Feeling used. Unaware of the plans. Betrayed. Puzzled. Out of the loop. Blindsided. Taken by surprise. Have you ever felt any of these or similar emotions? Most of us have at one time or another. Plans were made and you didn’t know them, and you are allowed to feel like you were betrayed. This is probably how this young woman felt in our text.
Her mother set her up. He mother had studied her step-father in order to get even with a political enemy. This enemy had dared to questions her marriage and point out the wrongfulness of the relationship. But unlike other political assassinations, she has a problem. Her husband is the one who is providing his personal security detail. Her husband wants him protected and is providing the protection.
But this doesn’t stop this woman from getting what she wants. She sets up her daughter as the pawn in this game of chess. She orchestrates the moves perfectly. She doesn’t let the daughter know the real motives for dressing her up and having her dance before all these invited guests.
So the daughter dances her heart out. And when her step-dad takes her by surprise by offering a present for the beautiful dance, she doesn’t know how to respond. She goes to ask her mother. Checkmate!
I can almost see the glee in her mother’s eyes as this daughter asks the question. There is no hesitation in her reply: the head of John the Baptist. Imagine putting your daughter in this position. You are asking your daughter to have someone killed and then carry the man’s head. Vile. Disgusting. Calculated. Sick.
I am sure that moment was burned into this girl’s mind. She certainly learned a powerful lesson about political power and manipulation that day. She learned that her mother would stop at nothing to get what she wanted. The depths of her scheming didn’t even consider the feelings of her own daughter. She didn’t really matter to her mother. She was just a pawn in her scheming.
The Arnold Journey 