Now it occurred that as He was saying these things, a certain woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, Blessed (happy and to be envied) is the womb that bore You and the breasts that You sucked! But He said, Blessed (happy and to be envied) rather are those who hear the Word of God and obey and practice it! Luke 11:27-28 (AMPC)
The above text is the record of the conversation between a woman in the company of the Lord, who was so captivated, enthralled by all that the Lord Jesus said and did. One wonders how the woman took this rather hard and uncompromising response from the Lord. Clearly being drawn to and intrigued by the word aren’t enough on the day that the enemy attacks your weakest points of self-will, overwhelming desire or lusts that rule your life.
You cannot play hide and seek, you either repent, accept and submit to the word you hear, or you will kill the messenger when your guard is down. Herod fell prey to this.
For Herod had John arrested and thrown into prison for repeatedly rebuking him in public, saying, “You have no right to marry Herodias, the wife of your brother Philip! You are violating the law of God!” This infuriated Herodias, and she held a bitter grudge against him and wanted John executed. But Herod both feared and stood in awe of John and kept him safely in custody, because he was convinced that he was a righteous and holy man. Every time Herod heard John speak, it disturbed his soul, but he was drawn to him and was intrigued by his words.
But Herodias found her opportunity to have John killed—it was on the king’s birthday! Herod prepared a great banquet and invited all his officials, military commanders, and the leaders of the province of Galilee to celebrate with him on his birthday. On the day of the feast, his stepdaughter, the daughter of Herodias, came to honor the king with a beautiful dance, and she flattered him.Her dancing greatly pleased the king and his guests, so he said to the girl, “You can ask me for anything you want and I will give it to you!” And he repeated it in front of everyone, with a vow to complete his promise to her: “Anything you desire and it will be yours! I’ll even share my kingdom with you!”
She immediately left the room and said to her mother, “What should I ask for?” Her mother answered, “The head of John the Baptizer on a platter!” So she hurried back to the king and made her request: “I want you to bring me the head of John the Baptizer on a platter—and I want it right now!”
Deeply grieved, the king regretted his promise to her, but since he had made his vow in front of all his honored guests, he couldn’t deny her request. So without delay the king ordered an executioner to bring John’s head, and he went and beheaded John in prison. He brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl brought it to her mother. When John’s followers heard what had happened, they came and removed his body and laid it in a tomb. Mark 6:17-29 TPT
The Lord made a pointed comment on this during His ministry to the Jews.
“How could I describe the people of this generation? You’re like children playing games on the playground, yelling at their playmates, ‘You don’t like it when we want to play Wedding! And you don’t like it when we want to play Funeral! You will neither dance nor mourn.’ Why is it that when John came to you, neither feasting nor drinking wine, you said, ‘He has a demon in him!’? Yet when the Son of Man came and went to feasts and drank wine, you said, ‘Look at this man! He is nothing but a glutton and a drunkard! He spends all his time with tax collectors and other sinners.’ But God’s wisdom will become visible by those who embrace it.” Matthew 11:16-19 TPT
But to what shall I liken this generation? It is like little children sitting in the marketplaces who call to their playmates, We piped to you [playing wedding], and you did not dance; we wailed dirges [playing funeral], and you did not mourn and beat your breasts and weep aloud. For John came neither eating nor drinking [with others], and they say, He has a demon! The Son of Man came eating and drinking [with others], and they say, Behold, a glutton and a wine drinker, a friend of tax collectors and [especially wicked] sinners! Yet wisdom is justified and vindicated by what she does (her deeds) and by her children. Matthew 11:16-19 AMPC
Repent, turn away from sin, its lust and self-indulgence, there is time no longer (Matt. 23:37-39) or sin will destroy you eternally. Selah
Pastor Afolabi Oladele
Leave a Reply