Herod's Feast and the Demand for John's HeadBible World
14:7Matthew 14:7
Whereupon he promised with an oath to give her whatsoever she would ask.
Matthew 14:7 records Herod's rash promise at his birthday feast, made while intoxicated and carried away by revelry, feasting and the dance of Herodias's daughter. With an oath he bound himself to give her whatever she asked, even as much as half his kingdom, without considering the consequences. Herodias had arranged the display to exploit that weakness, knowing Herod honored John as a true prophet and intended to release him, and using indulgence to becloud his senses and make right decision impossible. The pledge led directly to John's execution when she demanded his death in revenge, though Herod knew him to be a true prophet and was reluctant and remorseful. Herod treated the drunken vow as binding even for murder, exalting his honor above God's commandment against killing, which warns how intemperance perverts judgment, paralyzes moral principle, and calls for Christian temperance instead.
The Oath at Herod's Feast
The promise was made at Herod's birthday feast while he was intoxicated, self-indulgent, and eager to impress his guests, his senses debased by wine and his judgment carried away by revelry, feasting and dancing. He was moved by the impression made upon him by the dance of Herodias's daughter before him, and entrapped by that captivating performance into offering her anything she might ask. Intoxication and self-indulgence had weakened reason and perverted judgment, impaired self-control, and revealed how intemperance and sin had hardened him. Such entertainment could influence a person and lead toward ruin.
With an oath he bound himself to give her whatsoever she would ask, even as much as half his kingdom. It was a rash, thoughtless pledge made without consideration of its consequences. That oath-bound promise set the condition for what followed.
Herodias had deliberately arranged the feast and the dance to exploit that weakness and secure John's death. She knew Herod honored and feared John as a true prophet of God, that John's truthful reproof of Herod's unlawful life had struck terror to his guilty conscience, and that Herod designed to release John from prison, so she could not obtain his death while Herod's intelligence controlled him. She therefore looked to his birthday as an occasion of gluttony and intoxication, using costly preparations for feasting, luxurious food, stimulating drinks, pleasure, amusement and dancing to indulge appetite, arouse passion, excite the lower passions, enervate and deaden the moral as well as the physical powers, lower the tone of mental and moral character, becloud the senses, remove the fear of God, deaden sensibility to moral improvement and to the appeals of the Spirit, and make it impossible to see facts clearly and make right decisions. Under that unnatural exhilaration Herod was thrown off his guard and made the rash promise.
The background was Herod's conflict with John, who had rebuked Herod's marriage to his brother's wife and was imprisoned for it, with Herod's wife afterward influencing his beheading. The Herod of this promise was Herod Antipas, the great-uncle of Agrippa.
The oath led directly to John's execution when Herodias in revenge used it to demand his death, and her daughter requested John's death. Herod had known John was a true prophet, had been nearly persuaded to become his disciple, had felt remorse for killing him, and was reluctant to kill him, but his moral sense grew dull as he turned from the truth and intemperance and continued sin hardened him. When John's bleeding head was brought in before the guests they felt horror at the sight, and Herod himself could not endure it or close his vision to the painful scene. After a year had passed with time to consider his own life and character, he still remained with his unlawful wife Herodias while going through the formal ceremonies as a Jew observing the annual Passover. In the setting of his conflict with John, he later boasted that he had punished John for reproving him, and John lost his life for delivering his message.
