Herod Killed By An Angel Series

Joshua 7:19: “And Joshua said to Achan, My son, give, I pray you, glory to the LORD God of Israel, and make confession to him; and tell me now what you have done; hide it not from me.” Because you have highly dishonored Him, now take the blame to thyself, and ascribe unto God the glory of his omniscience in knowing your sin; of his justice in punishing you for it; of his omnipotence, which was obstructed by you; and of his kindness and faithfulness to his people, which was eclipsed by your wickedness; all which will now be evident by your confession of sin and your punishment for it..

John 9:24: “Then again called they the man that was blind, and said to him, Give God the praise: we know that this man is a sinner.” “Give God the praise”—this phrase addressed to an offender implies that by some previous act or word he has done dishonor to God, and appeals to him to repair the dishonor by speaking the truth. In this case it is also an appeal to the restored man to ascribe his cure directly to God, and not to Jesus, whom the Pharisees considered an imposter.

Herod was willing to receive the worship due to God. It was the more sinful for him since he was a Jew, and was acquainted with the true God, and with the evils of idolatry. He was proud, and willing to be flattered, and even adored. He had sought their applause; he had arrayed himself in this splendid manner to excite admiration; and when they carried it even so far as to offer divine homage, he did not reject the sinful flattery, but listened to their praises. Hence, he was judged; and God vindicated his own insulted honor by inflicting Herod with severe pains, and an awful death.

And he was eaten of worms

“And he was eaten of worms” while alive and still above ground, and then he gave up the ghost. Now this was his punishment for troubling the church of Christ, killing James, imprisoning Peter, and all the other damage he had done.

It was a measly worm that was the instrument of Herod’s destruction: He was eaten of worms, he became worm-eaten; he was rotten, and he became like a piece of rotten wood. The body in the grave is destroyed by worms, but Herod’s body decomposed while he was yet alive, and bred the worms which began to feed upon it in a short time. Observe:

(1.) What vile bodies we carry about with us; they carry within them the seeds of their own destruction, by which they will be destroyed whenever God speaks the word. Discoveries have been made recently by microscopes of the multitude of worms that are in human bodies, and how much they contribute to bodily diseases, which is a good reason why we should not be proud of our bodies, or of any of their accomplishments, and why we should not pamper our bodies, for they are just food for the worms.

(2.) See what weak and contemptible creatures God can make the instruments of his justice, when he pleases. Pharaoh is plagued with lice and flies, Ephraim consumed as with a moth, and Herod eaten with worms.

(3.)See how God delights not only to bring down proud men, but to bring them down in a way that is most humiliating, and pours the most contempt upon them. Herod is not only destroyed, but destroyed by worms, so that the pride of his glory may be effectually stained.