Bible Study for Today

What warning does James give to the rich?

In James 5:1, he begins: “Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you!” James condemns them not for being wealthy, but for misusing their resources. Unlike the believing rich in Timothy’s congregation (1 Tim. 6:17–19), these are the wicked wealthy who profess Christian faith and have associated themselves with the church, but whose real god is money.

“Indeed the wages…you kept back” (v. 4). The rich had gained some of their wealth by oppressing and defrauding their day laborers—a practice strictly forbidden in the Old Testament (Lev. 19:13; Deut. 24:14, 15). The One who hears the cries of the defrauded laborers, James warns, is the Lord of hosts, the commander of the armies of heaven (angels). The Bible teaches that angels will be involved in the judgment of unbelievers (Matt. 13:39–41, 49; 16:27; 25:31; 2 Thess. 1:7, 8).

“You have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury” (v. 5). After robbing their workers to accumulate their wealth, the rich indulged themselves in an extravagant lifestyle .“Pleasure” has the connotation of wanton pleasure. “Luxury” leads to vice when a person becomes consumed with the pursuit of pleasure, since a life without self-denial soon becomes out of control in every area. Like fattened cattle ready to be slaughtered, the rich that James condemns had indulged themselves to the limit.

“You have condemned…murdered the just” (v. 6). This describes the next step in the sinful progression of the rich. Hoarding led to fraud, which led to self-indulgence. Finally, that overindulgence has consumed the rich to the point that they will do anything to sustain their lifestyle. “Condemned” comes from a word meaning “to sentence.” The implication is that the rich were using the courts to commit judicial murder (2:6)

Reading for Today:

Ezekiel 39:1–40:49Psalm 132:10-18Proverbs 29:5James 5:1-20

Notes:

Psalm 132:10 A prayer that God’s promise and favor would not be withheld from David’s descendants on the throne of Judah. Your Anointed. As David had been anointed king (1 Sam. 16:13), so a greater King had been anointed, namely Christ, but not yet seated on the throne (Is. 61:1; Luke 4:18, 19).

James 5:7 patient. The word emphasizes patience with people (1 Thess. 5:14), not trials or circumstances (as in 1:3). Specifically, James has in mind patience with the oppressive rich.the coming. The Second Coming of Christ. Realizing the glory that awaits them at Christ’s return should motivate believers to patiently endure mistreatment (Rom. 8:18). the early and latter rain. The “early” rain falls in Israel during October and November and softens the ground for planting. The “latter” rain falls in March and April, immediately before the spring harvest. Just as the farmer waits patiently from the early rain to the latter for his crop to ripen, so must Christians patiently wait for the Lord’s return (Gal. 6:9; 2 Tim. 4:8; Titus 2:13).

James 5:14 anointing him with oil. Literally, “rubbing him with oil”: 1) possibly this is a reference to ceremonial anointing (Lev. 14:18; Mark 6:13); 2) on the other hand, James may have had in mind medical treatment of believers physically bruised and battered by persecution. Perhaps it is better to understand the anointing in a metaphorical sense of the elders’ encouraging, comforting, and strengthening the believer.

James 5:14,15 sick. James directs those who are “sick,” meaning weakened by their suffering, to call for the elders of the church for strength, support, and prayer.

James 5:15 prayer of faith. The prayer offered on their behalf by the elders. save the sick. Deliver them from their suffering because they have been weakened by their infirmity, not from their sin, which was confessed. committed sins…be forgiven. Not by the elders, since God alone can forgive sins (Is. 43:25; Dan. 9:9; Mark 2:7). That those who are suffering called for the elders implies they had a contrite, repentant heart, and that part of their time with the overseers would involve confessing their sins to God.