IYAR 16
Bribe
“Her heads judge for a bribe …” (Mic 3:11)
We clarified several days ago that ‘heads’ referred to those that were
the individual leaders, or chiefs, of their tribe or clan. These men were acting in the capacity of lawgiver,
judging and executing judgement in circumstances and situations that were
brought before them for arbitration.
However, what sentence and punishment that was being given out was NOT righteous, nor was it according to
Torah, as we find from the instructions in Deu 16:18-19:
“Judges and officers you are to appoint within all your gates that Adonai your God is giving you, according to your tribes; and they are to judge the people with RIGHTEOUS JUDGMENT. You are not to twist justice—YOU MUST NOT SHOW PARTIALITY OR TAKE A BRIBE, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and distorts the words of the righteous.” (TLV, emphasis mine)
Noah Webster has a very complete definition of the word ‘bribe’, and it is ugly. “1. A price, reward, gift or favor bestowed or promised with a view to pervert the judgment, or corrupt the conduct of a judge, witness or other person. A bribe is a consideration given or promised to a person, to induce him to decide a cause, give testimony, or perform some act contrary to what he knows to be truth, justice or rectitude. It is not used in a good sense, unless in familiar language. 2. THAT WHICH SEDUCES”[1] (emphasis mine).
There is a personal application to be examined through our opening Scripture. No, not all of us are in a position of leadership or authority. And no, most of us would not accept any sort of monetary compensation for declaring something right that should be wrong, or vice versa. However, bribery comes in many different forms. What of the husband who knows the truth of the Saturday Sabbath, yet never says a word when his wife decides to hit all the garage sales on Saturday morning, because she always brings something home for him? What of that friend that offers to bring you lunch, arriving with a BLT (made from pork bacon), all the while assuming you will be grateful because, after all, you didn’t have to pay for it? And what of the grandchildren who show up at your house on Christmas Day, bearing gifts for you and your spouse, expecting you to celebrate the pagan origins of the day with them?
Anything that ‘seduces’ us to compromise our Torah observance is a bribe. Our Elohim commands, and DEMANDS, that we be kadosh – set apart – in every area of our lives, with no excuse (see Lev 19:2; 2Pet 1:16). When we begin to allow any form of bribery to affect our judgement, especially when it concerns our own lifestyle, we have strayed from the path of righteousness (see Deu 13:5; Pro 19:27).
“Blessed is the
man who has not walked in the counsel of the wicked, and has not stood in the
way of sinners, and has not sat in the seat of scorners. But his delight
is only in the Torah of YAHWEH, and he meditates in His Torah day and night.” (Ps 1:1-2 HRB)
[1] American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828
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