The answer is: Jeroboam

2 Kings 23:15 - What Josiah did to this altar fulfilled a prophecy made hundreds of years earlier in 1 Ki 13:1-2 while Jeroboam was standing by it

Ah, the transformation of altars in biblical history! When Jeroboam became the first king of the northern kingdom of Israel, he felt compelled to create an altar at Bethel to ensure his people's devotion—to compete with the temple in Jerusalem. Interestingly enough, this act was both practical in maintaining his kingdom and prophetic, considering its foreshadowing touches in the later narratives.

Now, fast-forward to King Josiah, the religious reformer—a musician of sorts in his own right, playing a most crucial role in restoring proper worship and the wayward hearts of Israel back to the traditions outlined in the scrolls found in the temple (2 Kings 22:8). His destruction of Jeroboam's altar was a showstopping moment that heckled the essence of backsliding from true worship. This wasn’t just the purification of places; Josiah was shaking history!

While engaging with the stories, keep in mind that the duality of these altars—the old continuities of ancient worship and the new found fidelity toward a unifying idea of God—not only highlights a monumental moment of worship evolution but gives the templates for spiritual theater we find ourselves navigating today. In this narrative arch, we can spot the concept of prophecy being a footbridge, linking events and people across time. From stern warnings to lapses back to purity, the journey was anything but dull! So, let’s watch the pulsating rhythms of these future-focused roles they played. The scholarship on these minefields of faith and governance is endlessly musical.