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.
What strikes me is the corruption that had festered in the very temple of God for so long, right under the king's own watch. Josiah himself had reigned eighteen years in piety, yet when he searched out idolatry, the filth he found was almost beyond belief. But here is the hard truth: all this thorough cleansing, all these hopeful reforms, could not save Jerusalem from utter ruin a few years after, for the people hated to be reformed.
AI summary
Commenting on 2 Kings 23:4-24
And he brake in pieces the images,.... Of Ashtoreth, Chemosh, and Milcom, in the above high places; which as these high places had been rebuilt by Manasseh or Amon, so new images of these deities were placed there: and cut down the groves; in which they were set: and filled their places with the bones of men; of idolatrous priests and worshippers, buried in parts...
Josiah burned all the idolatry apparatus in the fields of Kidron, where Jerusalem cast her filth, but then went further than his reforming forebears: he collected the ashes and fragments and had them carried to Bethel itself, making that accursed place a living monument of horror and aversion. His zeal far outstripped the piety of those who came before him.
AI summary
Commenting on 2 Kings 23:4-28