The day of the dead is actually a very morbid celebration and one of the common things that
you'll see on the day of the dead is people who paint their faces like skulls, they'll
have skeletons all over the place, and death is just very esteemed during those days.
Well, one of the things that you'll also see is what's called sugar skulls.
These are sugar skulls that people can eat, but they actually place them upon the altars
of those who have been deceased, those who have died.
And what they do is they represent their deceased loved ones, in fact they even go as far as
to put the name of their deceased loved one on the forehead of the skull.
But they do this to honor their dead.
They really believe that by placing these skulls and these bones on this altar, that
they are honoring the dead.
Well, let's see what the Bible has to say about that.
In 2 Kings chapter 23 and verse 16, the Bible reads here,
And as Josiah turned himself, he spied the sepulchers that were there in the mount, and
sent and took the bones out of the sepulchers, and burned them upon the altar, and polluted
it according to the word of the Lord, which the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed
these words.
See, Josiah was a righteous king, and what did he do to those who worship gods and those
who were involved in pagan idolatry?
He would actually dig up their bones, spread it on the altar, and burn them.
What was that for?
To honor them?
No, it was actually to dishonor them.
And in fact, let me read you another portion of scripture found in Ezekiel chapter number
6, in verse number 4, where the Bible reads here,
And your altars shall be desolate, and your images shall be broken.
And I will cast down your slain men before your idols.
And I will lay the dead carcasses of the children of Israel before their idols.
And I will scatter your bones round about your altars.
That's God speaking there.
And by the way, he wasn't doing that to honor the dead.
In fact, he was doing that to dishonor them.
It was a reproach unto them.
And so this practice of spreading skulls and bones and all over the altar, that's not honoring
the dead.
But biblically speaking, that's something you do to dishonor them.