Herod treated the oath as binding even when the demand was to have John killed, choosing the guilt of murder over the supposed disgrace of breaking his promise. He was brought to the test before his guests whether to humble himself and ask to be released from his rash oath or to violate the law of God by sacrificing the life of an innocent man, one of the greatest prophets God sent to earth, whose lips had faithfully declared to Herod the necessity of reform. Under the delusion that to save his own reputation he must keep an oath made while intoxicated, and that his honor and dignity as king required it, he exalted his oath above the commandment of God, Thou shalt not kill, and made the promise on account of his lordly guests to appear constant and of superior judgment and not to appear fickle or rash. He gave his guests opportunity to speak for John and virtually invited them to release him, telling them he would not abide by his oath if it would not be considered a special mark of dishonor to them, and it was on their account he carried it out. No voice was raised to keep him from his mad vow because the guests were intoxicated with wine, their senses benumbed with nothing to be reverenced and their tongues paralyzed. The very act he thought while perverted was maintaining his honor and dignity branded him forever with dishonor and made his name detestable when he commanded the executioner to sever the head of the honored prophet of God. The oath was made under the influence of intoxication and the excitement of feasting, dancing, revelry and wine, when reason and judgment were perverted, reason was servant to baser passions, intellect and manhood were sacrificed to sensual indulgence in eating and drinking, moral principles, the only safeguard of the soul, were paralyzed, and Herod and his guests were as slaves in the lowest bondage to brute appetite. If vigor of intellect had been preserved, calm reason would have borne sway and recoiled with horror at beheading an exalted prophet of God; when the feast began Herod would have answered like Hazael, Is thy servant a dog that he should do this, but in sober reason he would have protested himself incapable of such a deed, while under wine the vow led to results he would not cease to regret as long as life should last.
The disciples regarded John's violent death under this oath-bound promise as an inglorious end. John's death troubled them and made them fear that Jesus might suffer a similar fate. It raised their anguished question about why Jesus had not saved John.
Temperance Honor and Faithfulness
The oath warns against intemperance, for it was made under intoxication and self-indulgence when reason was made servant to baser passions, intellect and manhood were sacrificed to sensual eating and drinking, judgment was perverted, and moral principle, the only safeguard of the soul, was paralyzed. In that state Herod and his guests were slaves in the lowest bondage to brute appetite, with senses benumbed, tongues paralyzed, and nothing left to be reverenced, so that no voice was raised to hold him back from his mad vow. Especially in rulers such indulgence impairs judgment, self-control, and the sense of right and wrong with deadly consequences, and here it allowed Herodias to exploit the moment and turned a birthday feast of revelry, dancing, and wine into decisions that cost John the Baptist his life. The feast therefore calls for Christian temperance instead of the course that weakens reason and enslaves to appetite.
Herod was under the delusion that an oath made when nothing was too sacred to profane must be kept to preserve his honor and dignity as king, and to save his reputation before his lordly guests and not appear fickle or rash. He exalted that drunken oath above the commandment of God, Thou shalt not kill, and chose to violate the law of God by sacrificing an innocent man, one of the greatest prophets God sent to earth, rather than humble himself and ask to be released. He was even brought to the test before his guests and virtually invited them to release him, telling them he would not abide by it if they would not count it dishonor, yet it was on their account that he carried it out. If vigor of intellect had been preserved, calm reason would have borne sway and recoiled with horror at beheading an exalted prophet of God, as when the feast began he would have answered like Hazael, Is thy servant a dog that he should do this thing, but under wine the vow led to results he would not cease to regret as long as life should last. The very act he thought while perverted was maintaining his honor branded him forever with dishonor and made his name detestable when he commanded the executioner to sever the head of the honored prophet whose lips had faithfully declared to him the necessity of reform.
The oath also shows how worldly entertainment can allure and deceive, for the dance of Herodias's daughter made an impression on Herod that moved him to bind himself with an oath to grant whatever she asked. That impression became part of a course of action that brought ruin, illustrating how entertainment can influence people and lead them toward ruin. Such actions are recorded in heaven and will be seen in their true light at the judgment. The same kind of impression is made by cheap, common talk, words of flattery, and foolish joking spoken to create a laugh. Such speech reveals the treasure of the heart, it is the merchandise of Satan, and all who indulge in it are trading in his goods. Every such transaction is recorded in the books of heaven and will appear in its true light before the guilty at the last great day, when all will discern in it the alluring, deceptive working of the devil to lead souls into the broad road and the wide gate that opens to ruin.
The oath belongs to the account of John's fearless and pointed prophetic message, for his plain reproof of Herod's sin brought hatred and danger and set the condition for his death when Herod bound himself to grant the demand that followed. Herod's oath led to the request for John's head and to John losing his life for delivering his message, even as he continued to deliver it at the cost of his life. John's example shows that a pointed message of truth may cost the messenger his life. Yet the testimony of God must be given whether people accept it or reject it.
