Eaten by Worms
Acts
12:20-25
20Now Herod was angry with the people
of Tyre and Sidon, and they came to him with one accord, and having persuaded
Blastus, the king’s chamberlain, they asked for peace, because their country
depended on the king’s country for food.
21On an appointed day Herod put on
his royal robes, took his seat upon the throne, and delivered an oration to
them.
22And the people were shouting, “The
voice of a god, and not of a man!”
23Immediately an angel of the Lord
struck him down, because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by
worms and breathed his last.
24But the word of God increased and
multiplied.
25And Barnabas and Saul returned from
Jerusalem when they had completed their service, bringing with them John, whose
other name was Mark.
Herod Agrippa was no friend of the early
church. He wasn’t even really a friend of the Jewish faith either although he
was Jewish by descent. Clearly he is more than willing to martyr those who
would speak of Jesus. His death is noted here by Luke (writer of the book of
Acts) almost as a cautionary story about what it means to kill one of God’s
anointed leaders. Retribution can be a terrible thing when God metes it out!
The ancient historian Josephus writes
about the events spoken of in our reading for today. Josephus is not a Christian writer nor does he share
history as one sympathetic to Christian sensibilities. He just reports the
facts as he knew them.
"Now when
Agrippa had reigned three years over all Judea he came to the city Caesarea,
which was formerly called Strato's Tower; and there he exhibited spectacles in
honor of Caesar, for whose well-being he'd been informed that a certain
festival was being celebrated. At this festival a great number were gathered
together of the principal persons of dignity of his province. On the second day
of the spectacles he put on a garment made wholly of silver, of a truly
wonderful texture, and came into the theater early in the morning. There the
silver of his garment, being illuminated by the fresh reflection of the sun's
rays, shone out in a wonderful manner, and was so resplendent as to spread awe
over those that looked intently upon him. Presently his flatterers cried out,
one from one place, and another from another, (though not for his good) that he
was a god; and they added, "Be thou merciful to us; for although we have
hitherto reverenced thee only as a man, yet shall we henceforth own thee as
superior to mortal nature." Upon this the king neither rebuked them nor
rejected their impious flattery. . . . Then a severe pain arose in his belly,
striking with a most violent intensity. . . His pain became violent.
Accordingly he was carried into the palace, and the rumor went abroad
everywhere that he would certainly die soon. The multitude sat in sackcloth,
men, women and children, after the law of their country, and besought God for
the king's recovery. All places were also full of mourning and lamentation. Now
the king rested in a high chamber, and as he saw them below lying prostrate on
the ground he could not keep himself from weeping. And when he had been quite
worn out by the pain in his belly for five days, he departed this life, being
in the fifty-fourth year of his age and in the seventh year of his reign.” Josephus
19.8.2
Herod’s death is indeed ugly. He
apparently had contracted some type of digestive worm or parasite that proved
to be responsible for his demise. His unwillingness to denounce the idolatrous
praises of the people led God to judge him and dispose of him. It would be a terrible
way to die. After Herod Agrippa, Judea doesn’t receive another “king”
designated to rule the region from the Romans but instead it become a province
that falls directly under Roman rule. In the meantime, the work of the Apostles
continues and the church continues to grow. The death of James and the arrest
of Peter do not stop God from moving His Kingdom forward.
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