Comments for June 10

8:31 Gideon refused to be king over Israel after he had defeated the Midianites. However he named the son of his concubine “Abimelech” – meaning my father is king. This is one of the things he did which were not consistent with what we might think would be Godly behaviour. However Gideon was a man of faith – Heb 11:32 – which is comforting. God realises that we fall short of even the ideals we set for ourselves. But we can still be pleasing to our Father if we continue to believe His promises. So maybe we should identify Gideon’s acts of faith rather than just notice inconsistencies in his life.

FAITH STATISTICS

How do you feel about the coming judgement? Are you confident about being in the kingdom of God? Do you really believe that God will supply ALL your needs?

Faith is an interesting thing. No matter what our social status, intellect, gender or anything else that makes us stand apart, faith in God is just as hard for each of us.

Gideon and his army marched out to battle against the Midianites. There were 32,000 people with Gideon. God said there were too many, so he ordered Gideon to take away all the people whose faith in God was wavering. "'Whoever is fearful and trembling, let him return home and hurry away from Mount Gilead'. Then 22,000 of the people returned and 10,000 remained." (Judg 7:3). More than two thirds of the men did not have faith in God.

I wonder what the proportion is like among those of us who follow the Lord today? Whatever it is now, a 30% success rate is a frightening statistic.

So whether we consider ourselves to have faith in God or not, now is the time to develop and  strengthen our faith. Make a plan to be strong and courageous in faith for our God today.
 

TWO FORGETTINGS

There is a rebuke in the last words about Gideon. "And the people of Israel did not remember the LORD their God who had delivered them from the hand of all their enemies on every side, and they did not show steadfast love to the family of Jerubbaal (that is Gideon) in return for all the good that he had done." (Judg 8:34-35).

There are two forgettings side by side here. They forgot the LORD their God and all that he had done for them, and they forgot to show love to the family of Gideon. The way these two forgettings are coupled together, makes it look as though they are almost as bad as each other.

We know it is important to remember God, but by that token, it is also very important to remember the families of those who have served the Lord and blessed his people over the years - even though the people themselves might have passed away.

Who has had an impact on your life? If they are still around, take an opportunity to honour them. And if not, be a blessing to their family and honour God in doing so.

7:4  the word translated “try” is not the word we might expect – that is to prove them. It is a word that is elsewhere – Neh 3:8 -  translated goldsmith

They were tried like gold – purified. One presume that 300 were the “purified” ones.

7:11 God is not offended by our continual need for reassurance. Life can be scary and challenging. God is patient and understanding. Gideon asked twice regarding the fleece being wet or dry (Judges 6:36-40) and he obtained reassurance in ch 7 by overhearing the dream of the  Midianite soldier.

8:5-6 The princes of Succoth were clearly afraid of Oreb and Zeeb and doubtless felt that any help they gave to Gideon would reflect badly on them when Gideon was defeated. The inhabitants of Succoth lacked faith. They did not believe that Yahweh would deliver the Midianites into Gideon’s hand. Hence their response.

7:15 Notice Gideon’s reaction on hearing the dream and its interpretation. He “worshipped God”. Is this our instant reaction when we are comforted by something we hear that allays our fears and anxieties?

v.9,10 - This picture picks up the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah, and leads us forward also to the time of the end, where the unbelieving take part in the second death. Gen.19:28, Deut.29:23, Ps.11:6, Rev.19:20, 21:8.

v.7 refers to unicorns. It is felt that this referred to some great wild bulls that are now extinct, but it seems that the concept is that of the great ones. So this verse is saying that the leaders and the high will be brought down with the rest of the people. No-one will escape.

There are a number of phrases from this chapter echoed in Revelation

The 'indignation of the Lord is upon all nations' (34:2) so we see that Israel's fortunes will improve as the kingdom of this world become the kingdom of Christ.