Matthew 14:7 records Herod's rash promise at his birthday feast, made while intoxicated and carried away by revelry, feasting and the dance of Herodias's daughter. With an oath he bound himself to give her whatever she asked, even as much as half his kingdom, without considering the consequences. Herodias had arranged the display to exploit that weakness, knowing Herod honored John as a true prophet and intended to release him, and using indulgence to becloud his senses and make right decision impossible. The pledge led directly to John's execution when she demanded his death in revenge, though Herod knew him to be a true prophet and was reluctant and remorseful. Herod treated the drunken vow as binding even for murder, exalting his honor above God's commandment against killing, which warns how intemperance perverts judgment, paralyzes moral principle, and calls for Christian temperance instead.
The Oath at Herod's Feast
The promise was made at Herod's birthday feast while he was intoxicated, self-indulgent, and eager to impress his guests, his senses debased by wine and his judgment carried away by revelry, feasting and dancing. He was moved by the impression made upon him by the dance of Herodias's daughter before him, and entrapped by that captivating performance into offering her anything she might ask. Intoxication and self-indulgence had weakened reason and perverted judgment, impaired self-control, and revealed how intemperance and sin had hardened him. Such entertainment could influence a person and lead toward ruin.
With an oath he bound himself to give her whatsoever she would ask, even as much as half his kingdom. It was a rash, thoughtless pledge made without consideration of its consequences. That oath-bound promise set the condition for what followed.
Herodias had deliberately arranged the feast and the dance to exploit that weakness and secure John's death. She knew Herod honored and feared John as a true prophet of God, that John's truthful reproof of Herod's unlawful life had struck terror to his guilty conscience, and that Herod designed to release John from prison, so she could not obtain his death while Herod's intelligence controlled him. She therefore looked to his birthday as an occasion of gluttony and intoxication, using costly preparations for feasting, luxurious food, stimulating drinks, pleasure, amusement and dancing to indulge appetite, arouse passion, excite the lower passions, enervate and deaden the moral as well as the physical powers, lower the tone of mental and moral character, becloud the senses, remove the fear of God, deaden sensibility to moral improvement and to the appeals of the Spirit, and make it impossible to see facts clearly and make right decisions. Under that unnatural exhilaration Herod was thrown off his guard and made the rash promise.
The background was Herod's conflict with John, who had rebuked Herod's marriage to his brother's wife and was imprisoned for it, with Herod's wife afterward influencing his beheading. The Herod of this promise was Herod Antipas, the great-uncle of Agrippa.
The oath led directly to John's execution when Herodias in revenge used it to demand his death, and her daughter requested John's death. Herod had known John was a true prophet, had been nearly persuaded to become his disciple, had felt remorse for killing him, and was reluctant to kill him, but his moral sense grew dull as he turned from the truth and intemperance and continued sin hardened him. When John's bleeding head was brought in before the guests they felt horror at the sight, and Herod himself could not endure it or close his vision to the painful scene. After a year had passed with time to consider his own life and character, he still remained with his unlawful wife Herodias while going through the formal ceremonies as a Jew observing the annual Passover. In the setting of his conflict with John, he later boasted that he had punished John for reproving him, and John lost his life for delivering his message.
