty years before the Chaldeans destroyed Jerusalem. Then the good king Josiah swept away the idol and everything that went with it, and defiled the place so that it could never again be used for that frightful worship. But the horrors of the past had printed themselves so deeply on people's minds that from then on the spot bore the name Tophet — the abomination, the place to be spat upon.

The Valley of Hinnom was the refuse dump outside Jerusalem. Fires always burned there, and maggots never stopped their work. People knew it as Gehenna. On the Lord's lips this word became a picture of the home of the lost that fits all too well. Truly hell will be the great refuse heap of eternity. There everything that is beyond correction will be kept apart from the good, and will lie forever under the judgment of God. This terrible fact reaches us from the lips of Him who loved sinful men and wept over them.

The king's power brought about a great reformation, but it left the hearts of most people untouched... But why could God not rest in the outwardly improved state of the kingdom of Judah in Josiah's day? He looked beneath the surface. He looked for reality, for tenderness of conscience, for a heart subject to His word — and He did not find them. God will never be satisfied with anything short of thoroughness.

The horses which the kings of Judah have given to the sun stand stabled at the entrance of the house of the Lord, while the ark of the Lord has been cast out of the sanctuary.

The record gives special mention to the pile of abominations which Josiah's predecessors of David's royal line had set up in and near Jerusalem… But worse still! We are not surprised at the terrible deeds of men like Ahaz and Manasseh. But one of the greatest of Israel's royal offenders was Solomon, the man who built the temple of the Lord, and whose prayer at its dedication seemed to anticipate every evil and danger that might arise!… Yet godly kings like Asa, Jehoshaphat, and Hezekiah left all this untouched! Neglect of the Word of God is the only possible explanation of this.

Before Israel entered the land, the Lord made a rule for the time when the people would have a king: "when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law… And it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the LORD his God" (Deut. 17:18-20). Suppose each ruler in Israel had obeyed this instruction. Suppose each had prepared his own copy of the law and had read in it all the days of his life. Then the formidable array of evils Josiah had to deal with would never have existed. Nor would the original of God's holy law have lain buried under rubbish, so that finding it was a real discovery!

He took away the "horses that the kings of Judah had given to the sun, at the entrance to the house of the LORD, by the chamber of Nathan-melech the chamberlain… and he burned the chariots of the sun with fire."… He seems to have had few sympathizers, or supporters, in his reforms, and supervised some of the work himself. A king's command cannot produce genuine repentance, but he did all that lay in his power, and did not permit a single visible trace of idolatry to remain in his realm.

We should not marvel at the kings of other nations burning incense to Baal, ordaining idolatrous priests, and worshipping the host of heaven. But these were kings of Judah, the sons and successors of David, children of Abraham. They had access to the book of the law of God, and they were responsible to make that book the subject of their deep and constant study. When we see such men falling under the power of dark and degrading superstition, it sounds a warning voice in our ears. We cannot safely refuse to give heed… "Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come." (1 Cor. 10:11)

But worse is still to come, because of both the place and the people engaged in worshipping the sun, the great object of ancient star-worship and later of Persian idolatry. "And behold, at the entrance of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men, with their backs to the temple of the LORD, and their faces toward the east, worshiping the sun toward the east." The prophet notes their number, which matches the courses of the priesthood and the high priest. Their backs were toward the Lord's temple, and their faces toward the east.

On the roof there were altars made by the kings of Judah, certainly an insult to God whose altar outside and that inside the temple both spoke of Christ. Other altars expose men's desire to have other gods. Beside these Manasseh had made altars in the two courts of the house of the Lord. All of these Josiah broke down and pulverised, throwing their dust into the brook Kidron.

Before Israel entered the land the Lord decreed that once the people had a king, "he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law... And it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God" (Deuteronomy 17:18-20). Suppose each ruler in Israel had obeyed this instruction. Suppose each had prepared his own copy of the law, and had read it all the days of his life. Then the huge mass of evils which Josiah had to deal with would never have existed. God's holy law itself would never have ended up buried under rubbish, so that finding it was a real discovery!

