Acts 12:18-23--The Death of Herod

Acts 12:18-23
English Standard Version
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18 Now when day came, there was no little disturbance among the soldiers over what had become of Peter. 19 And after Herod searched for him and did not find him, he examined the sentries and ordered that they should be put to death. Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea and spent time there.

The Death of Herod
20 Now Herod was angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon, and they came to him with one accord, and having persuaded Blastus, the king's chamberlain, they asked for peace, because their country depended on the king's country for food. 21 On an appointed day Herod put on his royal robes, took his seat upon the throne, and delivered an oration to them. 22 And the people were shouting, “The voice of a god, and not of a man!” 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.

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If you're following along in the ESV, I included some verses 18 and 19 from the passage we covered yesterday, and I'm going to include verses 24 and 25 with the beginning of chapter 13 next time.  The Lord has just miraculously released Simon Peter from prison and King Herod Agrippa had posted a large number of guards to secure Peter, yet all the efforts he had taken to prevent a jail break had failed.  Is Herod going to think that this was a miracle of God?  No!  He's going to try to blame the sentries that were ordered to stand guard and put them to death for letting a prisoner escape on their watch.  This shows how ruthless he was and that he was unwilling to take any blame for arresting an innocent man.  He couldn't imagine any power greater than himself that could have intervened, and we're going to see that in the next passage regarding the death of Herod as Herod will fancy himself like one of the Roman gods (for it was typical for the Romans to worship their governors and offer sacrifices and other forms of worship to them).

Herod left Judea and went down (geographically) to Caesarea which is on the seashore of the Mediterranean Sea.  He was angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon, and they saw the need to reach out to one of the officers of the court with a peace treaty, for there is a great famine in the area still and the regions of Tyre and Sidon are dependent on the exported food supplied by Herod's people, so it would be a terrible idea for them to be enemies at this time as it might mean starvation for the people of Tyre and Sidon.

Luke does not tell us the exact date, other than it was an appointed day, that King Agrippa I put on his royal robes, took his seat on the throne and made a speech to the people.  The speech much have been delivered well as the people were shouting, "The voice of a god, and not a man."  While God had every right to judge the people for saying this and worshiping their king in a way that only God deserved to be worshiped, He instead chose to judge King Herod Agrippa I for not correcting the people.  It was his duty as king of these people to encourage them to obey the Law and to discourage them from breaking the Law and they are breaking the first commandment here.  When Agrippa I accepts this worship an angel of the Lord strikes him dead because he did not give glory to God, and God caused the body to be eaten by worms--again something very specific that Luke is recording as a historian that anyone from the time that was there would be able to contradict if this was not accurate and true.  God told Luke why Herod was struck down (though it might have been somewhat obvious to the people) and the people saw the visible judgment of the body being eaten by worms to warn them not to follow after the example of this man that they thought was like a god.