Who is truly sovereign? That is one of the themes of Acts 12. King Herod Agrippa of Judea was part Jewish, and curried the favor of the Jewish religious leaders of his day by arresting and mistreating Christians and putting James the apostle to death (vv. 1-2). Herod then made a symbolic move to further consolidate his political power by arresting Peter, the recognized leader of the apostles, during the Passover; and likely intended to put him to death after the Feast (vv. 3-4). When Peter was arrested previously (Acts 5), an angel of the Lord attended his miraculous release from prison, confounding the Jewish leaders and the temple guard. So this time Herod arranged for maximum security for Peter – certainly no one could defy the orders of the King! But the local believers prayed fervently for Peter (v. 5), and once again an angel of the Lord enabled Peter’s release from prison (vv. 5-10). Upon learning of this development, Herod was so furious that he ordered the execution of the prison guards – no one would fall short of obeying the command of the King!
Evidently such defiance was occurring in the cities of Tyre and Sidon (v. 21), for it says Herod was very angry with the people there. They came to meet Herod, likely in the region of Caesarea, for it says Herod travelled there (v. 20). The people tried to win Herod’s favor in order to obtain food safety for their land. Thus, one day when Herod addressed them from his judgment seat, wearing royal apparel, they cried out repeatedly (v. 22): “The voice of a god and not a man!” As with the Emperor, they honored the one whom they considered to be their sovereign authority as though he were a god. Herod apparently did not inhibit their praise in any way, for the next verse says (v. 23):
And immediately an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and died.
Who was truly sovereign? Not Herod Agrippa; but the Lord God of heaven who gave Herod his place as ruler in Judea for three years. All of his pomp, pride, personal advance at the expense of the lives of others, and political power came suddenly to an end by the sovereign will of the one, true God. The exclamation point is the next verse (v. 24):
But the word of the Lord continued to grow and to be multiplied.
What a lesson for us! Not one word of Herod’s speech was recorded – but the word of THE LORD continued to grow and multiply! The most arrogant, ungodly, and vicious rulers of men – in our day as in Peter’s day – will one day come to a sudden end. May we look to our sovereign Lord alone for true deliverance, refrain from self-glory, and spread His word that endures forever.
Yours and His,
Pastor Ed