Herod: Puppet On A String

Scripture Reading: Matthew 2:1-18

Once the Messiah Prophecy was fulfilled, it made no small stir in the community. Many people rejoiced, many scoffed, but one man became really worried, really fast. Herod, set up ruler of Israel under Caesar Augustus. Herod is an interesting character in the Scripture.

Three things are interesting to note about this "king."
First, Herod wasn't a Jew. Second, Herod wasn't a royal member or even a distant cousin nine times removed of King David. Lastly, Herod was a coward in a brave man's throne. The most significant realization of Herod is that he was controlled by the Devil, for the Devil's purposes, while all the time Herod thought he was acting on behalf of his own interests.

In the latter middle ages, many carols came to life in England. Many of these carols have found a place in our Christmas traditions. One of these is the "Coventry Carol." It is of a stark contrast to traditional carols in that while they speak of joyous tidings, Coventry recounts and remembers the "massacre of the Innocents," carried out by Herod. One of the carol's lyrics defines Herod as "this man of might in his own sight." How true. Man sees only himself and what he does. Man's centralized thinking writes God out of plans and actions. Man does this because he is blinded by Satan and has no concept of Divine matters. Naturally then man sees his own affairs of paramount importance. This is why mankind is largely self centered, desperate, controlling, fearful, obstinate, and overly wise in their own rationale and perception (for this is all they have).

Like Herod, all sinful mankind is but a puppet on Satan's string. Man does as Satan voluntarily or involuntarily directs. Man thinks himself or herself to be acting on their own impulses (which they do) but are unknowingly fulfilling Satanic purposes against themselves and Christ all behind the curtain they are blind to. So why talk about Herod at all in this time of the Christmas season? Simply, Herod plays an important role in helping us see that the King of Kings has nothing to fear or compete with from earthly rulers. Let's see why.

First, God's Kingdom doesn't advance on the fear of loss. When Herod heard what the Messiah, this new King, would do, one thought crossed his mind. "I am not the rightful King of Israel, I will lose my position, my castle, my status, the new King must be killed, or I will be." All Herod could see is what lay before him. God's Kingdom on the other hand looks at not only what is ahead, but what will last for eternity. Herod didn't really, I think, sort out all the spiritual implications of the Messiah's birth, he just saw a threat. When a man cheats or gets somewhere unlawfully, deep down inside the thought plagues him that he will lose eventually to the right person or manner. So Satan capitalized on this and used Herod. As long as Satan could keep the status of King dangling in front of Herod's eyes, Satan could mask a more sinister plan to kill the Infant King Jesus. Who is it then that can steal anything from the Lord? Who has seriously challenged the security of His Kingdom and stands a chance against Him? No one. Yet a helpless cooing baby was enough to unnerve a puppet king to rash fearful action. In the end, God's Kingdom will triumph and that never taking thought of loss. Jesus said that the Church will crash through the gates of Hell and never be defeated.

Second, God's Kingdom doesn't resort to duping its servants to do God's will.
Though God doesn't always fill us in on the complete details of every plan, He never has us do one thing in order to unknowingly do something else. There is no guile in God's camp. When God spoke to the prophets, He gave them a clear message to tell. The standards of God's law do not change. This is so opposed to a world swallowed up in change. God never tells us to do something against His own standards. We ought to have and can have an open relationship with God. None of the Devil's servants are the Devil's friends. Yet Jesus in John 15:15 plainly told His disciples, "I have not called you servants, but My friends." Friends have a relationship not formed in deceit. Herod had very little friends. Those he did have probably were such out of fear or want. To live under a tyrant breeds no true friendship. But it was all the Herod knew being the child of darkness. We have it better, we as believers are children of Light. Light always reveals, it never disguises.

Thirdly, God's Kingdom doesn't rely on earthly power solely to accomplish its goals. But wait a minute! Didn't Jesus send out twelve ordinary men? Didn't God promise Abraham the seed of the nation of Israel? Wasn't it John the Baptist who prepared the way of the Lord? The answer to all these is "yes." The important thing to remember though that God is not dependent on us, He chooses to use us. Satan on the other hand does depend on human involvement. Satan influences man to wreack havoc in the world. The reason is that Satan is bound to this world. On the other hand, God directly rules everything and everywhere. God is omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent. Satan is none of those things. Satan is powerful, much too powerful for even the strongest of Christians to take on single handed. Yet, in all his rage and power, Satan MUST use flawed beings. If God solely depended on such, the world could not and would not have any justifiable hope in Him. We see from the text that Herod had to send out the Wisemen to find Jesus. Herod had to use soldiers to slaughter in order to preserve himself. Herod had to rely on religious men to tell him the Truth recorded by Micah the prophet, for he had no knowledge himself. The king of any nation is nothing without his servants. God is the Supreme Exception!

