Exodus 23:7 Keep thee far from a false matter; and the innocent and righteous slay thou not: for I will not justify the wicked. 8 And thou shalt take no gift: for the gift blinds the wise, and perverts the words of the righteous.
The blinding of the wise in the above passage has to do with the distortion of one’s better judgement on account of bribes, favors or hush money. The words of such become perverted with falsehoods in order to conceal from public view, that which would be a cause for great concern, if and when discovered.
According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary Hush- Money represents money paid so that someone will keep information secret, money that a person pays someone to hush something up. The Bible drills much down deeper, and it classifies every type of bribe, in whatsoever form it takes as falsehood, and sin. Therefore, the term hush-money covers a very wide swath of forbidden activities by which justice is perverted to favor those who put up to shut up.
We are not to get technical with God in interpreting what He has forbidden, because He is A Spirit, and views any deviation from the path of strict integrity as sin. Those petty nuances that lawyers, professors and some theologians often fret about in court will not fly by God, because He brings to bear upon such cases of fraud, the intentions as well as the actions.
As it pertains to the issue of hush money, these can range from promotions to higher office, to special unwarranted favors, from personal discounts to the purchase of airline tickets for culprits in question, from low interest rates, to reduced sentences, from special passes to games, to raw cash, from access to powerful individuals to unlawful admission into universities of higher learning.
Hush-money is also used in certain cases to have traffic citations cancelled or revoked, to get special permits that would otherwise be off limits, and to procure loans from banks that lend to customers with unusually shady credit history. All of the above clandestine activities are huddled together as one, under the term hush-money, as far as the laws of God are concerned.
That’s why in the first passage of scripture we read, God outlined the principles at stake, and cautioned persons in positions of authority not to abuse their offices, nor manipulate the system to favor those who would be willing to pay for illegal favors. But the problem would be bad enough if it stopped at the mundane circumstances of life, but sadly, it also affects seers and preachers too, who at times may receive hush-money to speak falsehoods and suppress the truth.
This last item on the menu is of particular concern, for it results in the multitudes of people being lulled into a false sense of security while standing on the brink of destruction. Therefore, in whatever shape or form hush money occurs, it is strictly forbidden by God under any and every pretext. Let’s read:
Micah 3:9 Hear this, I pray you, ye heads of the house of Jacob, and princes of the house of Israel, that abhor judgment, and pervert all equity. 10 They build up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity. 11 The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet will they lean upon the Lord, and say, Is not the Lord among us? No evil can come upon us.
The prophet Isaiah issues the very same warning concerning our present day, in which corruption and hush money of all sorts would be proliferating, for there is nothing new under the sun, except that in our day the problem is scheduled to become so blatant and glaring that it draws from Isaiah, the most scathing rebuke. Let’s read: Isaiah 59:8
The way of peace they know not; and there is no judgment in their goings: they have made them crooked paths: whosoever goes therein shall not know peace. 9 Therefore is judgment far from us, neither doth justice overtake us: we wait for light, but behold obscurity; for brightness, but we walk in darkness. 10 We grope for the wall like the blind, and we grope as if we had no eyes: we stumble at noon day as in the night; we are in desolate places as dead men. 1
11 We roar like bears and mourn sore like doves: we look for judgment, but there is none; for salvation, but it is far off from us. 12 For our transgressions are multiplied before thee, and our sins testify against us: for our transgressions are with us; and as for our iniquities, we know them; 13 In transgressing and lying against the Lord, and departing away from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.
14 And judgment is turned away backward, and justice stands afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter. 15 Yea, truth fails; and he that departs from evil makes himself a prey: and the Lord saw it, and it displeased him that there was no judgment.
Case in point on the matter of perverting judgment for personal gain, was the prophet Balaam who was offered a very wide range of favors, promotions and cold cash to curse Israel while the nation slept. Even though He was directly forbidden by God to do so, he pressed ahead with the diabolical plan, driven to exasperation by those lucrative offers on the table.
Balak, king of the Moabites understood quite well how bribes can pervert even the minds of those who claim to be followers of God, and thus he had determined that whatever it would take, he would entice Balaam to sacrifice principle for mammon, and the rest is history. In our day it is called “Pay to Play.
Thus, as Balaam ran into roadblock after roadblock, the briberies were increased in quantity and value, until the king of Moab pulled out all the stops, and made Balaam to understand that whatsoever he would ask, he would be granted in return for his illegal services. Thus, he was paid money to quiet his own conscience. Let’s read:
Numbers 22:4 And Moab said unto the elders of Midian, Now shall this company lick up all that are round about us, as the ox licketh up the grass of the field. And Balak the son of Zippor was king of the Moabites at that time. 5 He sent messengers therefore unto Balaam the son of Beor to Pethor, which is by the river of the land of the children of his people, to call him, saying, Behold, there is a people come out from Egypt: behold, they cover the face of the earth, and they abide over against me:
6 Come now therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people; for they are too mighty for me: peradventure I shall prevail, that we may smite them, and that I may drive them out of the land: for I wot that he whom thou blessest is blessed, and he whom thou cursest is cursed. 7 And the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the rewards of divination in their hand; and they came unto Balaam and spoke unto him the words of Balak.
