Acts 12:19b-23 – Why should we glorify God?

Then Herod went from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there. He had been quarreling with the people of Tyre and Sidon; they now joined together and sought an audience with him. After securing the support of Blastus, a trusted personal servant of the king, they asked for peace, because they depended on the king’s country for their food supply. On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. They shouted, “This is the voice of a god, not of a man.” Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.” (Acts 12:19b-23)

I hope you’re not like me, easily fooled by people because I want to think everyone’s nice. I almost got caught in a dog scam because I wanted a puppy so much. I didn’t become suspicious until the “sellers” didn’t want me to pay by credit card and were going to charge me $1,200 for cage rental to ship the dog. The lady who was so sweet in the beginning yelled obscenities at me when I told her I wasn’t interested. I was also duped by another who showed extreme kindness because he wanted something. He wounded my family, and I’m still hurting from my foolishness.

Beware of people like the influential from Tyre and Sidon. They were traders, looking to cheat people. Like many used car salespeople and scammers, they know what we want to buy and say what we want to hear. Even Herod was tired of them and cut out their food supply. They became tired of eating only fish, so the influential of those two city-states congregated and devised a plan. First, they would bribe Blastus to get a meeting with Herod, and then they would tell Herod how great he was.

The timing was perfect. Herod had retreated to Caesarea so he wouldn’t have to face the Jews after Peter’s escape and needed something to feed his ego. He dressed in his royal robes, sat on his throne in what is now the Hippodrome, and addressed the people. They told him he was speaking like a god and not a man, and Herod craved those words. He wanted to be a god and accepted God’s glory for himself.

Again, we see the contrast between good and evil. Peter made Cornelius stand up when Cornelius fell at his feet in reverence. Peter wouldn’t accept God’s glory. So the angel struck Peter to wake him up and free him. On the other hand, the angel struck Herod so he could be eaten by worms and die. God is love, so the punishment at first seemed severe to me. According to Josephus, the historian employed by the Romans, Herod was struck by a disease of the bowels and took two days to die. The angel most likely struck him with threadworms, a moderate risk in the middle east. If the angel also struck his immune system, the threadworms would multiply greatly, blocking his bowels. But threadworms also swim through the blood of the immunosuppressed and spread infectious waste to every part of the body.

We’re to trust God for judgment, and I do. I prayed that God would send an angel to strike the one who duped me and wounded my family if it was His will. Somehow the punishment no longer seems so severe. I’ve forgiven him, but I don’t want him hurting another family.

Father God, let me be like Peter and give You the glory for every gift I receive and for everything I do in Your name.. Convict me if I start behaving like the influential from Tyre and Sidon, and help me discern people with integrity from sycophants. Protect me and my loved ones from the enemy who wants Your glory. In Christ’s name, I pray, amen.

Acts 12:19b-23 – Why should we glorify God?

34 thoughts on “Acts 12:19b-23 – Why should we glorify God?

    1. I have been blogging for three years. Thank you for coming to my website and for your encouragement. When we glorify God He will reward us. I prayed for you and your family today and hope you know how wide and long and high and deep God’s love is for you. Blessings, Jody

    1. Thank you for coming to my website and for your encouragement. When we glorify God He will reward us. I prayed for you and your family today and hope you know how wide and long and high and deep God’s love is for you. Blessings, Jody

    1. I’ve been blogging for three years. Thank you for coming to my website and for your encouragement. When we glorify God He will reward us. I prayed for you and your family today and hope you know how wide and long and high and deep God’s love is for you. Blessings, Jody

  1. Sweet blog! I found it while searching on Yahoo News. Do you have any suggestions on how to get listed in Yahoo News? I’ve been trying for a while but I never seem to get there! Many thanks

    1. I have no idea. Thank you for coming to my website and for your encouragement. When we glorify God He will reward us. I prayed for you and your family today and hope you know how wide and long and high and deep God’s love is for you. Blessings, Jody

  2. Its like you learn my thoughts! You seem to understand a lot about this, such as you wrote the e book in it or something. I believe that you just could do with some p.c. to power the message home a bit, but instead of that, this is fantastic blog. A fantastic read. I’ll definitely be back.

    1. Thank you for coming to my website and for your encouragement. When we glorify God He will reward us. I prayed for you and your family today and hope you know how wide and long and high and deep God’s love is for you. Blessings, Jody

    1. Thank you for coming to my website and for your encouragement. When we glorify God He will reward us. I prayed for you and your family today and hope you know how wide and long and high and deep God’s love is for you. Blessings, Jody

  3. I blog sometimes as well as I genuinely admire your material. This wonderful blog post has definitely actually peaked my passion. I am mosting likely to book mark your internet site and keep checking for all new information pertaining to as soon as a week. I opted in for your RSS feed likewise.

