Proverbs 18:16 Commentary and Bible Study

This verse may bother you at first sight. This is one of the four verses that does not superficially seem to be about fellowship, but in fact it is. What is this? Is it a bribe I am reading about? Surely it cannot be. Is it like chapter 17:8 which could be seen as a commendation of a bribe? Some people have gone into this in great depth, and they will tell us, ‘O well, you see, the Book of Proverbs (and come to that the Pentateuch, before it) is definitely against bribes if they are made in the context of justice. To bribe a judge, to bribe a witness, to give a gift ostensibly to somebody engaged in a judicial process to get a favour; now yes, the Bible sees that as highly criminal and utterly wrong. But, they argue, to give a gift just to get a favour outside the context of a judicial process; there is no condemnation of that, they say. Here it is in the Book of Proverbs. But this is not a commendation; this is an observation to make us think. And it is true in the world: ‘A man’s gift maketh room for him’ – gives him access to important people – ‘and bringeth him before great men’, and he can get great advantages, and trade with them. It is not an approval, it’s just an observation. You can see it working in the world, misused, a form of bribery so often. Now just see how this affects your fellowship life. If you have good will and do something kind to somebody, well that will make it much more likely that you will have friendly fellowship with that person afterwards. It is the idea that is approved, not the act, so learn even from the dubious bribe. It works, it gets access, it introduces the givers to great people, and learn from that.