14 And the princes of Moab rose up, and they went unto Balak, and said, Balaam refuseth to come with us. 15 And Balak sent yet again princes, more, and more honorable than they. 16 And they came to Balaam, and said to him, Thus saith Balak the son of Zippor, Let nothing, I pray thee, hinder thee from coming unto me: 17 For I will promote thee unto very great honor, and I will do whatsoever thou sayest unto me: come therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people.
18 And Balaam answered and said unto the servants of Balak, If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of the Lord my God, to do less or more.
The first passage that was read describes how hush-money or bribes can pervert one’s understanding. In the case of Balaam, the offers made by the king of Moab literally drove him to insanity, to the point where he would have a conversation with his own donkey, and yet be totally blinded as to what was taking place.
That is very similar to what is currently taking place in high and low places for there are several donkeys screaming at the top of their lungs for Balaam to do the right thing but the prospect of promotion, and wealth, favors and status have blinded and greatly perverted the understanding.
Hush-money knows no bounds, because it was also employed to entice Judas to repress the truth and countenance evil. Judas was convinced in his heart that Jesus was The Son of God, but having set his heart on the material world, he also fell victim to bribery. Thus, like Balaam he was given hush-money to capture Christ in gethsemane.
The love of money is the root of all evils, and if as Christians we do not gain the victory over the love of it, what took place with Balaam and Judas will be repeated in our own experience, for basically, that is what the mark of the beast will boil down to. If we decide that we cannot live without the wealth and material comforts of life, we would be bribed, promoted, or even paid hush money in some form or another, to accept the mark of the beast.
That’s the reason why we have repeatedly warned of the dangers of getting deep into debt, for it will become a snare when satanic agencies would offer to cancel it in return for a “favor” that’s mentioned in Revelation 13, of which we would elaborate on later.
The priests, and rulers of Christ’s day hated Him because of the truth and purity which emanated from Him, and they would stop at nothing in their efforts to suppress truth. Thus, they employed even the judiciary of their day to accomplish their works of darkness, and Christ was slain in the process. Let’s read:
John 11:47 Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, What do we? for this man doeth many miracles. 49 And one of them, named Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said unto them, Ye know nothing at all, 50 Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not. 53 Then from that day forth they took counsel together for to put him to death.
When the judiciary of any nation becomes riddled with briberies, hush-money, and the perverting of justice, it then becomes very difficult for trust to be baked into the populace, because there will always be suspicion of pay to play in every decision that is made. Thus, strife, injustice, suspicion, skepticism, and evil surmising with doubt would rule the day, while the national trust in established institutions would be severely eroded.
The breakdown of society will be inevitable, if corruption and perversion of justice is continually countenanced. Judas succumbed to bribery, and then was driven to sell our Creator and our Redeemer for a mere thirty pieces of silver. That is what hush-money in all of its various forms, can and will do to any community, or nation when it is left unbridled to run riot. Let’s read:
Matthew 26:3 Then assembled together the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders of the people, unto the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, 4 And consulted that they might take Jesus by subtilty and kill him. 14 Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests, 15 And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver. 16 And from that time he sought opportunity to betray him.
Then again, we have the issue of hush-money in the form of political favors, when Jezebel sought to get Naboth’s vineyard by fraud. After Naboth refused to sell his property to king Ahab, Jezebel took the lead and sent to local government officials, requesting a favor in the form of Naboth’s death.
This was done with the obvious expectation that if they complied, they would retain great favors from the king and queen, and before you know it, Naboth was stoned to death. Thus, innocent persons have lost their lives on numerous occasions as a result of hush money in one form or another. Let’s read:
1st Kings 21:1 And it came to pass after these things, that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel, hard by the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. 2 And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying, Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near unto my house: and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it; or, if it seem good to thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money.
3 And Naboth said to Ahab, The Lord forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee. 4 And Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him: for he had said, I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers. And he laid him down upon his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no bread.
5 But Jezebel his wife came to him, and said unto him, Why is thy spirit so sad, that thou eatest no bread? 6 And he said unto her, Because I spake unto Naboth the Jezreelite, and said unto him, Give me thy vineyard for money; or else, if it please thee, I will give thee another vineyard for it: and he answered, I will not give thee my vineyard.
7 And Jezebel his wife said unto him, Dost thou now govern the kingdom of Israel? arise, and eat bread, and let thine heart be merry: I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite. 8 So she wrote letters in Ahab's name, and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters unto the elders and to the nobles that were in his city, dwelling with Naboth. 9 And she wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people:
10 And set two men, sons of Belial, before him, to bear witness against him, saying, Thou didst blaspheme God and the king. And then carry him out, and stone him, that he may die. 11 And the men of his city, even the elders and the nobles who were the inhabitants in his city, did as Jezebel had sent unto them, and as it was written in the letters which she had sent unto them. 12 They proclaimed a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people.
13 And there came in two men, children of Belial, and sat before him: and the men of Belial witnessed against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth did blaspheme God and the king. Then they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones, that he died. 14 Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, Naboth is stoned, and is dead.
