2 Kings 18:4

“He removed the high places, etc.] Which the best of the kings of Judah never attempted, and which is observed of them to their discredit: and broke the images, and cut down the groves; the idols his father set up and served, (<121604>2 Kings 16:4 <142824>2 Chronicles 28:24,26), groves and idols in them, were early instances of idolatry; (see Gill on “<070307>Judges 3:7”), and their use for temples are still continued, not only among some Indian nations f230, but among some Christians in the northern parts of Europe f231; and brake in pieces the brazen serpent that Moses had made; which he made in the wilderness, and which was brought by the children of Israel with them into the land of…”

“HE DESTROYS IDOLATRY. (2Ki. 18:4-37) He removed the high places and brake the images, &c.--The methods adopted by this good king for extirpating idolatry, and accomplishing a thorough reformation in religion, are fully detailed (Ch2 20:3; Ch2 31:19). But they are indicated very briefly, and in a sort of passing allusion. brake in pieces the brazen serpent--The preservation of this remarkable relic of antiquity (Num 21:5-10) might, like the pot of manna and Aaron's rod, have remained an interesting and instructive monument of the divine goodness and mercy to the Israelites in the wilderness: and it must have required the exercise of no small courage and resolution to destroy it. But in the…”

“He removed the high places - This religious reformation was effected in a violent and tumultuous manner (marginal reference). The “high places,” though forbidden in the Law (Deuteronomy 12:2-4, Deuteronomy 12:11-14; compare Leviticus 26:30), had practically received the sanction of Samuel 1Sa 7:10; 1 Samuel 9:12-14, David 2 Samuel 15:32, Solomon 1 Kings 3:4, and others, and had long been the favorite resorts of the mass of the people (see 1 Kings 3:2 note). They were the rural centers for the worship of Yahweh, standing in the place of the later synagogue;, and had hitherto been winked at, or rather regarded as legitimate, even by the best kings. Hezekiah’s desecration of these time-honored…”

“Serpent - The most of them, or such as the people most frequented: for all were not taken away, Kg2 23:13-14, tho' his own father had set them up. We must never dishonour God, in honour to our earthly parents. Brazen serpent - Which had been hitherto kept as a memorial of God's mercy; but being now commonly abused to superstition, was destroyed. To it - Not doubtless as to a god, but only as to an instrument of God's mercy, by and through which, their adoration was directed to God, and given to that only for God's sake. Nehushtan - He said, this serpent, howsoever formerly honoured, and used by God as a sign of his grace, yet now it is nothing but a piece of brass which can do you neither…”

“removed: Kg2 12:3, Kg2 14:4, Kg2 15:4, Kg2 15:35; Lev 26:30; Kg1 3:2, Kg1 3:3, Kg1 15:14, Kg1 22:43; Psa 78:58; Eze 20:28, Eze 20:29 brake: Kg2 23:4; Deu 7:5, Deu 12:2, Deu 12:3; Jdg 6:25, Jdg 6:28; Kg1 15:12, Kg1 15:13; Ch2 19:3, Ch2 31:1; Ch2 33:3 images: Heb. statues the brazen serpent: Num 21:8, Num 21:9; Joh 3:14, Joh 3:15 unto those days: Kg2 16:15 Nehushtan: That is, a piece of brass. 4 Kings (2 Kings) 18:5”