Amon had re-established all that Manasseh had abolished at the time of his repentance. Josiah, in his zeal for God and for God alone... completely cleanses Jerusalem, Judah, and Israel, as far as his arm could reach.

He demolished the idols which he had erected, and the altars which were consecrated to them, and sought to bring the people back from the wrong way in which he had driven them; a difficult work and necessarily incomplete!

In Old Testament times people treated it as a defiled place. Asa burnt his mother's idol there. 1 Kings 15:13. Josiah also burnt there the symbols of idolatry. 2 Kings 23:4, 6, 12; and from 2 Kings 23:6 and Jeremiah 31:40 it would appear to have been the common burial ground.

Nowhere was idolatry ever rooted out as thoroughly as Josiah rooted it out across the whole land of Israel... He destroyed the altars themselves, reducing them to powder. Such thoroughness God loves. The Corinthian believers were very slow to deal with wickedness in the assembly. Yet they were quick to avenge their personal wrongs, even taking one another into the world's courts.

First, the house of the Lord had been thought of; second, the word of the Lord had been obeyed; and last, all that was evil had been put away... For us the Lord's supper has taken the place of the passover. But can we remember the Lord in His death just as we please, however we please, in any fashion we like?

Josiah also defiled other high places east of Jerusalem and south of the Mount of Olives. The hill is called the mount of Corruption because Solomon had corrupted it. He built high places on it for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites and Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites (v.13). Josiah cared about God's approval, and what offended God had to be destroyed.

The moment a man departs from Scripture, even by a hair's breadth, there is no telling what monstrous extremes he may rush into. We may wonder how a man like Solomon could ever be led to build high places for Ashtoreth, Chemosh and Milcom, the abominations of Sidon, Moab and Ammon. But it is easy to see how it happened. First he disobeyed the Word of his Lord by going to those nations for wives. From there he fell easily into the deeper error of adopting their worship.

He very likely took the attitude of broad-minded people today. He thought it right to tolerate every religion, and even to support evil religions, because that was what his wives preferred. His unbelief in building these high places was a shameful contradiction of his faith in building the temple! In building the temple he stressed the supreme authority of the living God. In building the high places he was guilty of challenging God's authority!

One of the greatest of Israel's royal sinners was Solomon — the man who built the temple of the LORD, and whose prayer at its dedication seemed to anticipate every evil and danger that might arise! Josiah defiled the high places east of Jerusalem that Solomon had built for Ashtoreth, Chemosh and Milcom. Yet godly kings like Asa, Jehoshaphat and Hezekiah left all of it standing! Neglect of the Word of God is the only possible explanation of this.

God had not only given warnings and clear instructions in the Law; He had also appeared to Solomon in person twice and commanded him not to go after other gods. Wife after wife seems to have persuaded him to build a high place for her idol. Before long these high places defiled the hill east of Jerusalem, the Mount of Olives, and they stayed there 350 years, until the reign of Josiah.

People might have said to Josiah, when he broke down the high places Solomon had built: Who are you to set yourself up against Solomon, and against what a great man like him established? But it was not a question of Josiah versus Solomon. It was a question of God versus error.

Suppose every ruler in Israel had obeyed this command. Suppose each one had written out his own copy of the law and read it all the days of his life. Then the huge mass of evils that Josiah had to deal with would never have existed. And the original of God's holy law would never have lain buried under rubbish, so that finding it was a real discovery!

We tolerate things in ourselves, and we take things over from our fathers without question. We would judge and abandon those things if we knew the Scriptures better, and if the Scriptures had supreme authority over our souls.

On the whole it seems most probable that they were wooden symbols of a goddess. They took the form of images or pillars, or were simply tree-stems set in the ground… The many references to the idols, images, and groves show how far Israel had departed from the living God and fallen into idolatry.

