Herod Commits Eternal Suicide

 

In the 1930s thousands of Koreans fled what is now North Korea when the Japanese invaded. Many of them settled in the USSR around Vlapostok. Many of them were Christians and so by the suffering of the Koreans the gospel of Jesus was being carried into central USSR.  Joseph Stalin saw the Koreans around Vlapostok as a security risk to the weapons manufacturing centre.

So he relocated them to five areas around the Soviet Union, spreading the Christians even farther into the Muslim areas of the USSR. One of the places they were sent was to Tashkent the center of the 20,000,000 Muslim Uzbek people who had violently resisted western efforts to bring Christianity. Over the next decades these Koreans became an accepted part of Uzbek society.

Then, on June 2 1990 the first open air Christian meeting in the history of Soviet Central Asia was held, marking a major shift in religious freedom. This event represented a major departure from the long-standing, intense religious persecution in the Soviet Union. God used this meeting to awaken the Korean Christians and the upshot is that the decades of acceptance by the Muslim Uzbeks has allowed the spread of gospel far more widely than it could have with merely western influence.

Acts 12 begins with the death of Apostle James. Then Apostle Peter was arrested and put in prison but an angel rescued him and set him free. Herod was so mad that he ordered the soldiers who had guarded Peter to be executed. Acts 12:19-25 says “then Herod went from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there. He had been quarrelling with the people of Tyre and Sidon; they now joined together and sought an audience with him... because they depended on the king’s country for their food supply.

On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. And the people kept shouting, “The voice of a god and not of a man!”  Then immediately an angel of the Lord struck him, because he did not give glory to God. And he was eaten by worms and died. But the word of God grew and multiplied. And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had fulfilled their ministry, and they also took with them John whose surname was Mark”

Caesarea was a city on the coast of Palestine. Luke does not explain why Herod made this trip from Jerusalem. Tyre and Sidon were two cities north of Galilee. These cities belonged to Syria and they were outside Herod’s jurisdiction.  But , these large commercial cities received large supplies of grain and fruits from Palestine. Herod had been quarrelling with the people of Tyre and Sidon.

The two cities joined together and sought an audience with him. Herod absolutely loved anybody bowing at his feet. And to see two powerful free cities bowing and scraping at his feet was so great; he decided to make a big occasion out of it. The whole world would know how super he was, as people watched these two cities bow at his feet. So he declared a great day.

On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. Non-biblical descriptions say Herod was arrayed in a silver garment which reflected radiantly when hit by the rays of the sun. The robe glittered and shone with a resplendence that dazzled the crowds packed into the theatre. We are not given the content of his speech but we are told that the people kept shouting, “the voice of a god and not of a man!”

When a proud heart meets with flattering lips it is a dangerous crisis. Flattery is not just harmless praise; it is a tool for manipulation and deceit. The people heaped such flattery on Herod because they were attempting to pacify his outrage and prevent food crisis in their city. Proverbs 29:5 cautions, “a man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet”. Herod stepped right into that net.

Proverbs 26:28 says “a lying tongue hates those it crushes, and a flattering mouth causes ruin”. These proverbs warns that insincere praise or excessive compliments are manipulative, intended to trap or take advantage of the recipient. Flattery is dangerous, often hiding selfish motives and leading to ruin. Flattery is bad enough, but when it steals from the glory of God, it has crossed the line, as the consequences to Herod would soon demonstrate!

While you may never be called "a god and not a man" you can rest assured that lesser praises which you receive will always test your heart.  Proverbs 27:21 says “The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but people are tested by their praise”. Remember the words of the psalmist  “Not to us, LORD, not to us, but to Your name give glory”(Ps. 115:1) . Be careful in giving praise, it is not right to expose a weak servant to the frown of a jealous God.

The first thing God did to bring Herod down from his self-exaltation is to take his prize prisoner right out from under his nose.  The Lord showed Herod who was more powerful. God showed Herod and the church that when James was martyred just days before, it was not because he could not save him. It was because, among other reasons, some bear witness through death, others through life. The second thing God does is to take Herod's life.

Herod caused others to suffer, he suffered a terrible death. The historian Josephus provides a similar account , noting that Herod felt severe abdominal pains and died five days later. God is a God of justice; he always judges men. His method of punishing is not always visible to us as in the case of Herod. Nevertheless men have often been permitted to see his workings and they have proof that he will bring into judgment every deed done in the flesh.

