James 5:1-20

(James 5:1-20)

Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten. Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth. Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you. Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door. Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience. Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy. But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation. Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms. Is any sick among you? 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: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.  Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit. Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.

 

James warns the rich, and tells the brothers to be patient until the Lord comes. Rich people are those who have nothing to do with the kingdom of God. They are the ones who oppress God's people and love the world. They were those who used luxury, accumulated wealth, deceived money, and oppressed the poor. So be patient. James used the parable of the farmer. 『Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. He quoted from Deuteronomy 11:14.『That I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil. 』 In Joel 2:23『Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month. 』 In this way, it is an expression that if you endure like a farmer, God will bless you with the Holy Spirit. He also told the brothers not to blame each other.『Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door.

 

 Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience. The brothers are the believers who have been born again in Christ. Those who are in Christ are one with each other, and do not blame. Because of having a physical body, it is sometimes uncomfortable and affects others. Be patient with this principle.

 

James said not to swear. Jesus also spoke of the oath in Matthew 5:33-37. Jesus said not to swear at all, even to say that the oath is from evil. The Bible did not forbid the oath itself, but it was a firm rejection of the hypocritical formal oath of the Jews. In particular, the oath to God must be kept. However, the Jews abused this rule at their convenience. The Bible tells us to quit wrong habits right now. In Matthew 23:16-22『Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor!  Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold? And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty. Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift? Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon. And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein. And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon.』

 

Jesus sharply pointed out that Jewish religious leaders were misrepresenting the oath. They swear by swearing on gold and offerings (tributes to the temple), but they are not obliged to keep their vows against the temple and the altar. In response, Jesus said that the temple was greater than gold, the altar was more than a gift, and God was greater than the temple and an altar. All the oaths, whether staked or vowed only, were eventually done to God. So, any swearing must be done with the best, there is no law saying that you do not have to keep some of your vows.

 

『 But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation. .』 God's throne is greater than heaven. Likewise, it says that God's footsteps are greater than the earth, the king greater than Jerusalem (God), and the God who makes it grow more than the head. In short, it means that every oath is done to God, so we must do our best. Jesus continued, “But let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation. 』

 

Jewish rabbis regarded the oath if they answered the same question more than once, positive or negative. An oath is an act of making a commitment to keep all kinds of promises, whether it's a vow to give to God or a promise to keep a covenant among people. It is an oath if a person has replied with sincerity and sincerity, whether it is a commandment, a vow, a promise, or a contract. Jesus' will is to faithfully keep all the promises, without the need to guarantee anything, whether in words or things. The original meaning of the Old Testament teaching about the oath is inherited. When people swear by mobilizing huge objects or objects, they can involve the wrong intention to deceive others.

 

James speaks of the importance of prayer. Jesus also prayed and told his disciples to pray. Jesus teaches his disciples the Lord's Prayer, and when he prays, he should focus on this. First, pray for the will of heaven to be fulfilled, and pray for daily spiritual food. And forgive others for their sins and ask them to rescue them from evil. Jesus said the main content is prayer to save the spirit. James also talks about saving the Spirit. When the Spirit is suffering, sick, and in sin, it is said that if you repent and ask God, you will be saved by Christ.

 

『 Is any sick among you? 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: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. 』What James wants to say to his brothers is that in this presently persecuted situation, the body is difficult, but recognizes that he is born again as a body of spirit, and seeks to save the neighbor's spirit while thinking of the Second Coming of Jesus. All.