The Deadly Pride of the King of Judea

Pride and an arrogant spirit precede personal destruction. It is far better to live humbly with the poor than to divide stolen wealth with prideful and arrogant people (Proverbs 16:18-19). That’s because arrogance is a spiritual condition that blinds you both to the reality of how much higher and holier God is than you are, as well as to how flawed you are without the good graces of God and his highest holiness. Such a corrupted spiritual state will bend you to violate the third commandment – a violation for which God will not hold one guiltless (Exodus 20:7). 

King Herod Agrippa 1 found these truths out the hard way (Acts 12:20-24).  Herod, who considered himself a Jew, befriended the Roman leadership and was made King of Judea. This put him in a position to walk with arrogant people and to divide stolen treasures – both real and abstract. Although Herod was probably fairly prideful and arrogant before his kingship, his high position likely reinforced, grew, and thoroughly ensconced that prideful spiritual state. His job as King of Judea was to keep peace in the region and to prevent Jewish uprisings by preemptively squelching any pesky political challenges to Roman dominion and authority.  In the Book of Acts, Herod was violently persecuting the early church, and even had Peter arrested and thrown into prison (Acts 12:1-3). He did this, partly as a function of his position to keep the peace by manipulating the people of the region (Acts 12:3a). For a person whose spirit is corrupted, this kind of power is intoxicating. 

Since Herod considered himself a Jew, he was, in some sense, bearing the name of God. But his behaviors demonstrated that he was bearing that name in vain. When he gave a speech to a group of people who were seeking his good favor, they praised him as a God. Herod did not reject that praise or redirect it to the one true God, so God used an angel to strike him dead. Herod is eaten by worms and dies.  While the bible seems to depict this death as instantaneous, the Jewish historian Josephus, tells us that Herod’s worm laden death throes lasted a very painful 5 days. God did not hold him guiltless.  His arrogance bent him to abuse God’s people, to bear the divine image wrongly, and to accept the kind of praise that should only be afforded to God himself. 

Wealth, success, power, and advancement usually enhance whatever character traits we have.  For instance, if you are a humble person who is generous, then wealth, success, power and advancement will shape you into a beloved and selfless pillar of the community. If, on the other hand, you are prideful, stingy, uncaring and cruel, then wealth, success, power and advancement will make you into a monster. Therefore, walk closely with God and you will be humbled in the light of his holiness, and your character will become more like the character of Jesus.