Bird's-eye view
This passage is the climactic moment of Josiah's righteous reformation, where the king's zeal for God's law carries him beyond the borders of Judah and into the heartland of the northern apostasy. Here at Bethel, the ground zero of Israel's formal rebellion, Josiah brings to fulfillment a prophecy made some three centuries earlier. This is not simply an act of political aggression or iconoclastic fervor; it is a profound demonstration of the enduring authority and precision of God's prophetic word. The whole scene is dripping with covenantal significance. Josiah, the true son of David, methodically dismantles the altar of Jeroboam, the man who institutionalized idolatry and "made Israel to sin." The defilement of this pagan altar with human bones is a graphic and calculated act of desecration, showing utter contempt for the false worship that had plagued God's people for generations. The narrative then pivots to the tombs on the hillside, weaving together the fates of two prophets from the past, reminding us that even in judgment, God remembers His faithful servants and distinguishes between the righteous and the wicked. This is history governed by the word of God, a word that is never spoken in vain.
At its core, this text is about the collision of two kingdoms and two covenants. Jeroboam's altar at Bethel represented a man-made, politically motivated religion designed for convenience and control. It was a counterfeit covenant. Josiah's actions represent the restoration of the one true covenant, grounded in the book of the law found in the Temple. The burning of bones, the slaughter of idolatrous priests, and the pulverizing of the high place are all violent, tangible expressions of the truth that God will not tolerate rivals. He is a jealous God, and true reformation always involves a radical tearing down of idols, both physical and spiritual. This is a story about the long memory of God and the absolute certainty of His promises and warnings.
Outline
- 1. The Prophecy Fulfilled at Bethel (2 Kings 23:15-20)
- a. The Destruction of Jeroboam's Altar (2 Kings 23:15)
- b. The Defilement by Human Bones (2 Kings 23:16)
- c. The Inquiry About the Monument (2 Kings 23:17)
- d. The Preservation of the Prophets' Bones (2 Kings 23:18)
- e. The Extension of the Purge into Samaria (2 Kings 23:19)
- f. The Execution of the Pagan Priests (2 Kings 23:20)
Context In 2 Kings
This passage comes at the apex of the account of Josiah's reign, which stands as a bright but brief flash of light before the final darkness of Judah's exile. After the discovery of the Book of the Law in the temple (2 Kings 22), Josiah leads the nation in a radical covenant renewal. Chapter 23 details the specifics of his reformation. He first purges Jerusalem and Judah of all idolatrous practices, from the high places built by Solomon to the cult prostitutes in the temple precincts. The narrative then follows Josiah as he crosses the border into the territory of the former northern kingdom, which had fallen to Assyria over a century earlier. The focus on Bethel is deliberate and strategic. Bethel was not just another high place; it was the official, state-sanctioned center of the golden calf cult established by Jeroboam I to prevent the northern tribes from worshiping in Jerusalem (1 Kings 12). By destroying this altar, Josiah is striking at the historical and theological root of the schism and apostasy that led to Israel's downfall. His actions here are the final and most significant step in his efforts to restore true worship according to the law of God.
Key Issues
- The Sovereignty of God in History
- The Unfailing Nature of Prophecy
- The Nature of True Reformation
- Corporate Sin and Generational Consequences
- The Distinction Between True and False Worship
- The Lawful Use of State Power in Suppressing Idolatry
The Long Fuse of Prophecy
One of the most remarkable features of this text is its direct and explicit fulfillment of a prophecy given in 1 Kings 13. Three hundred years before Josiah was born, a man of God from Judah stood before this very altar at Bethel and prophesied against it in the presence of Jeroboam himself. He declared, "O altar, altar, thus says Yahweh: 'Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name, and he shall sacrifice on you the priests of the high places who make offerings on you, and human bones shall be burned on you'" (1 Kings 13:2). This is not a vague, fuzzy prediction. It is stunningly precise, even naming the king who would carry it out.
This demonstrates something fundamental about the nature of God and His word. God is the Lord of history. He does not simply react to events; He authors them. The centuries that passed between the prophecy and its fulfillment were filled with rebellion, apostasy, and judgment, but God's purpose was never derailed. His word is like a seed planted in the soil of history; it may lie dormant for generations, but it will sprout and bear its intended fruit at exactly the appointed time. Josiah is not acting on a whim here. He is the instrument of a divine decree, the living embodiment of God's faithfulness to His own word. This should give us tremendous confidence. The God who spoke through the man of God in Jeroboam's day is the same God who speaks to us in Scripture. His promises are just as certain, and His warnings just as sure.
Verse by Verse Commentary
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 tore down. Then he demolished its stones, ground them to dust, and burned the Asherah.
The Chronicler is meticulous here. He identifies the target not just by location, Bethel, but by its corrupt pedigree. This was the altar of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, whose name is forever linked with the damning epithet, who made Israel sin. This wasn't just a personal failing; Jeroboam institutionalized rebellion. He created a state religion as a political expediency, a rival to the true worship of Yahweh in Jerusalem. Josiah's actions are therefore not just about cleansing a piece of real estate. He is prosecuting a centuries-old covenant lawsuit. The destruction is total and systematic. He tore it down, demolished its stones, and then ground them to dust. This is not a half-hearted renovation; it is an obliteration. The goal is to erase every trace of this cancerous growth from the land. The burning of the Asherah pole, the symbol of the female consort to Baal, shows that this syncretistic worship was a toxic blend of Yahwism and rank paganism.
