From: A Torah
Commentary on James 3-5 Return to Home
By Roland H. Worth,
Jr. © 2014
[Page 314]
Chapter 5A:
Overview: How the Themes are
Developed
Sixth Test of Our Faith:
Inflicting and Enduring Economic Injustice
(5:1-12)
Their Wealth Is Witness Against the Rich
(5:1-3)
[Page 315]
ATP text: 1 Now is the time for you who are
wealthy to weep and
howl in anguish--terrible things are coming
upon you! 2 Your riches have
rotted and your garments are moth-eaten and
ruined. 3 Your money in gold
and silver have rusted and their corrosion
will be evidence against you. Like
fire it will consume your body. You have piled up treasure that will convict
you in these last days.
Development of
argument:
The admonition in
[Page 316] James
provides a vision—so to speak—of their future:
they should “weep and howl” in despair at the “miseries” that are going
to overwhelm them. (Similarly, CEV,
Holman, ISV, NASB, RSV, TEV; “sorrows,”
This is not to overlook the fact that it also
posed a warning to future economic abusers who would face their own
judgment—from God inescapably and, on more than a few occasions, even in the
current world. This is why we see
various themes repeatedly raised in both Testaments: old evils never fully die out; a new
generation simply rediscovers their own variant of the same and, in their
ignorance of history, cultivate the delusion that they can escape the justice
that overwhelmed their predecessors.
In a war context it
might seem strange to single out the rich, as James does. After all, they have the resources to avoid
so much of the tragedy that will grind the poor even deeper into the mire. On the other hand, their very prosperity also
makes them prime targets. Others have
nothing to steal—either literally or under the pretext of wartime taxation—but they
do. Hence the victimizers easily become
key targets for their own victimization.
Their very wealth
“will eat your flesh like fire” (5:3) in such cases. It was the means for your advancement;
it becomes the tools for your destruction. “James intends an image of total
destruction: all to be found after a
fire is only charred remains.”[1] Just as fire inevitably destroys what it
overwhelms, so they will be destroyed as well.
[Page 317] They
are living “in the last days” (verse 3).
When is the time when you want to have the most resources available for
ready use? When disaster is near and you
are going to need them to survive. But
they have managed to convert what could—even should be an asset—into
something that has lost all value to protect them.
Is this a call for
repentance? Commentators are divided,
with the bulk not thinking so.[2] Certainly repentance is not explicitly
mentioned nor any discussion of how their lifestyles must change if they do
repent. On the other hand, if their
lifestyle consists of doing “such and such”—the items mentioned in these
verses—would not repentance automatically be construed as no longer
acting in those ways? It is hard to
imagine how they could miss this.
The reason for the absence of an explicit call
to repentance is probably because the entire argument is structured on the
assumption that they will continue their present course. Preachers’ enthusiasm not withstanding, the
simple fact is that those with powerful vested interests are far more likely to
not change than to change.
And if, as sometimes happens, and the rich person “sees the light” and
actually repents? Does anyone really
believe that James would be anything but happy?
The bulk of James’ listeners
are those on the “receiving” rather than the “giving” end of the injustice. For their benefit, he stresses that
the seemingly monolithic structure of oppression will be broken into pieces by
the power of God. Their challenge is not
to allow the cruelties they suffer to corrupt their souls, leaving them as
useless to God as those being rebuked.
[Page 318]
They Live Luxuriously While
Stealing From and Abusing the Poor
(5:4-6)
ATP text: 4 Listen: The unpaid wages of the laborers who harvested
your fields--which you kept back by
dishonesty--shout out condemnation
against you; and the pleas of the reapers
themselves have reached the ears of
the Lord of Heavenly Armies. 5 You have lived a life on earth
of self-
indulgence and wasteful luxury; you have
fully indulged the desires of your
hearts as animals do even on the day they
are butchered. 6 You decided
to
make a verdict of wrongful condemnation;
you have put to death the one
who has done no wrong--who does not fight
to stop you.
Development of
argument:
[Page 319] Reality
moves on more than one level—the visible and obvious and the undercurrent where
God uses it all to accomplish His own purposes.
From God’s own standpoint, the catastrophes will be temporal payback for how they had flagrantly abused
the poor who worked for them. In a time
of war and accompanying chaos, the power players governing the region are no
more interested in helping the poor that are their traditional oppressors. They have all been reduced to a kind of
“equality” as milk cows.
To the extent that there is a functional
governing system, the taxgatherers or rebel leadership are interested in
financing the war—and helping their leaders live well during it, of
course. Indeed, such actions would provide
addition excuses to the wealthy losing resources as to why they could not “afford”
to pay the due wages. (They might even
be telling the truth for once!)
Then there are the rebel bands who aren’t
interested in equity but a quick boast to their own revenues. These are but a bare step above criminal
gangs, grabbing whatever they can for themselves . . . these aren’t interested in helping the poor
either. Except themselves. Other poor need not apply.
The
point in James is conspicuously not that the judgment will improve the
circumstances of the poor but that the wealth “nickeled and dimed” out of the
blood, sweat, and tears of the poor will be stripped from those who stole it. They had stolen it, but they won’t get to
keep it. At least to that extent,
earthly justice will have been struck.
And the Divine justice as well-- utilizing human wrath to accomplish its
own ends.