We can well imagine people objecting to Josiah. They would say that these high places were long established, and had the dignity of King Solomon's approval. But Josiah cared about God's approval, and whatever offended God had to be destroyed. Josiah also broke in pieces the sacred pillars and cut down the wooden images and filled their places with the bones of men (v.14). This may refer to those who defended the idolatry and suffered death for this.

We are not surprised at the terrible deeds of men like Ahaz and Manasseh. But one of the greatest of Israel's royal sinners was Solomon. He built the temple of the LORD, and his prayer at its dedication seemed to foresee every evil and danger that might arise!… Yet godly kings like Asa, Jehoshaphat, and Hezekiah left all this untouched! Neglect of the Word of God is the only possible explanation of this.

There must be separation from the evil that led to their departure from the Lord. Idolatry must be judged and "put away." This is more than a protest against evil; it involves dealing with the evil. We are often willing to protest against evil, while shrinking from dealing with it. We may plead that it is difficult. We may fear the result. We shrink from any shame it may bring. So, under one excuse and another, we dodge our plain responsibility.

No one ever wiped out idolatry as thoroughly as Josiah did, right across the land of Israel. He killed all the priests, burnt their bones on their altars, and then destroyed the altars themselves, grinding them to powder. Such thoroughness God loves. The Corinthian believers were very slow to deal with wickedness in the assembly. Yet they were active in avenging their personal wrongs, even taking one another into the world's courts (1 Cor. 5:6). The Lord Jesus will carry out a world-wide clearance at His appearing.

In this day we are not called upon to be image-breakers. It is not our duty to go round with axes and hammers and destroy images and other things which we know to be hateful to God. The Lord Jesus will deal with all this when He shows Himself from heaven in Kingdom-power and majesty. Our present duty has two parts. First, to get our own souls right by testing all our ways and associations by the written Word. Second, to use our influence to help others return to the "old paths" (Jeremiah 6:16).

The king's power brought about a great reformation. But it left the hearts of most of the people untouched… So why could God not rest in the improved outward state of the kingdom of Judah in Josiah's day? He looked beneath the surface. He looked for reality, for a tender conscience, for a heart that bowed to His word. He did not find them… Nothing less than thoroughness will ever satisfy God.

Bethel was only 12 miles from Jerusalem. Jeroboam had taken it in his rebellion against Rehoboam, but of course the ten tribes had no authority left in Israel. So Josiah broke down the altar and the high place that Jeroboam had set up. He crushed the high place to powder and burned the wooden image there (v.15). He also saw graves on the mountain, clearly the graves of people who had joined in the worship at the high place. He had the bones taken from the graves and burned on the altar. This fulfilled the prophecy of the man of God who had come to Jeroboam while he stood at his idolatrous altar (1 Kings 13:1-2).

Jeroboam stands out in the Old Testament as the great division maker. Under him the great mass of God's people, ten of the twelve tribes, broke away from God's centre at that time. Like a funeral bell, the sad words the Spirit uses to mark this man out are repeated again and again: "Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin." In one chapter alone they come four times (2 Kings 15:9, 18, 24, 28). There is something appalling about it. This special way of speaking shows how terrible his sin is in God's sight, and every true heart feels how awful it is. Personal sins are bad enough, but to turn away God's people from the centre which He has set up — what could be worse?

The man of God cries out against the altar (1 Kings 13:2), not against the idol. For a man to imagine that he can replace God's altar is more hateful in God's eyes than anything else he can do. God's altar is the only one, and He has said so openly to all. Believers have just one altar, Christ, the Lamb of God (Heb. 13:10). God will judge wicked men who want to set up another altar beside His own. A worship set up by man cannot last forever; God's judgment will fall on it.

Now this is prophecy. Why make a difficulty about it? If God is God, if He really is the "I am," it is easy for Him to speak about men and their doings centuries in advance, if He chooses to do so. We live for a day, and can only speak of things happening in front of our eyes. Tomorrow is completely unknown. This prophecy is very precise, because it names the man who would destroy Jeroboam's altar. In the same way the Lord named Cyrus hundreds of years before his birth (Isa. 45:1).

