Acts 12:20

Now he was highly displeased with them of Tyre and Sidon: and they came with one accord to him, and, having made Blastus the king's chamberlain their friend, they asked for peace, because their country was fed by the king's country. And upon a set day, Herod arrayed himself in royal apparel, and sat on his throne, and made an oration unto them. And the people shouted, saying, The voice of a god, and not of a man. And immediately an angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost.

This judgment of Herod is confirmed in its entirety by Josephus, although Luke needs no corroboration from him. The following is taken from Josephus:

When Agrippa had reigned three years over Judaea, he exhibited shows in honor of Caesar; on the second day of which shows he put on a garment made wholly of silver, truly wonderful, and came into the theater early in the morning, the silver of his garment reflecting the sun's rays, spreading a horror over those that looked .... His flatterers cried, from one place, and another, that he was a god, adding, Be merciful to us; for, although we have hitherto reverenced thee only as a man, yet shall we henceforth own thee as superior to mortal nature .... Presently a severe pain arose in his belly, and began in a most violent manner .... Herod said, "I whom you call a god am presently commanded to depart this life .... I am bound to accept what Providence allots."[6]

If we may depend on what Josephus says, to the effect that Herod disapproved of the blasphemous compliments of his flatterers, then we have new light on what Luke means by:

He gave not God the glory ... This means that he would not give God the glory for releasing Peter, a refusal that could have originated in nothing else than his pride and stubbornness. Given the nature of the prison and the extent of Peter's guard, Herod knew that God had delivered him; but he would not give God the glory, putting sixteen innocent men to death in order to emphasize his denial. This was exactly the same kind of conduct as that of the Pharisees who decided to kill Lazarus to prevent people from believing in Jesus who had raised him from the dead.