Bad Girls of the Bible

Herodias: The Wicked

Mother

Mark 6

Her sins affected her husband

– Herod Made Several Bad Decisions Because of Herodias• Unlawful marriage• Herod abducted her (she was married to his

brother, Philip)• Divorced his own wife to marry her

• Refusal to repent• John the Baptist preached to this wicked king

and queen• Despite his fear of John, Herod was too taken

with his wicked wife to put her away• Rash oath and its fulfillment• Herod promised his stepdaughter a ridiculous

unknown gift• Despite his sorrow, he was afraid of the party-

goers response if he failed, so he gave her the terrible thing she asked

Her sins affected her daughter

– Lessons she taught her daughter:• “Marriage vows don’t really matter.”• Mark 10:12; Matt 19:9; Heb 13:4

• “It’s ok to use sex and beauty to get what you want.” • Prov 31:30; 1 Tim 2:9-10

• “It’s totally all right for your ambitions to come before your moral values.” • Heb 12:14-17; 1 Pet 2:11-12

– What was the outcome of these life lessons Herodias taught?• Herod was trapped in a despicable vow• A good man of God was killed• Her daughter would live with that knowledge

forever

Her sins affected innocent men

– John was a faithful preacher of God• He condemned Herod’s unlawful marriage

(Mark 6:18)• He was the “voice of one crying…” (Is. 40:3,

Matt. 3:3)– Herodias resented John’s message and

condemnation• She had him imprisoned (Mark 6:17)• She wanted to kill him, but Herod refused

initially, because he feared John (Mark 6:19-20)

– She devised a scheme to have John murdered• She sacrificed her daughter’s modesty (Mark

6:22, 24)• She used her husband’s weakness (Mark 6:21,

26)• John paid for his preaching with his life (Mark

6:27-29)

Herodias and History

– Her Name• Herodias = female form of “Herod”• Herod = royal name for political rulers (similar to

“Caesar”)• The Herods persecuted Jesus and His followers

throughout His life– Her Family

• Grand-daughter of Herod the Great**• Married her uncle (Philip), but became the wife of Herod

Antipas, and queen when he divorced his first wife**– Her Ambition

• Jealous of Agrippa (her brother) she enticed Herod to demand the title of king from Caligula, the emperor**

• Agrippa engineered the refusal of this title, and Herod was banished**

• The pride of this woman caused her husband shame and exile**

** https://www.biblegateway.com/devotionals/all-women-bible/2011/03