    1. Thank you for coming to my website and for your encouragement. When we glorify God He will reward us. I prayed for you and your family today and hope you know how wide and long and high and deep God’s love is for you. Blessings, Jody

  4. Hey there would you mind stating which blog platform you’re working with? I’m planning to start my own blog in the near future but I’m having a difficult time choosing between BlogEngine/Wordpress/B2evolution and Drupal. The reason I ask is because your design and style seems different then most blogs and I’m looking for something unique. P.S My apologies for being off-topic but I had to ask!

    1. I use WordPress. My web designer is Brian Kraft http://www.lightwayweb.com. I highly recommend him. Thank you for coming to my website and for your encouragement. When we glorify God He will reward us. I prayed for you and your family today and hope you know how wide and long and high and deep God’s love is for you. Blessings, Jody

  5. Hi! Someone in my Myspace group shared this website with us so I came to take a look. I’m definitely loving the information. I’m book-marking and will be tweeting this to my followers! Wonderful blog and terrific design.

    1. Thank you for coming to my website and for your encouragement. When we glorify God He will reward us. I prayed for you and your family today and hope you know how wide and long and high and deep God’s love is for you. Blessings, Jody

  6. I’m truly enjoying the design and layout of your blog. It’s a very easy on the eyes which makes it much more pleasant for me to come here and visit more often. Did you hire out a developer to create your theme? Excellent work!

    1. Yes my web designer is Brian Kraft http://www.lightwayweb.com I highly recommend him. Thank you for coming to my website and for your encouragement. When we glorify God He will reward us. I prayed for you and your family today and hope you know how wide and long and high and deep God’s love is for you. Blessings, Jody

  7. I’m really enjoying the design and layout of your blog. It’s a very easy on the eyes which makes it much more enjoyable for me to come here and visit more often. Did you hire out a designer to create your theme? Outstanding work!

    1. Yes, my web designer is Brian Kraft, http://www.lightwayweb.com I highly recommend him. Thank you for coming to my website and for your encouragement. When we glorify God He will reward us. I prayed for you and your family today and hope you know how wide and long and high and deep God’s love is for you. Blessings, Jody

  8. I know this if off topic but I’m looking into starting my own weblog and was curious what all is required to get setup? I’m assuming having a blog like yours would cost a pretty penny? I’m not very internet smart so I’m not 100 certain. Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated. Appreciate it

    1. I have a web designer, Brian Kraft, http://www.lightwayweb.com whom I highly recommend. He is inexpensive and excellent. Thank you for coming to my website and for your encouragement. When we glorify God He will reward us. I prayed for you and your family today and hope you know how wide and long and high and deep God’s love is for you. Blessings, Jody

  9. Neat blog! Is your theme custom made or did you download it from somewhere? A design like yours with a few simple adjustements would really make my blog shine. Please let me know where you got your theme. Appreciate it

    1. I have a web designer, Brian Kraft, whom I highly recommend. http://www.lightwayweb.com Thank you for coming to my website and for your encouragement. When we glorify God He will reward us. I prayed for you and your family today and hope you know how wide and long and high and deep God’s love is for you. Blessings, Jody

    1. Thank you for coming to my website and for your encouragement. When we glorify God He will reward us. I prayed for you and your family today and hope you know how wide and long and high and deep God’s love is for you. Blessings, Jody

    1. I will be using Twitter soon. Thank you for coming to my website and for your encouragement. When we glorify God He will reward us. I prayed for you and your family today and hope you know how wide and long and high and deep God’s love is for you. Blessings, Jody

  10. I do agree with all the ideas you have presented in your post. They’re really convincing and will certainly work. Still, the posts are too short for newbies. Could you please extend them a bit from next time? Thanks for the post.

    1. Devotions are supposed to be short. Sometimes I have too many words. But I appreciate your comment. Thank you for coming to my website and for your encouragement. When we glorify God He will reward us. I prayed for you and your family today and hope you know how wide and long and high and deep God’s love is for you. Blessings, Jody

    1. Please do. Thank you for coming to my website and for your encouragement. When we glorify God He will reward us. I prayed for you and your family today and hope you know how wide and long and high and deep God’s love is for you. Blessings, Jody

Leave a Reply to click here Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to top

Subscribe to my Devotionals

If you would like regular updates of our daily devotional Bible study sent to your email, please subscribe here.
Loading