Deuteronomy 10:17-18 For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe. (18) He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing.
Romans 2:11 For God shows no partiality.
Galatians 2:6 And from those who seemed to be influential (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)–those, I say, who seemed influential added nothing to me.
1 Timothy 5:21 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the elect angels I charge you to keep these rules without prejudging, doing nothing from partiality.
True justice is much rarer in this world than we might believe. Human beings, including judges, are not completely impartial. Justice (as the blindfolded lady with the balance scales illustrates) is supposed to be blind, weighing the evidence with complete objectivity. But we are not completely objective. Justice is not totally blind, so decisions and rulings are very often tainted with injustice. Not so with God as Judge. His rulings conform to perfect righteousness, and by it He will one day judge the world by His appointed Judge, the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Bible condemns the taking of bribes. One of the most wicked sins in Israel, condemned by the Lord, was that the leaders oppressed the poor because the rich paid them bribes to rule in their favor. Such people should fear God’s wrath:
Exodus 23:7-8 Keep far from a false charge, and do not kill the innocent and righteous, for I will not acquit the wicked. (8) And you shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and subverts the cause of those who are in the right.
Often, the Bible connects injustice to widows and orphans and other weak, defenseless people to the taking of bribes. Bribes, as Exodus says, blinds the clear-sighted and subverts the cause of those who are in the right. By their very nature, bribes originate from people who have money and influence and power. The weak and helpless cannot pay a bribe – they have nothing to pay it with! And so it is very often in the case of victims of abuse. Their abuser has the resources, they do not. The abuser is often a person of influence and reputation, unlike the victim. So justice is perverted. Bribes are given and accepted. The judge is blind – but in this case he is blind to what is right.