Of course, there is no
need to limit God accomplishing this kind of economic justice only by
war. If God is determined to act retributively
in the current world, is it likely He will feel bound to restrict Himself to
war time alone? In our modern world,
equally devastating to the rich can be depressions, stock crashes, military
seizures and various other phenomena. Each
occurs out of human decisions, but God remains quite capable to using them for
His own purposes as well.
[Page 320] And if
a specific culprit escapes justice in the current world, there still remains
the Divine bar of judgment after death.
No defense attorneys permitted to allow you to escape justice. No deception, for the Judge will know every
secret you wish to hide. In some ways,
the earthly disaster may seem quite restrained when the unrepentant survivors
of the first stand before the Divine tribunal.
Their oppressive actions
weren’t accidental; they were intentional.
They were the powerful “gaming the system” to make it work even better
on their behalf. Workers were treated as
beneath contempt. What else can one call
it when their wages are “kept back by fraud [ATP: kept back by dishonesty]” (5:4)?
Some translations omit the “by fraud,” but
the fact that the wages were not paid and they are condemned for it,
surely justifies that as a reasonable and perhaps necessary inference. Whether it was all or part of the wages is
unstated. Prudence argues for part,
however; pay nothing at all and why should they stay? Pay just enough to keep them and you
can pocket the rest.
From the standpoint of
immediately righting the injustice, these wealthy folks knew full well
there was nothing the workers could do.
Furthermore, many of the abusers had what we today would call
“deniability:” The evil would just as
likely be done by their hired overseers and not by those responsible for the
decision. (How many abuses of workers in
foreign lands or among isolated foreign language speakers in our own country
are made possible by this “insulation” between those ultimately responsible and
those personally ministering out the injustice?)
[Page 321] Absentee
landowners were common in first century
Under Herod the Great, the transformation
was furthered by brute force: the
Hasmonean family and key supporters found their land expropriated by the state
and he shared the lands between his own family and select supporters. In these cases, he created powerful ties
binding the new elite to himself,[4]
struck major blows at his upper crust foes, and advanced a system even more
rigged against those at the bottom of the economic totem pole.
Injustice can fester in any society, but
the pattern of centralization maximized the opportunities and probability of it
occurring. And if the owner had no role
in initially ordering it or “setting the hostile atmosphere,” surely
enterprising subordinates might easily see their own personal road to greater position. If nothing else, might they not be praised by
the owner for showing such zealous “initiative”? And gain new status and, perhaps, even a more
authoritative status?
Unfortunately for the abusers of power, the
mistreated were pouring their hearts out—and God had heard them (5:4).
It isn’t as if there
were just one complainer. In that
case the person to be criticized might even be the complainer! After all, even the fairest of employers will
have a few grouches and ingrates.
Instead, the situation is pictured as one in which the employer is in
the clear cut wrong and that it envolves general maltreatment and that
they were all pleading with God for justice.
[Page 322]
Why were they
acting in such a repressive way? Note
the description: “You have lived on the
earth in pleasure and luxury [ATP:
self-indulgence and wasteful luxury]” (5:5). They weren’t cheating to enrich themselves—to
buy this business or boat or farm or what have you. There at least we might find a “business /
economic rationale”—however debased a morality it would reflect. Instead we find they were doing it merely so
they could enjoy themselves more.
Others might starve, but they would assure themselves the next step
upward in luxury and over-indulgent pleasure.
Here enters a massive
irony: In the time of the wealthy
landowners’ prosperity it was also “a day of slaughter [ATP: the day they are butchered]” (5:5). That immediately brings to the mind an image
of feasting in which the freshly slaughtered animals were brought forth to be
cooked for the eating pleasure of the host and invited guests. But here that day of abundant prosperity
builds on that image of animal slaughter to argue that it was--as
much? more so?--a time of “slaughtering”
their innocent human employees and servants.
It was as if those dependent upon them were their designated dinner
meal.
“Murder” is the label James applies to their
behavior and, worse, the victims weren’t even being real obstacles (“he does
not resist you,” 5:6). It wasn’t as if
they were out there sabotaging your farm or hindering getting the work
done. They were mere irrelevancies and
treated with contempt as such. A more
repulsive moral accusation is hard to imagine.
They were, to use a modern idiom, “feasting on the bones of the living.” They were mere “human animals”—and treated
with less forbearance than even an animal!
[Page 323] In vivid
contrast to their abusers, these day laborers would be hurting. Not to mention the families they were
obligated to support. Although slavery
was common throughout the
In such cases, life was extremely
hand-to-mouth. The wage might be low
(the type of rich people being described would hardly be likely to be generous)
and the end of day’s wages provided the family food for the next day.[6] Paying the “least I can get by with” as well;
enduring such conditions long enough and someone is going to get hurt—and it
won’t be the person doing the paying.
They might not pay the money regularly (=
daily) as they were supposed to or in the full amount. The poor man might, in desperation, seek out
a temporary loan since they’d been promised the full amount—only not to receive
it even later. And then be thrown in
prison where it’s up to others to provide your food if you expect to be fed at
all.[7]
Hence
these well-to-do could “murder/kill” them without laying a hand on them. Not a drop of blood from direct
violence had necessarily been spilled.
Just the fatal circumstances set up, of which they were the victim.
