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Acts 12:20–23
“Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last” (v. 23).
The wickedness of Herod Agrippa I caused great suffering for the early church. We have seen that this evil man killed one of the original twelve disciples of Jesus, James the son of Zebedee. He also had Peter imprisoned, though an angel freed that Apostle. Even those who obeyed Herod and participated in the king’s evil could not escape the king’s wrath, for after Peter’s escape Herod killed the soldiers who had guarded the Apostle (Acts 12:1–19).
For many years, Herod sinned with apparent impunity, but as we see in today’s passage, he finally received divine judgment for his transgressions. A dispute between the Phoenician cities of Tyre and Sidon provided the occasion for Herod’s demise. These cities depended on Herod’s territory for economic prosperity and even for a great deal of the food needed to feed their populations because goods for those cities made their way through the ports that Herod controlled. Herod could easily disrupt the economies and well-being of Tyre and Sidon by rerouting trade to certain ports, so when the two cities got into a heated disagreement, they willingly looked to him to settle the argument lest he somehow cut off their food supply (v. 20).
Tyre and Sidon came to an agreement and Herod gave a speech to mark the occasion, receiving great acclaim from those who heard it. They even said that they were hearing from a god and not from a man (vv. 21–22). The ancient Jewish historian Josephus also tells us about this episode, his account paralleling Luke’s record, and he states that the people who heard Herod claimed that his words were greater than those of mere mortals. Like Luke, Josephus also reports that Herod suddenly fell ill after giving the speech and died a painful death. Luke, inspired by the Holy Spirit, is able to provide us with the insight that Herod fell ill because an angel struck him, punishing him for failing to “give God the glory” (v. 23). We do not know exactly what disease Herod contracted when the angel struck him, but we do not need that information to grasp the point—when people allow themselves to be acclaimed as deity, they risk being subject to divine judgment.
Herod Agrippa I for a time could persecute the church, but his time opposing the Lord’s people was short. Ultimately, no foe of the people of God can endure forever because the Lord will not fail to rescue His children (2 Tim. 4:18).
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
The enemies of Christ may temporarily succeed in inflicting great harm on the church. No foe of God and His people can ultimately prevail, however. The Lord will finally bring the power of His foes to an end. Our call is to remain faithful to His Word, trusting Him to give relief to His church in His time.
For further study
- Nahum 1
- Revelation 18
The bible in a year
- 1 Chronicles 14–16
- John 9:24–41
- 1 Chronicles 17–20
- John 10