Paul was in the midst of one of the most challenging and daunting tasks of the preacher: encouraging Christians to give financially for the support of others.

Paul had determined he would soon go back to Jerusalem; he believed it would be appropriate and right for the churches with whom he worked to take up financial contributions for the poor Christians there (Romans 15:25-27, 1 Corinthians 16:1). The churches in Macedonia had given for this purpose very liberally (cf. 2 Corinthians 8:1-5); the church in Corinth had begun collecting to the same end with interest and zeal, but it seemed their enthusiasm for this work was flagging when Paul wrote to them (cf. 2 Corinthians 8:10-12). Paul dedicated 2 Corinthians 8:1-9:15 to encouraging the Corinthian Christians to revive their enthusiasm for this collection and to prepare it for Titus and/or himself on their arrival.

As part of this exhortation, Paul felt compelled to address a concern. Maybe Titus had heard some grumblings or rumblings about it while he had been in Corinth; perhaps Paul simply wanted to allay a possible difficulty so it would not be a challenge. He did not want the Corinthian Christians to believe this financial contribution would mean others would be relieved while they would be distressed (2 Corinthians 8:13).

We can imagine how this kind of concern might manifest itself. Whenever we might give to someone else, we are (relatively) impoverished, and they are (relatively) enriched in the exchange. Technically, those who give funds are, in fact, suffering a loss, and the one who receives the funds obtains some relief. Such a concern about our material disadvantage often springs up, however consciously or unconsciously, when others make appeal for us to give; we might well consider the ways in which we feel we are experiencing scarcity (suffering) in order to justify why we may not provide for the benefit (relief) of another (“I am broke”/”I cannot afford it”/”I don’t have any money”). None of us live in ancient Corinth, but we can surely imagine some of the concerns the Corinthian Christians might have had: some of them certainly seem to have a decent amount of material wealth, but many of them might be poor and themselves in relative need; when approached about what needs might exist in Jerusalem, they might well want to express concern regarding the needs which might be much closer to home.

So if providing some financial contribution to the needs of poor Christians in Jerusalem would, in fact, relatively impoverish the church in Corinth to the relative enrichment of the Christians in Jerusalem, how can Paul say such was not what he was suggesting? Paul wished to frame the situation as a matter of equality (2 Corinthians 8:13-14). And he would do so by quoting from Exodus 16:18 and thus alluding to a story from their shared heritage among the people of God (2 Corinthians 8:15).

In Exodus 16:13-36, the story is told of how Israel would experience and learn, through trial and error, how God would provide them the manna for them to eat while enduring their time in the wilderness. Manna proved to be a thin flaky substance which God would provide on the surface after the dew; each Israelite was to gather an omer, a sufficient amount for each person, for each person in their household (Exodus 16:13-16). When the Israelites first went out to gather manna, some gathered more, and others gathered less (Exodus 16:17). Those who would gather more might charitably be considered as hard-working strivers; less charitably, as greedy, or as hoarders. Those who would gather less might uncharitably be considered as lazy or indolent; more charitably, as perhaps disabled or weaker, or perhaps concerned to make sure others had some as well. And yet, when they returned and measured out the manna with the omer, the one who gathered much had nothing left over, and the one who gathered little had enough; each one ended up with the same omer, enough food for each person in the household to eat (Exodus 16:18). In this way, therefore, God made provision for the Israelites in the wilderness so that each person had enough food to eat: no matter how much or how little an Israelite gathered, God made it so that it was an omer per person in the household. Each person had enough.

Paul applied the story of God’s provisioning of manna for the Israelites to the situation of the Corinthian Christians, and by extension to all the Christians of his time and age. It was right for the abundance the Corinthian Christians enjoyed at the present time to be given (at least in part) to the present need of the poor Christians in Jerusalem, because one day the abundance of the Christians in Jerusalem might go to meet their need (2 Corinthians 8:14). Therefore, while the Corinthian Christians might experience (relative) impoverishment in giving for the (relative) enrichment and relief of Christians in Jerusalem, the situation may not always work out that way: the time might well come in which the Corinthian Christians would be the ones who stood in need of relief, and it might well come from the Christians in Jerusalem for whom they had provided earlier. This is how there would be equality: a sense of reciprocity in which those who received would give in turn, and those who gave would receive in turn (2 Corinthians 8:13-14).

We do well to consider how Paul appropriated and modified the story of the Israelites and the manna to apply it to the situation at hand. According to the events as chronicled in Exodus, God made sure each Israelite had enough food by ensuring whatever was collected became an omer of manna per person when measured (Exodus 16:17-18). In this situation, God made direct provision for each person (or at least each household). Yet Paul applied this story to the situation of Christians in churches as a whole: some Christians and churches would find themselves with an abundance, and some Christians and churches would find themselves in lack or with a need. For Israel, “equality” meant no matter how much or how little you gathered, when measured out, God made it an omer per household member. For Christians and churches, God made provision so all His people could have enough, but did not distribute it evenly; equality would come when those who had more freely, generously, and liberally shared with those who had less, trusting that in turn they might find relief from fellow Christians and churches in their time of need (2 Corinthians 8:13-15).

We are not Christians making up the church in Corinth in the middle of the first century; neither Titus nor Paul will be arriving shortly to carry our contribution to the poor Christians of Jerusalem. But we are Christians in our own time and place, and God’s will in Christ remains the same for us as it did for those to whom Paul wrote directly. God still makes provision for all of His people, and that provision still is distributed unevenly. Some Christians and churches abound; other Christians and churches are in need. We should not expect God to supernaturally intervene to make sure each has exactly what they need like He did regarding the manna for Israel. Instead, God invites Christians and churches to prove faithful in Christ by establishing the situation as a matter of equality. Christians and churches who abound should prove willing to generously and liberally give to Christians and churches in need as they have ability and opportunity. We should not reckon such things as causing distress, impoverishment, or suffering; we should want to give to share in the grace of God freely bestowed upon us. The time will come in which those who will abound will find themselves in need, and will therefore appreciate the financial relief they would receive from perhaps the very people to whom they had provided previously. In this way there is equality which glorifies God in Christ, and it is the kind of equality to which we should strive as Christians today. May we give generously when we have ability and opportunity to do so, and receive when in distress so there might be equality in God in Christ through the Spirit, and may we always and forever thus share in the life we find in Christ!

Ethan R. Longhenry