On the other hand, the “murder” might be
just that. Having effectively co-opted
the legal system due to their wealth, any accusations condemning the poor
(5:5a) would [Page 324] gain easy
backing from lawyers who lacked a soul and from policing authorities assigned
to enforce the law.[8] In this kind of social context, it would seem
unwise to take the references to “murder” in this epistle as just rhetorical
exaggeration:[9] people are being described with the power and
clout to accomplish just that, under the cloak of law if possible . . . but
will such a person who is unable to accomplish his goals legally hesitate
long—if any—at doing the same thing through paid agents? If carried out with reasonable prudence (say,
in isolation or cover of night) the odds of being caught were minimal. It would be simply using a different “tool”
to accomplish the desired goal.
When we discuss
persecution, we automatically think in terms of “suffering for Christ” since
the New Testament puts a great emphasis on that danger. The current text puts us on warning that we
may suffer unjustly for other reasons as well.
Although their abusers could be abusing them because they were
poor Christians and, therefore, especially vulnerable to retribution, that
element is conspicuously not made explicit.
The wording is that the attack is on “the
wages of the laborers” and not on Christian laborers in particular
(5:4). Furthermore, those abused are
identified as “the just” (5:6), but that is language broad enough to include
honorable men and women whether specifically Christian or not.
Hence the most natural interpretation of
our text is that they were being mistreated because the abusers had the power
to do so and it somehow benefited their ego or financial interests to do
so. Their victims’ faith wasn’t the
motivating factor, but the fact that their poverty enabled them to be
abused for the financial enrichment of the wealthy. Such is far from unknown in our own society
as well!
[Page 325] Note
also that it did not require a religious element to make the treatment
wrong. The condemnation was based on what
was done and not on the religion of the victim. In other words, it was inherently
wrong, in and of itself because their was no adequate provocation or danger to
justify the degree of force and suppression brought down upon the victim.
(None of this would rule out the
possibility that the persecuting rich took extra pleasure when their victims
were powerless poor Christians: it might
well be a “two for one” situation, from their standpoint. See the Problem Texts section for more on these
matters.)
Those Suffering Such Mistreatment
Should be Patient for the Lord Is Ready
to Judge the Abusers
(5:7-9)
[Page 326]
ATP text: 7 Therefore do not despair,
spiritual comrades; you wait
for the coming in judgment of the
Lord. Consider how the farmer waits for
the valuable crop from the earth, waiting
patiently for it to come, knowing
that the soil must first receive both the
fall and spring rains. 8 Similarly,
you
also need to be patient. Strengthen your inner self by remembering
that the
Lord will soon be here! 9 Do not complain about one
another, comrades, lest
you be judged as well. Behold, the Judge is standing right outside
the door!
Development of
argument:
Having rebuked any abusers among them with
a stiff warning of upcoming Divine wrath being poured out, James now shifts to
words of advice for the suffering. This
consists of three aspects.
First, they
need to be patient. In a
context of the maltreatment they had endured (5:4-6), “be(ing) patient” (5:7)
inevitably carries the implication found in the ATP, “Therefore do not
despair.” Giving up hope when faced with
repeated suppression is inevitably a great temptation. Instead they are to “be patient” since Divine
wrath is inevitably heading toward the shoulders of the unjust.
In cases of such brazen injustice, it will
be tempting to feel that if they themselves don’t do something about it, no one
ever will. But they do not need
to take it upon themselves (even assuming their actions would actually
accomplish anything); God will act on their behalf—just give Him enough time.[10]
[Page 327] They
find themselves in a situation like the farmer.
What he would like to get finished and over with won’t happen just because
he wants it that way, gets upset at the time it takes, or even despairs. He could even undertake some destructive act
out of frustration--like pouring lime over the ground--and it still won’t speed
things up at all.
Just as a farmer must “be patient”
throughout the year as the rains fall and the crop grows (5:7) and he begins to
wonder how long it will all take.
Intellectually he knows he can’t speed things up; emotionally, however,
he sometimes feels like he should be able to do something to accomplish
that goal. But impatience will still do
no good. On the other hand, the ultimate
outcome is beyond doubt: when the
growing year is completed, the crop will be there.
The rains aren’t rewards for the farmer,
but they are what make the crop rewards possible. And having had good seed and good rain and
having done his own part, they are inevitable.[11] (For early rains in that part of the world
think mid-October to mid-November and for the late rain March-April.)[12]
Similarly when the assigned time for the Lord’s judgment on the unjust
to occur, it will come with just as much certainty. Just as the farmer gets tired of waiting—even
though he knows the crop will ultimately be there, they too will feel
the same way. Especially when their pain
and suffering has to be added into the equation.
[Page 328]
James does not explicitly tell us what is
the parallel in our lives to “the precious fruit of the earth” (5:7; similarly,
Rotherham, RSV; “good fruit,” BBE; “precious produce,” NASB; “precious crop” or
“precious crops,” GW, ISV, TEV; “valuable crop” or “valuable crops,” ATP, CEV,
NIV, Weymouth). Presumably it is spiritual
maturity in its varied forms.
Even the temporal, physical crop was
“precious”—an unusual term we usually associate with things like jewels. But for a smaller (or large) farmer the crop
was, indeed, “precious” for it provided him with food to eat and food to sell
to pay his various bills. And he values
it as precious not only for that but for all the work he had to put in in order
to obtain it.
The farmer didn’t simply stop working and
relax till it was harvest time. The
waiting was a period of major labor as well.
