James 5: Do Not Perish with Your Riches
1 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you! 2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure in the last days. 4 Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.5 You have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury; you have fattened your hearts as in a day of slaughter 6 You have condemned, you have murdered the just; he does not resist you.
“‘Money,’we are told, ‘answereth all things’ (Eccl 10:19). But no man can be certain that his wealth will abide. It may be swept away in a most unexpected manner. The day comes on apace when those who trusted in their riches will weep and howl in their distress as they face multiplied misery and wretchedness, for ‘Riches profit not in the day of wrath’ (Prov 11:4). And ‘he that getteth riches, and not by right, shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool’ (Jer 17:11).” (H. A. Ironside)
“Come now”— and listen— “you rich,” who are boastful of your expected gain. You imagined yourselves to be rich; you were really most poor and most miserable. Destruction will come upon you at the day of judgment unless you repent. —“‘Weep and howl” now, rather than when it is too late. “People weeping and howling in this way is a regular Old Testament picture. The Moabites wept and howled at what was coming on them in Isaiah 15:2-3. [that is their destruction]... Compare also Isaiah 13:6; 14:31; 16:7; 23:1; 23:14; 65:14; Amos 8:3).” (Peter Pett)— “‘For your miseries which are coming upon you.’—The tense of the verbs in this paragraph is the present perfect, the traditional prophetic tense of the Old Testament, in which God's judgments are announced in the present tense, indicating that such prophesies are as certain to be fulfilled as if fulfillment had already come to pass. Gibson said that ‘The perfects are probably to be explained as prophetic in accordance with a common Hebrew idiom.’” (Burton Coffman)
He may refer to the pending destruction of Jerusalem, but “there were no such special judgments then brought upon the rich as to show that they were the marked objects of the divine displeasure. It is much more natural to suppose that the apostle means to say that such men as he here refers to exposed themselves always to the wrath of God, and that they had great reason to weep in the anticipation of his vengeance.” (Barnes)
In fact, destruction of all riches begins before judgement day, as evidence against it’s hoarders. This was “initially based on the OT, see Psalms 39:11; Isaiah 50:9; 51:8; Lamentations 4:1; Hosea 5:12, and Ezekiel 7:19... Their foods will have spoiled (the corn, oil and wine), their garments will have been eaten by moths, and their gold and silver will have corroded, because instead of doing good with it in the present, they had stored it up as treasure for the future. It would thus act as evidence of their failure to do the Father’s will.” (Peter Pett)
That very corruption of riches, if left unchecked, will eat their flesh; “that is, shall bring upon them the consuming judgments of God.” (Justin Edwards) Our God is a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:29) The wage of sin is death.(Romans 6:23) “James has in mind here the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus promised similar catastrophes (Matthew 6:19-21).“ (Peter Pett)
“‘You have heaped up treasures’—that is, a treasure of wrath” (Abbott's New Testament)—“‘in the last days.’ The present age, which began with the death and resurrection of our Lord, and the coming of the Holy Spirit, is spoken of as ‘the last days’ and ‘the last time’ (Hebrews 1:2 and 1 John 2:18).
This age will be followed by the dispensation of the fullness of times, the times of restoration as promised by God’s holy prophets (Ephesians 1:10; Acts 3:19-21), the age of the kingdom when Christ reigns and His saints with Him.“ (Arno Gaebelein)
They will then know with certainty that they should have fed the widow, the orphan, the blind, the lame. “Nay, they have withheld the extra rewards of harvest labours.” (Sutcliffe) “They were withholding the wages of those who mowed and reaped their fields, which meant that their families starved. This was something that was forbidden (Deuteronomy 24:14-15, compare Malachi 3:5).” (Peter Pett)
They lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury; and fattened their hearts as in a day of slaughter. “He compares them to beasts that feed to excess on the very day of slaughter.“ (Justin Edwards)
“You have condemned and killed the just—Take it either properly, or metaphorically of usurers and extortioners, that not only rob, but ravish the poor that are fallen into their nets, Psalms 10:9.” (John Trapp) They perish for want and they did not resist. “This notes not only the patience of such in bearing injuries, but their weakness, and being destitute of human help against their adversaries’ power.” (Matthew Poole)
“God has pledged himself to hear the cries of the poor.” (Sutcliffe) While the poor “had no influence on the present corrupt courts, their cries had an influence in Heaven. Their cries for justice had reached the ears of God (compare Genesis 4:5; Genesis 18:20-21).” (Peter Pett)— “the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth” (5:4), “quotation from Isaiah 5:9 as in Romans 9:29, transliterating the Hebrew word for ‘Hosts.” (Robertson’s Word Picture)—the Commander of God’s army.
