On the altars he slaughtered all the priests of the high places, and he burned human bones on them. Then he returned to Jerusalem. On the altars he slaughtered all the priests of the high places,Josiah put to death the priests who had served at the unauthorized shrines throughout the former northern kingdom. Their execution ended the sacrificial system that had sustained Israel’s idolatry and fulfilled the judgment pronounced against the altar at Bethel.
1Ki 12:31-32 Jeroboam also built shrines on the high places…
2Ki 17:32-33 So the new residents worshiped the LORD, but they…
2Ch 34:3-4 In the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young,…
and he burned human bones on them. He defiled the altars by burning bones upon them, rendering them unclean and destroying their claim to religious use. The sites that had promoted false worship were publicly marked for judgment.
1Ki 13:2 And he cried out against the altar by the word of the LORD,…
2Ch 34:5 Then he burned the bones of the priests on their altars.…
Ezk 6:5-6 I will lay the corpses of the Israelites before their idols…
Then he returned to Jerusalem. Having removed these centers of idolatry, Josiah returned to Jerusalem, where worship was to be centered at the temple according to God’s law.
2Ch 34:7 He tore down the altars and Asherah poles,…
2Ki 22:3-7 Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, King Josiah sent…
2Ch 35:1 Then Josiah kept the Passover to the LORD in Jerusalem,…
Persons / Places / Events 1. JosiahThe King of Judah who initiated significant religious reforms to restore the worship of Yahweh and eliminate idolatry from the land. 2. Priests of the High PlacesThese were priests who served at unauthorized worship sites, often associated with idolatry and pagan practices. 3. AltarsStructures used for offering sacrifices, which in this context were associated with idolatrous worship. 4. High PlacesElevated sites where unauthorized worship and sacrifices to foreign gods were conducted. 5. JerusalemThe capital city of Judah, where Josiah returned after his reforms, symbolizing the centralization of worship in the temple. Teaching Points Zeal for Purity in WorshipJosiah's actions demonstrate a commitment to purifying worship practices, emphasizing the importance of aligning worship with God's commands. Courage in LeadershipJosiah's reforms required boldness and decisiveness, illustrating the need for courage in leading others toward righteousness. Fulfillment of ProphecyJosiah's actions fulfilled earlier prophecies, reminding us of God's sovereignty and the reliability of His word. Repentance and RenewalThe removal of idolatrous practices signifies the importance of repentance and the renewal of one's commitment to God. Centrality of ScriptureJosiah's reforms were driven by the rediscovery of the Book of the Law, highlighting the transformative power of Scripture in guiding our lives. Bible Study Questions 1. How does Josiah's zeal for purifying worship challenge our own approach to worship today? 2. In what ways can we demonstrate courage in our faith, similar to Josiah's leadership? 3. How does the fulfillment of prophecy in Josiah's actions strengthen our trust in God's promises? 4. What idols or high places might we need to remove from our own lives to fully commit to God? 5. How can we ensure that Scripture remains central in guiding our decisions and actions, as it did for Josiah? Connections to Other Scriptures 2 Kings 22Provides context for Josiah's reforms, including the discovery of the Book of the Law, which prompted his actions. Deuteronomy 12Discusses the centralization of worship and the prohibition of high places, which Josiah sought to enforce. 1 Kings 13Prophesies the actions of a king named Josiah, who would defile the altars at Bethel, connecting to his fulfillment of prophecy. 2 Chronicles 34-35Offers a parallel account of Josiah's reforms and the Passover celebration he reinstated. Jeremiah 1Jeremiah's ministry began during Josiah's reign, providing a prophetic backdrop to the reforms. People Ahaz, Ammonites, Ashtoreth, Ben, Chemosh, Eliakim, Hamutal, Hilkiah, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jeremiah, Jeroboam, Joshua, Josiah, Manasseh, Melech, Milcom, Moabites, Molech, Nathan, Nathanmelech, Nebat, Pedaiah, Pharaoh, Pharaohnechoh, Sidonians, Sodomites, Solomon, Zebudah, ZidoniansPlaces Assyria, Beersheba, Bethel, Egypt, Euphrates River, Geba, Hamath, Jerusalem, Kidron, Libnah, Megiddo, Moab, Riblah, Rumah, Samaria, Topheth, Valley of HinnomTopics Altars, Bones, Burned, Burneth, Burning, Burnt, Dead, Death, Human, Jerusalem, Killed, Men's, Places, Priests, Returned, Sacrificed, Slaughtered, Slayeth, Slew, TurnethDictionary of Bible Themes 2 Kings 23:20 5137 bones
5275 cremation
7374 high places 2 Kings 23:1-20 7241 Jerusalem, significance 2 Kings 23:1-24 8466 reformation 2 Kings 23:1-25 5345 influence
7245 Judah, kingdom of 2 Kings 23:4-20 4906 abolition 2 Kings 23:8-20 7442 shrine 2 Kings 23:15-20 7302 altar Library Reformation Lessons
Eversley. 1861. 2 Kings xxiii. 3, 4, 25, 26. "And the king stood by a pillar, and made a covenant before the Lord, to "walk after the Lord, and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all their heart and all their soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people stood to the covenant. And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and the keepers of the door, to bring forth out …
Charles Kingsley—All Saints' Day and Other SermonsWhether the Old Law was Suitably Given at the Time of Moses?
Objection 1: It would seem that the Old Law was not suitably given at the time of Moses. Because the Old Law disposed man for the salvation which was to come through Christ, as stated above ([2068]AA[2],3). But man needed this salutary remedy immediately after he had sinned. Therefore the Law should have been given immediately after sin. Objection 2: Further, the Old Law was given for the sanctification of those from whom Christ was to be born. Now the promise concerning the "seed, which is Christ" …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica Whether Christ Should have Been Born in Bethlehem?