They had to “work hard in weeding, hoeing, fertilizing, and doing
whatever they could to bring their crops to full fruition. James’s analogy would have resonated deeply
with his audience, many of whom were clearly farmers.”[13]
Second of all,
Divine wrath will inescapably fall upon the heads of the evil doers. They are to think in terms of how quickly
that may occur. They are to picture the
situation as, “the Judge is standing at the door!” (5:9). (“Is waiting at the door,” BBE; “the judge is
right outside the door,” CEV; “the judge is standing right outside the door,
ATP). (For a discussion of the imminency
factor see the difficult texts chapters.)
We seem to have here
the image of a traveling Judge. He’s had
other cases to handle in various places and now he’s arriving where we
are. Worrying about how soon he would
arrive did not get him there a second earlier.
He arrived according to His schedule. Past.
Present. Or future. The principle applied in all three
directions.
[Page 329] The
result is the same if we think of it as a Judge with a predetermined
schedule. Whether we are aware of
the details of it or not, He is going to be following that timetable. It is not going to be changed just for our
convenience. We wait because we know
that then justice will finally be rendered.
Yet James wants his
readers to have a sense of its imminence because the “standing at the door”
imagery makes absolutely no sense without it.
If this book is as early as we have suggested . . . and these events
have in mind the Jewish War of 66-70 A.D. in particular . . . then we have a
delay of 20, 25, or 30 years. Yet they
were to view it—on an emotional level at least—as so imminent that it was as if
the Judge were ready to enter the hearing place itself. . . already!
The “imminency”
teaching, therefore, does not seem designed to teach us anything about literal
chronology. It has everything to teach
us about embracing the certainty of judgment as absolute, unquestionable, inevitable, inescapable. As certain as the sun rising tomorrow morning. Chronology only affects the timing and not
the certainty of it.
Thirdly, even under the stress of adversity, they are to still
control what they say. In
addition to cultivation of patience, James urges upon the sufferers another
course as well, “Do not grumble against one another” (5:9; identical, CEV, NIV,
RSV; “complaint,” NASB; “complain against,” TEV, “complain/complaining about,”
ATP, GW, ISV; “say no hard things against,” BBE; “cry out in condemnation,”
[Page 330] Whether
that is intended or not, self-aggravation of their shared wounds would be easy
enough to occur. First of all, they also
had their internal congregational tensions as the epistle has clearly developed
in previous chapters. Furthermore, they
have the external mistreatment and pressure to factor into their attitudes and
mind-frame. This is affecting many or the
bulk of them, so broad is the generalization:[14]
Perhaps they are project their frustrations
at the landowners onto each other. (In
times of stress, we tend to take out our frustrations on those closest to
us.) Or perhaps they disagree on how
they ought to deal with the oppression, and the different factions complain
about each other in their anger. Maybe
they are blaming one another for the problems they are facing as a
congregation, or maybe they are accusing each other to avoid problems
themselves.
Christians won’t
necessarily act like Christians. And we
naturally have the urge to verbally strike back since that may be the only
immediate recourse open to us. But James
applies here a caution that seems all so admirable when stated in isolation, standing
alone, “Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so”
(James
[Page 331] But
what do you do when words are your only weapon of retaliation? Then it becomes considerably harder. Yet, in a very fundamental sense, words are
not necessary. Judgment is
inevitable. Answering for injustice is inescapable. What more can our indignation actually add to
that? Add in all the insults,
vulgarities, and outright obscenities you prefer and how will that strengthen
the reality of judgment even one iota?
Yet acting in that
outraged manner makes us liable to censure as well. Verbal restraint is necessary “lest you be
condemned” as well” (5:9). Roughly
equivalent to, “two wrongs don’t make a right.”
Or, “if you act as bad—as it is
within your power to do—as the other fellow, you’ve lowered yourself to his
level.” And stand in danger of God’s
wrath as well.
Patience Under Adversity Can be Seen
in Both the Old Testament Prophets and Job
(5:10-11)
[Page 332]
ATP text: 10 My comrades in faith, take the
prophets as an example of
patient endurance when unjustly suffering--individuals
who spoke as
messengers from the Lord. 11 In fact, we consider them as
spiritually
benefited who endure adversity. You remember the persistent steadfastness
of Job and have seen in the story the end
result of the Lord’s dealings--that
the Lord is ultimately very compassionate
and generous in time of need.
Development of
argument:
In some ways the world never changes. Oppressors never disappear. They may change their skin color or ethnic
background. Their title. How blatantly they can act against you. But in one guise or another, they are still
there.
Hence James finds no difficulty in
appealing to the past. This was a past
they should have been well aware of with their Jewish background. Although not speaking just of
prophets, the description of the suffering faithful in Hebrews 11 presents the
traditional imagery of unjust abuse and hardship that was well known through
both scriptural attestation and traditional exegesis of the theme,
32 And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon
and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: 33 who through faith subdued kingdoms,
worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the violence of fire,
escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant
in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.
[Page
333] 35 Women
received their dead raised to life again. And others were tortured, not
accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. 36
Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and
imprisonment.
37 They were stoned, they were sawn
in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in
sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented-- 38 of
whom the world was not worthy. They
wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth. 39 And all these, having obtained a
good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, 40 God having
provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart
from us.
No matter what the
pretense of being God’s people might be, the reality was far too often that of
the majority and the powerful becoming oppressors of the faithful
remnant. To allow them to live
unhindered and unsuppressed could spread the alarming possibility that the
dominant delusions of the time were just that—delusions intended to make
practical, every-day apostasy respectable and even admirable.