16 Then Josiah turned, and 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 Yahweh which the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these things.
Here is the fulfillment of the prophecy in its graphic detail. To defile an altar with human bones, particularly bones from a grave, was the ultimate act of desecration under the Mosaic law. It rendered the place permanently unclean. Josiah makes this altar, once the center of a counterfeit religion, into a place of ceremonial filth. Notice the agency. Josiah saw the graves, he sent, and he took the bones. He is the active agent, the king executing judgment. But the text immediately qualifies this by stating that he did all this according to the word of Yahweh. Josiah's will was aligned with God's revealed will. He was not a rogue vigilante; he was a covenant-keeping king, submitting his authority to God's prior authority. The word of the man of God, spoken three centuries before, was now being executed with painstaking accuracy.
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.”
Josiah's work of destruction is interrupted by a point of curiosity. He sees a monument, a headstone, that stands out. His question is not idle. In the midst of this righteous rampage, he pauses. The local citizens provide the answer, and it is a stunning confirmation of what is happening. This is the tomb of the very prophet who foretold these events. Think of the scene. The king, named in a prophecy centuries ago, is standing at the site of its fulfillment, and he is now looking at the tomb of the man who delivered the prophecy. God's word and God's history are intersecting in a powerful, tangible way. The past is not dead and gone; it is present and active. The man of God's words were still echoing in Bethel, and Josiah's actions were their final reverberation.
18 And he said, “Let him alone; let no one move his bones.” So they left his bones undisturbed with the bones of the prophet who came from Samaria.
Josiah, the defiler of graves, now becomes the protector of a grave. This is a crucial distinction. His war is against false worship, not against the righteous dead. By honoring the tomb of the man of God, he is honoring the God who sent him. The mention of the other prophet, the one from Samaria who had deceived the man of God but was later buried with him (1 Kings 13:31-32), is a poignant detail. Even this disobedient prophet, who died under judgment, received a measure of grace by being associated with the true prophet. His bones are spared because they are next to the bones of the faithful man. It is a small picture of how we, who are disobedient and faithless, can be spared by our proximity to the one who was perfectly faithful, the Lord Jesus Christ.
19 And also all the houses of the high places which were in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made provoking Yahweh to anger, Josiah removed; and he did to them just as he had done in Bethel.
The reformation was not limited to the symbolic site of Bethel. Josiah's zeal takes him throughout the former northern kingdom. He conducts a comprehensive purge of all the satellite shrines, the houses of the high places. The text notes that these were made by the kings of Israel and that their purpose and effect was to provoke Yahweh to anger. This is the language of covenant lawsuit. Idolatry is not a harmless lifestyle choice; it is a direct assault on the honor of God, a violation of the first and second commandments, and it kindles His righteous wrath. Josiah acts as God's agent, extending the same thorough destruction he brought to Bethel across the entire region.
20 And 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.
This is the stark and bloody conclusion to the northern campaign. Josiah executes the false priests. To our modern sensibilities, this seems impossibly harsh. But we must read this through the lens of the Mosaic law, which Josiah was seeking to uphold. The law was clear: idolatry was a capital offense, and those who led others into it were to be put to death (Deut. 13:6-11). These were not simply priests of a different denomination; they were spiritual poisoners, leading God's people into covenant rebellion and ultimate destruction. Josiah, as the covenanted king, was exercising his duty as God's magistrate to punish evildoers. He slaughters them on the altars where they served, turning their places of worship into their places of execution. He then burns human bones on the altars, rendering them permanently defiled. His work complete, he returns to Jerusalem, the center of true worship.
Application
This passage is a potent reminder that true reformation is never a tidy or comfortable process. It involves tearing down, demolishing, and grinding to dust those things that stand in opposition to the word of God. We live in an age that prizes tolerance and abhors dogmatism, but Josiah's reformation was gloriously intolerant of idolatry. This is a call for the church to examine its own life. Where have we set up our own Bethels? Where have we substituted man-made traditions, pragmatic programs, or therapeutic messages for the pure worship of God according to His word?
Reformation must begin with the recovery of the law of God, as it did for Josiah. We cannot tear down idols if we do not know what they are. We must be a people saturated in Scripture, willing to let its sharp edge cut away the cancerous growths in our churches, our families, and our own hearts. This is not a call for literal iconoclasm, but for a spiritual one. We must slaughter the idolatrous priests in our own souls, the pride, the greed, the lust, the self-pity that set themselves up on the altars of our hearts. And we must do so with the confidence that God's word is true and his promises are certain. The prophecy about Josiah took three hundred years to come to pass. We are living between Christ's first and second comings, a much longer period. But the prophecies of his ultimate victory are just as sure. He will return to cleanse his creation, to tear down every high place, and to obliterate every idol. Our task is to live as faithful sons and daughters of this coming King, carrying out the work of reformation in our own spheres, knowing that our labor in the Lord is never in vain.