Herod was known to love women, wine, and food in great
quantities. He stuffed himself with pleasures, always asking for additional
helpings.
Having looked at the ways Herod benefitted from his deal
with Rome—identity, progress, and fortune—it’s hard not to wonder if the man
wasn’t full of himself.
He was full of something.
From the outside, it appears Herod’s psyche was as
gluttonous as his appetite. Full of Rome, perhaps? Dreams? Promises?
Futurist Len Sweet tells a funny story about a church in
Scotland that once asked people to blow up rubber balloons. They weren’t
supposed to tie the balloons, just let them zing around the room. The
illustration was meant to remind us that—as God fills us with his Spirit—we’re
going to soar.
However. The pastors of this particular church were worried
about wasting money, so they reused the balloons for three consecutive
services. Which means that some people found saliva in their balloons. From
other mouths.
When Len asked the pastor about it, the man shrugged it off
claiming ‘in one way or another, we’re all sucking on our own balloon juice.’
Um. Eew.
If there ever was a balloon-sucker, it was Herod. He was
drunk on power, drunk on dynasty, and still drinking from a well-used Roman
balloon. He got lots of everything, which is probably why he died the way he
did: diabetic, syphilitic, and paranoid about losing it all.
I suppose you could say that Christ is the perfect
counterpart to any of us, given our sinful nature, but it seems especially true
with Herod.
Whereas Herod filled himself on every pleasure, Christ
emptied himself of his divine privilege. Whereas Herod gorged on Roman reward,
Christ gave up the rights and properties of his godhood and lived among us as
one of us. Whereas Herod clung on to his own life at the expense of others
around him, Christ died early having given himself as a ransom for many.
Thing is, Herod didn’t start out wholly evil.
He just got addicted to balloon-juice.
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