15 And it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Naboth was stoned, and was dead, that Jezebel said to Ahab, Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give thee for money: for Naboth is not alive, but dead. 16 And it came to pass, when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab rose up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it.
17 And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, 18 Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, which is in Samaria: behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, whither he is gone down to possess it. 19 And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the Lord, Hast thou killed, and also taken possession? And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus, saith the Lord, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine.
But the epitome of hush-money occurred after the death and burial of Christ, when the roman soldiers were commissioned to guard the tomb where Christ lay. They had witnessed first-hand, the resurrection of Christ at the voice of the archangel and then they hastened on their way to alert relevant authorities of what had taken place.
But after they delivered the startling news, those in authority reached for hush money to suppress the truth, and the soldiers, like Judas accepted the bribe and spread a false narrative concerning the event of Christ’s resurrection, which has permanently turned the tide of evidence against Jesus, even to this day, in the minds of millions of Jews. Let’s read:
Matthew 26:62 Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate, 63 Saying, Sir, we remember that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again. 64 Command therefore that the sepulcher be made sure until the third day. 65 Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as ye can. 66 So they went, and made the sepulcher sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch.
Matthew 27:1 In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulcher. 2 And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. 3 His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:
4 And for fear of him the keepers did shake and became as dead men. 11 Now when they were going, behold, some of the watch came into the city, and shewed unto the chief priests all the things that were done. 12 And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers,
13 Saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept. 14 And if this come to the governor's ears, we will persuade him, and secure you. 15 So they took the money and did as they were taught: and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews “until this day”.
“Until this day” is a pretty interesting phrase, for it pertains to our time currently, in the here and now. Because of that sum of hush money paid to the soldiers to keep quiet, and distort the truth that pertains to Christ’s resurrection, many of the Jewish people have rejected Jesus as The Christ. As it stands today, millions of Jews the world over are expecting Messiah to appear at some time in Jerusalem.
That’s why the never-ending fights and wars between the Jews and Palestinians over that piece of real estate. And it does not stop there, for there are also prominent nations that have followed those roman soldiers down the rabbit hole too. Very many Christians in our day are also expecting Christ to show up in Jerusalem, hence the frantic efforts to protect that portion of Palestine so that the cherished prophecy might be fulfilled.
But there is great disappointment coming to millions of folks who have adopted those views. In short, Christ would not be returning to any part of Jerusalem when He comes the second time. So it is not necessary to spend billions of dollars building any embassy there because Jesus Christ will not be doing Jerusalem in any way shape or form, when He returns to claim His own.
In fact, any personage who appears in that region in the future claiming to be Christ, would be any other but Christ. This last statement is rigidly set in stone, according to the scriptures, so that both Jews, and Christians may avoid having their cherished hopes dashed to pieces in the near future. Let’s read:
1st Thessalonians 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first. 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
But let’s go back to the future for a moment, for the issue of hush money is to play an important role in the implementing of the mark of the beast when it takes center stage. As was stated before, those who can avoid being riddled with debt should do so, and those who are currently riddled with debt should seek to solve their riddle by getting out of debt.
God doesn’t want His people to be enslaved to debt wherever it can be avoided, for it often places folks at a disadvantage when important negotiations are to be made. When the mark of the beast begins to spread its tentacles across the face of the earth, the same hush-money principle in its various forms will be employed as leverage against those who are in debt.
Christ was offered hush money in the wilderness, so that He would turn from His mission to save us. In exchange for bowing down, all the kingdoms of this world were held out as an inducement for Jesus to pay to play. Therefore, to put it bluntly, if satan has to pay you for worship, he absolutely would, for he has no problem whatsoever with that! Let’s read:
Matthew 4: 8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and showeth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; 9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. 10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. 11 Then the devil left him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.
Therefore, because there is nothing new under the sun, we must expect the same old same old, tactics, and methods to be employed in the near future, as the issue of worship takes preeminence. Revelation 13 & 14 both center around worship, and the beast system will seek to first entice, then force all of the inhabitants of earth to drink the deadly “Kool Aid”.
In seeking to accomplish this, incentives, and hush money of various sorts will be used, and those folks who would be found at a disadvantage will become most vulnerable to the solicitations of our diabolical foe. This also is written in stone and it will certainly come to pass, according to history and prophecy. Let’s read:
Revelation 13:11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spoke as a dragon. 12 And he exercises all the power of the first beast before him and causes the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
16 And he causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: 17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. 18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.
[The Great Controversy pp 607] As the movement for Sunday enforcement becomes more bold, and decided the law will be invoked against commandment-keepers. They will be threatened with fines and imprisonment, and some will be offered positions of influence and other rewards and advantages as inducements to renounce their faith.
Let all of us then live soberly and righteously in this generation, avoiding as much as possible the varied snares, and pitfalls that are being laid for the feet of the unwary. Let us avoid the snare of hush money in its varied forms, for as the Bible teaches, God is A God of truth, and without iniquity, just and right is He. We will therefore close with a passage of scripture which should help us to live in readiness. Let’s read:
Romans 13:12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness and let us put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. 14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.
God Bless!