:8 The 'controversy of Zion' is the issue all the time. It is how nations respond to Israel that matters. Assyria, and then Babylon, came against Israel and so were punished for it. When we see a nation opposing Israel today we can be sure that in due course - in God's good time - that nation will be judged.

34:11 The birds mentioned are all unclean.

V.10 "none shall pass through" Edom's original offence was they would not let Israel pass through their land in peace on their way to Canaan: Judg 11:17  God here recompenses them in kind, so no traveller shall pass through Edom.

V.1 We read here that the whole world is summoned to hear the announcement concerning the day of the LORD'S wrath and His punishment of the nations.(Similar to Psa 49:1) The call is worldwide and refers to the nations. Matt 25:31-34; 45-46, 

V.6 When the Lord Jesus returns, He will set about redeeming His people Israel.  The land (and region) will have been invaded by Gog and his confederates.  The Lord, and His immortalised saints, will make His way north from Sinai to liberate Jerusalem.  As He encounters the enemies of His people, on the way, He will destroy them.  One such predicted encounter will be in Bozrah.  Here he will crush the enemy with great slaughter (Isa 63:1-4). 

This chapter says, in effect, that Jacob will be saved while Esau is consumed.  I presume the majority of the chapter is speaking of Edom, with their naming in Isa 34:5,6. Then the blessings on Israel return in Isa 34:16,17.

34:10  The rising smoke echoes the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah – Gen 19:28.

V.11 The LORD will wreak havoc upon the earth when He judges the nations.  Isaiah describes the conditions, at that time, as one of confusion and emptiness (KJV).  In the Hebrew, confusion is tohu , while emptiness is bohu.  These are the same two words which are translated without form and void in Gen 1:2.  Thus, we can understand the kind of desolation being described. Incidentally, the term tohu-bohu is used in French to denote commotion.

34:10 The ascending smoke for ever is the basis for the language in Rev 14:11

V.2 The phrase all nations  can be replaced by Edom.  Edom, like Moab, was a traditional enemy of Israel.  However, both Edom and Moab are used metaphorically to describe all the enemies who oppose Yahweh. 

"Come near ye nations", but what is interesting that in the entire chapter there is only one nation that is mentioned. It is the nation of Edom. Bozrah and Idumea Isa 34:6,   are both in Edom. Edom is such a fitting type of all nations. Esau is Edom. Esau and Edom are both red, Esau came out red, Edom is an area of red sandstone. Red stands for sin  and our nature. Obadiah tells us of the pride of Edom Obad 1:3-4 and this reminds us of the nature of man. In Obad 1:15  in the middle of the chapter of God's judgements upon Edom we read,"For the day of the Lord is near upon all the heathen" .Edom is such a fitting example of man,his pride,his sin and soon will be judged.

Chapters 34 and 35 of Isaiah form one prophecy against the nations who are the enemies of Yahweh. This is a prophecy that can be applied to the end times.

V.5 Edom is not singled out here.  Edom has become an epithet for all the enemies of Yahweh.

V.8 After leaving Bozrah, Jesus and His band will continue their journey to Jerusalem. He will destroy His enemies there and free the city.

Brotherly Hatred

The context of these chapters in Isaiah is the battle for Jerusalem against the Assyrian invasion.  So why do we have a chapter sandwiched in-between dedicated to Edom? What's Edom got to do with the Assyrian invasion?

In 33:1 God sounds a warning: "woe to you who plunder , though you have not been plundered". Could this apply to Edom? Psa 137:7 seems to suggest that Edom rejoiced at the later destruction of Jerusalem, and Eze 35:5, 10-12 shows God's judgement on them for waiting in the wings to take the land of Israel and Judah after the people had been taken captive. So Edom were a nation who waited gleefully for Israel to be destroyed by Assyria, and that's why we have a chapter here about Edom.