Who is Yahweh of hosts? “Thus says Yahweh, the King of Israel,and His Redeemer, Yahweh of hosts: ‘I am the First and I am the Last; besides Me there is no God.." (Isaiah 44:6) Comparing Scripture with Scripture, we find that in Revelation 22:13, Jesus identifies Himself as ‘the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.’ which clearly parallels the Is passage. So Jesus is our Jehovah Sabaoth.” (Precept Austin)
“James has very much in mind Isaiah 5:8-9 LXX which reads, ‘Woe to those who join house to house, and add field to field, that they may take away something of their neighbour’s. Will you dwell alone upon the land? For these things have reached the ears of the Lord of host, for though many houses should be built, many and fair houses will be desolate, and there will be no inhabitants in them.’” (Peter Pett) They will have perished in the wrath of the Ancient of Days- along with their riches.
James 5: Be Patient
7 Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. 8 You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.
Your cries have made it to the ears of Jehovah of Host— “‘Therefore be patient, brethren,’ that is, in enduring the oppression” (Abbott’s NT) of the rich and affluent.—“‘until the coming (parousias) of the Lord,’— a common term used to describe the visit of a king to a city or province of his kingdom and thus depicts Christ as a royal personage." (Burdick)— when the final judgment would take place; “when He will take vengeance on their oppressors, and deliver them from all their troubles, and put them into the possession of that kingdom, and glory, to which they are called.” (Gill)
“‘See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth,’ which will recompense his labour and patience with great benefits, even the sustentation of his life.
“The earth that yields seed to the sower and bread to the eater has received its constitution from God; and it is governed through His wise providence by fixed laws that are infinitely reliable.” (C H Spurgeon)
— “‘waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain’— the rain soon after the sowing, which caused the corn to spring up; and that before the harvest, which plumped it, and made it fit for reaping, Deuteronomy 11:14 Jeremiah 5:24 Hosea 6:3 Joel 2:23.” (Matthew Poole) “These rains, and all the ripening influences of sun and earth succeed each other in unhastened order, he waits for what is worth the waiting. To him the clusters of the grape, the sheaves of the corn, are ‘precious fruit.’ And all the time he waits, he knows that the ripening process is going on.” (Canon Liddon)
“The farmer does not expect to harvest on the same day he has planted. He may suffer several disappointments or set backs before he receives a harvest.” (Duncan Bible Comm.)
"The whole livelihood, indeed the life itself, of the family depends on a good harvest: the loss of the farm, semi-starvation, or death could result from a bad year. So the farmer waits for an expected future event (ekdechetai); no one but he could know now precious the grain really is ..." (Davids)
The time is at hand. “Just as the farmer can know that the Lord is going to send the rain for the crops, so we can know the Lord is going to send his Son once again. Just as the farmer trusts the final outcome to the Lord who sends the rain, we can trust God for the final outcome of our lives." (Draper)
Note also that there is also an analogy with the sending of His Spirit. The early rains occurred at Passover and Pentecost and the latter will be at Trumpets and Tabernacle.
“‘You also be patient’ in your waiting and toiling. ‘Establish your hearts,’ in the faith and practice of the gospel. —-‘for the coming of the Lord ’ for the deliverance of his friends and the destruction of his enemies” (Edwards)—“‘is at hand’ to the eye of a believer.” (Wesley)
The farmer toils. In context, this is not a call to inactivity but rather a call to action. “So they are to await the Lord’s coming with patient endurance, and establish their hearts through prayer (James 1:5-6; James 5:13), through the reading and hearing of the word (James 1:21; Colossians 3:16; 2 Timothy 1:13; 1 Peter 2:2), through doing good (James 1:22 and often; Hebrews 10:22-25) and through looking constantly to Him...[for wisdom and strength], so that they would be spiritually strong and enduring.“ (Peter Pett)
James 5: The Patience of Job
9 Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door! 10 My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and patience. 11 Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.
