Thematic Bible
Thematic Bible
Beth-el » A city » A city north of jerusalem » Prophecies against the idolatrous altars at
And the king commanded Hilkiah, the high priest, and the priests of the second order and the keepers of the door, to bring forth out of the temple of the LORD all the vessels that had been made for Baal and for the grove and for all the host of heaven; and he burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron and caused their dust to be carried unto Bethel.
And, behold, a man of God came out of Judah by the word of the LORD unto Bethel; and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense. And he cried against the altar by the word of the LORD and said, O altar, altar, thus hath the LORD said: Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee he shall sacrifice the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men's bones shall be burnt upon thee. And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which the LORD has spoken: Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes with the burnt fat that are upon it shall be poured out. read more.
And when King Jeroboam heard the word of the man of God, who had cried out against the altar in Bethel, that he put forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him. And his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not pull it in again to him. The altar also was rent, and the ashes with the burnt fat were poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the LORD. Then the king answered and said unto the man of God, Intreat now the face of the LORD thy God and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me again. And the man of God besought the LORD, and the king's hand was restored him again and became as it was before.
And when King Jeroboam heard the word of the man of God, who had cried out against the altar in Bethel, that he put forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him. And his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not pull it in again to him. The altar also was rent, and the ashes with the burnt fat were poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the LORD. Then the king answered and said unto the man of God, Intreat now the face of the LORD thy God and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me again. And the man of God besought the LORD, and the king's hand was restored him again and became as it was before.
For that which he proclaimed by the word of the LORD against the altar in Bethel and against all the houses of the high places, which are in the cities of Samaria, shall surely come to pass.
Likewise, the altar that was at Bethel and the high place which Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin, had made: both that altar and the high place he broke down and burned the high place and stamped it small to powder and burned the grove. 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 had proclaimed these words. Then he said, What title is this that I see? And the men of the city told him, It is the sepulchre of the man of God, who came from Judah and proclaimed these things that thou hast done against the altar of Bethel. read more.
And he said, Let him alone; let no one move his bones. So his bones were saved along with the bones of the prophet that had come out of Samaria. 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. 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.
And he said, Let him alone; let no one move his bones. So his bones were saved along with the bones of the prophet that had come out of Samaria. 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. 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.
that in the day that I shall visit the rebellions of Israel upon him, I will also visit upon the altars of Bethel, and the horns of the altar shall be cut off and fall to the ground.