Throughout the Bible, altars play a significant role in the worship and rituals of God’s people. However, alongside the divine altars established for holy worship, the Scriptures also warn about the dangers of evil altars—altars dedicated to false gods, idols, and unholy practices. These altars represent a direct rebellion against the sovereignty of God, often resulting in spiritual decay, idolatry, and destruction.
In this article, we will explore 26 scriptures on evil altars, providing a deep biblical understanding of their significance, how they manifest in the life of individuals and nations, and how believers should respond to their presence. As we journey through these Scriptures, we will see that the Bible repeatedly warns against the practice of worshiping at evil altars and encourages us to dismantle them in our lives to restore pure and true worship to the one true God.
Introduction: Understanding the Concept of Evil Altars
An altar in biblical terms is a place of worship or sacrifice. Altars were used by the people of Israel for offering sacrifices to God, but they were also set up for idol worship and the practice of other sinful rituals. Throughout the Bible, evil altars are associated with practices like child sacrifice, idol worship, and unholy offerings that defy the commands of God.
In the Old Testament, we see the danger of evil altars primarily in the context of the nations surrounding Israel, as well as in times of Israel’s own spiritual decline. These altars, built to false gods like Baal, Molech, and Asherah, often led the Israelites into sin and judgment. However, the New Testament also speaks of altars in a metaphorical sense, urging believers to remain faithful and to worship God in spirit and truth.
Evil altars represent places of rebellion, disobedience, and spiritual bondage. They can take the form of literal physical altars used for idolatry or symbolic representations of idolatry in our hearts and lives today. They stand as an opposition to the altars of God, which are meant to be places of true worship, repentance, and submission to His will.
The Scriptures emphasize that evil altars must be destroyed, rejected, and torn down in order for God’s people to return to holiness, righteousness, and proper worship. The challenge for Christians today is to identify the evil altars in our lives—whether in our hearts, homes, or communities—and to actively dismantle them in obedience to God’s will.
26 Scriptures on Evil Altars
1. Exodus 34:13
“Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and cut down their Asherah poles.”
This verse is a command given to the Israelites to destroy the altars of pagan gods and idols in the land. It highlights the need to reject anything that competes with the worship of the one true God.
2. Leviticus 17:7
“They must no longer offer any of their sacrifices to the goat idols to whom they prostitute themselves. This is to be a lasting ordinance for them and for the generations to come.”
This verse refers to the practice of offering sacrifices to idols, particularly goat idols. It condemns the worship of false gods and calls for the removal of such altars.
3. Deuteronomy 7:5
“This is what you are to do to them: Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones, cut down their Asherah poles and burn their idols in the fire.”
A command to the Israelites to completely destroy the altars and idols of the nations they were to conquer, so they would not be led into idolatry.
4. Deuteronomy 12:3
“Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and burn their Asherah poles in the fire; cut down the idols of their gods and wipe out their names from those places.”
God instructs Israel to cleanse the Promised Land from idolatry and evil altars. This symbolizes the need to purify our lives and remove anything that stands between us and God.
5. 1 Kings 14:23-24
“They also set up for themselves high places, sacred stones and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every spreading tree. There were even male shrine prostitutes in the land; the people engaged in all the detestable practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before them.”
This passage highlights the widespread nature of idolatry and the evil altars that were set up to worship false gods. It reveals the degradation and sin that result from such practices.
6. 1 Kings 18:30-32
“Then Elijah said to all the people, ‘Come here to me.’ They came to him, and he repaired the altar of the Lord, which had been torn down.”
Elijah’s action of repairing the altar of God contrasts with the false altars built to Baal, demonstrating the importance of restoring true worship to God.
7. 2 Kings 23:4-5
“The king ordered Hilkiah the high priest, the priests next in rank, and the doorkeepers to remove from the temple of the Lord all the articles made for Baal and Asherah and all the starry hosts. He burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron Valley and took the ashes to Bethel.”
King Josiah’s reform involved destroying evil altars dedicated to idols, restoring the worship of the one true God.
8. 2 Kings 23:6
“He brought the Asherah pole from the temple of the Lord to the Kidron Valley outside Jerusalem and burned it there.”
This is part of the reform efforts of King Josiah, who sought to remove all forms of idolatry, including the destruction of altars to false gods.
9. 2 Kings 23:12
“He pulled down the altars the kings of Judah had erected on the roof near the upper room of Ahaz, and the altars Manasseh had built in the two courtyards of the temple of the Lord.”
Josiah removed the altars that had been erected by previous kings, symbolizing the need to cleanse both public and private spaces from idol worship.