“‘Murmur not’; ‘grumble not.’ The Greek is literally, ‘groan’: a half-suppressed murmur of impatience and harsh judgment, not uttered aloud or freely. Having exhorted them to patience in bearing wrongs from the wicked, he now exhorts them to a forbearing spirit as to the offenses given by brethren. Christians, who bear the former patiently, sometimes are impatient at the latter, though much less grievous.—
‘lest you be condemned’— The best manuscript authorities read, ‘judged.’ James refers to Mt 7:1, ‘Judge not lest ye be judged.’ To ‘murmur against one another’ is virtually to judge, and so to become liable to be judged.“ (Jamieson-Fausset-Brown)
“‘Behold, the judge standeth before the door’—so near that he can hear all that you say.” (Albert Barnes)
“‘My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord etc.’— “‘as an example of suffering.’ from the persons to whom they brought divine revelations.” (Joseph Benson) and the need for patience by that seed. “They showed us how evils [from within the church] are to be borne.” (Albert Barnes) “James was not advocating a religion alien to that of Moses, but building again more widely ‘the ruins of the tabernacle which had fallen down,’ that ‘all the Gentiles might seek after the Lord.’ (Comp. his speech in the synod, Acts 15:13-21.)” (Ellicott's Commentary)
“Indeed we count them”—the prophets— “blessed who endure.” “‘You have heard of the patience of Job’ as one of the most illustrious instances of patient sufferers... The book of Job was written, among other reasons, to show that true religion would bear any form of trial to which it could be subjected. See Job 1:9-11; Job 2:5-6.—
’And have seen the end of the Lord— That is, the end or design which the Lord had in the trials of Job, or the result to which He brought the case at last - to wit, that He showed Himself to be very merciful to the poor sufferer; that He met him with the expressions of His approbation for the manner in which he bore his trials; and that He doubled his former possessions, and restored him to more than his former happiness and honor. See Job 13.“ (Albert Barnes)
Job lost no family members eternally. His first response was: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. Jehovah gave and Jehovah has taken away; may the name of Jehovah be praised." (Job 1:21) But then came the church. A double dose of patience was needed in bearing patiently with the members. Who cannot prove this by experience!? Many bear me. The end or purpose of Job’s trials was to prove his faith. The Lord was compassionate and merciful in helping him to endure loss, as well as bad doctrine from church members— from Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite.
James 5:12 But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let your “Yes” be “Yes,” and your “No,” “No,” lest you fall into judgment.
“This language is very similar to that used by our Savior, as recorded In Matthew 5:34-37.” (Adam Clarke) When charges are brought against me, even by the wicked, there is always some truth in them—something I can learn. So I should not categorically deny all charges.
“But above all things, brethren, swear not, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath.” “As impatience should not show itself in secret sighs, groans, murmurings, and repinings, so more especially it should not break forth in rash oaths...” (John Gill)
It would seem that James is here speaking of nonjudicial persecution by those outside and inside the church against the seed- the vine within the vine.
“A Christian does not need to confirm his word with an oath. Accustom yourselves to a true simplicity and plainness of speech. A Christian must always tell the truth in all circumstances. Therefore, avoid the use of an oath to strengthen your assertions in ordinary conversation. To take an oath in court when lawfully called to do so is not the matter being considered in this text.” (Box's Commentaries)
If the persecuted person has their day in court, there are oaths enjoined in the Mosaic code, “that by which an accused person cleared himself from the charge, Exodus 22:11; Leviticus 5:1; 6:3; Numbers 5:19-22. Comp. Deuteronomy 6:13; 10:20; Psalms 63:11.” (Cambridge Greek Testament)— and oaths to duty “are made use of by holy men both in the Old and New Testament, Genesis 21:23,24 24:3 26:28 1 Kings 17:1,2 2 Corinthians 1:23 Galatians 1:20; and the use of an oath is permitted and approved of by God himself, Psalms 15:4 Hebrews 6:16).” (Matthew Poole)
“‘But let your yea be yea, and your nay, nay;’— that is, whenever there is an occasion for affirming, or denying anything, let it be done nakedly, simply, and absolutely, without any form of oath annexed to it; for whatever addition of that kind is made comes from evil, and tends to it, and is evil.” (John Gill)
James seems to be saying, “Just answer any charges brought against you honestly, with simple affirmations or denials.”
“Accustom our tongues to simple and true talk.” (Geneva Study Bible)
”’—lest ye fall into condemnation’; by the Lord; for either false, or rash, or profane swearing; for he will not suffer it to go unpunished; see Exodus 20:7.” (John Gill)
James 5:13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms.
“Is any among you suffering’— afflicted kakopathei (Greek)— 'evil treated:' "suffering affliction" (James 5:10)? ‘Let him pray’ - not [grumble nor] ‘swear’ in rash impatience.” (Jamieson, Fausset, Brown) “Let him pray; for support, patience, sanctification of afflictions, etc.” (Matthew Poole)
“Besides there is no time for hearing of prayers like the time of affliction. Then the saints may have anything of God with reason, for then his heart is turned within him, his repentings are kindled together, Hosea 11:8. See Zechariah 13:9; Psalms 91:15.
