A Mother’s Sin

       She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.  (28)  Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her.  Proverbs 31:27-28

Matthew 14 describes a really ugly family situation.  King Herod has taken his brother’s wife, Herodias, as his own wife.  She had a fifteen year old daughter that must have been pretty attractive.  Herod has the daughter dance for him and a whole party of men at his birthday celebration.  My guess is that this was not ballet.  Herod was very pleased by the dancing. (Matthew 14:6). 

 

King Herod was so pleased by the performance that he promised this young woman whatever she wanted.  She consulted her mother, came back, and asked for John the Baptist’s head on a platter.  John had been imprisoned because he had confronted King Herod about taking the wife of his brother.  Luke 3 says that there were other evil things he had done for which  John  boldly confronted the King.  

These verses led to quite a discussion on the influence parents have on their children.  Herod and Herodias were wicked people.  Though the Bible doesn’t give us a great deal of information about them – secular historians give some.  Herod and his ancestors had been known to kill their own sons if they thought they were a threat to the throne, they took each other’s wives, intermarried within in the family, and did whatever they thought necessary to protect their individual reigns when on the throne.  

It doesn’t sound like anything we will see or have to worry about until you start to look at the generational consistency.  Each generation did what the last one did.  There was very little serving one another and very much protecting one’s own turf.  Herodias’s daughter could have asked for “anything” and she asked for the head of a perfectly innocent, godly man.  This was an act of vengeance on the part of her mother.  What was she teaching her daughter? 

The question faithful mothers and fathers everywhere need to be asking ourselves is, “what are we teaching?”  More importantly, what example are we setting by the actions we take and the decisions we make?  Herodias was not considering anyone more important than herself when she prompted her daughter to ask for an innocent head on a platter.  

Herod was showing himself to be weak and afraid by not stopping that request in its tracks. The passage says that he “was distressed, but because of his oath and his dinner guests, he ordered that her request be granted.”  (Matthew 14:9) The fear of man is a terrible thing.  He was distressed because he knew he was wrong. He went ahead and did it because he was afraid of what others – including his wife – would say.   

Three questions come to mind for today’s wife and mother. 1. Are you so critical of your husband that he is afraid of your reaction to his actions?  2. Is our behavior setting a Biblical example for our children?  3. What are we asking our children to do that might lead them down a wrong path in the future? I have some thoughts on each question:

1. Herod was totally responsible for his actions when he responded in fear to what others would think. It bothers me that his wife is at the top of the list of people he feared.   Mark 6:19 tells us that Herodias had been nursing a grudge against John the Baptist and wanted to kill him.  She has found her opportunity and Herod will not refuse her.  

Women are quick to notice and criticize their husbands if they do not lead but they are often quick to take the lead . In order to keep peace in their homes, some men will just let her.  It’s not what women want but it is what they get when they refuse to allow the husband some room for error.  Are you and I quick to criticize and condemn our husbands?  If we are, we are causing problems in our own marriages.  

2. The Bible is clear about everything we need to lead to a life of godliness (2 Peter 1:3).  When we respond to our husbands and our children, when we give instruction, when we respond to other people (from the clerk at the grocery store to the authorities over us), and when we live out our daily responsibilities, do others, especially our children, see a godly example?  Are the words and attitudes that come out of our hearts ones we would want them to exhibit before God?  

3.  In today’s culture children and young adults have a multitude of choices of things that can keep them busy.  Some of these things seem great on the surface but some may lead down a path to destruction if not handled with a Biblical worldview.  Even sports, if given too much priority in life, could become an idol (and have for many Americans).  In a discussion I was part of last night one Mother said she had been raised in ballet and tap classes.  She had her daughters taking classes, too.  She said that as they grew older the dancing became more erotic and they were convicted and took their girls out. Cheerleading, in some venues, has the same risks. Are you and I as willing to remove our children from activities that may do more harm than good? 

Proverbs 31 says that the excellent wife will have children who rise and call her blessed (Proverbs 31:28).  I cannot imagine that a fifteen year old girl who has been asked to dance for a party of men and then carry a cut off head on a platter is calling her mother “blessed”.  More importantly, for you and me, are the ways we have instructed our children anywhere near deserving of the term “blessed?”   

There is much to be careful about in our culture if we want to raise children who will love and fear the Lord – and not man.  We must do for, and in front of, our children what we want them to do for, and in front of, our God.  They will follow our godly – but also our sinful – examples.