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Chariots of the Sun (Pagan Worship, Idolatry)
Meaning
The phrase “Chariots of the Sun” was associated with pagan idolatry and the worship of demons. There was a period of time where the Southern Kingdom of Judah fell into idolatry. They had an evil, wicked king named Amon, who rebelled against the Lord. He was eventually killed by his servants and his son Josiah reigned in his place. His son Josiah followed the Lord and instituted reforms which cleared idolatry from the Temple as well as from the land of Judah. Part of this was to remove the articles of idolatry from the Temple which was the House of God (this was the Temple built by Solomon).
The Temple had been abandoned and used for the worship of idols. When Josiah was eighteen years old the High Priest Hilkiah during the restoration of the Temple (when the Chariots of the Sun were removed) found a book of the Law, otherwise known as the scriptures. Josiah reads the scriptures and realized how far the country had fallen and his reforms were meant to restore the kingdom and turn the hearts of the people back to God. The people had all, but forgotten about God and the scripture.
The chariots of the sun were actual chariots dedicated to the sun god for his use. It was not uncommon with pagan worship to dedicate chariots and horses to the false gods. In this case the chariots and horses were supposed to be required to transport the sun god on his daily travels across the sky. The sun god spoken of in these passages, was and Assyrian deity. It came from the mythology and paganism of Assyria, and it’s believed to have crept into Jerusalem during the reign of Amon and his father Manasseh due to Assyrian influence.
The nation of Israel at this point was divided into two kingdoms. One was the Northern Kingdom called Israel, which never had any good kings, they were eventually conquered by the Assyrians and never returned. The other was the Southern Kingdom of Judah who had a mixture of good and bad kings, but mainly good kings. The Southern Kingdom of Judah was taken captive into Babylon for seventy years because of their rebellion against God. After seventy years they were allowed to return and reestablish the nation and rebuild the city of Jerusalem and the Temple. When they returned from Babylon the people took the name Israel, which it had before the split into the Northern and Southern Kingdoms. The nation had split after the reign of Solomon, primarily because of Solomon’s wickedness. He fell into idolatry being influenced by his many wives and abandoned God.
“Then he removed the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun, at the entrance to the house of the Lord, by the chamber of Nathan-Melech, the officer who was in the court; and he burned the chariots of the sun with fire. The altars that were on the roof, the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the Lord, the king broke down and pulverized there, and threw their dust into the Brook Kidron.” (Book of 2nd Kings 12:11-12)