HEBREW WORD STUDY – A BRIBE – SHACHAD – שחד  Shin Cheth Daleth

Deuteronomy 10:17: “For the LORD your God [is] God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh a bribe”:

I have never heard a sermon on this verse and yet it is a very important verse with an extremely important message.  This verse starts off by saying “The Lord your God.”  In the Hebrew this is YHWH is your God.  It is interesting that the verse does not say The Lord is the God but your God. He is a personal God. This shows a sense of ownership.  He belongs to you just as much as you belong to Him.   The enemy has laid claim to you, you originally belonged to the enemy, but Jesus purchased you away from the enemy, it cost Him His blood, His very physical life but there was a transaction made. You belong to God now.  He is your God.  The word God in Hebrew is Elohim which means someone or something that influences you, has power over you and can, if he so wishes, control your fate. 

On top of that He is the God of all gods Elohi Elohim.  There are lot of gods out there that want to control our lives.  There is a god of alcohol, drugs, sex, money and even relationships.  Whatever rules or controls your life that can put God second place in your life, then that has become your God. We live in a society where God is just another part of our lives but not really our life or purpose for our existence. 

He is the Lord of lords.  The word lord in Hebrew is Adonai.  This word comes from the root word adon which means a base or a foundation. The Jews took the vowels from Adonai and placed them in the Name YHWH so you have Yahoha which we anglicize to be Jehovah. The reason for combining these two words is to show that God is supreme over us and also the foundation under us.  In other words God is over us and under us. 

So what Deuteronomy is actually saying is that The Lord is our God in us, our God over us and our God beneath us. He completely surrounds us and is always in our presence. The orthodox Jews wear a skull cap to remind them that they are always in the presence of God and whatever they do they are doing it as unto God. 

Then we learn that He is a great God.  The word for great is gadol which means bigger, mightier higher, more marvelous than any other.  He is a mighty God, the word mighty is gabbor which is word used for the champion.  That is the person who is the best among all.  The winner of the Heisman Trophy is consider the best College football player and thus a gabbor.  The winner of a worlds record is a gabbor.  If one is a gibbor there is none better nor none greater in his field. God is the gibbor over everything that exist.

Then it says he is terrible.  I mean that is just a terrible word to us. The word used is yara’.  The word terrible could be used but what we feel and what we think about the word terrible would not fit the context here. Here all these wonderful things are being said about God and then the KJV version has to throw in a word which has such a terrible feeling to it.  When I hear the word terrible it is something I want to avoid, it is bad, awful.  The English word terrible does not this context.  What does fit is the word awesome or just simply wow.  The fits the word yara’ 

Then  we have the words “which regarded not persons.” The word for regard is yasa’ which comes from the root word nasa’ which means to lift up or exalt.  In other words God does not exalt anyone person more than others.  We are all equal.  Just becomes one is a pastor does not mean that God thinks more nasa’ highly of him that he does of the church janitor. In our minds the pastor is much greater than a janitor. Yet, God created both the janitor and the pastor to be a janitor and a pastor. Romans 9:20:  “Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed [it], Why hast thou made me thus? (21) Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?”  A person called to be a janitor tries to be a pastor brings no honor to God for he is not living in God’s purpose for him.

That brings us to the final point.  Nor does God take a bribe.  The word in Hebrew for bribe is shachad.  That is so close to the word shachah which means worship and which ends in a Hei for God’s presence.  The word shachad ends in a Daleth. A Daleth in its shadow means false humility.  One is putting on false humility to gain something from someone. The word itself means to give anything that will induce or persuade someone.  The best English word for that is bribe.  It is also a word for corrupt. Consider our relationship with God.  Is God just someone we go to when we need something? Do we try to bribe Him to give us what we want by going to church?  If we are financially hurting and need more money do we try to bribe God by giving Him our rent money or food money?  Are we hoping that will be enough to convince God to give us something in return?  Do we even us Bible study and prayer as a bribe.  If I study the Bible six to eight hours a day will God give me what I want?  Well, I can assure you from my own experience – it ain’t gonna happen. How about living in silence and practicing contemplative prayer?  Surely if you live 24/7 praying to God He will give you what you want. Again, personal experience, ain’t gonna happen.  I will tell you what will happen, you will fall so in love with God it won’t matter if He gives you what you want.

I have heard countless sermons from preachers who try to tell you how to get answers to prayers, healings and/or financial prosperity.  Practically all these sermons involve bribing God with prayers, with exercises of faith, with service, giving to others, with attending church, paying tithe all are bribes if given with the expectation of being paid back with an answer to prayer.  But it may pay you back with falling in love with God and then those things you were trying to get won’t matter at all.   That is when you get those things, if that was Gods intention to give it to you in the first place.