The sight of Haman hanging upon the gallows which he had made for Mordecai (Esther 5:14; 7:9-10) convinced the people of Shushan, that divine retribution is a reality. God said to king Ahab, after he had been partner in the murder of Naboth, “have you not murdered a man and seized his property? ... In the place where dogs licked up Naboth’s blood, dogs will lick up your blood—yes, yours!’ (I Kings 21:19). Ahab died in battle, they washed his chariot at a pool and the dogs licked up his blood (1 Kings 22:20-40).

Retributive justice is in perfect harmony with the love of God; It deters men from sin. When they know that if they sow the wind they will reap the whirlwind (Hosea 8:7), they hesitate to go on in sin. It also comforts the righteous when they remember God’s word, “vengeance is mine and recompense; their foot shall slip in due time; for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things to come hasten upon them” (Deut 32:35).

James 4:6 states, “God opposes the proud”. Human pride invites divine opposition. To declare war against God is to commit eternal suicide, because God always wins. Herod’s glory was short-lived, and his misery is eternal. Jesus said, “Do not fear those who kill the body and after that can do nothing more. But I’ll tell you who to fear. Fear the one who has the power to destroy both soul and body and hell (Matt.10:28). 

Herod was eaten of worms but the Word of God grew and multiplied. Herod tried to stop the spread of the gospel, he died but the word continued to spread. God’s purposes cannot be frustrated. Jesus said, “I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it (Matt 16:18).” To this day God word is still marching gloriously on "for the Lord Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart him? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?"(Isa. 14:27). God can do all things; no purpose of his can be thwarted (Job 42:2).

The multiplication of the word of God suggests not only an increase in the number of believers but also the deepening of their faith. This multiplication is reminiscent of the parable of the sower in Matthew 13:8 where the seed that falls on good soil yields a bountiful harvest. The early church's growth was marked by the establishment of new communities of faith and the development of doctrine.

Every attempt to silence God’s word only amplifies its voice. Oppression is often the greatest evangelistic tool.  Arrest in Jerusalem; 5,000 believe (Acts 4:1-4). Apostles flogged; they teach “every day” (Acts 5:17-42). Saul’s persecution drives believers out; they spread the word “wherever they went” (Acts 8:1-4). Scattered refugees plant the multicultural Antioch church (Acts 11:19-21).

Nothing can stop God from accomplishing His purposes in this world. In Acts 5:38 the Sanhedrin were furious with the apostles and wanted to put them to death. But a Pharisee named Gamaliel advice to them was “Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God ” (Acts 5:34-39).

At the close of this chapter Barnabas, Saul and Mark are returning from Jerusalem to Antioch. They had been sent from Antioch to Jerusalem to deliver relief for the saints during the famine (Acts 11:29-30). They were in Jerusalem when the events in Acts 12 transpired. John Mark is first mentioned as the son of a woman named Mary ( Acts 12:12), whose house was being used as a place for believers to gather and pray.

Were Barnabas and Saul in that prayer meeting interceding for Peter? Barnabas, Paul and John Mark, who were to become great missionaries to the Gentile world, were allowed to be in Jerusalem during these events mentioned in Acts 12. They were observers, but they would remember what happened to James, Peter and Herod, and when in difficult circumstances themselves, they would cling to a sovereign God.

Acts chapter 12 is the last part of the first section of the book of Acts. Peter dominates the first twelve chapters of Acts. This is the last chapter of Peter’s ministry. He only has a brief appearance in the fifteenth chapter. Peter fades out and Paul is about to become the central figure; from here up to chapter 28 Paul dominates the picture. Jerusalem also fades from view as the center of missions and is replaced by Antioch.

Up to this point the gospel has spread according to Jesus plan( Acts 1:8). It has spread   to Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria. Where is it supposed to go next? The uttermost part of the earth and that’s going to start in chapter 13. The groundwork has been laid with the salvation of Cornelius the Gentile and with the planting of the first Gentile church at Antioch. Now they’re ready for a full scale worldwide explosion.

Isaiah 40: 7-10 says “the grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the Lord blows on them. Surely the people are grass. The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever…You who bring good news to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with a shout, lift it up, do not be afraid; say to the towns of Judah, “Here is your God!” See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power, and he rules with a mighty arm. See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him”.

 The might of government may be mobilized against it, but the word of God knows no boundaries to its empire, no barriers to its progress. The gospel is unstoppable. If you oppose the gospel, you may temporarily win, but you will finally lose and lose big. If you stand for the gospel, you may temporarily lose, but you will finally win and win big. The gospel advances inexorably, fulfilling God’s eternal decree and inviting every generation into salvation.