It is a lovely time in Acts 12 when Peter is freed from goal, but it was what we read afterwards which I found equally interesting. Herod was furious that Peter had escaped and ordered the guards to be executed. That was unfortunate, but I suppose it was a hazard of the job! Herod then settled down, moved on to Caesarea and made a few peace treaties, though all was not well in his life with disagreements with Tyre and Sidon.
We read that on the appointed day Herod put on his best robes to look the part and addressed the people with full pomp and circumstance, sitting on his magnificent throne. ‘It is the voice of a god, not of man,’ the people cried. Then because Herod didn’t give the praise to God, he was struck down and died in a terrible way.
When we dispair that wicked people are ‘getting away with it.’, we need to remember that God always has the final word. I love the last sentence of this story, ‘But the word of the Lord continued to spread and flourish.’