231 Then the king sent , and they gathered to him all the elders of Judah and of Jerusalem . 2 The king went up to the house of the Lord and all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests and the prophets and all the people , both small and great ; and he read in their hearing all the words of the book of the covenant which was found in the house of the Lord . 3 The king stood by the 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 his heart and all his soul , to carry out the words of this covenant that were written in this book . And all the people entered into the covenant .
4 Then the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest and the priests of the second order and the doorkeepers , to bring out of the temple of the Lord all the vessels that were made for Baal , for Asherah , and for all the host of heaven ; and he burned them outside e Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron , and carried their ashes to Bethel 5 He did away with the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah had appointed to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah and in the surrounding area of Jerusalem , also those who burned incense to Baal , to the sun and to the moon and to the constellations and to all the host of heaven . 6 He brought out the Asherah from the house of the Lord outside e Jerusalem to the brook Kidron , and burned it at the brook Kidron , and ground it to dust , and threw its dust on the graves of the common people . 7 He also broke down the houses of the male cult prostitutes which were in the house of the Lord , where e the women were weaving hangings for the Asherah . 8 Then he brought all the priests from the cities of Judah , and defiled the high places where e the priests had burned incense , from Geba to Beersheba ; and he broke down the high places of the gates which were at the entrance of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city , which were on one's left at the city gate . 9 Nevertheless the priests of the high places did not go up to the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem , but they ate unleavened bread among their brothers . 10 He also defiled Topheth , which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom , that no man might make his son or his daughter pass through the fire for Molech . 11 He did away with the horses which the kings of Judah had given to the sun , at the entrance of the house of the Lord , by the chamber of Nathan-melech the official , which was in the precincts ; and he burned the chariots of the sun with fire . 12 The altars which were on the roof , the upper chamber of Ahaz , which the kings of Judah had made , and the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the Lord , the king broke down ; and he smashed them there and threw their dust into the brook Kidron . 13 The high places which were before e Jerusalem , which were on the right of the mount of destruction which Solomon the king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians , and for Chemosh the abomination of Moab , and for Milcom the abomination of the sons of Ammon , the king defiled . 14 He broke in pieces the sacred pillars and cut down the Asherim and filled their places with human bones 15 Furthermore , the altar that was at Bethel and the high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat , who made Israel sin , had made , even that altar and the high place he broke down . Then he demolished its stones, ground them to dust , and burned the Asherah . 16 Now when Josiah turned , he saw the graves that were there on the mountain , and he sent and took the bones from the graves and burned them on the altar and defiled it according to the word of the Lord which the man of God proclaimed , who proclaimed these things . 17 Then he said , "What is this monument that I see ?" And the men of the city told him, " It is the grave of the man of God who came from Judah and proclaimed these things which you have done against the altar of Bethel ." 18 He said , "Let him alone ; let no one disturb his bones ." So they left his bones undisturbed with the bones of the prophet who came from Samaria . 19 Josiah also removed all the houses of the high places which were in the cities of Samaria , which the kings of Israel had made provoking the Lord ; and he did to them just e as he had done in Bethel 20 All the priests of the high places who were there he slaughtered on the altars and burned human bones on them; then he returned to Jerusalem .
21 Then the king commanded all the people saying , " Celebrate the Passover to the Lord your God as it is written in this book of the covenant . 22 Surely such a Passover had not been celebrated from the days of the judges who judged Israel , nor in all the days of the kings of Israel and of the kings of Judah . 23 But in the eighteenth e year of King Josiah , this Passover was observed to the Lord in Jerusalem .
24 Moreover , Josiah removed the mediums and the spiritists and the teraphim and the idols and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem , that he might confirm the words of the law which were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the Lord .
25 Before him there was no king like him who turned to the Lord with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might , according to all the law of Moses ; nor did any like him arise after him.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on 2 Kings 23:1-25
Commentary on 2 Kings 23:1-3
(Read 2 Kings 23:1-3)
Josiah had received a message from God, that there was no preventing the ruin of Jerusalem, but that he should only deliver his own soul; yet he does his duty, and leaves the event to God. He engaged the people in the most solemn manner to abolish idolatry, and to serve God in righteousness and true holiness. Though most were formal or hypocritical herein, yet much outward wickedness would be prevented, and they were accountable to God for their own conduct.
Commentary on 2 Kings 23:4-14
(Read 2 Kings 23:4-14)
What abundance of wickedness in Judah and Jerusalem! One would not have believed it possible, that in Judah, where God was known, in Israel, where his name was great, in Salem, in Zion, where his dwelling-place was, such abominations should be found. Josiah had reigned eighteen years, and had himself set the people a good example, and kept up religion according to the Divine law; yet, when he came to search for idolatry, the depth and extent were very great. Both common history, and the records of God's word, teach, that all the real godliness or goodness ever found on earth, is derived from the new-creating Spirit of Jesus Christ.
Commentary on 2 Kings 23:15-24
(Read 2 Kings 23:15-24)
Josiah's zeal extended to the cities of Israel within his reach. He carefully preserved the sepulchre of that man of God, who came from Judah to foretell the throwing down of Jeroboam's altar. When they had cleared the country of the old leaven of idolatry, then they applied themselves to the keeping of the feast. There was not holden such a passover in any of the foregoing reigns. The revival of a long-neglected ordinance, filled them with holy joy; and God recompensed their zeal in destroying idolatry with uncommon tokens of his presence and favour. We have reason to think that during the remainder of Josiah's reign, religion flourished.
Commentary on 2 Kings 23:25-30
(Read 2 Kings 23:25-30)
Upon reading these verses, we must say, Lord, though thy righteousness be as the great mountains, evident, plainly to be seen, and past dispute; yet thy judgments are a great deep, unfathomable, and past finding out. The reforming king is cut off in the midst of his usefulness, in mercy to him, that he might not see the evil coming upon his kingdom: but in wrath to his people, for his death was an inlet to their desolations.