Then it was that Lot had Zoar given him; David, the lives of his enemies; Paul, all the souls in the ship, etc. See the promise, Psalms 50:15– ‘Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.” (John Trapp)
“‘Is anyone cheerful’— merry? Gr. ευθυμει, is he right set...[by Christ]?” (John Trapp)— merry in your affliction for His sake?
‘Let him sing psalms’ of praise, as Paul and Silas did in prison” (Jamieson, Fausset, Brown), when feeling isolated and lonely in their distress.
Yea, sing ‘psalms of praise’ to the Lord, who is actually with you in your affliction, which from the earliest times, was used by the church for the purpose of sanctifying times of trouble.
“The Psalms were used extensively in the synagogue. To teach upon this statement, as had been done, that the church should sing nothing but the Psalms, and reject the great hymns of the saints of God of all ages, born often in adversity and in deep soul exercise, is far fetched.” (Arno Gaebelein)
“It only takes a spark
To get a fire going
And soon all those around
Can warm up in its glowing
That's how it is with God's love
Once you've experienced it
You spread His love to ev'ryone
You want to pass it on.”
James 5: Healing in the Universal Church
14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.
The scenario is a gathering of persecuted Christians worshiping the risen Lord despite affliction. And some among them are sick. It rains on the just and unjust. “The wise men have said, ‘No healing is equal to that which comes from the word of God and prayer.’ Rabbi Phineas, the son of Chamma, hath said, 'When sickness or disease enters into a man's family, let him apply to a wise man, who will implore mercy in his behalf.’” (Adam Clarke) “Another great characteristic of the early church was that it was a healing Church. Here it inherited its tradition from Judaism.” (Barclay)
“‘Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church.’ There are a number of reasons for that. The first is in order to obtain the spiritual assistance of the church through its leadership so that the oneness of the church might reach out to the sick, and so that they might receive spiritual comfort. The second is in order to call in true and reliable praying men. The third is that as duly appointed leaders they will have been given special authority in prayer by the Lord on behalf of the church for which they are responsible. The fourth is because they will be strong in faith. And these godly men are to pray over the sick person, and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord.
But what does the oil do? It is a sign that they are acting in the Name of Christ (compare Mark 6:13. Jesus Himself never anointed men with oil). It is a sign that the person in question is being separated off to God. It is an indication that if they have slipped they are being restored to their dedication, and that if they have not slipped they are being rededicated to the Lord. It is bringing God into the action. And it a sign that the whole church are identifying themselves with them. This is the meaning of anointing in the Old Testament. It also in the New Testament connects with the Holy Spirit (1 John 2:20; 1 John 2:27). Note that the anointing with oil to heal links them with Mark 6:13 and therefore indicates that ‘the Lord’ here is ‘the Lord, Jesus Christ’. They are acting in His Name.
And what will happen then? ‘The prayer of faith will save the sick.’ The word ‘save’ means ‘make whole’. They will be made whole in soul and body. Their sickness will be healed, for ‘the Lord will raise them up’, but even more importantly their inward man will be forgiven, for ‘if they have committed any sins they will be forgiven them’. So the healing is for both body and soul. (Compare Jesus words to the man ‘borne of four’ in Mark 2:1-12, ‘your sins are forgiven you -- rise and walk’). Note the concern for the whole man. This is no indiscriminate healing. Examination will also have been made into the spiritual condition of the sick person. But note that he is not being prepared for death [as Rome declares], he is being prepared for being made whole.” (Peter Pett)
The elders MUST add, “if it is the Lord’s will” for He is often glorified most by the faith exhibited by a someone going through a terminal illness.
It is here in the fire of extreme trial that faith speaks loudest, converting even non-belief of others. Some claim that not to be healed is due to a lack of faith. “But we must beware of those who make claims beyond what proves to be true, and must remember that Paul at least had to endure in faith, rather than be healed (2 Corinthians 12:8-9). In the end we must accept the sovereignty of God.” (Peter Pett)
”Some of these advocates of this method of healing, denouncing means and the use of physicians... [but again Paul took a little wine for his infirmity- 1 Timothy 5:23.]
The entire subject of ‘faith-healing’ we cannot examine here; nor can we enlarge upon the claims of ‘Christian Science’ and others... Supernatural healing of diseases is claimed by Romish Catholicism, by the shrines and holy places of the Greek Orthodox church, by Spiritism, Mormonism and in many pagan systems.” (Arno Gaebelein) May the Lord use and judge them all... and be glorified in the universal church.
16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. 18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.
