Student ID : BTH16021
Student Box No : F01
Name of Lecturer : Ms. Stella Law
Compare and contrast Paul’s teaching about Christian giving (2 Corinthians 8-9) with the OT practice of tithing.
The Old Testament, the Old Covenant, has indeed a lot to say about tithing (this word is used 36 times there), but not the New. In contrast, the New Testament says a lot about giving. To see what the Word of God says for us - who live under the New Covenant, under this present administration of grace –we will start from 2 Corinthians 8. This together with 2 Corinthians 9 and then we will be exploring to see what they are telling us about giving.
What they gave was a GIFT. The Greek word …show more content…
Looking at verses 8:1-2, however, they had contributed more, and some felt that they were contributing an ordinate percentage of the collection. The Old Testament normally described gifts and sacrifices as “acceptable” only if they reflected the best one had to give. In verses 8:13 says the Corinthians Christians may have resented having to provide a large portion of the offering, but Corinth was a prosperous city. Although Corinth was extremely prosperous and the Christians there probably could not conceive of their own poverty, Paul’s principle may be analogous to some forms of health insurance today. God always supplies enough to the whole body of Christ, but it is up to Christians to make sure that the “enough” is adequately distributed. As for Corinthians 8:14, Paul explains how God provides through Exodus 16:18 where it speaks of manna in the desert in which everyone had just what that needed, no more and no …show more content…
“God loves the cheerful giver” is from an addition to proverbs 22:8 “God blesses a cheerful and giving person”. The term rendered “cheerful” often applied in Jewish texts to gifts for the poor. Corinthians 9:9 is a quotation from psalm 112:9 which refers to, in the context of that psalm, the behavior of a righteous person; thus Paul may be saying in 9:8-9 that their reward for sowing seed (giving money) to the poor is the righteousness will stand forever. 9:10 because the Corinthians are to be righteous “sowers”, Paul cites Isaiah 55:10 “He who provides seed for the sower and bread for food,” which proves that God will continue to give and hence have a greater reward of righteousness. Paul uses the second text (Is 55:10) to apply the first text to their situation. 9:11-15 Jewish people believed that God heard the cries of the poor (Deut 15:9-10); Paul’s readers would understand his point that their aid to the poor brought direct Glory to God in praise and would also benefits the Corinthians through the prayer of the poor in