Useful Bible Studies > 2 Kings Commentary > chapter 23
Baal was a male false god; his wife, Asherah, was a female false god. Therefore, in these wrong religions, the people had strong ideas about the difference between male and female power. So, they prayed to Baal, their male god, for success in war or authority over other people. However, they prayed to Asherah for children, or for success in agriculture.
The image of Asherah was a pole or a tree. It seems that women hung curtains round this image to give honour to Asherah. Until Josiah stopped them, they made these curtains in the courts (outside yards) of the temple (God’s house in Jerusalem).
In that same place, there were houses for men and boys in connection with a wrong religion. That religion forced these men and boys to offer themselves for sex with other men. The people who followed this religion, considered this to be a powerful kind of magic. They used it because they wanted to gain power in the spirit world.
Josiah, of course, would not allow such activities to continue. His grandfather, Manasseh had removed the image of Asherah that he himself had put in the temple (2 Chronicles 33:7 and 33:15). Josiah’s father Amon put it back there. However, Josiah decided that nobody would ever pray in front of that image again. He destroyed it completely, until only dust remained. Then, he scattered the dust on the graves. The people had prayed to Asherah for new life in their families and on their farms. However, Josiah associated this false and wicked god with death, and not life.
Next part: The priests from Aaron's family who served at high places (2 Kings 23:8-9)
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