A Wicked Child Robs Their Own Parents – (Proverbs 28:28)

Daily Bible Study
Here scripture is speaking about the wicked and dishonest heart of a person at enmity with God. Someone who is so corrupt that they would rather destroy their own family before departing from their wicked ways. An equivalent analogy would be the child who comes into possession of their parent's estate, while their parents are still alive. Who then proceeds to abandon their parents and take their wealth for themselves. In Bible times there was the abuse of the tradition of "Corban" or dedicating something to God. The Pharisees used this tradition to cheat their parents and family. They cleverly used this system of gift giving to avoid the responsibility of caring for aging parents. This tradition allowed someone to dedicate certain monies or material possessions to God. What the Pharisees did is take whatever money might have been used to provide for aging parents and instead dedicated it to the Temple treasury by saying, it's "Corban."

This would exempt them from using that money toward their parents' care. Since the Pharisees got money from the Temple treasury the funds would return back to them when all was said and done. It was a way of claiming the money for God and getting a social "free-pass," to not help their parents. All the while putting the money back into their own pockets. In a sense they were using the Temple treasury as a means to launder money for themselves. These wicked people were using God and a legitimate system of tithing as a way to steal from their own parents and therefore steal from God. This type of behavior speaks to the attitude of one's heart. And that's what spoken of in these passages. We have to remember God looks at our hearts and not necessarily our good deeds. What God looks for is a heart toward Him and toward those who are suffering around us. Therefore God looks at the true intentions and motives behind all our actions. And it's those motives and desires of our hearts, by which we are judged in the eyes of God.