Looking to the future battle for Israel, we can learn from this that although the nations round about Israel might not be the main aggressors in the final battle of Armageddon, they will still be judged for hating her. And on a personal level, Jesus repeats this teaching for us, when he speaks about hating your brother in your heart being as bad as murder (Gen 27:41, Lev 19:17, Matt 5:21-22, 1John 3:15). After all, the Edomites (Esau) were the brothers of Israel (Jacob).

Isa 34:4;Matt 24:29-30;Mark 13:24-26.

34:2 So the prophet now speaks of God’s judgements upon all nations. From the way in which we have seen in previous years how the language from this chapter is used in Rev 6:13,14 and Rev 16:11 we may conclude that this chapter is talking about the time of the return of Jesus.

34:10 As well as echoes the destruction of Sodom it is also similar to what Jesus teaches  - Matt 18:8 -  when speaking of ‘everlasting fire’.

Isa 34:5  When we read of God’s sword being ‘bathed in heaven’ we should understand that His judgements will be against the people in political power.

34:3     Melted mountains is echoed in the contemporary prophet Mic 1:4

34:13 The “habitation of dragons” is to be replaced with a place of blessing as can be seen in Isa 35:7-8

34:17  Whilst the chapter seems to have been speaking about animals we conclude from this verse that the subject is the nation of Israel. It is Israel who will possess the land forever.

1. Isa 34:1-4 - this suggests the end times when God is angry at all the nations opposing him which are symbolized by "Idumea/Edom<123>" as noted by Michael Parry in his 2008 and 2009 comments; the wrath of Christ (Rev 6:12-17;Rev 12:1-17); V4 "the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll" (Rev 6:14), "as a falling fig from the fig tree" (Rev 6:13).

2. Isa 34:5 - "my sword" is the angel wielding sword of the Lord; here "heaven" is Edom, the people of the curse; Esau was in Edom (Gen 36:1;Rom 9:7-13) which in Roman times during the first advent of Christ was called Idumea; Edom symbolizes the profane and the persecutor in Scripture (Heb 12:16;Obad 1:9-16;Psa 137:7).

3. Isa 34:5-6 - judgment against Idumea/Edom; V6 "Bozrah<1224>".

4. Isa 34:7 - "unicorns<7214>" could this refer to a wild bull that is extinct? (Psa 22:21).

5. Isa 34:8 - the future fight over Jerusalem, the day of the Lord's vengeance and the upholding of Zion at the time of the end (Isa 63:1-4).

6. Isa 34:9-10 - similar to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen 19:28), there will be destruction on the enemies of God's people at the Messianic time of the end (Joel 3:19;Rev 14:11).

7. Isa 34:11-15 - one part of Edom is burning (vs 9-10) while another part becomes the preserve of unclean wild creatures; no civilization or ordered life; V13 nettles and brambles suggest it is not fruitful but is cursed (Gen 3:17-18).

8. Isa 34:16 - seek out the book of the Lord (Acts 17:11).

9. Isa 34:17 - the angel of the Lord cast the lot for them to decide what territory should be assigned; a last days application referring to an eternal inheritance (Gen 17:7-9;Gal 3:26-29).

34:16  This chapter is speaking to the “nations” verse :1. So it is they who are commended to seek out the book of the Lord.

34:8     Israel have been downtrodden for centuries. One might be forgiven for thinking that God had forgotten them. However His judgment will come. We, likewise, from time to time may feel that God has forsaken us. However we can be sure that eventually He will judge the world and bless His faithful.

34:1   The nations are astray from God. We might say that they were far off. So whilst God is going to bring judgment on them His desire is that they would learn of Him and serve Him faithfully.

34:5      we find similar language of God’s judgments being spoken to Israel before they entered the land – Deut 32:42

34:3 The way the record speaks of the slain being cast is seen earlier in  26:19 but from the description here it is clear that the slain bodies will be left to decompose on the ground.

34:6Judgment from God on the nations, including Edom will leave the land desolate. However the animal creation will survive and continue as God planned. It is man, not the animals, which defile even though the animal kingdom is spoken of as “red in tooth and claw” implying it is destructive.

