It was a family trait of the Herods that they had the knack to get in good with whoever was in charge. In the days of Mark Anthony and Cleopatra, Herod was good friends with Mark Anthony. In time, however, Mark Anthony lost power and Octavian took control of Rome. Herod immediately swore allegince to him and they became personal friends.
Only 25 years before Christ was born, Rome underwent a major change. For the first time in its history, it was an empire rather than a republic. At the very head of that empire sat Octavian who exercised dictatorial control over most of the civilized world. When Octavian came to the throne he accepted the name Augustus, a title of deity. It was Augustus' goal to bring the empire into subjection. He brought the conquered territories under control by setting up local authorities who enforced Roman law.
In 40 B.C. Herod was judged to be a man who would serve Rome faithfully, and he was appointed "king of the Jews". He returned to Palastine and brought order to the Jewish land. With the full authority of Rome, he worked over the next 34 years to bring as much Roman culture as possible to the Jews. He embarked on a building program which was unprecedented in the history of Israel.
The temple we read of in the New Testament was entirely Herod's doing. He completely rebuilt the old Temple. He doubled the size of its courtyard. It was constructed with white marble, overlaid with gold and jewels. It gleamed high on the summit of Zion, surely a spectacular sight.
Herod possessed an unusual background to have been chosen as "King of the Jews." He was an Edomite. Esau's people, hated by the Jews. He did not have a drop of Jewish blood in his veins. However, one of his ten wives -- his favorite wife, Mariamne, was a Jewess. Herod observed much of the ritual associated with Judaism, but he was very Roman in his political, social, and cultural outlook. His lifestyle offended the pious Jew. He extracted heavy tax burdens and kept armed forces that carried out his cruel will. This led to constant unrest.
Herod was a terror. His sinful life had left him with a deteriorated physical condition. Josephus states that Herod had trouble breathing, suffered from spasms and swelling in his feet and abdomen, ran a fever, and had gangrene. Mentally he was paranoid and outrageous.
Herod had many rivalries within his family. He had married ten women and had fifteen children. Josephus stated, "For all his public successes, fortune made Herod pay a terrible price in his own house." Believing that members of his family were conspiring against him, he was constantly changing his will. His paranoia lead to many extreme actions in his family.
When we finish the portrait of Herod from secular history, we see a man of cunning cruelty.
A unique turn of events made Herod the Great the first of his family to confront Christ. Luke 2:1-3 mentions that Augustus issued orders for an upcoming census. The order required that all return back to their ancestral homes. Herod's men had charge of enrolling those in the census. Unknowingly the Roman Emperor Augustus, and Herod the Great had provided the reason that Joseph and Mary were in Bethlehem when Jesus was born.
The arrival of the wise men with their question, "Where is he who has been born king of the Jews?" (Matt. 2:2), not only stirred up Jerusalem, but also the house of Herod. Herod greatly feared the report that there was a newborn rival to his throne. He "gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. So they said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet: 'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you shall come a Ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.'" (Matthew 2:4-6)
The sly Herod hatched a plan to put an end to his rival. "He said, "Go and search diligently for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also" (Matthew 2:8). God warned the wise men not to return to Herod. Soon Herod could see that he had been circumvented. Matthew 2:13 says, "Herod was going to search for the child to destroy Him." Herod sits as a powerful man-made king living in the grandeur of his Jerusalem palace; Jesus, on the other hand, God's chosen king lies as a helpless baby in a corner of the little town, Bethlehem. Matt. 2:16 tells of Herod dispatching soldiers with orders to kill all male children two years and under. But Herod did not succeed, for this powerful man who called himself, Herod the Great, the king of the Jews, had come up against a new force in the world called the cause of Christ. Joseph had been told by God to flee to Egypt, so the true king of the Jews lived. And shortly thereafter Herod the Great died.