Friend Of One Who Gives Gifts

Proverbs 19:4-12 – Wealth attracts many friends, but even the closest friend of the poor person deserts them. A false witness will not go unpunished, and whoever pours out lies will not go free. Many curry favor with a ruler, and everyone is the friend of one who gives gifts. The poor are shunned by all their relatives—how much more do their friends avoid them! Though the poor pursue them with pleading, they are nowhere to be found. The one who gets wisdom loves life; the one who cherishes understanding will soon prosper. A false witness will not go unpunished, and whoever pours out lies will perish. It is not fitting for a fool to live in luxury—how much worse for a slave to rule over princes! A person’s wisdom yields patience; it is to one’s glory to overlook an offense. A king’s rage is like the roar of a lion, but his favor is like dew on the grass.

Proverbs 17:8 – A bribe is seen as a charm by the one who gives it; they think success will come at every turn.

Proverbs 10:15 – The wealth of the rich is their fortified city, but poverty is the ruin of the poor.

Psalm 133:3 – It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the Lord bestows his blessing, even life forevermore.

Application:

• ·         “A bribe is seen as a charm” is a sad commentary on human behavior.
• ·         Poverty has no security—as it has no influence or friends.
• ·         God’s blessings flowed to Israel through heaven’s dew that sustained life in the fields—epitomizing God’s providential mercies in the creation order.

All Scripture verses taken from NIV