The Importance of Kammanim

Each Judean king, starting with Asa through Jotham, was suspect because he did not remove or tear down the bamot. By association, they probably continued using them for sacrificial purposes. The text's emphasis on the kings and their inability to remove bamot reflects the expectations articulated in 1 Kings 3, 2. Bamot should have been discarded, presumably because they were obsolete and replaced by the Jerusalem temple.