Study Desk

"This is what you must do to those nations: You must smash their altars and break their memorial stones into pieces. Cut down their Asherah poles and burn their statues.

You must smash their altars and break their memorial stones into pieces. You must burn their Asherah poles and cut down the statues of their gods. Wipe out everything that would remind you of those gods.

"When you set up an altar for the Lord your God, you must not place beside the altar any of the wooden poles that honor the goddess Asherah.

The Lord saw that the Israelites did evil things. They forgot about the Lord their God and served the false gods Baal and Asherah.

That same night the Lord said to Gideon, "Choose your father's best bull, the one that is seven years old. First, use it to pull down the altar your father built to worship Baal. Also, cut down the Asherah pole beside the altar.

Then build the right kind of altar for the Lord your God. Build it on this high ground. Then kill and burn the bull on this altar. Use the wood from the Asherah pole to burn your offering."

The men of the city got up the next morning and saw that the altar for Baal had been destroyed! They also saw that the Asherah pole had been cut down. It had been sitting next to the altar for Baal. They also saw the altar that Gideon had built. And they saw the bull that had been sacrificed on that altar.

The men of the city looked at each other and asked, "Who pulled down our altar? Who cut down our Asherah pole? Who sacrificed this bull on this new altar?" They asked many questions and tried to learn who did this. Someone told them, "Gideon son of Joash did this."

So the men of the city came to Joash and said, "You must bring your son out. He pulled down the altar for Baal, and he cut down the Asherah pole that was beside it. So your son must die."

King Asa also took away the right of his mother Maacah to be queen mother. He did this because she had set up one of those awful Asherah poles. Asa cut down the pole and burned it in the Kidron Valley.

Now tell all the people of Israel to meet me at Mount Carmel. Also bring the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of the goddess Asherah, who get their support from Queen Jezebel."

But the Israelites still did not stop committing the sins of the family of Jeroboam that caused Israel to sin. The Israelites continued committing the sins of Jeroboam. They also kept the Asherah poles in Samaria.

They put up memorial stones and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree.

The people stopped following the commands of the Lord their God. They made two gold statues of calves. They made Asherah poles. They worshiped all the stars of heaven and served Baal.

Hezekiah destroyed the high places. He broke the memorial stones and cut down the Asherah poles. At that time the Israelites burned incense to the bronze snake made by Moses. This bronze snake was called "Nehushtan." Hezekiah broke this bronze snake into pieces.

Manasseh rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had destroyed. He also built altars for Baal and made an Asherah pole, just as King Ahab of Israel had done. Manasseh worshiped and served the stars of heaven.

Manasseh made a carved statue of Asherah. He put this statue in the Temple. The Lord had said to David and to David's son Solomon about this Temple: "I have chosen Jerusalem from all the cities in Israel. I will put my name in the Temple in Jerusalem forever.

Then the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, the other priests, and the gatekeepers to bring out of the Lord 's Temple all the dishes and things that were made to honor Baal, Asherah, and the stars of heaven. Then Josiah burned those things outside Jerusalem in the fields in Kidron Valley. Then they carried the ashes to Bethel.

Josiah removed the Asherah pole from the Lord 's Temple. He took the Asherah pole outside the city to the Kidron Valley and burned it there. Then he beat the burned pieces into dust and scattered the dust over the graves of the common people.

Then King Josiah broke down the houses of the male prostitutes who were in the Lord 's Temple. Women also used these houses and made little tent covers to honor the false goddess Asherah.