He followed all the ways of his father; he did not depart from them, and he did what was right in the Lord's sight. However, the high places were not removed and the people still sacrificed and presented offerings there.
Joash told the priests, “Collect together all the money that is brought as holy offerings to the Lord's Temple, whether the census money, the money from individual vows, or the money brought as a voluntary donation to the Lord's Temple.
But the high places were not removed. The people still were sacrificing and presenting burnt offerings in those places. He rebuilt the upper gate of the Lord's Temple.
He removed the high places, smashed the stone idols, and cut down the Asherah poles. He ground to pieces the bronze snake Moses had made, because up to then the Israelites had been sacrificing offerings to it. It was called Nehushtan.
Wasn't it Hezekiah who destroyed the high places and altars of this god and told Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You must worship at this one altar, and offer sacrifices on it alone’?
In the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, Josiah began to publicly worship the God of David his forefather, and in the twelfth year of his reign he began to cleanse Judah and Jerusalem by removing the high places, the Asherah poles, the carved idols, and the metal images.