SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/4/2022 9:22 AM
My Worship Time Focus:
PT-4 “Herod’s Reason”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Matthew 14:3-11
Message of the verses: “3 For when Herod
had John arrested, he bound him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias,
the wife of his brother Philip. 4 For John had been saying to him, "It is
not lawful for you to have her." 5 And although he wanted to put him to
death, he feared the multitude, because they regarded him as a prophet. 6 But
when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before them
and pleased Herod. 7 Thereupon he promised with an oath to give her whatever
she asked. 8 And having been prompted by her mother, she said, "Give me
here on a platter the head of John the Baptist." 9 And although he was grieved,
the king commanded it to be given because of his oaths, and because of
his dinner guests. 10 And he sent and had John beheaded in the prison. 11 And
his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl; and she brought it
to her mother.”
In our last SD I ended by writing some things about
Herodias which were not a series of complements, but she did not deserve
complements. Herodias was biding her
time as she waited for the right opportunity to do something about John the
Baptist, and it was presented at the birthday of Herod. We read “But when Herod’s birthday came, the
daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod” (Verse 6).
John
MacArthur writes “From Josephus we learn that the name of this daughter was
Salome, whose father was Philip, her mother’s first husband and Herod’s half
brother. Herodias was so hate-filled,
vengeful, and immoral that she had no compunction about involving her daughter
both in a lewd dance before her stepfather and his guests and in the ploy to
have John murdered.
“In the ancient the world, birthday celebrations were entirely Gentile and pagan, and
the Jews, with good reason, considered them shameful. Roman nobles frequently held stag birthday
parties in which gluttony, excessive drinking, erotic dancing, and sexual
indulgence were common. The phrase Herodes dies (Latin for ‘Herod’s
birthday’) became an epithet for such orgiastic festivals.”
We
see the word pleased in verse six and this was a euphemism for “sexually
aroused,” and so the drunken king was so enamored of his stepdaughter that he impulsively
promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked, (v-7). And in Mark we learn the promise was up to
half of his kingdom, (not sure he really had a kingdom to offer her, but this
was a common statement as also seen in the book of Esther.) Now this was the very chance the Herodias had
been waiting for, and, it was prompted by her mother, Salome asked Herod “Give
me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” John MacArthur writes “It is obvious that the
provocative dance was planned by Herodias for the purpose of evoking just such
a promise from her drunken, leering, lecherous husband. And lest Herod change his mind after sobering
up, Herodias told her daughter to ask for John’s head here on a platter ‘right
away’ (Mark 6:25).” I have to say that
all of the times that I read this story, and it has been many times that I read
it, that I never thought the way that John MacArthur wrote or preached about
that this was all planned by Herodias.
It
was in Herod’s gluttonous, lustful stupor, the king had been easily taken in by
Herodias, his scheming wife and her seductive daughter. He has lost all of what little dignity, all
sensibility, and what little desire for the right that he may have had, and I suppose
that is what a drinking orgy type birthday party did for him. Herod wanted to appear the magnanimous
benefactor before his guests, as he had boxed himself in and was now completely
vulnerable to his manipulative wife.
We
read “9 And although he was grieved, the king commanded it to be given
because of his oaths, and because of his dinner guests.” MacArthur adds “It was not that the word of
the king was respected and that to break his oaths would tarnish his
reputation, because he was noted for his dishonor and duplicity. But in the ancient Near East, a promise made
with an oath was considered sacred and inviolable (cf. Matt 5:33), especially
when made by a ruler. And although Herod
had no concern for principle, he had great concern for appearance. By breaking his word so soon after giving it,
he would have been embarrassed in front of dinner guests, who doubtlessly
included many political and military dignitaries.”
Lord
willing in our continuing story of Herod, we will talk about what it means for
his grieving in our next SD.
Spiritual meaning for my life today: The Bible says that we are not to be drunk
with wine, and then it goes on to say that we are to filled with the Holy Spirit. When a person is drunk they are under to
control of whatever it was that they drank, and when a believer is filled with
the Holy Spirit they are under the control of the Holy Spirit.
My Steps of Faith for Today: As it is
commanded I desire to be filled with the Holy Spirit today and every day.
6/4/2022 9:55 AM
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