There will come a time when man will live at peace with man and in harmony with the whole of Creation. May it come soon!

34:3  That Isa is speaking of the time of the judgment on the invader that will come from the north is clear from the way the chapter commences by speaking of judgment on the “nations”. The way the enemy will be judged and die in the land is seen also inJoel 2:20.

34:6 speaking of the sword of the Lord is an indication of judgment against Edom. But then the mention of blood and kidneys of animals is language that we find elsewhere speaks of animal sacrifices. And yes it is a sacrifice – or Edom. God sacrifice them as part of his deliverance of the children of Israel.

34:13 Whilst this chapter is full of woe and destruction the scene is being set for a marvellous reformation of the land.  In the same way that sin has to be recognised before repentance can come the earth will made desolate before being made like the “garden of Eden” – Eze 36:35. So the next chapter in Isaiah starts to build the picture of the restored earth.

v.7-10 - Patience seems to be a theme of this chapter, and the ultimate in examples of patience is cited in the man Job, who spent a life-time of patience waiting for, and eventually receiving, the blessing from the Lord. This is to be our experience too - we must spend a lifetime being shaped for our ultimate and eternal blessing. Luke 8:15, Rom.2:7, 8:24,25, 15:4, Gal.6:9.

v.20 - Whilst we might choose to stir up strife by highlighting the error of others the wise man counsels is to do the opposite. [Proverbs 10:12] This proverb then forms the basis for both Peter and James when writing to Jewish brethren. [here 1 Peter 4:8]

Notice the emphasis upon 'patience' in James 1:3 5:7 (twice) 5:8 5:10. I suppose patience is one of the most difficult attributes to develop. Notice that patience is the lesson that we are to learn from Job - one wonders if, without the inspired comment by James, we would ever have thought that Job is teaching us patience?

DON'T GRUMBLE
It is so easy for us to see the faults in others when we are not in their shoes. It is especially easy to see the faults of those in leadership positions. But until you are in the same position yourself, you have no idea what you are talking about. In the wilderness the children of Israel grumbled against Moses time after time, and the result, in nearly every circumstance, was a form of judgement or condemnation that came upon them. So James picked up the lesson for us when he says, "Don't grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The judge is standing at the door."

Just as the children of Israel grumbled about their leader, Moses, so the main target of our grumbling is often the people that work hardest in our Church. But do we work as hard as they do? Do we have the responsibilities they do? Have we been given the same calling as they have? Jesus asked why we try to take the piece of sawdust out of our brothers eye, when we have a log in our own eye. Let's look at ourselves before we grumble against each other. Then let's change our grumbling to praise and encouragement for our brothers.

:4 The language of this verse draws on the way in which Israel were to treat their servants and those they hired to work for them

'the hire of the labourers' Leviticus 19:13
'kept back by fraud' Mal 3:5
'the cries … Sabbaoth' Deuteronomy 24:15

Brethren should understand that the way in which God works does not change. The principles he laid out under the law are just as relevant in James' day and in ours too.

James 5:16. Scripture provides numerous examples for us of the power of prayer. We are told that the prayers of a righteous or a justified man are powerful because God hears them. Psa 34:15, Prov 15:29.
Here are a few examples.
     Joshua prayed and the sun stood still. Josh 10:12-13.
     Elijah prayed and the widow’s son came back to life. 1Kin 17:19-22.
     Elisha prayed and the Shunammite’s son was restored to life. 2Kin 4:32-35.
     Hezekiah prayed and his life was lengthened. 2Kin 20:1-6.
     The ecclesia at Jerusalem prayed and Peter was released from prison. Acts 12:5,10.

5:9 The word 'grudge' 4727 is found elsewhere. Typical translations are

Mark 7:34       sighed
Rom 8:23       groan
2Cor 5:2,4     Groan

So we see that James is warning against the attitude of mind where we might be willing to do something for our brother or sister but in our hearts we would prefer not to do it.