In other words, blatant sinners could not
tolerate their misconduct being challenged.
After all, others might come to embrace that judgment as well. Worse—they themselves might be tempted to do
so . . . and be forced to substitute a different lifestyle for the one that
brought them so much joy and happiness.
When one has a “faith” that is, from a practical standpoint, “never
having to say no,” what better pseudo-religion can one possibly have?
[Page 334]
Only one specific name
is given by James in discussing adversity and for that example he reaches back
far beyond the Mosaical age and into the patriarchical one. There he picks the example of Job, but that
ancient figure sums up perfectly the concept of the righteous suffering. He does this not because Job is a
prophet: note the transition from those
“who spoke in the name of the Lord” in verse 10 to the broader category of
whose “who endure” in verse 11. Though
the prophets faithfully endured the opposition and retaliation for their
message, this had nothing to do with what happened to Job.
But he is an example of similar
endurance and, relevant to the theme of the use of riches because he is a rich
man who suffered even though rich—but was still faithful to God. If a poorer person is challenged by such
extreme adversity, how much more the one who once had “everything” they wanted!
The reader is informed in Job of the
broader context of the suffering in the challenge of Satan. Job, himself, has nothing to go on—no
weakness or injustice he can think of that has caused his pain and anguish. Caused his world to “melt down.” It comes out of the clear blue sky and then
gets even worse.
That is even worse than the suffering you
and I may encounter. But like him, it
can still happen without warning and, like a vicious storm at sea; all we can
do is try to outride the chaos.
Job’s attitude was
translated as one of “patience” (James
[Page 335] Job
had no idea what the outcome would be of what he was going through. He was simply taking it one day at a time,
grimly determined to see it through.
Like we do in times of
ongoing crisis.
Hence “patience”
shades into a related idea and, though some maintain that rendering of
“patient” (CEV, TEV), others prefer something more directly descriptive of what
was happening: “endurance / endured,”
GW, Holman, ISV, NASB,
Without this, he might
well have heeded his wife’s advice, “Curse God and die!” (Job 2:9).
He trusts in God in spite
of despair and desperation. That was
Job’s mindframe. And it was justified
because “the end” God intended was to be for His ultimate good (
In the context of Job,
this turn of fortune went upward as unexpectedly as it had turned
downward. In this case, however, God
rebukes his three “helpful” critics and embraces Job instead (Job 42:1-9). “Indeed, the Lord gave Job twice as much as he
had before” (42:10) and his relationship with his former friends who had
abandoned him was even restored: “Then
all his brothers, all his sisters, and all those who had been his acquaintances
before, came to him and ate food with him in his house; and they consoled him
and comforted him for all the adversity that the Lord had brought upon
him. Each one gave him a piece of silver
and each a ring of gold” (42:11).
Symbols of their desiring to set shattered relationships right.
[Page 336] A
powerful story of survival and restoration for any age. Suffering need not be permanent. God did—and still could once again—give the
victory to those suffering in the first century.
Even Under Unjust Adversity,
Control What You Say
(
ATP text: 12 But above all, my comrades of
faith, do not swear in
making a commitment, either by heaven or by
earth or with any other kind
of oath.
Instead let your "Yes," really mean "Yes," and your
"No" really
mean "No." Otherwise you may fall into condemnation.
[Page 337]
Development of
argument:
What James is dealing with directly
are legal style oaths. These involve
establishing what the truth is in a given situation. By logical development it has an obvious
application to “vows,” which take on certain connotations of an oath—a pledge
to unquestionably do or not do a certain thing.
Both are well covered by the description in Leviticus 19:11-12, “You
shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another. And you shall not swear by My name falsely,
nor shall you profane the name of your God:
I am the Lord.”
Some
attempt to limit James’ injunction to strictly monetary matters: “These most likely involved promises to pay
off debts if only they could be given more loans or more time, in ways that
probably often simply exacerbated the problem.”[15]
In other words they committed to such
excessive promises to get a loan extension or expansion that they virtually
guaranteed that their commitment would fail.
Although this was surely a problem for the small farmer of the time, it
is hard to see how limiting one’s pledge to “yea, yea” or “nay, nay” was going
to transform unrealistic pledges into something more likely to become a
reality.
James
[Page 338] His
logic seems to be: We must apply to
oaths and vow oaths--“formal” pledges and promises--the same kind of control we
should exercise in all that we say. Indeed, in regard to other areas of life, that
is where the bulk of verbal abuse is surely going to happen!
In a purely legal context, his
emphasis seems odd indeed. He heavily
stresses that this teaching is something so important that it should be
evaluated as, “Above all, my brethren.”
This is the rendering followed by just about all translations, though
some add one word, “Above all things” (ASV, GW,
To understand why this
must take priority makes greater sense when one broadens James’ intended point
to cover speech in all other forms as well—and not just this particular
kind. Back in chapter 3 he had spoken
vigorously of this broader context and provided a stern denunciation of the
uncontrolled tongue,
5 Even so the tongue is a little member and
boasts great things. See how great a
forest a little fire kindles! 6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of
iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole
body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by
hell. 9 With
it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in
the similitude of God. 10 Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing.
My brethren, these things ought not to
be so.
