7:9-13
Verse 9 sums up one of the most severe dangers of the human soul. We start doing something “for God”, and it may even be that it initially has a good effect and is motivated by the something in the Bible, but then, possibly slowly, it supplants the word of God and becomes “the thing”. We need to be aware of this danger, for it can be so subtle. Jesus here points out one particular example in the case of the Pharisees, though it was only one of many examples (v13). The Law of Moses, indeed one of the Ten Commandments, states that we are to honour our father and mothers (Ex 20:12). And elsewhere in the Law it says breaking this law was deserving of death (Ex 21:17). However, the Pharisees had come up with a scheme whereby money (or goods) that should have been given to look after a person's parents could be declared “Corban” (consecrated to God). This would then no longer be used to look after the parents. So this was a kind of “tax loophole”. Now there was nothing in the Word of God about this, it was a pure invention, and one that started being used for personal benefit, and nullified the word of God. This sort of phenomenon was not limited to the Pharisees, it is part of the human condition and we all need to watch ourselves and our hearts most carefully. As Jeremiah 17:9 says, the heart is deceitful above all things.
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