Acts 12 "Enough"

Acts 12 – Brandon Hatmaker “Enough”
Monday, April 28, 2008

“On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. They shouted, "This is the voice of a god, not of a man." Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.” – Acts 12:21-23

At this point, apparently God had had enough. Scripture gives no room for misunderstanding. An angel of the Lord struck him down. And the gory details were included.

Why now?

Herod had a terrible history. He had taken many lives and yet he still lived. His excessive brutality was constantly condemned by the Sanhedrin, he was known for the Massacre of the Innocents in which he gave orders to kill all boys of the age of two and under in Bethlehem and its vicinity in hopes to kill Jesus after his birth, and he was certainly guilty of many other brutal acts, including the killing of his wife and two of his sons.

Herod was appointed “King of the Jews” by the Romans. However many of the Jews were upset by this since most did not consider Him to be a true Jew (Herod was of the Idumaeans, who were forced to convert to Judaism under Hyrcanus). While King Herod publicly identified himself as a Jew and was considered as such by some, this religious identification notwithstanding was undermined by the Hellenistic cultural affinity of the Herodians, which would have earned them the antipathy of observant Jews.

I wonder if it was his insecurity about not having the full support of the Jews or if it was his defensiveness that caused him to lash out so overtly. Whatever the reason, he was a terrible man. Yet he lived.

Until now.

He had finished the temple (Which was eventually destroyed in 70 AD) and it was referred to as “Herod’s Temple”. Not God’s. The Wailing Wall (Western Wall) still stands today. And in Acts 12, we see that when the people finally gave him praise as “a god, not as man”, and he received it instead of acknowledging the true God. Shortly thereafter, his life was taken.

Although Herod lived a miserable life (Modern scholars agree he suffered throughout his lifetime from depression and paranoia), all these brutal acts in God’s sovereignty, were to a degree, tolerated. But God was not willing to share His throne. I wonder today if this was even more significant being that it was in the eyes of His chosen nation and so recently after he had given His only Son. Either way, Herod’s death was as brutal as his life.

Here’s my takeaway today: So easily we claim praise for what God does. We've all done it. How long can we take credit for God’s work and still live, much less still experience success for which we claim credit? As believers, this should make us dive deep into allowing the Spirit to search our hearts and motives. May we never take credit for what God is doing in our lives. May we always be humbled by the fact that God chose to use sinners for His work. He requires a child like faith, a willingness to obey, and a desire to give credit where credit is due. Here’s a verse for perspective and to serve as a great reminder:

“Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.” – 1 Corinthians 1:26-30

Father, may we find more joy in knowing that we are used of the King than receiving the praise of men. Help us to keep perspective, help us to remain humble and thankful, help us to always consider our lives of service as a privilege and honor. Amen.