2 Kings 23:12

2 Kings 23:12 says. And the altars that were on the top of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the Lord, did the king beat down, and brake them down from thence, and cast the dust of them into the brook Kidron.  Josiah continued to purge the altars to false gods from Judah.  He even got rid of the altars that were made by Manasseh and brought into the Temple before being removed, supposedly to worship God but were not made at God's direction nor to really worship Him.  We need to rid ourselves of all worship of false gods, but also of false worship of the true God.  Verse thirteen adds, And the high places that were before Jerusalem, which were on the right hand of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had builded for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Zidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom the abomination of the children of Ammon, did the king defile.  There were still high places to worship false gods that had been built by Solomon and allowed to continue to exist all this time it would seem.  Solomon was noted for his wisdom, but his wisdom did not keep him from worshipping false gods at times.  Wisdom is not going to save us.  Only a childlike faith in Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord will.  Verse fourteen continues, And he brake in pieces the images, and cut down the groves, and filled their places with the bones of men.  Josiah continued to destroy the places of worship of false gods.  Matthew Henry said Josiah did all he could to defile these places of worship of false gods.  We need to do all that we can to make the worship of false gods unappealing today.  Sometimes, we look to incorporate practices that are not commanded by God into our worship services.  At times, church buildings can become almost more important than God Himself, I believe.  Verse fifteen states, Moreover the altar that was at Bethel, and the high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, had made, both that altar and the high place he brake down, and burned the high place, and stamped it small to powder, and burned the grove.  Josiah destroyed the altar and high place at Bethel and burned the grove.  The trees weren't really the problem, but the fact that they were being used to worship false gods was.  We may have things in our lives that are not a problem in and of themselves, but if they come between God and us, we need to get rid of them.  Verse sixteen adds, And as Josiah turned himself, he spied the sepulchres that were there in the mount, and sent, and took the bones out of the sepulchres, and burned them upon the altar, and polluted it, according to the word of the Lord which the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these words.  Matthew Henry says these were likely the bones of the priests of these false gods who had been buried close to the altars as a sign of respect, and Josiah did to their bones what he would have done to them had they been alive.  We are told he did this in accordance with the word of the Lord which the man of God had proclaimed.  We don't need to worship our ancestors and put them above God, and whatever we do should be done in accordance with God's word.  Verse seventeen continues, Then he said, What title is that that I see? And the men of the city told him, It is the sepulchre of the man of God, which came from Judah, and proclaimed these things that thou hast done against the altar of Bethel.  Josiah then saw a tomb with a title over it and asked what it was.  He was told that it was the tomb of the man of God who had proclaimed that the things that Josiah was doing should be done.  This was the prophet who had prophesied about the destruction but then disobeyed God and was killed by a lion according to Matthew Henry.  God's displeasure with him did not last forever, though, and his remains were buried honorably.  Though we are not to worship our ancestors, we can bury them honorably, but we really worship the One Who left His tomb empty, Jesus Christ.  We can also be certain that if we do something to displease God in this world as followers of Christ, that even if He allows us to suffer defeat, it will not last beyond this lifetime.  We are forever His if we have put our faith in Jesus Christ.   Verse eighteen concludes, And he said, Let him alone; let no man move his bones. So they let his bones alone, with the bones of the prophet that came out of Samaria.  Josiah told them to leave this prophets bones alone, and they did.  This was not done so that he could be worshipped, but simply as a sign of respect for him.  Even if we remember and honor great men of God who have died, we should never view them as anything more than faithful Christians,  Verse nineteen says, And all the houses also of the high places that were in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made to provoke the Lord to anger, Josiah took away, and did to them according to all the acts that he had done in Bethel.  Josiah continued to purge the nation of all the false places of worship, and we must remove everything from our lives as Christians that would lead us away from God.  Verse twenty adds, And he slew all the priests of the high places that were there upon the altars, and burned men's bones upon them, and returned to Jerusalem.  He not only destroyed the high places, but he killed all the priests who had served the false gods there.  I don't think we are called on to slay those who represent false religions today, but we do need to do everything we can to make their message ineffective.   God will deal with them ultimately, and I believe our calling is to always try to reach everyone with the gospel of Jesus Christ, even those who serve and proclaim false gods.