Herod's Promise - Matthew 14:7

Matthew the apostle wrote, “At that time Herod the tetrarch heard of the fame of Jesus. And said unto his servants, This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead; and therefore mighty works do show forth themselves in him. For Herod had laid hold on John, and bound him, and put him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife. For John said unto him, It is not lawful for you to have her. And when he would have put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet. But when Herod's birthday was kept, the daughter of Herodias danced before them, and pleased Herod”, and in chapter fourteen and verse seven of his book, Matthew wrote about Herod's, “promise” to Herodias' daughter where we read:

Whereupon he promised with an oath to give her whatsoever she would ask.

The verse reads, “Whereupon he promised with an oath ...” Matthew began with the word, “whereupon” which means “from which or whereby” “he promised” or “Herod confessed, declared openly and professed” “with an oath” which means “alongside a pledge or sacred restraint”. Matthew shared how Herod openly declared, proclaimed and professed the following.

The verse continues, “... to give her whatsoever she would ask.” Matthew added the words, “to give her” which means “to grant, bestow, furnish and supply to Herodias' daughter” “whatsoever” or “whatever thing” “she would ask” which means “Herodias' daughter would crave, desire or require of him”. Matthew shared how Herod's “promise” before everyone at his birthday party was to “grant” Herodias' daughter whatever she wanted.

When we think through Matthew's words in this verse, we see how Herod was influenced by the “dance” of Herodias' daughter. Boastfully Herod “promised” to give her whatever she desired, and he had no idea what she might request. This overzealous and boastful statement was going to cost Herod greatly, and yet, before all his friends and family, he made the “profession” anyway. God desires to save people from their sinful and boastful ways, and whenever they yield their lives to His Son Jesus, all boasting and proud declarations are to be put away. Let all who read these words be warned by Herod's profession, and let everyone submit themselves to the only One in whose promise we may trust.

Next time we see Matthew shares how Herodias' daughter told Herod, “give me here John Baptist's head in a charger”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.