Adopt this mind frame
and the priority placed on controlling the tongue is quite logical: You can inflame a bad situation and make it
far worse. Indeed, is there any
situation—even one of the most transparent injustice—that an uncontrolled mouth
can’t make worse?
[Page 339] If
nothing else, your excesses provide excuses for the villains to feel righteous
in ignoring what you say.
Connecting
this with the idea of “oaths” in the text likely conveys the idea that your
excess passion is going to land up causing you to make solemn promises to
God—surely including threatening promises in regard to others. Actions that, carried out, may actually be
sinful and make you just as evil as the person(s) you are mad at. Think of the case of those who were so mad at
Paul that “more than forty of them lie in wait for him, men who have bound
themselves by an oath that they will neither eat nor drink till they have
killed him” (Acts
But it can target the guilty as well. The anger gets deep enough, the passions hot
enough—and perhaps just a “little liquor” to egg things on?—and an
assassination scheme can easily arise.
Do they “deserve” it? Quite
possibly. But guess who is going to be
“on the run,” always looking over the shoulder lest the law catch up to
you?
Hence the need to
“keep it simple” Keep to “yes” and “no,”
James insists. Which also covers not
pouring out your passions in unending, harsh, and degrading language. At worst they may give your powerful enemy an
excuse for further injustice. At best,
the humiliation of his laughing in your face.
No one needs either.
[Page 340]
Seventh Test of Our Faith:
Meeting the Needs of Other Church Members
in the Time of Their Difficulties
(5:13-20)
Laying Down the Principle
(5:13-16)
ATP text: 13 Is anyone among you having
trouble? Be sure to pray.
Is anyone cheerful? Be sure to sing psalms of joy. 14 Is anyone among you
ill?
Let the person call for the leaders of the congregation and let them
pray
for recovery, applying olive oil to the
body while seeking the Lord’s help. 15
The prayer offered in confidence will
restore the ill, and the Lord will raise
up such a one from the sick bed. If sins have been committed, they will be
forgiven as well. 16 Therefore admit your trespasses
to one another, and pray
for each other, that you may be made
well. The passionate prayer of a
morally upright person has a powerful
effect.
[Page 341]
Development of
argument:
These verses might be summed up in one
simple thought—No matter what condition you are in, or think you
are in, there’s always something you can do to make yourself feel at
least a little better and more confident of the future. Something that will lay the foundation for a
better future. The emphasis is on the
relevance of this to all church members:
“Is anyone?” (5:13a). “Is
anyone?” (5:13b). “Is anyone” (
(1) If the problem is
our “suffering?” (5:13). With the introduction of sickness in the
following verse, the term may have the specific intended meaning of the pains
and anguish our bodies face at various points in life. However, the language could also encompass
the injustices and oppressions that we encounter and about which James had
spoken earlier. In behalf of this, some
introduce the suffering mentioned in
Actually
[Page 342] Yet
James has been careful to use a term broad enough to cover all types of
affliction, regardless of origin:
persecution, sickness, injury, mistreatment by others (several types of
which are mentioned by James in the book).
This way the teaching could cover all the afflicted rather than just
one type. Important as their
particular type of distress was, that didn’t mean that that of others was of
nonimportance.
Other translations also select a rendering
wide enough to easily encompass a wide variety of difficulties: “Having trouble,” ATP, CEV, GW; “in trouble,”
BBE, NIV, TEV; “in distress,”
How to respond to it:
Then “pray” (
In one sense, of
course, God already knows. On the
other hand, it is a manifestation of our faith and confidence that God can
also do something about it. If it is
for our long-term best, we rest confident that He will; if it is not, such
prayer implies that whatever is essential (such as strength) will be
sent our way.
The answer we want is not
guaranteed; what takes in the best interests of every one and everything is.
That is a hard truth to accept for we
have this (natural?) habit of assuming that “answered” prayer means “answered
with a yes”—when the answer might be “no,” “later,” or something better for us
“substituted” for our preference.
[Page 343]
(2) If we are
happy: “cheerful”? (5:13);
identical: ATP, Holman, ISV, NASB, Rotherham,
RSV; “feeling good,” CEV; “glad,” BBE; “happy,” GW, NIV, TEV; “in good
spirits,” Weymouth.
James
has had a lot to say in his epistle about situations that make people sad, discouraged,
and depressed. But virtually no one
spends all of his or her time in that state.
At least limited joy and happiness “sneaks in” beneath the pessimism and
brings us times to smile and even exuberance.
James says to enjoy such and verbally express how happy we feel.
Our discouragement is often
intensified when we feed on it and make it our daily meal. On the other hand, when we have joys to take
pleasure in, “feasting” on those also increases the intensity of what we are
feeling and generates a “carry over” effect that also lingers on.
Scot McKnight stresses
that we need to disassociate being “cheerful” from our “happy face” image
connected with the term. He notes that
the language is used of Paul telling the sailors to retain their “courage”
after the nasty prolonged storm and approaching shipwreck (Acts 27:22,
25). Having decided to permit the Jews
to retain their temple worship after all, Antiochus publicized the decision “so
that they may know our policy and be of good cheer” (2 Maccabees
To apply the principle to James 5, it seems
fair to say that among those who are poor and coming face to face with repeated
difficulties, it can take the connotation of having an optimistic and upbeat
outlook due to the worst pressures having been removed—either literally or
because one no longer felt “overloaded” by them.
