Is It Time to Pulverize Your Altars?

“…both that altar and the high place he brake down, and burned the high place, and stamped it small to powder…”
– II Kings 23:15 –

This passage of Scripture is referring to a King of Judah named Josiah. He was only eight years old when he began to reign but Josiah is held as one of the very few righteous Kings that that ruled over Judah prior to the captivity.
A study of King Josiah is a worthy study. Only a small child when the Kingdom was bestowed upon him and having a wicked father (Manessah) and a righteous grandfather (Hezekiah), our governments today could take a great lesson from him.

It is said that once the Truth was revealed to him Josiah set out to cleanse the Kingdom of Judah and remove all the altars and worship centers set up to Baal. The poetic words used to describe the extent of the removal of these altars is quite symbolic, he ‘…stamped it to powder’.

What was his motivation? He was but a child, how could he have been so wise to do these things? The answer is he heard the Truth and he reacted to it.

In the movie The Passion of the Christ, there is a dialogue that speaks directly to us today about Truth.  After the Jewish leaders presented Jesus to Pontius Pilate for judgment, Pilate ask Jesus ‘What is Truth?’ and Jesus does not reply.  Later discussing what he should do with Jesus, Pilate engages in a conversation with his wife, Claudia.

Pontius Pilate: What is truth, Claudia? Do you hear it, recognize it when it is spoken?

Claudia Procles: Yes, I do. Don’t you?

Pontius Pilate: How? Can you tell me?

Claudia Procles: If you will not hear the truth, no one can tell you.

Could we take a lesson of young King Josiah? It is said that ‘…a little chlld shall lead them‘ and in the case of King Josiah, this is true. Oftentimes grown-ups would do well to follow the simple obedience of a child.

Are there worship altars in our lives that need to be ‘...stamped to powder’? Has the Holy Spirit revealed to you areas you need to ‘cleanse’ in your life? If so, take a lesson from King Josiah and allow God to ‘…stamp it small to powder.’