History Teaches Us that Corruption in Some Governments Was NOT Tolerated – Have You Heard the True Story of Sisamnes?
“Sisamnes was a corrupt royal judge at the time of Cambyses ll in Persia.”
Scripture tells us in Proverbs 20:8: “A king that sitteth in the throne of judgment scattereth away all evil with his eyes,” and how true it is.
If justice is not brought forth upon the heads of the wicked, you will end up with what Psalm 12:8 tells us when it states, “The wicked walk on every side, when the vilest men are exalted.”
In America, we can see on a daily basis that because justice is not brought forth upon the heads of the wicked that the wicked, in fact, walk on every side (Isaiah 59:2). Yet, history teaches us that this has not always been the case.
Most recently, a true story was shared with me about how a king dealt justice with that of a corrupt judge in Persia.
A 16th century painting showing the skinning alive of a corrupt judge, Sisamnes, in the year 500BC. Sisamnes was a corrupt royal judge at the time of Cambyses ll in Persia. It was discovered that he took a bribe in court and passed an unfair judgement. As a consequence, the king ordered that he be arrested for his corruption and ordered that he be skinned alive.
Before passing judgement, the king asked Sisamnes who he wished to nominate as his successor. Sisamnes, in his greed, chose his son, Otanes. The king agreed and appointed Otanes to replace his father.
He subsequently passed judgement and ordered that Sisamnes’ removed skin should be used to upholster the seat on which the new judge would sit in court to remind him of the potential consequences of corruption. Otanes, in his deliberations, was forced to always remember that he was always sitting on the skin of his executed father. This helped to ensure fairness and equity in all his hearings, deliberations and sentences.
In conclusion: None of us knows the crimes that were committed by that of Sisamnes but you can rest assured that that punishment met the crime in order to deter it from ever happening again (Deuteronomy 19:19).