Herod treated the oath as binding even when the demand was to have John killed, choosing the guilt of murder over the supposed disgrace of breaking his promise. He was brought to the test before his guests whether to humble himself and ask to be released from his rash oath or to violate the law of God by sacrificing the life of an innocent man, one of the greatest prophets God sent to earth, whose lips had faithfully declared to Herod the necessity of reform. Under the delusion that to save his own reputation he must keep an oath made while intoxicated, and that his honor and dignity as king required it, he exalted his oath above the commandment of God, Thou shalt not kill, and made the promise on account of his lordly guests to appear constant and of superior judgment and not to appear fickle or rash. He gave his guests opportunity to speak for John and virtually invited them to release him, telling them he would not abide by his oath if it would not be considered a special mark of dishonor to them, and it was on their account he carried it out. No voice was raised to keep him from his mad vow because the guests were intoxicated with wine, their senses benumbed with nothing to be reverenced and their tongues paralyzed. The very act he thought while perverted was maintaining his honor and dignity branded him forever with dishonor and made his name detestable when he commanded the executioner to sever the head of the honored prophet of God. The oath was made under the influence of intoxication and the excitement of feasting, dancing, revelry and wine, when reason and judgment were perverted, reason was servant to baser passions, intellect and manhood were sacrificed to sensual indulgence in eating and drinking, moral principles, the only safeguard of the soul, were paralyzed, and Herod and his guests were as slaves in the lowest bondage to brute appetite. If vigor of intellect had been preserved, calm reason would have borne sway and recoiled with horror at beheading an exalted prophet of God; when the feast began Herod would have answered like Hazael, Is thy servant a dog that he should do this, but in sober reason he would have protested himself incapable of such a deed, while under wine the vow led to results he would not cease to regret as long as life should last.
The disciples regarded John's violent death under this oath-bound promise as an inglorious end. John's death troubled them and made them fear that Jesus might suffer a similar fate. It raised their anguished question about why Jesus had not saved John.
Temperance Honor and Faithfulness
The oath warns against intemperance, for it was made under intoxication and self-indulgence when reason was made servant to baser passions, intellect and manhood were sacrificed to sensual eating and drinking, judgment was perverted, and moral principle, the only safeguard of the soul, was paralyzed. In that state Herod and his guests were slaves in the lowest bondage to brute appetite, with senses benumbed, tongues paralyzed, and nothing left to be reverenced, so that no voice was raised to hold him back from his mad vow. Especially in rulers such indulgence impairs judgment, self-control, and the sense of right and wrong with deadly consequences, and here it allowed Herodias to exploit the moment and turned a birthday feast of revelry, dancing, and wine into decisions that cost John the Baptist his life. The feast therefore calls for Christian temperance instead of the course that weakens reason and enslaves to appetite.
Herod was under the delusion that an oath made when nothing was too sacred to profane must be kept to preserve his honor and dignity as king, and to save his reputation before his lordly guests and not appear fickle or rash. He exalted that drunken oath above the commandment of God, Thou shalt not kill, and chose to violate the law of God by sacrificing an innocent man, one of the greatest prophets God sent to earth, rather than humble himself and ask to be released. He was even brought to the test before his guests and virtually invited them to release him, telling them he would not abide by it if they would not count it dishonor, yet it was on their account that he carried it out. If vigor of intellect had been preserved, calm reason would have borne sway and recoiled with horror at beheading an exalted prophet of God, as when the feast began he would have answered like Hazael, Is thy servant a dog that he should do this thing, but under wine the vow led to results he would not cease to regret as long as life should last. The very act he thought while perverted was maintaining his honor branded him forever with dishonor and made his name detestable when he commanded the executioner to sever the head of the honored prophet whose lips had faithfully declared to him the necessity of reform.
The oath also shows how worldly entertainment can allure and deceive, for the dance of Herodias's daughter made an impression on Herod that moved him to bind himself with an oath to grant whatever she asked. That impression became part of a course of action that brought ruin, illustrating how entertainment can influence people and lead them toward ruin. Such actions are recorded in heaven and will be seen in their true light at the judgment. The same kind of impression is made by cheap, common talk, words of flattery, and foolish joking spoken to create a laugh. Such speech reveals the treasure of the heart, it is the merchandise of Satan, and all who indulge in it are trading in his goods. Every such transaction is recorded in the books of heaven and will appear in its true light before the guilty at the last great day, when all will discern in it the alluring, deceptive working of the devil to lead souls into the broad road and the wide gate that opens to ruin.
The oath belongs to the account of John's fearless and pointed prophetic message, for his plain reproof of Herod's sin brought hatred and danger and set the condition for his death when Herod bound himself to grant the demand that followed. Herod's oath led to the request for John's head and to John losing his life for delivering his message, even as he continued to deliver it at the cost of his life. John's example shows that a pointed message of truth may cost the messenger his life. Yet the testimony of God must be given whether people accept it or reject it.