Proverbs 17:23 Commentary and Bible Study

In the context of relationships, this proverb teaches how fatal to any sincere love between people is a willingness to act unjustly. Here is someone who cares more about his personal gain than about principles of truth and justice. He is ready to sacrifice what ought to be sacrosanct in the interest of some personal advantage. We cannot build any true relationships on such an unstable and unsafe foundation. All relationships between God’s people must start with a commitment to God’s standards, for if these are abandoned then whatever results is worth nothing. If two people enter into a pact based on an agreed perversion of justice then they have made God their common enemy and he will overthrow any alliance between them. Our friendships are fragile things unless they are built on the foundation of truth which God supplies and we need his help to make them solid and enduring. How many things are out of our control and therefore it is vain to think we can reliably steer our own future course. Do we try to build friendships based on unkindness to a third party, cruel words of gossip spoken behind another’s back. That friendship is going to be exposed to the onslaught of forces beyond our control which will tear it down. God protects and prospers true friendships, helping us to overcome and overlook minor offences, but when he withdraws his protection then small things can rapidly grow into insurmountable obstacles as we allow them to be magnified in our minds.This bribe is taken out of the bosom, that is, out of the secret place where it had been concealed. Along with a willingness to pervert justice is a secrecy in going about it. The bribe itself may be disguised as a harmless gift yet the giver still hopes it will sway the mind of the receiver. Let neither giver nor receiver of the bribe admit what it is, but it is still expected to do its work. So the corrupting influence of the bribe infects a community and spreads its influence, but God will not allow such wickedness to proceed far.