[Page 344]
How to respond to one’s happiness: Then “sing” (
This verbal
reinforcement of our upbeat mood costs no money. It can be carried out by even those with the
worst of voices. It requires no talent
with an instrument. Hence it’s open to
one and all.
If we claim that
everything is going bad and do not take the opportunity to enjoy those times of
emotional escape when they become available, are we not committing a kind of
“crime” against ourselves. Becoming
co-workers with our foes in our own emotional devastation?
James does not
discourage seeing the “bad times” as they really are. But he’s outright emphatic that we seize the
“good times” as they come as well. In
the bad times we turn to God to seek help instinctively; in the good
times--. Well, sometimes it is easy to
forget the “thankfulness” that should come from obtaining what we have wished
for. Or even just for having obtained enough
of a relief—not a full release from the problem—that we know we have the
strength and stamina to get by. (Think of
Ignatius, as we noted earlier, on his way to martyrdom.)
[Page 345]
(3) If we are “sick?” (
But then there are
sicknesses that simply won’t go away.
“The Lord will raise him up” (5:15) is language we’d expect in
cases of someone who is bed-ridden in particular, with the implication of it
going on day after day with no relief in sight.
Perhaps something that has moved from short term to something alarmingly
longer term and with no grounds to expect any relief.
If not literally near death, then still in
severely bad shape, both physically and with the attendant wear and tear on the
nerves. To the extent that medical care
is available and affordable it is impossible to imagine it hasn’t been
sought. As well as any “home remedies”
from friends and kin. But the affliction
persists in spite of all efforts.
How to respond to it:
Then call “the elders” (
[Page 346] In the
Old Testament the term “elders” carries the connotation of leaders not so much
by official position or appointment but due to societal standing, personal
prestige, recognized wisdom, good judgement, and the respect of others. The usage in the gospel accounts is similar.[18] Mark 7:3 is especially illustrative, “For the
Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands in a special
way, holding the tradition of the elders.” Note that it is not “the tradition of the
Pharisees” but “the tradition of the elders,” indicating a more prestigious
subgrouping of individuals within their society and their movement.
But this prestige
creates an automatic de facto post or category for them. Again, in the first century, we can
illustrate this from
Hence one might argue
that the “elders” in James were de facto rather than official leaders, as in
the Pastorals. But every organization
needs structure: how could de facto
leaders long avoid becoming recognized as official ones as well? Date this epistle as early as 35 or 40 A.D.,
how could official “elders” have avoided being created by that
time period?
It should also be
noted that the injunction is not to call “a” elder but “the” elders—two more;
presumably all of them. This is a
collective action of the entire group rather than an action carried out by some
single elder acting alone.
[Page 347] Nor is
the instruction to “lay hands on” the sick, but simply to pray for them—the
former being what was done in the healings of Jesus. Perhaps the reason for this was to stress
that what happened next was the result of the power of prayer rather than
permit the slightest misapprehension that it was due to some special holiness
or spiritual power they themselves had.
Admittedly, the laying on of hands is not
explicitly excluded nor explicitly included.
It is simply not mentioned. (The
only reference to touching is the conceptually different act of “anointing him
with oil in the name of the Lord” [
(4) If we are guilty
of unforgiven sin (
How to respond
to the need: seek the intercession of
others. “They are to pray over him” in many
translations; merely pray “for” him in others (
[Page 348] In the
context of elders being available: “the
prayer of faith” will be of value (
Would it not be more than a little
hypocritical to ask God for physical healing while turning one’s back on
the need for spiritual healing as well?
Especially when one is well aware that both are badly needed!
Spiritual help
may be needed for the well also. With the apparent intention of including any
and all believers comes the admonition:
“Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another that
you may be healed” (
If one is on a sick bed and the elders are
present, naturally they are the ones to seek the prayer of. But in a different context when one is well and
one knows that one has yielded to one’s worst nature, then the prayers of
others would be just as beneficial.
What if there is no physical healing? James works
from the assumption that there will be an alleviation of the physically
sick person’s condition. But what if it
doesn’t occur?
[Page 349] If
James writes during Paul’s ministry, he would certainly have known of such cases. We read “of Paul, who suffered with a ‘thorn
in the flesh,’ which the Lord did not remove (2 Corinthians 12:7-10), who once
feared that he might lose Epaphroditus to illness (Philippians
Furthermore, is it
credible to believe that James himself had not already encountered cases where
things had not worked out so well for the sick?
For that matter this is the same James who speaks of oppression
so severe that the perpetrators would only be brought to justice at the second
coming of Christ. Could such a realistic
man believe that all life-threatening disease would be rolled back and death
always avoided? That is not credible at
all. It does not fit his blunt realism.
His purpose seems
centered on ending the discussion of healing on an optimistic and upbeat
note. Just as his realism in picturing
oppression is counterbalanced by the reminder that an ultimate day of judgment
is inevitably coming, James seems determined to do the same here—to
counterbalance present grimness with the certainty of victory.
If the sick is a repentant sinner then yes
rising from that sickness of moral blight is assured in the here
and now. But if it is just normal
illness or disease even if a cure is not forthcoming they are to act as if it were.
They are to be anointed with oil as they
would for themselves if they were about to get up and go about their daily
business. They are not to despair. They are not to give up hope for even in death, there will be a triumph
over death in the physical resurrection from the dead.[21] As with Jesus, death may triumph over us, but
it will never have a permanent victory.
