Asherah in the Old Testament
Asherah is not presented as a faithful woman or a person in Israel’s story. Rather, the word appears in passages about the religious practices of the nations living around Israel. The KJV commonly uses the word “grove”, which can sound like an ordinary group of trees to modern readers. Yet the context shows it was connected to pagan worship and to an object or site set up for that worship.
God told Israel not to plant a grove beside His altar (Deuteronomy 16:21). That command protected the worship of the Lord from being mixed with the customs of Canaan. Israel was not meant to borrow pagan symbols and then attach them to the worship of God.
Thou shalt not plant thee a grove of any trees near unto the altar of the Lord thy God, which thou shalt make thee.
A symbol of false worship
The Hebrew term behind the KJV word “grove” is Asherah. In some settings it seems to point to a carved image or sacred pole used in idol worship. For example, Manasseh placed an image of the grove in the temple itself, directly opposing God’s purpose for His house (2 Kings 21:7).
The Bible also links this worship with Baal. On Mount Carmel, Elijah confronted the prophets of Baal and the prophets of the groves who ate at Jezebel’s table (1 Kings 18:19). The issue was not simply competing religious ideas. Israel was being asked to decide whether it would follow the Lord or serve idols.
Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel's table.
Why Israel was warned
The Lord had already warned His people to tear down pagan altars, images and groves rather than accommodate them (Exodus 34:13). Idolatry distorted their relationship with God because it gave created things the honour that belongs to the Creator alone.
Judges describes one of Israel’s recurring failures in exactly these terms: they forgot the Lord and served Baalim and the groves (Judges 3:7). It was a pattern that brought real harm. When the people turned from God, they also stepped away from the life and justice He called them to.
Removing Asherah worship
Later, King Josiah acted decisively against this idolatry. He brought the grove out of the temple, burned it, and destroyed what had been used in its worship (2 Kings 23:6). His actions showed that renewal was more than a private feeling. It involved removing practices that had displaced God.
For Christians today, Asherah is a reminder that worship matters. God does not need extra symbols, spiritual substitutes, or cultural additions to make Him more acceptable. Jesus taught that true worship is marked by spirit and truth (John 4:24). Reading these difficult Old Testament stories can prompt an honest question: what, if anything, competes for the trust and devotion that belong to God?
And he brought out the grove from the house of the Lord, without Jerusalem, unto the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and stamped it small to powder, and cast the powder thereof upon the graves of the children of the people.