JAMES LESSON 7
We will begin this lesson in James 5:1 "Go to now, [ye] rich men,
weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon [you]."
The rich man, spoken of here, is the rich man who has no regard
for others. This would be a rich man that would be cruel to his
employees. This would be, also, a man who would push any of his
fellowmen down to acquire his riches. The only problem this man has,
is not just that he is rich, but is the fact of what he is doing with
his wealth. The miseries that will come upon him is for the way he has
treated his fellowman.
James 5:2 "Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are
motheaten."
We know that the rich man, here, must have attained the riches in
a corrupt manner. This would be a man who put his wealth ahead of
everyone and everything. It is not the riches that are evil, but the
use of the riches by this corrupt man.
James 5:3 "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."
Look, with me, at the following Scriptures and see what Jesus had
to say about this very thing. Matthew 6:19 "Lay not up for yourselves
treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where
thieves break through and steal:" Matthew 6:20 "But lay up for
yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth
corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:" Matthew
6:21 "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."
We do know that there is nothing wrong with silver and gold in
themselves. God established them as blessings from God, back in
Genesis. He established gold, silver, and cattle as true value. Even
the fact that silver means redemption and gold symbolizes the purity
of God, tells us that the metal is not bad. It is our use, or rather
misuse, that is bad. We see in verse 3 above, that this rich man,
spoken of here, is putting his faith in the gold and silver, rather
than in God. All of the gold and silver in the world will not save a
person from the wrath of God. It is not wrong, however, to own silver
and gold. In fact, they are the only true money. Paper money, from all
governments, is just a promissory note. Read my little book on "GOD'S
MONEY, SILVER AND GOLD" to get the full picture.
James 5:4 "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."
Now, we see where the sin comes in. This man is so greedy that he
has not even paid the wages to the people who harvested his fields.
God will not let this go unnoticed. In our society today, this is the
first thing a person must pay.
James 5:5 "Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been
wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter."
We see the character of this rich man is under attack here.
"Wanton" means to live in pleasure. You can see that this is extreme,
because it is expressed twice in the verse above. This means that this
man throws extravagant parties and lives extravagantly, as well. He
has no regard for the feeling of others. His earthly pleasure is all
that interests him. This day of slaughter, reminds us of the Scripture
speaking of the days of Noah. They were eating, and drinking, not
having any regard for God. This seems to be the life style here, as
well. This is a very fleshly man who pleases only his own flesh.
James 5:6 "Ye have condemned [and] killed the just; [and] he doth
not resist you."
This is just how bad this man's sin has become. Of course, this
could be not only saying that this man killed to get his money, but
also he helped nail Jesus to the cross for his sin. In the case of
Jesus {the Just One}, we all nailed him to the cross with our sin.
James 5:7 "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."
We see from this an encouragement to wait patiently on the coming
of the Lord. It seems in this part of the world that James is writing
to, the rain came early in planting time and then the rains came again
at harvest time. Many believe the early and latter rain, spoken of
here, is speaking of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit of God. In the
Spiritual sense, this could certainly be. The fruit of the Spirit goes
along with the outpouring of the Spirit of God. It is the rain
{Spirit} which makes the beautiful fruit. We, also, know that those
you win to Christ, many times are spoken of as the fruit of the
harvest. We should not get impatient, when we plant the seed {Word of
God}. It takes time for it to take hold and produce fruit.
James 5:8 "Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the
coming of the Lord draweth nigh."
James, as many other of the penmen, realizes that the great work
of salvation takes place in the heart. It is the heart that must be
stayed upon God. II Thessalonians 3:5 "And the Lord direct your hearts
into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ."
James 5:9 "Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be
condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door."
"Grudge", in the verse above, means to murmur. God does not like
murmuring. He does not like anyone holding a grudge either. He says,
when you come to the altar, forgive others first, and then come to the
altar. Judge not, that ye be not judged. Whatever judgement you make
on others, is the same judgement God will use on you. The Lord Jesus
is the Judge that standeth at the door. He is the True Judge.
James 5:10 "Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in
the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of
patience."
Job is the best example I can think of for patience and enduring
suffering. He kept the faith in terrible suffering in the loss of his
children, and even unto the pain and suffering in his own body. His
suffering was not in vain. God rewarded him greatly for keeping the
faith. Most of the prophets were martyred for their belief. The
historians tell us that Isaiah was sawed in two. All of the prophets
before us are examples to us, that we can wait with patience. The
following is what Jesus said about this very thing. Matthew 5:11
"Blessed are ye, when [men] shall revile you, and persecute [you], and
shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake."
Matthew 5:12 "Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great [is] your
reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were
before you."
James 7 Questions
1. Why will the rich man in verse 1 weep and howl?
2. What kind of man is this rich man of verse 1?
3. Why will these miseries come upon him?
4. Your riches are _________, and your garments are ___________.
5. It is not the riches that are evil, but what?
6. He had heaped treasure up for when?
7. Quote Matthew chapter 6 verses 19 and 20.
8. Where your treasure is, there will your ________ be also.
9. What does silver mean spiritually?
10. What does gold symbolize?
11. What is paper money?
12. What had reached the ears of the Lord of sabaoth?
13. What is the man's real sin?
14. What does "wanton" mean?
15. The fact that something is said twice in one Scripture indicates
what?
16. Describe this rich man's life style.
17. What is the only thing this man is interested in pleasing?
18. How bad had his sin become?
19. Who really nailed Jesus to the cross?
20. ___ ________ therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord.
21. What do many believe the early and latter rain are speaking of?
22. What does the fruit of the Spirit go along with?
23. What could the rain be speaking of here?
24. James told them to stablish their ________.
25. Why were they to do this?
26. Why should you not grudge against another?
27. What does the word "grudge" mean here?
28. What are we to do, if we have anything against someone, before we
come to the altar?
29. How will we be judged?
30. Who, in the Old Testament, is a very good example of waiting
patiently and of overcoming suffering?
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