Josiah reform's
After going through the book of law and punishment, Josiah made a
covenant with the people to obey the law and save the nation. He carried
out the following religious reforms.
He removed the vessels of Baal and Asherah from the temple, burnt
them in Kidron and carried the ashes to Bethel.
He destroyed the shrines and houses of the male cult prostitutes.
He deposed all the idolatrous priests of Judah who burnt incense in
the high places and defiled their high places.
He pulled down and broke into pieces all the images dedicated to the
sun god by his fathers; he removed the horses dedicated to the sun
at the entrance of the temple and burnt their chariots.
He extended his reforms to the North. He went up to Bethel in the
Northern Israel and destroyed the altar set up by Jeroboam the son
of Nebat.
He defiled the high places built by Solomon for Asherah, Chemosh
and Milcom.
He destroyed the Asherah and filled their places with bones of the
dead.
He defiled Topheth and stopped human sacrifice to Molech.
All the shrines of the high places in the cities of Samaria were
destroyed.
He ordered all the priests out of the cities of Judah and instructed
them to go to Jerusalem where he had centralized all worship.
He burned the high places from Geba to Beer-Sheba where the
priests had burned incense.
He broke down the high places that were at the entrance of the gate
of Joshua, the governor of the city.
He defiled the high places east of Jerusalem which Solomon had built
for Ashtoreth, Chemosh and Milcom.
He killed all the idolatrous priests in the Northern kingdom before
returning to Jerusalem.
He destroyed wizards, mediums and teraphim (household gods).
He reinstituted the Passover.