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 of the temple of the LORD all the vessels that were made for Baal, and for the grove, and for all the host of heaven: and he burned them without Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, and carried the ashes of them unto Bethel.
The king ordered Hilkiah the high priest, along with the other priests and temple guards, to remove from the LORD's temple all the objects that had been made for worshiping Baal, Asherah poles, and the stars. He burned these things outside Jerusalem in the Kidron Valley and took their ashes to Bethel.
King Josiah commanded that all the false worship items be removed from God's temple and destroyed, showing his commitment to purifying worship of the true God.
📚 Historical Context
This occurred during King Josiah's religious reforms around 621 BC, when he worked to restore proper worship of God in Judah. The temple had been filled with objects for worshiping false gods like Baal (a Canaanite fertility god), Asherah (represented by wooden poles), and celestial bodies, which previous kings had allowed or encouraged. Josiah was systematically removing all traces of idol worship to bring the nation back to following God's law.
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