Lastly, God's Kingdom doesn't have to shoot in the dark to achieve its needs. God has no "Plan B" for the salvation of mankind. It has never entered in the mind of God to desperately try to hold control over everything. When God acts, it is intentional and direct. Satan on the other hand could not quite kill baby Jesus directly. Herod's grand plan was to kill every male child born in a certain time frame. Herod figured that he would surely end this threat to his rule by carrying out a massive shotgun raid. All he managed to do was fulfill a prophecy in spite of himself (Jeremiah 31:15). Though in all that sadness that cannot be accurately described, comes the Prince of Peace and the Giver of Life. When Jesus died on the cross for our sins, He didn't wonder, "now will this do it?" Sovereignty shoots a straight arrow and hits the mark every time. Satan is not Sovereign, nor are his servants.
Blanket attacks, endless attempts, redirected strategies, vain endeavors, all this has no place in God's Kingdom. Even in the last hours of the known world, Satan will try to rally a force against King Jesus. It is interesting that the Saints coming with Christ in the battle of Armageddon wear no weapons. We simply watch God wipe out evil with His words. God spoke the world into existence in a single purposed manner, likewise He can speak them out too.

So here we are. Its Christmas time, lots of busy preparations. In all this consider the power of God. After all, had God not acted purposefully and sovereignly as He did, we would flounder with all the world in a never winning battle. We would all be led along by the Old Liar never knowing who was really controlling our movements, thoughts, or blinded us from our condemnation. But God who is rich in mercy, saved us from all our sins and cut our strings by the love of His heart, the shedding of His blood, and the Resurrection of His body.

How about you today, are you trusting in your own wisdom or desires above God's? Does the attitude of your life reflect a life dependent on God, or, strung along by Satan? I urge you to consider the fate of a life not placed in Christ. If your life is in Christ, let's humbly show the world there is a better life with no strings attached!

Heavenly Father, thank You for not being such a one as the Devil. Thank You that You love us and have no plans to condemn those who trust in You. Forgive us when we falter and turn our hearts once again to the great all encompassing wonder of why You came just for us. We have in You a Sovereign who is not disturbed with fear, duping, or rash behavior. Thank You for the privilege of calling You Father and Jesus, Brother and Friend. Help us to keep this in mind this Christmas. In Your Name, Amen.

Image by: Meul

Every Life A Purpose

Do you play the Piano?  Maybe you know someone who does.  The photo you see at the left is from my church's Grand Piano played every Sunday.  We are looking at part of the Resonator Board (where the sound is produced) plus we can see some of the strings.  A Grand Piano has over 200 strings of various widths and lengths.  When the hammer strikes on the strings that note is produced.  Suppose you had a piano like this one and most of your strings sounded, but a few did not.  They did not because they were not there.  That would be a huge problem as no song could be played correctly without all the notes in all the octaves present.  Each string has its own place, design, sound and purpose.  The Bible tells us that we are just as important as all of these strings.  In 1st Corinthians 12, Paul tells us that each member of Christ's church is like a member or part of the human body.  We can't all be eyes lest we have no feet to walk.  We cannot be all hands lest we do not have ears to hear.  The verse that sums up what I am trying to say is verse 27, "Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular." The phrase, "members in particular," is so vastly important for Christians to understand.  We tend to compare ourselves to anyone we deem successful and/or spiritual.  The truth is, contrary to some opinion, there is no part of the body of believers more important than others.  When I think of someone "high" on the spiritual ladder, I think of two people...(there are many more)....Jacqueline Henderson (now with the Lord) and Dr. Billy Graham.  The two have nothing in common as far as ministry goes.  Jackie, as she was known, spent long hours every week keeping a little church decorated for every occasion so God's people would have a nice place to worship in.  Billy Graham has preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ to more people than any man in human history.   Jackie was responsible for making sure the bulletins were neatly displayed and the flowers were arranged nice on the communion table.  Billy Graham has possibly more than several million souls that he has won to Christ.  Doesn't seem to be much similarity between the two, the choice of who is more important in the kingdom should be obvious, but it isn't.  

The fact is both are of equal importance.  The body of Christ cannot function without behind the scenes souls like Jackie, nor can it spread the Good News without those like Billy Graham.  In God's eyes both are dear and equally important.  Would God bless a hard working, eloquent speaker, and then forget the hard work an unknown servant does?  Never.  Perhaps you serve in a small ministry.  Maybe no one but God knows what you do.  Maybe no one ever thanks you or recognizes what you do.  Take cheer, its hard, but you haven't seen the Master yet.  Nor do you know of the rewards He has for those who truly do things for His glory only.  

Know this, no piano plays correctly without all its strings.  Whether you're a tiny short high string, or a deep sounding bass note, God is depending on your faithfulness and its He who is conducting the concerto.