And all the people of the land went into the house of Baal, and brake it down; his altars and his images brake they in pieces thoroughly, and slew Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. And the priest appointed officers over the house of the LORD.
Then all the people of the land went to the temple of Baal and tore it down. They completely destroyed his altars and smashed his idols to pieces, and they killed Mattan, the priest of Baal, right in front of the altars. Then the priest appointed guards to watch over the Lord's temple.
The people completely destroyed the false god Baal's temple and killed his priest, then put proper guards in charge of God's temple.
📚 Historical Context
This occurred after the evil Queen Athaliah was overthrown and young King Joash was crowned in Judah around 835 BC. Athaliah had promoted Baal worship throughout the kingdom, building temples and appointing priests to this foreign god. When she was removed from power, the people immediately destroyed these centers of idol worship and restored proper worship of the Lord.
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