Jehu ordered the one who was in charge of the wardrobe, “Bring out robes for all the servants of Baal.” So he brought out robes for them.

They worshiped the disgusting idols in blatant disregard of the Lord’s command.

The Lord was with him; he succeeded in all his endeavors. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and refused to submit to him.

Who is the Almighty, that we should serve him? What would we gain if we were to pray to him?’

You rescue me from a hostile army; you make me a leader of nations; people over whom I had no authority are now my subjects.

All who worship idols are ashamed, those who boast about worthless idols. All the gods bow down before him.

The produce of the land is seized by all of them, even the king is served by the fields.

The oxen and donkeys used in plowing will eat seasoned feed winnowed with a shovel and pitchfork.

Indeed, nations or kingdoms that do not serve you will perish; such nations will be totally destroyed.

The answer will come back, “It is because they broke their covenant with the Lord their God and worshiped and served other gods.”

But they will be subject to the Lord their God and to the Davidic ruler whom I will raise up as king over them.

The desolate land will be plowed, instead of being desolate in the sight of everyone who passes by.

Jacob fled to the country of Aram, then Israel worked to acquire a wife; he tended sheep to pay for her.

Instead he will say, ‘I am no prophet – indeed, I am a farmer, for a man has made me his indentured servant since my youth.’

Our livestock must also go with us! Not a hoof is to be left behind! For we must take these animals to serve the Lord our God. Until we arrive there, we do not know what we must use to serve the Lord.”

Isn’t this what we told you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone so that we can serve the Egyptians, because it is better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!’”

Then they cried out to the Lord and admitted, ‘We have sinned, for we have forsaken the Lord and have served the Baals and the images of Ashtoreth. Now deliver us from the hand of our enemies so that we may serve you.’

Then Jehu and Jehonadab son of Rekab went to the temple of Baal. Jehu said to the servants of Baal, “Make sure there are no servants of the Lord here with you; there must be only servants of Baal.”

Josiah removed all the detestable idols from all the areas belonging to the Israelites and encouraged all who were in Israel to worship the Lord their God. Throughout the rest of his reign they did not turn aside from following the Lord God of their ancestors.

“So then, Jeremiah, when your people ask, ‘Why has the Lord our God done all this to us?’ tell them, ‘It is because you rejected me and served foreign gods in your own land. So you must serve foreigners in a land that does not belong to you.’