Matthew 14: Son of God (2)
Pray Psalm 53.5, 6.
There they are in great fear
Where no fear was,
For God has scattered the bones of him who encamps against you;
You have put them to shame,
Because God has despised them.
Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion!
When God brings back the captivity of His people,
Let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad.
Sing Psalm 53.5, 6.
Leoni: The God of Abraham Praise
The wicked flee in shame; their ways our God rejects.
Renew Your people in Your Name with great effects!
Let great rejoicing sound once we renewed have been,
and let salvation’s Word resound from us again!
Read Matthew 14.1-12; meditate on verses 6-12.
What kind of man was the lawbreaker Herod?
Prepare.
1. Why was Herod “sorry”?
2. Why did Herod have John murdered?
Meditate.
Herod was “sorry”, all right, and not just because he no longer had John the Baptist to amuse him.
Herod wanted to impress his pals, so he used his wife’s daughter to excite their prurient interests. Then, to further impress his guests, he made an outrageous promise to his step-daughter, without thinking of any consequences that might ensue. He had to have been well into his cups, I’m thinking, even to offer the girl “whatever she might ask” (Mark adds, “up to half my kingdom”, Mk. 6.23).
Having consulted with her mother—another “sorry” creature— the daughter returns and asks for John’s head on a platter. Well, Herod certainly wasn’t expecting that! But, what’s a guy to do? He had to save face with his guests, after all. And John, well, he wasn’t exactly indispensable. So Herod sent an executioner to behead John and to give his head to the girl.
“And the king was sorry…” You can say that again. He was one of the sorriest people in all of Scripture, and so is everyone who chooses to follow the lie of Satan rather than the truth of God, His Law, and our Lord Jesus Christ. All around us are people just like Herod—trapped in the lie, calculating how to advantage themselves and further their interests, and one step away from doing the next stupid thing.
But don’t despise them; pray for them. Show them the love of Jesus. Tell the Good News of the truth that sets us free (Jn. 8.32). Some of these lie-bound, stupid people are going to believe. Just as you and I did (Rom. 5.10, 11).
Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valor, whom the people made head and commander of the army, to fight against the enemies of God. In his zeal for victory Jephthah made a foolish vow:
“If You will indeed deliver the people of Ammon into my hands, then it will be
that whatever comes out of the doors of my house
to meet me when I return in peace from the people of Ammon,
shall surely be the LORD’s, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering”.
The LORD delivered them from their enemies so,
“when Jephthah came to his house at Mizpah,
there was his daughter, coming out to meet him with timbrels and dancing;
and she was his only child. Besides her he had neither son nor daughter.
And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he tore his clothes, and said,
‘Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low! You are among those who trouble me!
For I have given my word to the LORD, and I cannot go back on it’” (see the full “sorry” story in Judg. 11.1
40). What was he thinking to make such a vow? Just like Herod’s vow—rashly spoken.
“It is a snare for a man to devote rashly something as holy,
and afterward to reconsider his vows” (Prov. 20.25). When it’s too late.
Obviously, it’s not just the godless who fall into the trap of unconsidered vows, but the righteous as well.
God’s people, when not walking fully in the Holy Spirit, nor living completely for and in the Kingdom of heaven, can succumb to self-interest, to the desire to impress others, to be unthinking, and to fall under the sway of peer pressure.
Numerous deviations from the Law of God led Herod to make the “sorry” decisions that he made:
starting with taking his living brother’s wife as his own; which ultimately led to John the Baptist’s murder.
Like a lot of sins, “…at last it bites like a serpent, and stings like a viper” (Prov. 23.32).
We might be tempted to think these horrible “sorry” things could never be done by us; but we would be wrong to think that. King David thought wrongly, and it led to betrayals of the worst kind.
“It happened in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle,
that David sent Joab and his servants with him, and all Israel; and
they destroyed the people of Ammon and besieged Rabbah.
But David remained at Jerusalem.
Then it happened…” (see this full “sorry” story in 2 Sam. 11.1-27).
If we would “see Jesus” (Heb. 2.9),
desire first and foremost to lose ourselves in Him,
and always live fully in His Kingdom,
with nothing held back as “our own”,
then our proclivity to make foolish vows,
or to be overpowered by peer pressure
will never have a stranglehold on us.
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear,
but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Tim. 1.7).
We can even learn through godly sorrow.
“For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted;
but the sorrow of the world produces death” (2 Cor. 7.10).
“But thanks be to God, Who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 15.57).
Reflect.
1. Why are we sometimes led into acts of mere self-interest? How can we stay alert to this temptation and deal with it?
2. What are the keys to having a humble heart, fully devoted to the Lord?
3. How can Christians help one another resist making foolish vows or deviating other ways from God’s Law?
Herod would profusely reward a worthless dance, while imprisonment and death were the recompense of the man of God who sought the salvation of [Herod’s] soul. Matthew Henry (1662-1714), Commentary on Matthew 14.1-12
Pray Psalm 53.1-5.
Pray for the lost people in your Personal Mission Field, that what they know about God—and they all know something (Rom. 1.18-22)—will cause them to seek Him and open them to hear the Good News.
Sing Psalm 53.1-5.
Leoni: The God of Abraham Praise
The fool says in his heart, “There is no God at all!”
Corrupt are they in whole and part, unjust and small.
Not one of them does good; God sees their wicked ways.
None understands the Word of God or gives Him praise.
Have all these wicked men no knowledge of God’s grace?
The Church they hate with passion and seek not God’s face.
LORD, strike their hearts with fear, where fear was not before.
And scatter all who camp so near Your holy door.
T. M. and Susie Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment to give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
We invite you to join us in ReThinking Church. We explain further at our ReThinking Church page, here.
Other columns of interest: This week: Our Read Moore podcast begins a new series of readings from our book, The Joy and Rejoicing of My Heart. Our Crosfigell teaching letter concludes our series on the state of the Church in Europe at the time of the Celtic Revival. The ReVision column considers questions all church leaders must address. Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
