Heroidias' Request - Mark 6:24

Mark wrote how “Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man and an holy, and observed him; and when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly. And when a convenient day was come, that Herod on his birthday made a supper to his lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee. And when the daughter of the said Herodias came in, and danced, and pleased Herod and them that sat with him, the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever you will, and I will give it to you. And he swore unto her, Whatsoever you shall ask of me, I will give it to you, unto the half of my kingdom”, and in chapter six and verse twenty-four of his book, Mark wrote how Herodias' daughter, “went forth, and said unto her mother, what shall I ask?” where we read:

And she went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask?

And she said, The head of John the Baptist.

The verse reads, “And she went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask?” Mark began with the words, “and she went forth” or “and Herodias' daughter left and departed”, “and said unto her mother” which means “and uttered, declared, proclaimed to and questioned her own mother”, “what shall I ask” or “what thing should Herodias' daughter beg, crave, desired and require of King Herod”. Mark shared how Herodias' daughter went to her mother to determine what she should “ask” of King Herod.

The verse goes on to say, “And she said, The head of John the Baptist.” Mark continued with the words, “And she said” which means “and Herodias uttered, declared and proclaimed”, “the head of John the Baptist” or “John the Baptist's head of his body”. Mark shared how Heriodias told her daughter to “ask” King Herod for “John the Baptist's head”.

When we consider Mark's words in this verse, we see how Herodias' daughter did not know what to ask of King Herod, so she went to her “mother” to discover what it should be. Of course, Herodias held a grudge against John the Baptist for exposing her “sin” of marrying her husband Philip's brother Herod. Immediately Herodias desired to have John the Baptist killed, so she told her daughter to “request” his “head”. God knew all these things, and even Herodias' desire was known in advance by Him. His desire is to offer “salvation” from “sins” for every person who will submit themselves to His Son Jesus, and even though Herodias was to have her request granted, God allowed these things as part of His plan for every person to be “saved”.

Next time Mark shares how Herodias' daughter, “came in straightway with haste unto the king, and asked, saying, I will that you give me … the head of John the Baptist”, 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. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".