Josiah Stops the Worship of Foreign Gods

(2 Kings 23.4-20)

³ When Josiah was only 16 years old he began worshiping God, just as his ancestor David had done. Then, 4 years later, he decided to destroy the local shrines^[a] in Judah and Jerusalem, as well as the sacred poles^[b] for worshiping the goddess Asherah and the idols of foreign gods. ^4 (A) He watched as the altars for the worship of the god Baal were torn down, and as the nearby incense altars were smashed. The Asherah poles, the idols, and the stone images were also smashed, and the pieces were scattered over the graves of their worshipers. ^5 (B) Josiah then had the bones of the pagan priests burned on the altars.^[c]

And so Josiah got rid of the worship of foreign gods in Judah and Jerusalem. ⁶ He did the same things in the towns and ruined villages^[d] in the territories of West Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, as far as the border of Naphtali. ⁷ Everywhere in the northern kingdom of Israel, Josiah tore down pagan altars and Asherah poles; he crushed idols to dust and smashed incense altars.

Then Josiah went back to Jerusalem.