“‘Confess faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed.’ Because God pardons the sins of those who confess and acknowledge them, and not those who justify themselves. Therefore the apostle adds, we ought to freely confer with one another concerning those inward diseases, that we may help one another with our prayers." (Geneva Study Bible) —
"‘The effectual fervent prayer' — Greek, δεησις ενεργουμενη, a singular expression, which Macknight renders, 'the inwrought prayer'; and Doddridge, 'the prayer wrought by the energy of the Spirit'; and Whitby, 'the inspired prayer', observing, '... they who were acted by the Holy Spirit, and inwardly moved by his impulses, were... inwardly wrought upon, in the good sense: and therefore it seems most proper to apply these words, not to the prayer of every righteous person, but to the prayer offered by such an extraordinary impulse.'" (Joseph Benson)
It is these prayers which avail much, being aligned with His will.
For example: “‘Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly’ as much as to say, ‘Do not think of Elias as some superhuman being, whose prevalent intercession with God you are forbidden to imitate.’ He was a fellow-man with you, and a sharer with you of all the infirmities of human nature.” (Justin Edwards) “There is the idea that no limits can be set to the power of prayer. The Jews had a saying that he who prays surrounds his house with a wall stronger than iron. They said, ‘Penitence can do something; but [along with] prayer can do everything.’ To them prayer was nothing less than contacting the power of God; it was the channel through which the strength and grace life.” (Barclay) Through repentance and prayer, Elijah stopped heaven and he opened again. In the end, the earth produced it’s fruit! It is all about bearing spiritual fruit!
Morning Rework of The Conclusion of James—James 5:19 Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, 20 let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.
“‘Brethren’ — As if he had said, I have now warned you of those things to which you are most liable. And in all these respects watch, not only over yourselves, but every one over his brother also.” (Joseph Benson) “If anyone among you wanders from the truth,”— “Yet how can one wander from something in which he has not been? So, Christians can fall from grace (See also Galatians 5:2-4; 2 Timothy 2:16-18).” (Gary Hampton)
“Let us learn that: (1) A Christian can depart from the living God. (2) The brother who ‘errs from the truth’ is now a sinner. (3) The brother who has erred from the truth needs to be converted.” (Box’s Commentary)
"And someone turns him back"- converts him; his doctrine and / or his works— The work is God’s. “The work is His, Ephesians 2:10, but often is ascribed to the instruments acting under Him, and using means appointed by Him, and by which He works, Acts 26:18.” (Matthew Poole)— they “will save a soul from death.” “Death eternal, of body and soul, is the wages of sin; and unless we are saved from it now, we must be undone for ever." (Thomas Coke)
So, there is no eternal life for these wanders. “The great difficulty for some in these verses, as stated by Ward, is ‘in the thought of the doom of a Christian.’... The word ‘convert’ [turns him back] used here is the same one used by Peter after he denied the Lord (Luke 22:32).
That usage merely confirms the thought that if Peter himself had not been converted even though he was a true believer, he still would have suffered eternal death... The implications of this are profound. That a Christian can err from the truth is not merely a possibility, but a frequent occurrence. Inherent in this is also a fact, as Barclay put it, that ‘Truth is something that must be done.’” (Coffman Commentary)
“Failure to do it [the truth) is a failure to win eternal life.” (William Barclay)
“Brethren in Christ who turn aside from the path of truth and duty, must be brought into it again, or they will perish.” (Justin Edwards) “All men by nature are sinners, and therefore need conversion; but those here referred to are the sinners mentioned in James 4:8, who had first been led astray by false teachers, and then became loose in their moral conduct. Such is the influence of false doctrine, that however trivial it may appear at first, it cannot be embraced without impairing the religious character, and bringing after it a train of evils…
We are here assured that the way which the sinner has chosen leads to death, not to corporeal death only, but to that which sin produces, even death eternal, or the second death: James 1:15.
The sinner’s way might begin in a single error, in a single act of wilful and flagrant transgression, which might have been pardoned on repentance; it is making sin his ‘way,’ his course of action, habitually and perseveringly, that plunges him at last into the abyss of misery and woe, from whence there is no redemption.” (Peter Pett)
The one who converts an erring brother "‘hides a multitude of [his own] sins,' which shall no more, how many soever they are, be remembered to his condemnation.” (John Wesley) Likewise, "love," according to Peter, "covers a multitude of sins." (1 Peter 4:8) “To save another’s soul is the surest way to save one's own soul." (William Barclay) We must be about our Father’s business or we are the devil's advocates. We must plant or water the seed of the Word. And God will grant the increase.( 1 Corinthians 3:6) Jesus said, “He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.” (Matthew 12:30)