SPECIAL MESSAGE

Is There a
Korban in
the House?

For Moses said, Honor your father and your

mother and, He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death. But you say, If a
man says to his father or mother, Whatever
profit you might have received from me is
Korban (that is, a gift to God), then you
no longer let him do anything for his father or his mother, making the word of
God of no effect through your tradition
which you have handed down.
Mark 7:10-13

The Korban in Christs Day

During Christs time, the Jewish Temple was filled
with daily activity, including sacrifices, offerings
and priestly rituals. Over time, changes were made and
many manmade traditions were implemented to replace
Gods inspired methods of worship. One such change was
with the Korban. The Hebrews were taught to provide
for their aging parents by setting aside money from their
children. When the parents could no longer work, this
retirement fund would provide income to support them.
A temple system was developed that would exempt a family
member from providing for their parents. A person could
take the money set aside for their parents, give a donation
to the temple treasury, and in return receive a receipt for
their contribution. Thus, the other children would use their
money to provide for their parents. After the parents death,
the individual could present the receipt to the temple priest

and receive their money back, like a refund! This was called
a gift, but was actually a scheme that prevented obedience to
the word of God.
The original meaning of the word Korban in Hebrew is
a word for sacrifice. The word sacrifice is found 194 times
in the Old Testament. Most believers perceive a sacrifice as
something they give up as an offering to God. However,
the Hebrew meaning is far from this. Below is a Hebrew
commentary on the meaning of Korban:
It is most regrettable that we have no word that really
reproduces the idea that lies in the expression Korban. The
unfortunate use of the term sacrifice implies giving up
something of value to oneself for the benefit of another, or
having to do without something of value, ideas not only
entirely absent from the nature of Korban but diametrically
opposed to it. In addition, the idea of an offering presupposes
a wish on the part of the one to whom it is broughtBut

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the idea of Korban is far away from all this. It is used

exclusively with reference to humanitys relationship with
God, and can only be understood from the meaning that
lies in its root, K.R.V.to approach, to come near, to
enter into a relationship.
Korban implies closeness (the root is K.R.V. near);
bringing things togetherit engenders compassion, never
harshness. That is why it is Korban LHashem, a gift to the
name of Hashem. (Source: R. Shimshon Refael Hirsch,
opening to Sefer Vayikra)
Thus, the true meaning of a Korban is not to give up
something, but to draw near to God through a sacrifice.

The Five Main Offerings

In the time of Moses the tabernacle was the center of all
spiritual activity and the meeting place with God. Many
offerings were required of the people to present to God for
various purposes:
NAME

REFERENCE

OFFERING

1st Burnt offering

Lev. 6:8-13

bull/ram

2nd Grain offering

Lev. 6:14-23

grain/flour

3rd Fellowship
offering

Lev. 7:11-34

Any animal

4th Sin offering

Lev. 8:2

bull/goat/lamb/pigeon/
flour

5th Trespass offering

Lev. 7:1-6

lamb/ram

Among the offerings there was a difference between sins

against God and sins against man. When an Israelite
sinned against God, he presented a sin offering called the
Hataat. If he sinned against a fellow man he would present
a guilt offering called the Asham, which was an offering
of compensation or restitution. This offering forgave theft,
false oaths, extortion, or lying. The Asham was presented
to God, but was for the purpose of removing the guilt
associated with mistreatment or sin against another. The
Old Testament word restitution (Exodus 22:3) is shalam
(not shalom), and actually means to make amends,

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to finish, or to make good again. Making restitution

involves making things right in a relationship where you
hurt someone. Other offerings, such as fellowship or peace
offerings, were voluntary offerings presented to God in
appreciation for his goodness.
Sometimes a persons spiritual blessing can be placed
on hold because they are
walking in disobedience
to Gods word, holding
grudges and unforgiveness
toward their fellow man.
When
believers
walk
contrary to truth, God
restrains the fullness of
blessing from their lives,
until they repent and turn
from their disobedience.
Jesus said, Therefore if
you bring your gift to the
altar, and there remember
that your brother has
something against you,
leave your gift there before
the altar, and go your
way. First be reconciled
to your brother, and then
come and offer your gift
(Matthew 5:23-25).
In Western culture, we think of an altar as being a
wooden altar at the front of the church and the word gift
as a monetary offering. In Christs day, the altar was the
brass altar at the temple and the gift was the Greek word
used for sacrifice. Christ was referring to the guilt offering
when a person has wronged another, and the savior revealed
that this offering would not be accepted by God unless
the offender made amends with his brother. To Christ, the
spiritual attitude of the heart was more important than the
public presentation of the sacrifice. James also indicated that
believers should confess your faults one to another and pray
one for another that you may be healed. (James 5:16).

Up in Smoke
It is interesting to note that there are several different
Hebrew words used to describe the process of making the
sacrifice, from the preparation to the completion. The first
phase is the asah, which means to make ready or prepare the
sacrifice (Lev. 9:22-24). The second word is zebach, which
alludes to slaughtering the
sacrifice (Lev. 22:18-21). The
third word is olah, which
indicates the sacrifice is
burning and is going up
in smoke (Lev. 8:18-29).
Once the offering is burnt,
the smoke rises up toward
the heavenly temple. The
Bible describes it as a sweet
smelling savor to God
(Gen. 8:21, Exod. 29:25,
Lev. 9:1). In other words,
the offerings made on earth
were actually received in
the heavenly temple where
the Almighty sits upon his
eternal throne! Paul said it
this way in Hebrews 7:8,
Here mortal men receive
tithes, but there he receives
them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives.
Our giving on earth reflects the reality of heaven. Our
prayers on earth reach into heaven and are stored in golden
vials before Gods throne (Rev. 5:8). Our praise and worship
is received in heaven and, I believe, identified as the voices
that continually proceed out of Gods throne (Rev. 4:5).
As far back as the time of Abraham and Jacob, tithe was
understood. Jacob dreamed of a ladder stretching from the
ground to the top of heaven with angels ascending and
descending on this ladder. I believe this indicated the angels
taking the tithe as a sweet savor before God and angels
returning to earth to minister to Gods people. (I will release
a book about angels in the fall that details this concept).

