Beloved, I am glad to share with you today the above theme from Jas 5:1-2 and following. Indeed, autumn is the ploughing season. Eight to ten months will pass until, by alternatives of cold and heat, rain and sun, ripens the new harvest. How much patience it takes for the farmer! Like him, let us use patience, “for the coming of the Lord is near.” Let’s also use our resources: in moments of joy, hymns; in trial (as at all times), the fervent prayer of faith. Do we sometimes experience that she “can do a lot” (John 9:26-34)? For the verses 14 to 16, which serve in Christendom to justify all kinds of practices, retain their full value if the conditions mentioned are met. However, a dependent Christian will rarely feel free to ask for healing; rather, he will pray with those around him for the peaceful acceptance of God’s will.
Thus, James’ thoughts turn to the rich Jews, aimed especially at those who belonged to the incredulous majority: he has harsh, even stripping words to say to them about them. Because he makes a triple accusation against them. First he accuses them of fraud, and fraud of the most despicable kind. Indeed, they took advantage of the most humble people, the least able to defend themselves. Then they used to refuse nothing to each other, thinking little more than their pleasures. Finally they persecuted, and even killed, their brethren who had embraced faith in Christ, and who are referred to here as “the righteous.”
As a result they pursued their own enrichment, and they succeeded in it. They “had amassed a treasure.” Meanwhile, the workers who could not defend themselves made their cry heard because of their poverty, and the Christians who could very well have defended themselves, followed in the footsteps of their Master, and did not resist them. The rich had brilliant successes, and it seemed that everything was successful for them.
But appearances are deceiving. They were really just like raw animals fattened for slaughter. “You have satiated your hearts as in a day of sacrifice,” as James puts it. Psalm 73 shows that this is nothing new. Indeed, Asaph had been greatly troubled by observing the prosperity of the wicked, while God’s people were under chastisement and sorrow; he found no satisfactory solution to this problem until he had entered the sanctuaries of God. And in the light of the sanctuary everything became clear to him: He saw that the path of both the rich ungodly and the saints harassed and trampled underfoot could only be properly appreciated by seeing the way out. Shortly before he had been close to falling because he had been consumed with envy when he saw the prosperity of the wicked: now he exclaims: “how destroyed they are in a moment!” Asaph was himself one of those pious men, beaten all day, and whose “punishment came back every morning.” However, in the sanctuary, he looks up to God with joy, and he confesses, “You will lead me by your counsel, and after glory you will receive me.” The end of one is destruction;the end of the other is to be received in glory. The contrast is complete.
The confession in question is that of two believers, one of whom has offended the other, without either of them being entirely exempt from blame, both of whom are therefore affected in their health. The one who has committed the offense as the main one comes with a confession, felt in the heart, of the wrong he has committed. The other is thus pushed to confess wrongs that may exist on his side, and the two being thus melted before God, they begin to pray for each other. If they have truly stopped their wrong way of acting and are committed to the path of righteousness, they can expect God to hear and heal them.
In connection with this subject, the case of Elijah is recalled. And thee verset concerned is particularly interesting insofar as the Old Testament makes no reference to the fact that Elijah prayed that he would not please, while we are given many details about his prayer that it would rain at the end of the three and a half years in 1 Kings 18. Now thefirst verse of 1 Kings 17 introduces Elijah abruptly by declaring to Ahab that it would not rain, so that this verse of James makes us glimpse scenes prior to his public appearance, scenes of personal and private relations with God. Although he had the same passions as us, he was righteous and burned with a fervent passion for the glory of God. That is why he was listened to by God, and he knew it with such certainty that he was able to confidently affirm to Ahab what God was going to do. May we be like him, if only to a small degree!
The following verses have been compiled for your edification and grouped together for your better understanding.
Warnings to the rich:
- The Dangers of Wealth
-Urge you to forget God Dt 8:13-14 when you see your big and small cattle multiply, increase your money and gold, and increase all that is yours, 14 beware that your heart does not swell, and that you do not forget the Lord, your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage,
-Bring to greed Ps 62:11 Do not confide in violence, and do not put vain hope in rapine; When wealth increases, do not attach your heart to it.