V.11 Some contend that the Book of Job was an allegory and, therefore, Job was not a real person.  The fact that both James and Ezekiel (Eze 14:14,20) both talk about him suggest strongly that he did exist.

5:3That they had ‘heaped [RV laid up] treasure together for the last days’ is a sad reflection of the brethren in James’ day, however where do we stand. Jesus warns that our heart will be where our treasure is – Matt 6:21.

V.6 - when the good news isn't shared with our neighbours we are condemning them and in a manner of speaking essentially murdering them.

V.3 - unwisely spent money (and talents) will testify against us come judgment day Matt 25:24-30

V.19 - do we do our best to rescue the flock who stray? (Luke 15:28-32) Of the two sons who is ultimately lost, the one who stayed in the meeting but perhaps was lacking in the right spirit, or the one who came back and was humble?

V.20 - are we content to not show enough love to reach out and help others on the wrong path?

5:11So another reference to Job.

 5:3 Like rusting metal, their flesh would consume, but, swifter than corrosive action; "like fire" We all know that fire is a symbol of Divine judgement (Psa 21:9, Amos 5:6).

5:5 James is wring the brethren and sisters about the dangers of a selfish lifestyle, likening such a way of living to that of Israel in the days near the end of the kingdom of Judah – Jer 12:13

not swearing by oaths - James 5:12;Matt 5:33-37- an alternative is to say "I affirm to tell the truth, I have a religious conviction against swearing."

We are sometimes asked to pray for sick members, either at the meeting, or on e-announce, or by personal message. But James gives us two more pieces of good advice, as well as praying for those who are unwell (James 5:13,14). He says that if we are afflicted (which means to suffer evil), then we should pray. If we are happy, we should sing praises to God. This reminds me of Paul’s words, “To me to live is Christ” (Phil 1:21). This is putting Christ first, middle and last in our lives. Our life is then full of Christ.

V.7 Yahweh is the husbandman (John 15:1).  Yahweh’s spiritual children are His husbandry (1Cor 3:9).

Vs.14,15 We can, and do, petition our Heavenly Father for the physical welfare of our brethren.  However, it seems here that the sickness (weakness) referred to might be spiritual rather than physical.  The last part of v.15 gives a clue: and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.  The forgiveness of sins seems to be linked to the sickness. 

Physical affliction in a person's life is not necessarily the result of a specific sin (longitudinally, of course, it is the result of Adam's sin).  Surely, that was the mistaken notion that Job's friends had of his condition. 

And so, sins can be forgiven for spiritual weakness (error in walk) if accepted by Yahweh offered through a prayer of faith.

Vs.19,20 We should make every effort to recover anyone who has wandered away from the Truth.  It is a matter of life and death.

5:12 James quotes the Sermon on the Mount when he says ‘let your yea be yea and your nay nay’ – Matt 5:37

5:17   Notice. Elijah was not praying for himself. He was praying for others. A lesson for us. Our prayers should not be self centred.

SIN, CONFESSION, PRAYER

James has a lot to say about sin. Even the way he speaks about sickness and then just merges it in to the subject of sin, makes us think that physical sickness wasn't the only sort of sickness he was talking about. The following are some of the things James says about sickness and sin.

1. If someone is sick, he should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. (James 5:14)
2. Prayer will make the sick person well or will allow their sins to be forgiven. (v.15)
3. Confess your sins to each other. (v.16)
4. When we know of someone's sins, we need to pray for that person for their [spiritual] healing, because our prayers are effective. (v.16)
5. When we turn someone back from sin, we save him from death. (v.20)
6. And when we turn someone back from sin, we cover a multitude of sins. (v.20)

Generally, as Christians, we keep far too quiet about our individual sins. That includes myself. If we really want healing from our sinful habits, the things that lead to eternal death in us, we need to confess our sins to one another. That takes courage - a lot of it. Perhaps we need to pray for courage so that others can pray for us, and so that our Lord can heal us from our sins. Let us find a trusted and godly person to pray for us, because their prayers are powerful and effective.

