A Prophesied Destruction Fulfilled

In the days of Jeroboam, who became king over Israel after it split from Rehoboam, son of Solomon, an altar was built to a golden calf in Bethel. Jeroboam instituted a new feast day and new practices of faith so to keep his people from going to Jerusalem and to the LORD. A man of God came from Judah to Bethel by the Word of the LORD while Jeroboam was standing by that altar to burn incense. He cried against that altar by the Word of the LORD, ‘O altar, altar, thus says the LORD, ‘Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name; and on you he shall sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and human bones shall be burned on you.’’

Then that man of God gave a sign the same day, saying, ‘This is the sign which the LORD has spoken, ‘Behold, the altar shall be split apart and the ashes which are on it shall be poured out.’ Jeroboam heard the words of the prophet, stretched his hand out to seize him, and his arm withered. Then the altar split apart and the ashes were poured out. The man of God left to return to Judah, was hoodwinked by another prophet to stay for a meal, then the doom he was warned about happened - a lion mauled and killed him just outside the city. His body was buried in the grave of the prophet who persuaded him to stay for a meal and a monument was built to commemorate the event - even including the name Josiah as the one who would come and do those things.

Roughly 300 years later, Josiah became king. He heard the words of the Law and humbled himself. A prophesied destruction was coming on Jerusalem and Judah which could not be stopped, but Josiah was promised he would not see it in his days. So Josiah immediately went about doing everything he could to bring his people to repentance. Starting in Jerusalem and the Temple, he cleaned out all of the idols and burned them in the Kidron Valley. He gathered all the men and elders of the people to read the words of the Law to them, so they would know what was coming and why. Then they made a covenant to follow the LORD wholeheartedly. 

The idols for Baal, Asherah, the sun, moon and stars were removed and burned. The priest who burned incense to them were removed. The Asherah was burned and the ashes were thrown on the graves of common people. The destroyed the house of the transsexual male cult prostitutes which were actually in the House of the LORD. He gathered all the actual priests from Judah and they went about destroying all the high places where incense had been being burned. Josiah defiled Topheth in the Valley of Ben Hinnom, the horrible place where people had been burning their own children to Molech. He burned the chariots of the sun which Solomon built. He destroyed the altars of Ahaz which were on the roof on the Temple. The altars for Ashtoreth, Chemosh, and Milcom that Solomon built were finally destroyed. He broke down the sacred pillars and filled their places with human bones.

Then Josiah and the priests went to Bethel and destroyed the altar which Jeroboam had built. He saw a nearby graveyard, removed the bones, and burned them on the remains of the altar.  Then he saw the monument nearby and asked the people of the city about it. They related the story of the prophesied destruction, pointing out Josiah’s name on the inscription, and told him how he fulfilled the words of the prophet. Josiah left that monument alone, but removed all the remaining high places all throughout Samaria. He slaughtered the priests of those places and burned them in their idolatrous altars. Then he returned to Jerusalem.

Josiah ensured that his reign would see his people return to the LORD. He did what no king before him had done - he got rid of all the idols everywhere in all the land which the kings before him had made. He made sure those places of idol worship were desecrated so his people would return to the LORD their God. He knew God would still bring His appointed end, but maybe he could delay it for a time. Sin rises up in every society to a point where God destroys it completely. There is nothing that can stop that judgment from happening, nothing except repentance. And even then it can only delay it for a short time.