The Addictive Nature of King Herod

Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not. Matthew 2:16-18

Steps: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

When God arranged for the wise men not to return to Herod it was because God knew of the character of this king. He would stoop to anything to accomplish his purposes of removing any competitor for his throne, including killing babies. This is the addictive nature of this king, that he would have power and if necessary he would kill many babies to accomplish his goals. In this story we see that fear of losing power will drive some people to do anything to preserve power, just as an alcoholic will continue to drink in spite of the death of family members and loved ones. Only God can stop an addict and Herod was willing to attempt to kill God to keep his perceptions of his throne and kingdom alive. Herod ordered the death of all children in Bethlehem that were two years old and younger. The only thing that stops us from this same kind of behavior is God Himself in our lives.

Prayer for Today: God, You know that it is difficult for some of us to think we would stoop to such behavior to keep our pretend lives intact. Yet those of us in recovery know the lengths that we went to to keep our lives going in a direction we felt secure with. We thank You that You have delivered us and we pray for our brothers and sisters that You will deliver them before they go to the same lengths as Herod did. You know us, and You know our defects of character, please rescue us from us.