James 5:3

"...Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days."

E.W. Bullinger in Figures of Speech Used in the Bible writes: "... (theesaurizo) means simply to treasure up. In Rom. ii. 5, we have the expression 'treasurest up wrath.' So here, there is the Ellipsis of what is treasured up. We may supply 'wrath' here. 'Ye have treasured up [wrath] for the last days,' or in last (or final) days, i.e., days of extremity."

James 5:1-3

This is a message of warning to us upon whom the end of the Age is fast approaching.

GARMENT: Salvation or righteousness - Isa 61:3,10; Job 29:14; Rev 3:5,18; Rev 4:4. In the New Testament we are told that we are to be, "clothed in white raiment" - raiment is # <2440>, the same word translated as garment # <2440> in Matt 9:16. 

MOTHEATEN or MOTH: Corrupt or corruption - Job 13:28; Matt 6:20; Luke 12:33. Moth is # <6211>, which is derived from # <6244>, and means to "be consumed."

GOLD: God's laws and commandments are better than gold - Psa 19:9-10; Psa 119:72,127 and now read Psa 119:44-48; Prov 16:16.

SILVER: God's laws and His words are better than silver - Psa 12:6; Psa 119:72; Prov 16:16.

CANKERED or CANKERWORM: To spoil, or corrode and eat up something as does rust - Nah 3:15; Joel 1:4.

James is telling us the only lifestyle that will save is to, "fling off the dirty clothes of the old way of living, which were rotted through and through with lust's illusions, and, with (y)ourselves mentally and spiritually re-made, to put on the clean fresh clothes of the new life which was made by God's design for righteousness and the holiness which is no illusion" (Eph 4:22-24, J.B. Phillips). Hence, this is followed by James' admonition when to pray, how to pray, and why pray because this is the only way we may overcome instead of being overcome!

James 5:19-20

"Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him (fellow brother); 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."

A reader asks: “…Have a general question for you. We've been wondering how to take the verse in James 5:20. Does it mean it will cover a lot of your sins or the other person's sins. I always took it to mean my sins.”
My reply: Verse 19 speaks of a disciple gone out of the way of Truth and holiness from among the brethren. This is evident from the content of the entire epistle of James who repeatedly exhorts the brethren to live godly lives.

Verse 20 addresses the converter who in bringing the erring disciple back into the right way saves himself too, having thus covered a multitude of his own sins in so doing. Of course, this is only possible if in Christ, who ultimately is the only Saviour. We read in 1Tim 4:16: “Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.”

We may get so bogged down debating who has been covered from a multitude of sins, that we may totally miss the bigger picture! This is about the service of LOVE. “And above all things have fervent charity (agape love) among yourselves: for charity (agape love) shall cover the multitude of sins” (1Pet 4:8). James while interrelated with 1Pet 4:8 differs in that James is talking about restoration and recovery. Neither James nor Peter are saying that converting brethren from the error of their ways would cause God to forgive these erring brethren of a multitude of sins.

The covering of sin is the result of an action - agape love - by a disciple of Christ who restores an erring disciple in agape love. “Children, let us not love (agape) with word, nor with tongue, but in deed and in truth” (1John 3:18). If we walk in Biblical love, we will not seek our own (1Cor 13:5). This flows with what James and Peter are saying. It is not love to see someone sin, and not tell them. It is a matter of spiritual life and death!

5:10   The relevance of taking the prophets an as example of patience in affliction is precisely that they suffered persecution for speaking the word of God.

James 5:10,11.

5:11   Heb 12:7 teaches us the God deals with us as sons if we endure chastening.  So we see the force of James’ point here. 

J 5:11   James’s inspired comment “the end of the Lord” seems to explain Elihu’s comment – Job 34:36 – where he desires that Job be tested to the end. He is not seeking extra punishment on Job. Rather his desire is that the end point of Job’s trials would be to the glory of God.

