מלכים ב, פרק י״א, פסוק י״ח

The destruction of the temple of Baal serves as the immediate, practical result of the newly formed covenant with God. For years, the previous kings of Judah, heavily influenced by the house of Ahab, along with Athaliah herself, had actively promoted Baal worship and even constructed a temple dedicated to this idol [ביאור שטיינזלץ, מלבי״ם]. Now, the people take decisive action to uproot this foreign worship entirely. Crowds surge toward the temple of Baal, violently smashing and tearing down the structure [מצודת ציון]. They shatter the altars and idols with immense force, ensuring the destruction is absolute and thorough [מצודת ציון].

The purge of idolatry extends beyond the physical building to the leadership of the cult itself. The crowds execute Mattan, the priest of Baal. The primary approach among commentators is that Mattan was the specific, personal name of this priest [רד״ק, מצודת ציון, אברבנאל, צאינה וראינה]. However, another perspective suggests the term refers to a group of subordinate priests who were assigned to assist the high priest of Baal, meaning the entire group of attendants was killed together in front of the altars [רלב״ג].

With the land cleansed of foreign worship, Jehoiada the High Priest turns his attention to rebuilding the service of God. He appoints officers and guards to oversee the House of God [רש״י, רלב״ג]. Under the rule of the previous idolatrous kings, and particularly during Athaliah's reign, the proper maintenance of the Temple had been completely abandoned. The organized shifts of priests originally established by King David were abolished, leaving the sacred service in ruins [רד״ק, אברבנאל, רש״י, מצודת דוד]. Jehoiada steps in to return the Temple to its original, orderly state. By reassigning the appointed guards and officials, he ensures that the daily sacrifices and the protection of the sanctuary are once again carried out exactly as required [מלבי״ם, רלב״ג].