Scoffers long may have asked, "Where is the promise of this coming prince, this child of the house of David, named Josiah?" And as generation after generation passed, and no prince of that name appeared, even the righteous may have questioned in their minds and wondered if God had forgotten, or doubted if the prophecy were really true… and at last the time had come when he should rise of whom the prophet had spoken; and the prophecy was now fulfilled — as all God's word must be.

Nowhere was idolatry ever rooted out as thoroughly as Josiah rooted it out across the whole land of Israel. He killed all the priests, burned their bones on their altars, and then destroyed the altars themselves, grinding them to powder. God loves such thoroughness… The Lord Jesus will make a world-wide clearance at His appearing.

Finally, the king goes through all the cities of Israel and destroys the temples of the high places. He shows no pity to their idolatrous priests, and wipes them out. Yet by all appearances these priests had already lost their influence, since the Assyrians had carried the people away. He acts with a future restoration in view, and his heart, burning to serve the Lord, is set on it.

The man of God cries against the altar (1 Kings 13:2), not against the idol. For man to imagine that he can replace God's altar is more hateful in God's eyes than anything else he can do. God's altar is unique; this He has proclaimed before all. Believers have but one altar, Christ, the Lamb of God (Heb. 13:10). God will judge wicked men who want to set up another altar alongside His own. A worship instituted by man cannot last forever; divine judgment shall fall upon it... But God will not destroy it without at the same time putting the priests of this profane religion to death upon their own altar.

Now this is prophecy. Why make a difficulty about it? If God is God, if He is indeed the "I am," He can easily speak about men and their doings centuries in advance, if He chooses to. We, creatures of a day, can only speak of things happening before our eyes. Tomorrow is quite unknown. This prophecy is very precise in that the man who would destroy Jeroboam's altar is named. In the same way the LORD named Cyrus hundreds of years before his birth (Isa. 45:1).

So the prophecy came true, the one the man of God from Judah had spoken more than three hundred years earlier (1 Kings 13:2). The prophecy may have been forgotten, and unbelievers may have laughed at the idea of its fulfilment. But when God's time came He saw to the literal fulfilment of His own Word. It is so today. Rationalists scoff at the Word of God. Others treat the Bible's predictions as symbols only, and do not believe God will ever fulfil them.

The memory of it lingered in the district, and the people recognised the fulfilment of the words of the man of God in the terrible doings of Josiah.

Nowhere was idolatry ever rooted out as thoroughly as Josiah rooted it out across the whole land of Israel. He killed all the priests and burned their bones on their altars. Then he destroyed the altars themselves, grinding them to powder. Such thoroughness God loves... The Lord Jesus will carry out a world-wide clearance when He appears. "The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth" (Matt. 13:41-42).

We are allowed to see this. God in His holiness may have to chasten His people for their failure and unfaithfulness. Even then He does not unrighteously forget any work or labour of love shown toward His Name. So, three hundred and fifty years after these events, Josiah carries out the word of the LORD given through the man of God. He burns the bones of the false prophets. But he spares the tomb of the man of God who came from Judah, and of the old prophet of Bethel. Through their unfaithfulness, the people of God may come under His chastening. But through the faithfulness of God they will not share in the judgment that overtakes the world.

When looking around the graves in Bethel, one in particular attracted Josiah's attention… A remarkable story is here recalled. The men of Bethel were speaking of a visit to their city three and a half centuries earlier. The memory of it lingered in the district, and the people recognised the fulfilment of the words of the man of God in the terrible things Josiah was doing.

Seeing another gravestone, he asked about the person buried there, and was told this was the grave of the man of God who had prophesied of what Josiah had just done (v.17). So his grave was left unmolested.

It proves, however, that after at least three hundred years the prophecy of the prophet from Judah was still fresh in people's minds. God lets none of His words fall to the ground. He also takes care that, one way or another, the people involved keep those words in memory. The inscription on the man of God's tomb would no doubt help to keep the event from being forgotten.

