Have you ever waited for just the right moment to ask someone? I remember several of these “right moment” experiences in my life. And if you ask my wife, she will tell you that I am not very good at keeping secrets, at waiting for the right moment. I almost always tell before the event has arrived. Maybe the right moment was about asking for a promotion at work, or a pay raise, or a date invitation. Or maybe it was about asking for a favor, or confessing a mistake. Finding the right moment can be difficult.
The king’s wife, Herodias, has held a grudge against John the Baptist ever since John called her out in public and revealed the sin of her current marriage. Some people just don’t like public humiliation! What’s up with that!
So Herodias has plotted and schemed of getting even with John for some time. She wants him dead for what he said about her marriage. Talk about a bad sport! Wanting to kill someone for what they said seems a bit extreme, doesn’t it? Words are just words, unless they prick your conscience and bring on guilt. That seems to have been what happened. John had spoken and it hit right at the heart of Herodias’ guilt. And she had held onto the pain in hopes of revenge.
The King is throwing a big banquet for all the important people in the kingdom. It would be equivalent to a Whitehouse Dinner. Anybody who was anybody was there. And the queen knew the king. She knew his weaknesses. She had used those weaknesses in the past to get what she wanted. Now she was going to use them against him to finally get revenge.
And the plot involved her daughter. I guess Herod must have had a lust problem. Perhaps he liked younger women. Perhaps Herodias had been one of those young women who had caught his eye previously. And she uses this to her advantage. Talk about sexual exploitation! Her mother uses her daughter. Yikes!
Another weakness that she knows about her husband is that he values what other people think about him. If she can get him to commit to a course of action in front of the crowd, he would feel compelled to fulfill it, or he would lose face before his guests. His reputation would be on the line.
The last thing the king’s wife knew about her husband is that he is impulsive. In the heat of the moment he makes rash decisions. He lets his feelings get the best of him. He will commit to things and then later regret it.
Herodias has studied her husband and now uses these traits to get what she wants. She doesn’t do it directly, that would be to straight forward. She instead uses her daughter. She can’t confront him directly, so she uses the kids.
The Arnold Journey 