King Herod

Joy Isn’t Found in Power

“Lord, I know that people’s lives are not their own; it is not for them to direct their steps.” – Jeremiah 10:23 Today, I want to sum up our lessons about King Herod by saying that his legacy is proof that wealth and prestige can’t buy happiness. In fact, when I look at his story, I don’t see joy or success, I see narcissism and rage. Even though he had everything that money and power could procure, he was miserable — constantly fighting to maintain his position and worrying about who he had to conquer next to stay on top. As hard as he tried to make his name immortal, like the compounds and shrines he erected for his glory, he himself came to ruin. And while to his contemporaries he had no rivals, his life is evidence that we cannot gain joy from power. Since the fall, our natural

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Jealousy Perverts Justice

“When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi.” – Matthew 2:16 It’s strange that the account of a neurotic king like Herod offers so many object lessons to Christians, but in a world that’s obsessed with image and achievement, it behooves us to pay attention to his story. We saw yesterday that he built multiple monuments to himself that now live only in ruins, and today, I want to talk about something else significant we can learn from his life — that jealousy perverts justice. After working hard to earn his title as “King of the Jews,” he was determined to hold onto it. The problem was that it had already been

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Righteousness or Ruins?

“The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.” – Psalm 19:7 Herod was crowned “King of the Jews” by the Roman senate, and because he embodied the ancient spirit of achievement and conquest (though not actually Jewish), he set out to make Israel a reflection of his own glory. Despite being neurotic and paranoid, He built stunning and expensive structures and settlements, including the Caesarea Maritima, which was a city on the coast that displayed the best of culture, engineering, and architecture. And although this majestic place seemed indestructible in its day, it now stands in ruins. He also built the palace and fortress of Masada, which was considered one of the most beautiful locations in the Middle East. Yet today, it too, has been reduced to wreckage. And while both of these landmarks were incredible, perhaps

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