10. 2 Chronicles 33:3
“He rebuilt the high places his father Hezekiah had demolished; he also erected altars to the Baals and made Asherah poles. He bowed down to all the starry hosts and worshiped them.”
This verse describes the sinful actions of King Manasseh, who set up altars to false gods and led the nation into further idolatry.
11. Isaiah 17:8
“They will not look to the altars, the work of their hands, and they will have no regard for the Asherah poles and the incense altars their ancestors have made.”
This verse speaks to the futility of worshiping idols, as God’s judgment will cause the people to turn away from their false altars.
12. Jeremiah 7:9-10
“Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not known, and then come and stand before me in this house, which bears my Name, and say, ‘We are safe’—safe to do all these detestable things?”
The people of Judah had corrupted the temple with idol worship, and God condemns their hypocrisy in thinking they can still approach Him while engaging in evil altar practices.
13. Jeremiah 11:13
“Your gods have become as numerous as your cities, O Judah; the altars you have set up to burn incense to Baal are as numerous as the streets of Jerusalem.”
This verse highlights the extreme extent of idolatry in Judah, where altars to false gods were abundant.
14. Jeremiah 44:3
“Because of the wickedness of the people of Judah, which they did to provoke me to anger, by burning incense to other gods in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem.”
Jeremiah denounces the people of Judah for their idol worship and the wickedness associated with evil altars.
15. Ezekiel 6:4-5
“Your altars will be desolate and your incense altars will be smashed; and I will slay your people in front of your idols.”
Ezekiel prophesies judgment against the people of Israel for their idolatry, symbolizing the ultimate destruction of evil altars.
16. Ezekiel 14:6
“Therefore say to the people of Israel, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Repent! Turn from your idols and renounce all your detestable practices!’”
Ezekiel calls for repentance from idolatry and the destruction of evil altars, urging Israel to turn back to God.
17. Hosea 10:2
“Their heart is deceitful, and now they must bear their guilt. The Lord will demolish their altars and destroy their sacred stones.”
The prophet Hosea condemns Israel’s deceitful hearts and foretells the destruction of their altars to false gods.
18. Amos 5:26
“You have lifted up the shrine of your king, the pedestal of your idols, the star of your god— which you made for yourselves.”
Amos speaks against the idolatry of Israel, calling out their worship of false gods represented by altars.
19. Micah 5:13
“I will destroy your witchcraft and you will no longer cast spells. I will destroy your idols and your sacred stones from among you; you will no longer bow down to the work of your hands.”
This passage speaks to the cleansing of evil altars associated with witchcraft and idol worship.
20. Zephaniah 1:4
“I will stretch out my hand against Judah and against all who live in Jerusalem. I will destroy every remnant of Baal worship in this place, the very names of the idolatrous priests—”
Zephaniah prophesies the judgment of God against the evil altars of Baal worship.
21. Matthew 21:12-13
“Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. ‘It is written,’ he said to them, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a den of robbers.’”
Jesus condemns the commercialization of worship and the desecration of the temple, effectively overturning the false altars in His Father’s house.
22. Luke 16:13
“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other.”
This verse emphasizes the impossibility of serving both God and idols, warning against the spiritual compromise represented by evil altars.
23. 1 Corinthians 10:19-21
“Do I mean then that food sacrificed to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons.”
Paul warns believers about the dangers of participating in idolatrous practices, where sacrifices are made at evil altars to demons.
24. Revelation 9:20-21
“The rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, and the idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood—idols that cannot see or hear or walk.”
In the book of Revelation, idolatry and the worship of false altars persist even in the face of judgment.
25. Revelation 13:15
“The second beast was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed.”
This passage speaks of the false altars set up in the end times, where worship of the beast and his image becomes a form of idolatry.
26. Revelation 14:9-10
“A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: ‘If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on their forehead or on their hand, they too will drink the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath.’”
This verse highlights the ultimate consequence of worshiping at the altar of the beast, equating it with eternal judgment.
Conclusion
The Bible is clear: evil altars, whether physical or symbolic, are instruments of idolatry, spiritual rebellion, and destruction. From the Old Testament examples of Israel’s battles against foreign gods to the New Testament warnings about idolatry and false worship, Scripture consistently calls believers to tear down these altars in our lives and return to the true worship of God.
Just as the Israelites were commanded to destroy physical altars dedicated to false gods, so too are we today called to destroy the altars of sin, idolatry, and worldly attachment in our hearts. These “altars” may manifest in various forms—materialism, greed, lust, or even unhealthy relationships. However, the message remains the same: we must rid our lives of anything that takes God’s place and leads us away from His holiness.
As believers, we must uphold the altar of the Lord in our lives, dedicated to the worship and service of God alone, and reject the idols that seek to steal our hearts away from Him.
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