Bribes and Injustice Crash a Nation
Many civilizations have come and gone throughout world history but the main cause for civilizations coming to an end is moral corruption. No civilization can progress when moral corruption and injustice is rampant among their society. If civil leaders accept bribes, then cartels of power form when crooked civil leaders pass laws favoring only their benefactors. Soon the whole society will be ruled by a “Vulture-Elite” class who occupy a socially superior part of society. These are a group of persons (by virtue of their position) which exercise much power or influence over the rest of society.
Micah 7:3 (NIV84)
3 Both hands are skilled in doing evil; the ruler demands gifts, the judge accepts bribes, the powerful dictate what they desire— they all conspire together.
The NIV84 got this translation right because they say the powerful dictate what they desire so a nation given over to corruption is no longer ruled by justice but ruled by those who have the power to bribe civil leaders into fulfilling their own self-serving agenda.
Proverbs 29:4 (NASB95)
4 The king gives stability to the land by justice, but a man who takes bribes overthrows it.
This is the reason that God hates bribes is because the giving and taking of bribes will pervert justice and entirely destroy a nation by corruption. A corrupt nation will soon reduce the population into abject poverty while only the elite “vulture class” themselves live in excessive luxury.
Exodus 18:21 (NLT)
21 But select from all the people some capable, honest men who fear God and hate bribes. Appoint them as leaders over groups of one thousand, one hundred, fifty, and ten.
The most essential qualification for any civil leadership position is that men should be chosen who hate bribes and whose character is known for this most important trait. This is the only way to stop the corruption by installing men from top to bottom within civil leadership positions (who cannot be bought off). These men are to be faithful to their positions and remain in service (refusing to be driven out) otherwise their important position will be taken over by corrupt men who are characterized by giving and taking bribes.