Paul revealed that men on earth receive the tithe, but the
tithe is actually received by Christ himself in heaven! The
burnt offering produced a sweet smell, and our obedience
to God is a sweet fragrance to him. Paul used the term of a
sweet savor when describing how God looks at our financial
giving for the kingdom:
Indeed I have all and abound. I am full, having received
from Epaphroditus the things sent from you, a sweetsmelling aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to
God. And my God shall supply all your need according to
his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:18-19
(NKJV)
As believers we need to readjust our perception of tithes
and offerings. Many believers are so skeptical of a minister
who receives an offering, that they conspire of an ulterior
motive for instructing the people to obey God in their
giving. This group of people thinks that releasing a tenth
of their income is giving up something or losing something
of value. Perhaps they think they are losing money they will
need later to pay bills. They have the wrong concept of the
Korban, or the offering. The true meaning is not to give
up, but to draw near. Any time you give an offering to the
church, a ministry, or the poor and needy, you are actually
drawing near to God.

How Serious is This to God?

How serious does God view the tithes and offerings of
His people? When Nadab and Abihu offered strange fire
before the Lord, both were slain (Lev. 10:1). King Uzziah
infringed on the office of the priest and offered holy incense.
His disobedience to Gods order cost him his life and he
was stricken with leprosy (II Chron. 26:18). One man
named Uzzah, who was not a priest, touched the Ark of
the Covenant and was slain on the spot (I Chron. 13:9-10).
In the New Testament, Ananias and Sapphira lied to the
Holy Spirit concerning their giving and were both struck
dead (Acts 5). Apparently, the Lord views our giving as very
sacred, holy and important.
A sacrifice was very powerful under the Old Covenant.
In Exodus 12, lambs blood applied to the outside of a door

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Sometimes a persons
spiritual blessing can be
placed on hold because
they are walking in
disobedience to Gods
word, holding grudges
and unforgiveness toward
their fellow man.
restrained the death angel from entering the home. In II
Samuel 24, the angel of judgment, with a drawn sword,
was moving to Jerusalem to smite the men. David built an
altar, offered a sacrifice, and the judgment angel put away
his sword. In Job 42, God reversed the decision against Job
when his friends brought an offering and placed it on the
altar. If sacrifices were this serious to God and so dangerous
to Satan, no wonder the adversary attempts to have Gods
people restrain their giving to the work of the kingdom!
There is a mysterious power to your tithes and offerings that
is understood in the spirit world, but not always understood
by those of us living on earth!

The Amazing Protective Power

of Obedience
Alexander Kerr was converted to Christ at age 14 under the
ministry of D.L. Moody and later joined the Presbyterian
Church in Philadelphia. In 1902 he read Judahs Scepter and
Josephs Birthright, where Jacob had nothing and vowed to
tithe to God. Twenty years later, Jacob returned with so
much wealth that he was giving it away. On June 1, 1902,
Kerr vowed to God that he would set aside a percentage of

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his income for Gods work. At that time, he had a mortgage

on his home, owed bills and was burdened with many
cares, but had a firm faith in God. After just three months,
unexpected blessings began to flow into his business and
he started a jar factory to produce Kerr glass jars, with the
factory located in San Francisco, California.
On April 18, 1906 the infamous San Francisco earthquake
struck with a magnitude of 7.8 to 8.25, with the greatest
damage in San Francisco. It took 3,000 lives and caused
damage comparable to Hurricane Katrina. Kerr was out of
state when he received a wire that the earthquake had struck,
the city was burning, and buildings had fallen. People who
were with Kerr told him, You are a ruined man, Mr. Kerr.
Kerr is said to have replied, I am only ruined if God is. I
dont believe it, or the Bible is not true. God will not go back
on his promises!
The Kerr factory was a two-story wood building with
huge tanks where glass was melted. The tanks were kept
at 2,500 degrees and oil was used for fuel, so this building
should have been the most flammable. Kerr later examined
his building and saw where the fire had burned outside the
wooden fence, but never scorched the inside of the fence.
To his amazement, not one jar was broken! In 1912, he
began placing in each case of jars a leaflet called Gods Cure
for Poverty, which revealed the power of the covenant of
giving. Today, Ruth Kerr, who attends a Baptist church, still
runs the company out of Los Angels and still gives to the
work of God out of the company, because of what God did
for the family in 1906!
Is there a Korban in the house? Is there someone who
wants to see the gospel message spread around the world,
and wants to see Gods blessings in this life and the life to
come? The VOE ministry is one of the few that does not
ask for special offerings on a regular basis to continue our
seven-point global outreach. However, we appreciate those
who are helping us reach the world and we believe that God
will continue to speak to many more people and help us
accomplish the vision we see for the future harvest!
Article by Perry Stone