Blessings without Repentance? Part 2

Blessings without Repentance? Part 2
Tuesday, March 10, 2026 by Dr. James W. Walraven

Categories: Contemporary issues / God’s sovereignty / Hope in Christ / Scripture discussion / Spiritual deception / The church / Thought for Today / Truth telling

Our country’s sins: In the previous post we mentioned materialism and rampant sexual sin. But, what about pride and arrogance? Is not our nation fiercely proud? Even much of our national sexual sin is wrapped in a garment of pride. Our nation celebrates that pride. On the world stage, aren’t we arrogant? It is true that many other nations are arrogant as well, but that is not the point.

Do we understand how dangerous a place our country is in? Do we even care? Consider the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Let us look at 2 Chronicles 28:8–11 (NAU):

“The sons of Israel carried away captive of their brethren 200,000 women, sons and daughters; and they took also a great deal of spoil from them, and brought the spoil to Samaria. But a prophet of the LORD was there, whose name was Oded; and he went out to meet the army which came to Samaria and said to them, ‘Behold, because the LORD, the God of your fathers, was angry with Judah, He has delivered them into your hand, and you have slain them in a rage which has even reached heaven. Now you are proposing to subjugate for yourselves the people of Judah and Jerusalem for male and female slaves. Surely, do you not have transgressions of your own against the LORD your God? Now therefore, listen to me and return the captives whom you captured from your brothers, for the burning anger of the LORD is against you.’”

What is the background? Judah was in serious sin and outright apostacy. God used the Northern Kingdom of Israel as an instrument of judgment against them. But the Northern Kingdom went way beyond what was necessary and slaughtered them in a rage that reached heaven. In an earlier verse, God tells us (vs. 6, NAU): “For Pekah the son of Remaliah slew in Judah 120,000 in one day, all valiant men, because they had forsaken the LORD God of their fathers.” Ahaz, the king of Judah at the time, was a particularly evil king who had forsaken God.

Do we understand? What sort of shape was the Northern Kingdom in? They were on the brink of their own catastrophic destruction. God used them to judge another nation, but that victory was due to the other nation’s sin. After Pekah, the Northern Kingdom had only one more king. After reigning for 20 years, Pekah was murdered by Hoshea. Hoshea ruled for only nine years before the Northern Kingdom was totally wiped out by Assyria, with the ten tribes going into exile..

Shouldn’t we take notice? The leaders of Iran were evil (their new leader appears to be even more evil). No question. Like many, I do pray for the Iranians to be free and that many would come to faith in Christ. But what about us? Should we be celebrating? Perhaps on one level, “Yes,” given the evil nature of Iran’s regime, but on a deeper level, “No.”

With our arrogance, pride, and sin, aren’t we potentially in a similar situation to that of the Northern Kingdom of Israel under Pekah? Perhaps even scarier, haven’t many even stated their hope that our current president would be assassinated? Haven’t some declared their outright rebellion? Scripture doesn’t give many details, but one can easily infer a time of deep political chaos, turmoil, and instability surrounding Hoshea’s murder of Pekah, not to mention that Pekah had come to power by murdering Pekahiah, who had reigned for only two years.

Would it not be better for us and our nation, if we truly repented? Nineveh serves as a great example.

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