O: Herod Agrippa I was a grandson of the
ruthless Herod the Great from the Christmas story. He seems to have been less
notorious for cruelty than his grandfather, but he also persecuted the church.
He had James son of Zebedee executed, and when he saw that this pleased the
Jewish leaders, he proceeded to arrest Peter. That was calculated persecution:
he used violence against Christ’s apostles to strengthen his political
standing. Josephus, the Jewish historian, generally wrote positively about him
but also noted that many people celebrated his death.
He also was familiar with the
Jewish religion, and so would have known that it was wrong to receive worship
like the Roman emperors did. Josephus portrayed him as a king who took Jewish
law seriously. As a Jewish king whose position depended partly on maintaining
good relations with his people, Agrippa had reason to respect their religious
traditions.
Unfortunately, when the crowed proclaimed him a
god, he failed to give God the glory, so God struck him down. Perhaps his
earlier persecution of Christians was also relevant. Josephus said he died after
5 days of excruciating abdominal pain.
Luke supplies the detail that he was eaten by
worms, which is ironic, because Josephus reported that worms was part of how
his grandfather Herod the Great died as well. Josephus reports that
Herod the Great's final illness was regarded by some as divine punishment for
his impiety. In the surrounding account, Herod had executed Jewish teachers and
their companions who opposed his placing a golden eagle above the Temple gate,
an act they considered contrary to Jewish law.
The irony is striking: Agrippa
seems to have taken Jewish law seriously, unlike his grandfather, yet he failed
to give God the glory when the crowd acclaimed him as a god.
A: God opposes the proud and preserves His purpose.
Therefore, we should remain humble, give God the glory, and take courage when
worldly powers oppose the gospel. We may die like James ben Zebedee did, or be
rescued like Peter, but in either case, we should stay true to Yahweh and trust
that He is ultimately in control.
P: Father, help me to stay in Your ways. When I
am tempted to do wrong, remind me. When I suffer for doing right, keep me faithful.
In Jesus’ name, amen.
Note: I discussed these ideas with 2 different AIs and used some of their phraseology.
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