And the king commanded Hilkijah the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and the doorkeepers, to bring forth out of the temple of Jehovah all the vessels that had been made for Baal, and for the Asherah, and for all the host of the heavens; and he burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, and carried the ashes of them to Bethel.
Josiah's reform starts inside the temple itself. Idol vessels had piled up in God's own house, and this verse raises two questions: how did they get there, and what made the king act now?
The shock is not just the list of idols but the place they sat.
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.
This idolatry came down from Josiah's own family line. The men told to clear it out were the high priest, the priests under him, and the doorkeepers.
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.
Josiah had cleared the temple once before. Something changed between the two efforts.
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.
One writer traces every item back to a single root. He also refuses the excuse that old and respected names stood behind these shrines.
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.
Josiah heard the book read and acted at once. The same question falls on the reader today.
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 did not stop at emptying the temple. He chose where to burn the vessels and where to send the ashes.
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.
This verse opens a list of removals that runs to verse 20. The passover comes only after it. One writer draws out the order as a pattern.
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.
- Found — The book of the law came to light between Josiah's two cleansings. That is why the second reached what the first left standing.
- Seen — Evil that people tolerate for years looks harmless. Scripture shows its true character.
- Acted — Once you know the Word, God looks for prompt action — no matter who set the evil up.
- Burned — Josiah burned the vessels outside the city at Kidron. He sent their ashes to Bethel, where Jeroboam's idolatry had begun.
- Restored — The passover that followed had worth for one reason: Josiah cared for God's house, obeyed His word, and cleared the evil out.
And he abolished the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense on the high places in the cities of Judah, and the environs of Jerusalem; and them that burned incense to Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the constellations, and to all the host of heaven.
Josiah's reform reached past the idols to the men who ran the worship. Where did those priests come from, and what gave a young king the courage to remove them?
So who put these priests in place? The verse says the kings of Judah did. Each of those kings had a duty in writing that made such an act inexcusable.
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!
These men carry a special Hebrew title: Chemarim. The same word appears in Zephaniah. One writer explains there why this arrangement was so offensive. The problem was not open paganism, but a blend.
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 list of things worshipped runs from Baal to the whole visible sky. The word translated "the constellations" is rare, and one reference work explains it.
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.
But the lights in the sky were never meant to hold anyone's worship. They point past themselves.
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.
Verse 5 is one item in a long list, and the sheer quantity tells its own story about the state of the nation. One commentator draws a line from the wooden image in the temple to what churches tolerate.
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.
Josiah had already cleansed the temple once, earlier in his reign. Something happened in between the two efforts that changed how much he saw.
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.
A young king pulling down what famous kings had set up could look like arrogance. But for Josiah the question was never about persons.
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.
- Ordained — no foreign enemy installed these priests. Kings of Judah did, and every king was bound to write out God's law and read it daily.
- Mixed — the Chemarim stood beside the regular priests. To know the true God and still put false gods on His level is worse than open idolatry.
- Worshipped — Baal, the sun, the moon, and mazzaloth, the twelve signs of the zodiac. Every one of those lights points past itself to its Maker.
- Exposed — the book of the law came to light between Josiah's two cleansings. Then evil that had stood for years looked hideous.
- Removed — he judged by that standard, not by reputations. It was never Josiah against Solomon, only truth against error.