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s4i;N6#zf~(u" *Nrr" egy|TN[y1 3 : 3 2 0 T h e H e r o d i a n s w h o w e r e I d u m e a n s ( d e s c e n d a n t s o f E s a u ) w e r e o r i g i n a l l y e l e v a t e d t o p o w e r b y t h e R o m a n s . F r o m t h i s e x t e n d e d f a m i l y d e v e l o p e d a r e l i g i o u s s e c t k n o w n a s t h e H e r o d i a n s w h o , t o g e t h e r w i t h t h e P h a r i s e e s a n d S a d d u c e e s , p l o t t e d t o d e s t r o y o u r L o r d . ( C o m p a r e M a t t 2 2 v 1 6 , M a r k 3 v 6 ) . ^_[evN/fNNNNkbvTԈ NNvCg)R/fNWlN̑egv0Nُ*N[e^8O _b_bN N*Ny:N^_ZQv[Ye~~ُNNTl)R[NTd勺N Nw4w[bNv;N0[gql*Yy2 2 1 6 lSy3 6 H e r od had put away his first wife so that he could marry Herodias who he had lured away from his brother Phillip. This was a total disregard of the Godly principles of marriage. This adultery, openly practised by one of the "leaders" of the nation, could only have a disastrous affect on the morals of the people. John, being a man of God, could not rebuke the nation and yet stand by and ignore this wickedness by their ruler. Being a man of faith and certainly not a respecter of persons, he admonished Herod to hi s f a c e a n d n o d o u b t r e p e a t e d l y i n t h e a u d i e n c e o f m a n y w h o c a m e t o h e a r h i m p r e a c h o n t h e b a n k s o f t h e R i v e r J o r d a n . ^_]~SbScNv,{ NNYP[VdkSNTNNvDQ_ޘ)Rfm̑R_0Rv^W^~ZZN0NvL:N[hQ
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Y[,TOhfNvwl0 F o r t h i s H e r o d i a s w a n t e d J o h n p u t t o d e a t h , b u t H e r o d i n s t e a d i m p r i s o n e d h i m f o r h e " f e a r e d J o h n , k n o w i n g t h a t h e w a s a j u s t m a n a n d a n h o l y " ( M a r k 6 v 2 0 ) . T h e d a y c a m e w h e n t h i s w i c k e d w o m a n s a w t h e o p p o r t u n i t y t o h a v e J o h n k illed. At the birthday celebrations for Herod her daughter pleased Herod with her dancing and he foolishly promised her whatever she asked. At her mother's request she asked for the head of John.Thus a faithful servant of God who had fulfilled his calling till the day of his death was beheaded. Vdk^W^/f`@g[~FO/f^_tSl gُ7hZP/f\~sQbwegV:NN" wS~/fINN/f#WN@bNleOuN" lSy6 2 0 06q^W^ُ*Nv`vsYN~N~b0RN@g[~v:gO00RN^_vue^W^vsY?Q(WONbMRO^_ؚtQ0^_1\w^yY@bBlv~yY0^W^vsY?QyYkN@bcO1\em~v4Y0~ُ*N[ ^y__vNN Nv0RNev N)Y(We\L ^y[NvS$U0 J o h n w a s a m a n c o m m i t t e d t o t h e w o r k G o d h a d g i v e n h i m . W h a t an exhortation he is to us to "preach the word in season and out of season, reprove, rebuke with all longsuffering and doctrine" (2 Timothy 4v2). Whether it was an insignificant farmer or a rich ruler, John was not afraid to express the principle of God's righteousness to all who were in need of correction and help. We too can learn from his example of steadfastness in the face of opposition. Let us think upon the words of the Lord "Ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to t h e e n d s h a l l b e s a v e d " ( M a t t h e w 1 0 v 2 2 ) . ~_N ^yNXb~Nv]\O0N@b O~bNv1\/f" R OS0e_e
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