The term "sacrilegious" refers to actions or attitudes that show a lack of reverence for what is considered sacred, particularly in relation to God, His commandments, and holy objects or places. In the biblical context, sacrilege is a serious offense against the holiness of God and His established order.

Old Testament Context

In the Old Testament, sacrilege often involved the misuse or desecration of sacred objects, places, or rituals. The Israelites were given specific instructions on how to handle holy items and conduct worship. Violating these instructions was considered sacrilegious. For example, in Leviticus 10:1-2, Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them. As a result, fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, demonstrating the severity of sacrilege.

The account of Uzzah in 2 Samuel 6:6-7 further illustrates this concept. When the Ark of the Covenant was being transported, Uzzah reached out to steady it and was struck dead by God for his irreverence. The Ark was a symbol of God's presence, and touching it was a violation of its sanctity.

New Testament Context

In the New Testament, sacrilege extends to the profaning of what is holy through actions or attitudes that dishonor God. Jesus Himself addressed sacrilegious behavior when He cleansed the temple, driving out those who were buying and selling there. In Matthew 21:12-13 , Jesus said, "It is written, 'My house will be called a house of prayer,' but you are making it 'a den of robbers.'" This act highlighted the importance of maintaining the sanctity of places dedicated to God.

The Apostle Paul also speaks against sacrilegious behavior in 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 , where he writes, "Do you not know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple." Here, Paul emphasizes the sacredness of the believer's body as a temple of the Holy Spirit, warning against actions that defile it.

Examples and Warnings

Throughout Scripture, there are numerous warnings against sacrilegious behavior. The prophets often rebuked Israel for their idolatry and irreverence toward God. In Ezekiel 22:26 , God condemns the priests for failing to distinguish between the holy and the common, saying, "Her priests do violence to My law and profane My holy things. They do not distinguish between the holy and the common; they teach that there is no difference between the unclean and the clean."

The Bible consistently calls for a reverent attitude toward God and His commandments. Sacrilegious actions are not only offenses against God but also disrupt the covenant relationship between God and His people. Believers are urged to approach God with reverence and awe, recognizing His holiness and the sacredness of His ordinances.(a.) Violating sacred things; impious; irreverent; polluted with sacrilege; involving sacrilege.2417. hierosulos -- robbing temples
... of Speech: Adjective Transliteration: hierosulos Phonetic Spelling: (hee-er-os'-
oo-los) Short Definition: robbing temples, sacrilegious Definition: robbing ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2417.htm - 6k

If Some One, Despising the Deities, and Furious with a Savagely ...
... Book V. 8 If some one, despising the deities, and furious with a savagely
sacrilegious spirit? If some one, despising the deities ...
/.../the seven books of arnobius against the heathen/8 if some one despising.htm

Petilianus Said: "Or if any one Chance to Recollect the Chants of ...
... Petilianus said: "Or if any one chance to recollect the chants of a priest, is he
therefore to be deemed a priest, because with sacrilegious mouth he publishes ...
/.../chapter 30 68 petilianus.htm

Of Images, and the Ornaments of Temples, and the Contempt in which ...
... of Sicily, when after a victory he had become master of Greece, [151] despise, and
plunder and jeer at such gods, for he followed up his sacrilegious acts by ...
/.../lactantius/the divine institutes/chap iv of images and the.htm

Epistle Lxiii. To Epictetus and to the Congregation of Assur?? ...
... on his own account, who, wretched man that he is, being either wholly blinded in
the darkness of the devil, or deceived by the sacrilegious persuasion of ...
/.../cyprian/the epistles of cyprian/epistle lxiii to epictetus and.htm

Epistle xxxix. To the People, Concerning Five Schismatic ...
... my episcopate, that is, against your suffrage and God's judgment, they renew their
old attack upon me, and once more begin their sacrilegious machinations with ...
/.../cyprian/the epistles of cyprian/epistle xxxix to the people.htm

Acts iv. 36, 37
... guilty of sacrilege. But if he is sacrilegious, who resumes from his own,
much more he who takes from what is not his own. And do ...
/.../chrysostom/homilies on acts and romans/homily xii acts iv 36.htm

We are Worshippers of one God, of Whose Existence and Character ...
... Yet you have never detected us"sacrilegious wretches though you reckon
us to be"in any theft, far less in any sacrilege. But ...
/...//christianbookshelf.org/tertullian/to scapula/chapter ii we are worshippers.htm

"Honorable," Therefore, "Is Marriage in All, and the Bed Undefiled ...
... But as the repasts of the Just are better than the fasts of the sacrilegious, so
the marriage of the faithful is to be set before the virginity of the impious. ...
/.../augustine/on the good of marriage/section 8 honorable therefore is.htm

Which Sentence Dishonoreth the Holy Martyrs, Nay Rather Taketh ...
... As for that Jehu, by an impious lie and a sacrilegious sacrifice making inquisition
for impious and sacrilegious men for to kill them, they would not imitate ...
/.../augustine/against lying/section 3 which sentence dishonoreth.htm

Argument: Then He Shows that C??cilius had Been Wrong in Asserting ...
... Ferocity. And Therefore the Romans Were Not So Great Because They Were
Religious, But Because They Were Sacrilegious with Impunity. ...
/.../felix/the octavius of minucius felix/chapter xxv argument then he shows.htm

Sacrilegious (1 Occurrence)
... (a.) Violating sacred things; impious; irreverent; polluted with sacrilege; involving
sacrilege. Multi-Version Concordance Sacrilegious (1 Occurrence). ...
/s/sacrilegious.htm - 6k

Sacrilege (3 Occurrences)

/s/sacrilege.htm - 8k

Temples (17 Occurrences)
... TEMPLES, ROBBERS OF. (hierosuloi; the King James Version "robbers of churches,"
Acts 19:37): To explain this as "sacrilegious persons" is irreconcilable with ...
/t/temples.htm - 13k

Robbers (21 Occurrences)
... TEMPLES, ROBBERS OF. (hierosuloi; the King James Version "robbers of churches,"
Acts 19:37): To explain this as "sacrilegious persons" is irreconcilable with ...
/r/robbers.htm - 14k

Abomination (78 Occurrences)
... the abomination of the Egyptians" (Exodus 8:26); ie, the cow or ox, which all the
Egyptians held as sacred, and which they regarded it as sacrilegious to kill. ...
/a/abomination.htm - 55k

Sad (73 Occurrences)

/s/sad.htm - 27k

Agape
... action of the ministering priest, the ascetic idea became natural that the Eucharist
ought to be received fasting, and that it would be sacrilegious to link it ...
/a/agape.htm - 15k

Aaron (343 Occurrences)
... Eleazar and Ithamar. The sacrilegious act and consequent judicial death of
Nadab and Abihu are recorded in Leviticus 10. Eleazar and ...
/a/aaron.htm - 56k

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