The king of Judah must have been strengthened in heart and encouraged when he found that God had spoken of him by name 350 years earlier. God had appointed him to do the very work he was busy with (2 Kings 23:17). This settled his soul in the confidence that he was God's servant, with his work planned out for him.

However, he spares the tomb of the man of God who had spoken these things. Whatever this man's unfaithfulness had been, Josiah recognizes what he had done for God. He spares the bones of the prophet from Samaria too — the man who caused his fall, but who had humbled himself for his mistake. In the same way, every true Christian heart recognizes what men of God in past times have done to serve Him. It respects their work, even when failure marred it and made it lose its power or spoiled its result.

Still, we are allowed to see this. If God, in His holiness, has to discipline His people for their failure and unfaithfulness, He is not unrighteous. He does not forget any work or labour of love shown toward His Name… Through their unfaithfulness, God's people may come under His discipline. But through the faithfulness of God, they will not share the judgment that falls on the world.

An older believer can become a spent force. Should we not guard against this? Old age does not always bring more spirituality… The old prophet — a man God could seemingly no longer use — trapped a younger man and ruined him. Younger men today must not overlook this danger. Respect for age and experience is good. But our only authority for action, in any area of life, is the Word of God. "A fellow believer advised me," or "an angel spoke to me," will not sound well at the judgment seat of Christ.

With the tender heart that marked him, Josiah should have gained from the story. But sadly, a few years later his own life — so valuable to the nation — ended in shame. Like the man of God, he stepped off the path of full obedience to the Word of the Lord.

It proves that after at least three centuries, the prophecy of the prophet from Judah was still fresh in people's minds. God lets none of His words fall to the ground. He also makes sure that, in some way, the people they concern still remember them. The inscription on the man of God's tomb would no doubt help to keep the event from being forgotten. How awed and encouraged King Josiah must have felt! God had named him and appointed him for this work, so many generations before.

Seeing another gravestone, he asked who was buried there. They told him this was the grave of the man of God who had prophesied what Josiah had just done. So his grave was left undisturbed. This also covered the bones of the prophet who lived in Bethel. This verse tells us he had come from Samaria. He had buried the first prophet in his own grave and told his sons to bury him there too.

If God, in His holiness, has to chasten His people for their failure and unfaithfulness, He is still not unrighteous to forget any work or labour of love shown toward His Name. Through their unfaithfulness, the people of God may come under His chastening; but through the faithfulness of God they will not share in the judgment that overtakes the world.

The Lord comes to carry out through Josiah the judgment He had pronounced through the man of God. The power of His hand makes good the declarations of His Spirit, and the day of the world's doom arrives. At that moment the hand of God respects the old prophet just as it respects the man of God. Josiah saves the tomb of these men. He keeps their bones from the punishing burning he was giving all the others found in that unclean place around the altar at Bethel.

He spares the tomb of the man of God who had pronounced these things. Whatever this man's unfaithfulness had been, Josiah recognises what he had done for God. He also spares the bones of the prophet of Samaria. That prophet caused his fall, but he had humbled himself for his error. In this way every true Christian heart acknowledges what men of God in the past have done to serve Him. It respects their work, even where failures marred it and robbed it of power or spoiled its result.

It is possible for an older believer to become a spent force; should we not guard against this? Growing older does not always mean growing more spiritual... The old prophet — a man God apparently could no longer use — trapped a younger man and ruined him. Younger people today must not overlook this danger. Respect for age and experience is good; but our only authority for action in any area of life is the Word of God. "Another believer advised me," or "an angel spoke to me," will not sound well at the judgment seat of Christ.

Starting at his very doors, he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of everything connected with idolatry. Then he carried this cleansing work on into the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim and Simeon, as far as Naphtali, and cut down all the idols throughout the land of Israel. With God-given wisdom the young king realised that he must remove every trace of idolatry — not from his own kingdom only, but from the whole inheritance of God, which the kings of Israel had defiled.

