Useful Bible Studies > 2 Kings Commentary > chapter 23

Josiah destroys the altar at Bethel

2 Kings 23:14-15

Bethel was only about 2 miles (3 kilometres) north of the land that Josiah controlled. It had been the most important place for wrong religion in northern and central Israel. Although Assyria’s army had completely destroyed that nation, the high place (place for ceremonies) and its altar (platform where the priests burned gifts) still stood there.

Josiah had already destroyed such altars and high places across his own nation, Judah. However, even such bold acts had not satisfied his eager attitudes for the honour of God. So, he made the decision to cross his northern border, in order to destroy the high place and the altar at Bethel.

Jeroboam, the first king of northern and central Israel, had chosen to establish his religion there (1 Kings 12:26-33). In that religion, people prayed in front of images and they did not obey God’s law. By the time of Josiah, people were using that place for other religions too. Josiah found there a pole that people had set up in honour of the false female god Asherah.

Josiah dealt with this place in the same way that he dealt with the altars and high places in Judah. He destroyed them completely. He burned wooden objects; he broke apart the stones that people had made into images of false gods. He destroyed the precious objects of wrong religions until only powder remained.

Then, he scattered the bones of people who had served these wrong religions across these places. That act showed his disgust for the people who had followed these evil religions. It also would cause people in the future to associate such places with death. They would consider these places unclean and unholy – so they would not want to pray in such places in the future.

Next part: The grave of the prophet who spoke about Josiah 300 years earlier (2 Kings 23:16-18)

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