Objection 1: It would seem that Christ should not have been born in Bethlehem. For it is written (Is. 2:3): "The law shall come forth from Sion, and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem." But Christ is truly the Word of God. Therefore He should have come into the world at Jerusalem. Objection 2: Further, it is said (Mat. 2:23) that it is written of Christ that "He shall be called a Nazarene"; which is taken from Is. 11:1: "A flower shall rise up out of his root"; for "Nazareth" is interpreted "a flower." …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica Whether Prophets Always Know the Things which they Prophesy?
Objection 1: It would seem that the prophets always know the things which they prophesy. For, as Augustine says (Gen. ad lit. xii, 9), "those to whom signs were shown in spirit by means of the likenesses of bodily things, had not the gift of prophecy, unless the mind was brought into action, so that those signs were also understood by them." Now what is understood cannot be unknown. Therefore the prophet is not ignorant of what he prophesies. Objection 2: Further, the light of prophecy surpasses …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica Whether the Prophecy which is Accompanied by Intellective and Imaginative vision is More Excellent than that which is Accompanied by Intellective vision Alone?
Objection 1: It would seem that the prophecy which has intellective and imaginative vision is more excellent than that which is accompanied by intellective vision alone. For Augustine says (Gen. ad lit. xii, 9): "He is less a prophet, who sees in spirit nothing but the signs representative of things, by means of the images of things corporeal: he is more a prophet, who is merely endowed with the understanding of these signs; but most of all is he a prophet, who excels in both ways," and this refers …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica The Fall of Solomon
'For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father. 5. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. 6. And Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord, and went not fully after the Lord, as did David his father. 7. Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture The Rediscovered Law and Its Effects
'And Hilkiah the high priest said unto Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of the Lord: and Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it. 9. And Shaphan the scribe came to the king, and brought the king word again, and said, Thy servants have gathered the money that was found in the house, and have delivered it into the hand of them that do the work, that have the oversight of the house of the Lord. 10. And Shaphan the scribe shewed the king, saying, Hilkiah the …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture Entering the Covenant: with all the Heart
"And they entered into the covenant to seek the Lord God of their fathers with all their heart, and all their soul."--2 CHRON. xv. 12 (see xxxiv. 31, and 2 Kings xxiii. 3). "The Lord thy God will circumcise thine heart, to love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul."--DEUT. xxx. 6. "And I will give them an heart to know Me, that I am the Lord; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God: for they shall turn to Me with their whole heart."--JER. xxiv. 7 (see xxix. 13). …
Andrew Murray—The Two Covenants How Shall one Make Use of Christ as the Life, when Wrestling with an Angry God Because of Sin?
That we may give some satisfaction to this question, we shall, 1. Shew what are the ingredients in this case, or what useth to concur in this distemper. 2. Shew some reasons why the Lord is pleased to dispense thus with his people. 3. Shew how Christ is life to the soul in this case. 4. Shew the believer's duty for a recovery; and, 5. Add a word or two of caution. As to the first, There may be those parts of, or ingredients in this distemper: 1. God presenting their sins unto their view, so as …
John Brown (of Wamphray)—Christ The Way, The Truth, and The Life The Sins of Communities Noted and Punished.
"Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation." This is predicated of the judgments of God on those who had shed the blood of his saints. The Savior declares that all the righteous blood which had been shed on the earth from that of Abel down to the gospel day, should come on that generation! But is not this unreasonable and contrary to the Scriptures? "Far be wickedness from God and iniquity from the Almighty. For the work of man shall be render unto him, and cause every …
Andrew Lee et al—Sermons on Various Important Subjects The Whole Heart
LET me give the principal passages in which the words "the whole heart," "all the heart," are used. A careful study of them will show how wholehearted love and service is what God has always asked, because He can, in the very nature of things, ask nothing less. The prayerful and believing acceptance of the words will waken the assurance that such wholehearted love and service is exactly the blessing the New Covenant was meant to make possible. That assurance will prepare us for turning to the Omnipotence …
Andrew Murray—The Two Covenants The Medes and the Second Chaldaean Empire
THE FALL OF NINEVEH AND THE RISE OF THE CHALDAEAN AND MEDIAN EMPIRES--THE XXVIth EGYPTIAN DYNASTY: CYAXARES, ALYATTES, AND NEBUCHADREZZAR. The legendary history of the kings of Media and the first contact of the Medes with the Assyrians: the alleged Iranian migrations of the Avesta--Media-proper, its fauna and flora; Phraortes and the beginning of the Median empire--Persia proper and the Persians; conquest of Persia by the Medes--The last monuments of Assur-bani-pal: the library of Kouyunjik--Phraortes …
G. Maspero—History Of Egypt, Chaldaea, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, V 8 Josiah, a Pattern for the Ignorant.
"Because thine heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before the Lord, when thou heardest what I spake against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and hast rent thy clothes, and wept before Me; I also have heard thee, saith the Lord. Behold therefore, I will gather thee unto thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered into thy grave in peace; and thine eyes shall not see all the evil which I will bring upon this place."--2 Kings …
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VIII Kings
The book[1] of Kings is strikingly unlike any modern historical narrative. Its comparative brevity, its curious perspective, and-with some brilliant exceptions--its relative monotony, are obvious to the most cursory perusal, and to understand these things is, in large measure, to understand the book. It covers a period of no less than four centuries. Beginning with the death of David and the accession of Solomon (1 Kings i., ii.) it traverses his reign with considerable fulness (1 Kings iii.-xi.), …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links 2 Kings 23:20 NIV2 Kings 23:20 NLT2 Kings 23:20 ESV2 Kings 23:20 NASB2 Kings 23:20 KJV
2 Kings 23:20 Commentaries
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