Isaiah 40: 25 “To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One.

I pity the person who has no regard for God. In Acts 12 there is the remarkable story of such a man. His name was Herod, later recorded in history as Herod the Great.  History confers greatness on the strangest characters because of our flawed human standards – he built cities, waged war and ruled with an iron fist, and so on.

But this is the same King Herod we encounter in Scripture as the man who ordered the slaughter of innocent infants two years and younger when he got news of the birth of the Christ child.  When the three wise men arrived and asked: “Where is the one born King of Jews? We saw his star in the East and have come to worship him.” (Matthew 2:2) Herod’s dispatch of his death squads was to ensure there would be no other king to be worshipped except him. Later on, while he sojourned in Caesarea, a day came when in royal robes he sat on his throne, and gave a public address to the people. He was commended by his audience who shouted: “This is the voice of a god, not a man.” The record states that “Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and he died.” (See Acts 12:21 – 23). His failure to acknowledge the Eternal God who rules in the affairs of men sowed the seeds of his own destruction.  This is a reminder to us that no matter how wonderful our accomplishments may be, God deserves the glory and we should never attempt to thwart His plans in any way. When I read Acts 12 and meditated on it the Holy Spirit was quick to affirm:

“Yea I am the God of the universe I do not change. From time to eternity I shall be the same. I reign in the affairs of men to build up and to tear down and rearrange things as I see fit. The arrogance of man is an affront in my face which I will not tolerate. Man will be abased when they come up against my will and purpose. To me alone belongs all power and glory.”