There's Hope For TodaySample

If dictionaries featured pictures to illustrate every word, we might find a picture of Judas beside the word, “greedy.” The word, “doubt” might be illustrated by a sketch of Thomas. The word, “missionary” would undoubtedly be flanked by a picture of Paul. King Herod’s picture would grace a number of words: brutal, crafty, murderer, wicked, assassin, deceiver, and fiend.

Herod was a ruthless king. His pursuit of enemies, real and perceived, was unrelenting. He married for power, then murdered the allies he gained through marriage. He murdered his own wives and sons with relish. The bloodletting continued to his deathbed. Just five days before his death he ordered the murder of his son, Antipater, whom he perceived to be a threat to take his throne.

This same Herod ordered the deaths of all Jewish children under the age of two in hopes of preventing the Promised One from rising to power. It would be difficult to identify a greater embodiment of evil than Herod and his household. It’s hard to believe that a king could get away with such a murderous campaign of terror, but then, an honest reading of the history of our last century should cause us to pray with passion: “Deliver us from evil.”