The Herodias Syndrome

Like it or not, there are women who suffer from what I call the "Herodias Syndrome".  In the Scriptures, we read Herodias' account as a very wicked woman who was previously married to Herod Philip but eloped with her brother-in-law, Herod Antipas and ran off with her daughter Salome under her custody in a live-in relationship.  What made this an entire public scandal was that Herod Antipas was also married, left his wife for a live-in relationship with his sister-in-law.  Now today, there are also women who are similar to Herodias.  This is a sad fact that feminism repeats the actions of wicked women like Delilah, Jezebel, Athaliah and also Herodias.  Compared to Bathsheba who repented of her adultery, these women can be habitually adulterous proving they aren't Christians if they would profess they are.  No true Christian even if they sin, can ever remain in an indefinite state of carnality.

If I am to describe the Herodias syndrome, this pictures a woman who could care less about sexual purity as long as she gets what she wants.  Obviously, Herodias had a live-in relationship with her brother-in-law, Herod Antipas so she could get that power.  When John the Baptist condemned Herod Antipas' live-in relationship, she manipulated her live-in partner to get rid of John the Baptist.  Herod Antipas could have responded to the Gospel if it wasn't for the wicked woman in Herodias.  Herodias to get what she wanted even sacrificed her own daughter's dignity (who is historically and traditionally referred to as Salome, not to be confused with Salome a follower of Jesus) to dance on Herod Antipas' birthday before everyone.  I don't know what kind of dance it was, traditionally it was called the "Dance of the Seven Veils" which may have filled Antipas with incestuous desire or because it pleased the men of the court that resulted in the head of John the Baptist being chopped off.  

In today's case, I've read of cases of women who have betrayed their husbands for the sake of power and have in the worst case scenario, stolen other people's husbands though not necessarily with their in-laws. That's what happened in the case of Herodias- she not only left her husband but she also stolen another man's husband for the sake of power.  I knew somebody who left her husband to elope with a businessman for the sake of money. She did care less about her own dignity even to the point she had taught her own daughter to seduce rich men.  When her husband found out she was dating her businessman paramour, he really confronted her and gave her a well-deserved slap that ultimately led to her husband's stroke and untimely death.  Really, she didn't even care about her own daughter from her husband, she only cared about power.  Such people are most to double their doom except they repent.  But too bad, like Herodias she is too in love with her sexual immorality which Jesus warned in John 3:19-20 that a love for sin will prevent people from ever coming to Him lest their deeds be exposed.