Josiah - A Strong Man Who Took a Stand

By Mary Vee
Ii Kings 23, II Chronicles 34

From the Journals of Josiah

Photo Courtesy

We had no excuse for worshiping other gods. We'd foolishly wanted to be like the countries around us.

Over time, many idols made their way into Judah, because, sadly, our people let them come. Baal, Asherah, the starry hosts, Molech, the sun, Topheth, Chemosh. What were we thinking?

We had everything. God had given us this land and asked only that we worshiped Him. Give thanks for what He had done. And know that we could go to Him for help at any time. But the kings before me had led our nation away and up to this time, so had I. My heart is broken.

Anger filled me. I took men and went throughout Judea to:

1. Get rid of all the priest who served idols.
2. Take the Asherah poles down from the temple and carried them to the Kidron Valley where we burned them.
3. Took down the booths where women did weaving for Asherah
4. Destroyed all the high places where incense to idols had been burned.
5. Broke the shrines at the gates
6. Destroyed Topheth where the people worshiped Molech by hurting their children.
7. Removed the horses at the front of the temple that had been dedicated to the sun god.
8. Burned the chariots dedicated to the sun god.
9. Pulled down the altars on the roof and altars in the courts of the temple, smashed them to pieces and put the rubble in the Kidron Valley
10. Destroyed the high places that Solomon had built for Asherah, for Chemosh, and for Molech.
11. Smashed the sacred stones and the Asherah poles east of Jerusalem.
12. Got rid of all the false prophets and false spiritual people

Then I went out to all the territories of Israel and removed all the idols that God hated. I told them to worship only God. And as long as I was alive I knew they worshiped only the almighty God who loves all of us. 

This was the least I could do for the God who saved us from captivity, gave us a land, and promised to care for us.

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1. What had the people of Judah done wrong?
2. Why did the people worship idols?
3. Why was Josiah angry?
4. What are some of the things Josiah did?
5. After Josiah finished in Judah, where did he go? And what did he do there?
6. What did the people do the rest of Josiah's days?