5:2     James takes up the warning that Jesus gave in the Sermon on the Mount – Matt 6:20 – when he, here, speaks to brethren who placed their confidence in this world’s goods.

5:15     James is not saying that sick people will always be healed when prayers are said on their behalf. Notice the record does not say he will be healed. Rather the emphasis is that he will be “raised up”. Looking at the big picture – the resurrection.

5:11     The words of encouragement given here by James draw on Jesus’ teaching – Matt 24:13 – when Jesus was warning his disciples about events prior to AD 70 which are equally valid for us today.

5:13    If we are “afflicted” for what should we pray? The natural thing is to pray that the affliction would be removed. However it may well be part of God’s plan that we suffer affliction. So maybe rather we should also be praying that we will have the strength to deal with the affliction and that God’s name will be glorified through our affliction.

5:9 When James speaks of the judge being at the door he is reminding his readers of what Jesus had said – Matt 24:33. This is one of the many times that James draws attention to Jesus’ teaching, particularly in Matthew’s gospel. A strong indication that Matthew’s gospel was available to those to whom he wrote.

5:4 The phrase “the Lord of Sabaoth” is the equivalent of the OT “Yahweh of Hosts”. It is first found in 1 Samuel 1:3: “And this man went up out of his city yearly to worship and to sacrifice unto Yahweh of hosts in Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of Yahweh, were there” (see also 1 Samuel 1:11; 4:4). Hophni and Phinehas greedily ate of the things offered: “all that the fleshhook brought up the priest took for himself” (1 Sam. 2:14). The people in James’ day were no different: “Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter” (Jas. 5:5). But just as “Samuel lay until the morning, and opened the doors of the house of Yahweh” (1 Sam. 3:15) so, “the judge standeth before the door” (Jas. 5:9).

5:6 in the western world we probably never consider doing violence to fellow believers – or anyone else for that matter. However it was the case in the first century that some showed violence to other believers – 2Cor 1:10.

5:17-18 Whilst we might think that James has moved from Patience to the need for prayer in fact patience is still the point he is making. There was not instant answer to Elijah’s prayer. He had to show patience as seven times the servant went to look at the sky.

We might learn patience in one aspect of our life and find that the patience developed helps in other aspects of our life.

5:4 James is not speaking in general terms. He is reproving believes for the way in which they treated their workers.

The natural way of thinking is to avoid paying for things for as long as possible. Israel were taught that such thinking was unacceptable – and the same is true of believers today.

5:1-6 The rich (v1) are probably wealthy non-believing Jews who oppressed their employees who were Jewish converts to Christ. James acts like an Old Testament prophet railing against a group of wicked people who were not present. These wealthy Jews so oppressed their employees that the employees sometimes died - something that would be unlikely in the ecclesia but likely in a tense atmosphere of Christ converts within a Jewish community

5:17,18 We sometimes forget that Elijah prayed for a drought to occur - and God acceded to his request.

1 Kings 17:1 hints that God may have given Elijah control as to the release from drought as well: "there shall be neither dew nor rain, except at my word". It takes courage for a brother or sister to pray for the economic destruction of the ecclesia so that repentance might occur. Elijah was certainly a strong, focused and courageous brother whose prayers were effective, even if it meant hardship would occur.

5:11 So we learn from the book of Job that the lo is “pitiful, and “of tender mercy” We might think that point could have been made in just a few words. However God, in His wisdom, took 42 chapters recording events in the life of a faithful man to teach the lesson. Why? Doubtless because we are slow to learn, especially when we are shown the qualities of generosity that can be seen in our Heavenly Father.

5:3 We doubtless believe that we are in “the last days” before the return of Jesus. Even if we are not the judgment is no further away than the day of our death, which is unpredictable, for the next thing we will know after the day of our death will be the resurrection.

So what have we “heaped up” and how will it help us in developing a spiritual mind?