Daily Devotional

“Are you not also guilty before the Lord your God?” (2 Chronicles 28:10). 

In the spring of 2016, a group of delegates from large nations gathered in England for a summit on fighting corruption. Though the meeting was a chance for government officials to pledge to battle dishonesty in companies and individuals, it was also designed to be a voice against government misconduct. 

Yet in the midst of the excitement a number of small nations began to feel that the discussion was a bit hypocritical. Many of the larger countries seemed to look at the problems of smaller nations instead of looking at themselves. Though one of the leaders of a wealthy nation admitted that corruption takes place in every country, the comment was not enough to prevent the singled-out nations from pointing back at their accusers. 

Pekah was a wicked king in Israel. The Bible reports that “he did evil in the sight of the Lord” (2 Kings 15:28). In spite of his wickedness, God decided to use Pekah to punish the southern kingdom of Judah. The Bible explains that Ahaz, the king of Judah, “made his son pass through the fire, according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord had cast out from before the children of Israel” (2 Kings 16:3). He was also an idol worshiper. 

The problem was that in the process of attacking Ahaz, Pekah forgot all about his own sins and decided to treat his relatives in an abhorrent way. The record states that in one day Pekah’s army killed 120,000. Then they proceeded to try to enslave their relatives by taking men and women captives. Although the battle seemed like the right thing to do, the prophet Obed rebuked Pekah’s actions because they had been done “in a rage that reaches up to heaven” (2 Chronicles 28:9). 

Perhaps Pekah could have avoided hypocrisy if he had remembered his own weaknesses. 

Father, please teach me to search my own heart when I am tempted to accuse others.