Smote by God

Believe it or not, reading the Bible is really fun.  Even if you are familiar with a passage and know what is coming, a person can never predict what God is going to say, what you will discover or how other parts of the Bible connect to amplify the meaning.  It is more interesting and useful than the latest installment of that show you are watching or new season of game you are playing.  The Bible is God's words of life, and blessed is the one who reads, studies, meditates and applies them personally by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit.

Today I read Acts 12 in the KJV and the LORD opened my eyes to something I never noticed before.  Woven throughout scripture are many such passages, where a parallel is presented to compare and contrast.  The major feature of Hebrew poetry is the use of parallelism and prompts the reader to consider personal application to what is said.  The two verses that grabbed my attention concern Peter the apostle in prison awaiting death, and Herod who delivered a public address in royal apparel.  As Peter slept in prison chained to guards, the LORD sent an angel to deliver him.  Acts 12:7 says, "And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison: and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands."  He was told to put on his garment and followed the angel through doors that opened on their own accord until he was safely led to freedom.  At John Mark's house he was united with Christians who were praying for him, and spread the word of God's deliverance.

After Herod gave a speech in Caesarea, the people flattered him by shouting:  "It is the voice of a god and not of a man."  Acts 12:23 reads, "And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost."  Suddenly the angel of the LORD smote Herod with worms that consumed him from within, and it was not long before he died.  Both Peter and Herod were smote by the angel of the LORD, and the contrast is profound.  At night when everyone was sleeping, a light shone in the darkness, Peter was struck by the angel on the side who raised him up; Herod stood in the public eye arrayed in fine apparel that was shone in the sun, and he was struck with worms inside that brought him to the grave and darkness.  Herod's sin was not the adulation of the people, but that he did not give God the glory--something Peter was quick to do.

Herod was forever silenced by God for his sin, and Acts 12:24 tells us:  "But the word of God grew and multiplied."  God has given people the capacity for speech, yet it is God's word that will grow and multiply.  Herod and his words were like chaff blown away by the wind, and the testimony of God's wisdom, deliverance of His people and the words of His life have continued and prevailed.  God's grace and our faith in him will determine the manner of how God strikes us:  to wake us from our slumber, stand us on our feet and provide light in the darkness--or bring judgment upon us as we are cast into darkness.  Praise the LORD in the darkest places the light of Jesus Christ and God's word can shine, and our hearts can be illuminated by the unfailing truth of scripture.  This illustration is sobering and encouraging at the same time, and it is our choice how we respond:  will we obey God and give Him glory in our freedom, or will we rob God of glory and lose the little we have?