Why did King Herod send the three wise men on a government sponsored trip to find baby Jesus so that he might destroy Him as recorded in Matthew 2:1-13? Scripture reveals that he was an insecure man with a huge ego and  very power hungry to boot! Not much has changed in the worldwide  political arena huh? Yes, the spirit of Herod is alive and well today! Many men and women today feel threatened and resist the thought of submitting the status they’ve created in thier worlds into God’s power! They have even gone to extremes like Herod and killed off any potentially fruitful thing that may usher in any kind of surrender to authority in their lives that threatens their own power! Oh! By the way, Herod” means: “The son of a hero”, or, “the glory of the skin”. Needless to say, his father was NOT the kind of “hero” you’d want your children to admire and imitate! The details of this part of the history of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ are commonly overlooked perhaps because of their negative exposure, candor and impression man has had on such a marvelous event.

       The kind of drama Herod created while he ruled is what Hellywood (opps, I mean Hollywood!) movies are made of! He was scandalous, treacherous, and an unscrupulous ruler as Matthews 2:1 & 2; 7 & 8; 12 & 13; 2:16 portrays him. Interestingly, not even the very manipulation of man by satan in high places can thwart the divine plan of God! Just that truth in itself should give us sufficient stamina and boldness to live for God without distraction! But the sad truth is that man without the proper rule, influence and guidance from God results in a heart that is desparately wicked and continually deceitful as Jeremiah 17:9 claims. The plain truth is that man cannot do any righteous thing that truly brings honor and glory to God without divine inspiration and intervention at some level! Isaiah 64:6 and Romans 3:10-12: 23 scripturally confirms this truth.

       There are three divinely instituted truths we must comprehend and engraft in our being regarding the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. First, we find the Lord’s counsel of buying from him gold tried in the fire (Revelation 3:18) is a prerequisite to the reality of the deeper things of God in our lives. That is to say the truths and beauty of God become precious as gold only after the fiery trials and tribulations of life in the flesh has ran their course!  Second, why the Lord exchanges beauty for ashes and the oil of joy for mourning (Isaiah 61:3).  Its God’s all-enduring love that flows from the highest mountains to the lowest valleys will still make a way for sinful man toreconcile himself to him. Let it be known that the love of God will overcome the deepest hatred hell itself can manifest! Finally, the divine order of the natural running its course so that the spiritual can reign. In St. John 12:24 and 1 Corinthians 15:33-53, with a focal point of verses 46 and 47, we see a universal truth God himself initiated, and Satan does not know how to effectively deal with! You can’t do anything for God spiritually until the flesh, the natural, is out of the way! King Herod and his evil desires had to die with him in order for Jesus to do his work in the flesh completing it in the Spirit! Its hard to get someone to turn their back on the world if they are not tired of it!

       Jesus said; “Be of good cheer, I have overcame the world!”  in St John 16:33! Considering That Jesus knew that we would suffer great offenses and tribulation, I find the circumstances of King Herod and his evil intent cautionary to my task of doing the will of God in my life, not detrimental. The lion may roar (1 Peter 5:8), but through responsibilty and vigilance in obedience, faith and knowledge of God’s word, the Lord will deliver me as he did Daniel in the lion’s den (Daniel 6:16-24! The spirit of Herod may still live, but the Lord Jesus Christ is mightier than any thing hell can send against God’s church! Just remeber the end of the book of Revelation, we win!