19 Bible Verses about Desecration

The priests must not profane the sacred offerings

Jehovah said: Tell your brother Aaron that he cannot go into the holy place whenever he wants to. If he goes up to the canopy and stands in front of the throne of mercy on the Ark, he will die. This is because I appear in the smoke above the throne of mercy.

The next day the Philistines came to strip the dead. They found Saul and his three sons lying on Mount Gilboa. They cut off his head and stripped off his armor. Then they sent men throughout Philistine territory to tell the people this good news in their idols' temples. They put his armor in the temple of their goddesses the Asherahs and fastened his corpse to the wall of Beth Shan.

As they came to the threshing place of Nacon, the oxen stumbled, and Uzzah reached out and took hold of the Ark of the Covenant. At once Jehovah God became angry with Uzzah. He killed him because of his irreverence. Uzzah died there beside the Ark of the Covenant. Because of that the place has been called Perez Uzzah (breakthrough of Uzzah) ever since. David was furious because Jehovah punished Uzzah in anger.read more.
Then David was afraid of Jehovah and said: How can I take the Ark of the Covenant with me now? So he decided not to take it with him to Jerusalem. Instead, he turned off the road and took it to the house of Obed Edom, a native of the city of Gath. The Ark of Jehovah stayed at the home of Obed Edom from Gath for three months. Jehovah blessed Obed Edom and his whole family.

While he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, Adrammelech and Sharezer assassinated him. They escaped to the land of Ararat. His son Esarhaddon succeeded him as king.

It was the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month, in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. Nebuzaradan, the captain of the armed men, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. He had the Temple of Jehovah, the king's house and all the houses of Jerusalem, even every great house, burned with fire.

Woe to those who scatter sin with cords of falsehood and iniquity with a cart rope! You say: Let Jehovah hurry up and do what he says he will, so that we can see it. Let Israel's holy God carry out his plans. Let us see what he has in mind.

You fast for contention and strife and to strike with a wicked fist. You do not fast today to make your voice heard on high. Is it a fast like this which I choose, a day for a man to humble himself? Is it for bowing one's head like a reed (rush) and for spreading out sackcloth and ashes as a bed? Will you call this a fast, even an acceptable day to Jehovah?

If because of the Sabbath, you turn your foot from doing your pleasure on my holy day, and you call the Sabbath a delight and the holy of Jehovah honorable, and honor it, desisting from your ways, from seeking your own pleasure and speaking your own word,

People make themselves holy and prepare themselves for their garden rituals. They go into the garden and devour pork, disgusting things, and mice. They will come to an end at the same time, declares Jehovah.

Babylon will become a heap of ruins, a haunt of jackals, an object of horror and hissing, without inhabitants.

The hand of her enemies is stretched out over all her desired things. She sees the nations come into her holy place. Whom you gave orders that they were not to come into the meeting of your people.

Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon attacked Judah. It was in the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah. Jehovah (YHWH) allowed Nebuchadnezzar to capture Jehoiakim king of Judah. Nebuchadnezzar carried part of the vessels of the house of God into the Plain of Shinar [in Babylon]. He brought the vessels into the treasure house of his god.

King Belshazzar held a great feast for a thousand of his lords, and drank wine with them. While he tasted the wine, Belshazzar commanded to bring the gold and silver vessels which Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken out of the Temple in Jerusalem. This way the king and his lords, his wives and his concubines, might drink from them. Then they brought the gold vessels that were taken out of the Temple of the House of God that was at Jerusalem. The king and his lords, his wives and his concubines, drank from them.read more.
They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, silver, copper, iron, wood, and of stone.

Jehovah of Hosts declares to the priests: Children honor their parents and servants honor their masters. I am your father. Why do you not honor me? I am your master. Why do you not respect me? You despise me, and yet you ask: How have we despised you? This is how you despise me. You offer worthless food on my altar. Then you ask: 'How have we failed to respect you?' I tell you it is by showing contempt for my altar. You bring blind, sick and lame animals to sacrifice to me. Do you think there is nothing wrong with that? Try giving an animal like that to the governor! Would he be pleased with you or grant you any favors?read more.
Try asking God to show you favor. He will not answer your prayer! It will be your fault, Jehovah the Almighty declares. Jehovah of Hosts continues: Is there one among you who will shut the Temple doors to prevent lighting a useless fire on my altar. I am not pleased with you! I will not accept the offerings you bring me. Where ever the sun rises and sets my name will be great among the people of the nations. Incense will be offered to my name everywhere. It will be a pure offering! For my name will be great among the nations, said Jehovah of Hosts. You profane it by saying: 'The table of Jehovah is polluted and the fruit and food on it is contemptible.' And you say: 'We are tired of all this!' You turn up your nose at me. You offer the lame and the sick and even stolen animals, said Jehovah. Do you think I will accept that from you? The cheater who sacrifices a worthless animal to me will be cursed. For he has in his flock a good animal that he promised to give me! I am a great King, Jehovah of Hosts declares. People of all nations will respect my name!

Jesus went into the official's house and saw flute players and the crowd making a lot of noise. He told them to leave: For the girl is not dead, but sleeps. They all scornfully laughed at him.

Jesus' disciples were hungry. It was Sabbath day and yet Jesus and his disciples went through the grain fields plucking ears and eating them. The Pharisees saw it and said to him: Your disciples do that which it is not lawful to do on the Sabbath. He replied to them: Have you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry?read more.
He entered into the house of God, and he and his companions ate the showbread (holy bread), which it was not lawful for them to eat. It was only lawful for the priests. Have you read the law that on the Sabbath day the priests in the Temple profane the Sabbath, and are guiltless? I say to you, one greater than the Temple is here. If you had known what this means, 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of man is Lord of the Sabbath. He left and went into their synagogue. There he saw a man who had a withered hand. They asked him if it is lawful to heal on the Sabbath day? They wanted to accuse him. He said to them: Which of you having one sheep, if this sheep fell into a pit on the Sabbath day, will not get it and lift it out. How much more value is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath day! Then he said to the man: Stretch out your hand. He stretched it out and it was restored whole like the other.

Jesus went into the Temple and drove out all who were trading there. He overturned the tables of the moneychangers and the seats of those trading in doves. He told them: It is written, 'My house is to be named a house of prayer,' but you are making it a hiding place of thieves.

Some people there gave him an account of how Pilate killed some Galilaeans while they offered sacrifices.