[Page 350]
Historical Proof That Prayer Works:
The Case of Elijah
(5:17-18)
ATP text: 17 Elijah was a man with a nature
like ours. He fervently
prayed that it would not rain and as the
result it did not rain on the land for
three years and six months. 18 And he prayed again and the sky
poured out
rain and the earth grew its crops again.
Development of
argument:
The relevance of Elijah is not that a
miracle was performed in answer to his prayer, but that he “had a nature like
ours” (
[Page 351] Aside: Translations sometimes try to convey this
point with renderings like, “the same kind of person as we are,” TEV; “just as
human as we are” (CEV); “human like us,” GW; “just like us” (NIV).
He wasn’t a perfect
man. He wasn’t sinless. “Elijah was not some superhuman man in a
category far beyond the rest of us mere mortals. Elijah experienced all the emotions of
life—joy, sorrow, victory, defeat, frustration, exultation, encouragement,
discouragement, anger, forgiveness, despair, and relief.”[23]
Yet nothing short of a massive miracle was
worked after his prayer. The lesson to
James’ listeners is obvious: You
don’t have to be sinless to have your prayers heard and answered in the
affirmative. We know it’s been done
before and we can work on that precedent in looking toward the future.
This reassurance was
highly appropriate in light of the many problems James refers to in his
epistle. It would have been very easy
for some to give up hope and assume that God would wash His hands of their
prayer.
The prayer is
described as “prayed earnestly” (
[Page 352]
For All the Importance of Prayer,
One Still Needs to Try to Turn an Erring Christian
Back to Faithful Service to God
(5:19-20)
ATP text: 19 Spiritual comrades, if anyone
among you wanders away
from the truth, and someone turns that
person back, 20 the rescuer should
recognize that one who turns a sinner from
the error of what has been done
will save a soul from death and bring about
the forgiveness of a multitude of
sins.
Development of
argument:
In closing, the door is left open for those
who had drifted into sin to seek a restoration to God’s good favor (
[Page 353] Yet
the wording is made so broad as to also include those who stumbled into evil by
their own, unassisted blindness as well.
James is not really interested in how you got into that
situation, but in getting you out of it.
Perhaps two major themes deserve
special attention in this section.
First of
all, the implicit plea to seek out those who have spiritually drifted from the
truth (
The truth is that different people react differently to even the
mildest correction. For some, it goes
“in one ear and out the other.” For some
it is denial time: “you misunderstood,”
“that’s not the way it really was.” Then
there’s the always handy, “it’s done of your business.”
Hence trying to help easily
leads to mild or even vehement rejection.
Is it worth the risk of rejection?
James answers, in effect, yes it can be.
For one thing, you’ll never know what the reaction will be until you
actually say something.
Much depends upon the known nature of the person. Some have a reputation of being “cool and
collected,” and they are likely to take our intervention—even if misguided—as
well intended.
It most helps if we know the
person well. Then we have an idea of
the best way to approach him or her, the best arguments to use, and can judge
where to “push” and where to “back off” to accomplish our goal.
[Page 354] Perhaps this is one reason so
little of this happens on an individual—as versus an organized church basis—in
the modern world. Courtesy of our modern
inventions and spread out geographical areas, we often simply don’t know the
other people beyond a friendly greeting at church services. And those you don’t really know, how in the
world are you going to convince them of much of anything that is as personal as
this?
Second
of all, it needs to be remembered that no one has accumulated so much sin—or
done something so horrendous--that it can’t be forgiven. The person being reached out to is one who
has “a multitude of sins” (
Some have done a multitude of evils,
harming themselves and others to accomplish whatever short-term goal is
controlling them at the moment. Such a
person easily looks at their back trail of broken promises and shredded honor
and are horrified into despair that reform and forgiveness is ever possible.
Others despair out of the opposite
motive. They become so morbidly “sin
conscious” that they have the habit of magnifying their sinfulness out
of a misplaced demand for a perfection that is beyond human reach. They’ll never be the world’s worst sinner,
even if they are not the world’s least.
But their very habit of seeing a camel when their sin is a mere gnat,
can drive them to despair as well: How can
I be forgiven of so much! We simply have
too much on the ledger against us!
[Page 355] For
both types of people, James is saying:
It can be forgiven.
From our standpoint we can look at
Paul and ask: If a person actively seeking
the punishment and even death of Christians can be forgiven, surely there is
room for us as well. None of us has
possibly done that badly. And
even if we have, Paul was still forgiven and so can we.
Notes
[1] McKnight, James, 388.
[2] Greenlee,
197.
[3] Hartin, James, 229.
[4] Ibid., 235-236.
[5] Gerald Neufeld, “The Wisdom of Patience.” Page 2.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Blomberg
and Kamell, James, 31-32.
[11] Scott Sperling.
“James 5:1-9.” At: http://www.scripturestudies.com/Vol2/B5/
b5_nt.html. [July 2012.]
[20] Mark A. Seifrid, “The
[21] Ibid (35), believes that the words of James in regard
to “rising up” and being “healed” are “a gentle play on words” alluding to this
event.
[22] Cf. Steven
A. Kreloff, Timeless Truths from a Faithful Shepherd ([N.p.]: Xulon Press, 2011), 14.
[23] Ray Pritchard, Fire and Rain: The Wild-Hearted Faith of Elijah (