Josiah, like Hezekiah and Elijah, recognised the unity of the twelve tribes. He acted on the truth of it, even though the state of things was deeply depressing and humiliating. He acted on the unchanging truth of God, not on the actual state of God's people. He carried his work of reform into all the cities that belonged to Israel.

The time soon came, sadly, when Israel chose high places for themselves. Some of these were for idolatrous worship, and some for the worship of Jehovah. But every high place offended Him, whatever the motives of those who set it up. They expressed self-will — hearts that were not subject to His commandments.

It may surprise some that Josiah could act so freely in northern Palestine. For about a hundred years it had been a province of the kingdom of Assyria. The explanation is that Assyria was declining; its day was drawing to a close.

…colonists from Babylon and other provinces, who brought with them their heathen gods. From that time the land which Jehovah loved held a strange mixture — Israelites and Gentiles, paganism and Judaism. What confusion as the result of disobedience to God!

God restores his soul before he dies. He seals his brother's testimony against the altar of Bethel with his own, and extends that testimony to all the high places in the cities of Samaria. Whatever our unfaithfulness may be, God will not leave Himself without a witness. The weakest, the most guilty among us may become its bearer, if he repents.

Josiah's purging of the land extended to all the cities of Samaria. From these he took away all the shrines of the high places introduced by the kings of Israel. He executed all the priests of the high places, and defiled their altars by burning men's bones on them. So, as far as it was possible, Josiah completely cleansed the land of Israel from their idolatry. We would expect the faith of this young king to so influence his son that he would follow his father's steps. But sadly Jehoahaz went back to the same evil the previous kings of Judah had been guilty of.

The account of the cleansing of Judah and Jerusalem from all the detestable things (verses 4-20) shows the terrible depths of filth and wickedness the people who still claimed to be God's had sunk into. Every immoral practice tied to the worship of Baal and Asherah, and much else, flourished in the land.

Josiah sends men to destroy every visible trace of idolatry, both in Judah and in the cities of Manasseh… Why should Josiah interfere with people who were foreigners to Israel? It was enough for Josiah to know that these foreigners were living in God's land, and the land had to be purged.

God lets none of His words fall to the ground. He also makes sure that they stay in the memory of the people they concern… How awed and encouraged Josiah the king must have felt, to know that God had named him and appointed him for this work so many generations before. He saw how exactly the prophecy of the man of God came true. So he and all his people would be sure that the prophecies of Huldah and Jeremiah against themselves would come true in the same way.

More than three hundred years before Josiah was born, king Jeroboam stood burning incense at his idolatrous altar at Bethel. A man of God from Judah cried out against the altar by the word of the LORD: "O altar, altar, thus says the LORD: 'Behold, a child shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name, and he shall sacrifice on you the priests of the high places who make offerings on you, and human bones shall be burned on you'" (1 Kings 13:1-2). This prophecy came true to the letter, as 2 Kings 23:15-18 shows. God can name His servants long years before they are born, as in the case of Josiah. And this is the God who has chosen us in Christ "before the foundation of the world" (Eph. 1:4).

Idolatry was never stamped out anywhere as completely as Josiah stamped it out across the whole land of Israel. He killed all the priests. He burned their bones on their altars. Then he destroyed the altars themselves, grinding them to powder. God loves that kind of thoroughness… The Lord Jesus will carry out a world-wide clearance at His appearing. "The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth" (Matt. 13:41-42).

The good work began with the judgment of what was evil in God's sight. They firmly cleared Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the sacred groves, and the carved and cast images, and they broke down the altars of the Baals… They had cleansed themselves of what dishonoured the LORD. They had gone back to what was there from the beginning, "the law of the LORD by Moses." Then they kept a Passover to the LORD in Jerusalem.

He executed all the priests of the high places and defiled their altars by burning men's bones on them (v.20). So, as far as it was possible, Josiah completely cleansed the land of Israel from their idolatry. You would expect the faith of this young king to shape his son, so that he would follow his father's steps. Sadly, Jehoahaz went back to the same evil the kings of Judah before him had been guilty of.