-Threats integrity Pr 28:20 A faithful man is filled with blessings, but he who hastens to enrich himself does not go unpunished.
-Prevent you from entering the kingdom of God Mt 19:23 Jesus said to his disciples: I tell you in truth, a rich person will hardly enter the kingdom of heaven.
-Lead to spiritual sterility Mk 4:19 but in whom the worries of the century, the seduction of riches and the invasion of other lusts, stifle speech, and make it fruitless.
-Subject men to the strongest temptations 1 Tim 6:9 But those who want to enrich themselves fall into temptation, into trap, and into many foolish and pernicious desires that plunge men into ruin and perdition.
- Unfair gain
Pr 16:8 Better with justice than great incomes with injustice. Pr 21.6 Treasures acquired by a false language are a fleeting vanity and the forerunner of death. Jer 22:13 Woe to him who builds his house by injustice, and his rooms by iniquity; Who makes his neighbor work without paying him, without giving him his salary; John 5:4 Behold, the wages of the workers who have harvested your fields, and of whom you have frustrated them, cry out, and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.
- Divine delays test the courage and patience of men
Ps 13:2 Until when, Lord! will you forget me without ceasing? Until when will you hide your face from me? Ps 119:82 My eyes languish after your promise; I say: When will you console me? Jn 11:6:21 When he learned that Lazarus was sick, he stayed two more days in the place where he was, 21 Martha said to Jesus: Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. So Be patient, brethren until the lord comes. Behold, the ploughman awaits the precious fruit of the earth, taking patience with it, until he has received the rains of the first and late seasons. 2 Pet 3:9 The Lord does not delay in fulfilling the promise, as some believe; but He uses patience with you, not wanting any to perish, but wanting all to come to repentance.
- Examples of importunity in prayer
Abraham Gen 18:32 Abraham said, Let the Lord not be irritated, and I will speak only this time. Perhaps there will be ten righteous. And the Lord said, I will not destroy it, because of these ten righteous.
-Jacob Gen 32:27 He said to him: What is your name? And he answered: Jacob.
Moses Dt 9:18 I prostrated myself before the Lord, as before, forty days and forty nights, without eating bread and drinking water, because of all the sins you had committed in doing what is wrong in the eyes of Jehovah, to irritate Him.
“The Canaanite woman Mt 15:27 Yes, Lord,” she said, “but little dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table. Luke 11:8 I tell you, even if he did not rise to give them to him because he is his friend, he would stand up because of his importunity and give him everything he needs. Lk 18:5 nevertheless, because this widow bothers me, I will do her justice, so that she does not come and break my head again and again.
Jesus Luke 22:44 Being in agony, he prayed more urgently, and his sweat became like lumps of blood, which fell to the ground.
-The royal officer of Capernaum Jn 4:49 The king’s officer said to him: Lord, come down before my child dies.
-The early Church Acts 12:5 Peter was therefore kept in prison; and the Church never ceased to pray to God for him. So John 5:16 Confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The fervent prayer of the righteous has great effectiveness.
From all the above, we note that the restoration of a brother who has gone astray, resulted in the conversion of a sinner. The onegod uses in this blessed work is an instrument to save souls from death and to cover up a multitude of sins. Do we realize the honour that this represents? Some are always inclined to expose the sins of both believers and the world. But openingup sins in a just way is what God loves. May we commit ourselves to it with all our hearts. From all this we learn the conditions for effective prayer: confession of sin, not only to God, but also to each other; practical justice in all our ways; fervor of spirit and in requests. A fervent prayer is not about declaiming with a powerful stentor voice, but it is what comes out of warm, burning hearts. The end of the epistle emphasizes fraternal help in love: the reciprocal confession of faults, prayer for each other, care for those who have failed. Doctrine holds little place in this epistle. On the other hand, the implementation of our Christianity holds a lot of it. May God grant us to be, not forgetful listeners, but doers of works (James 1:22-27). Our prayers are with you all.
PRAYER OF ACCEPTANCE OF JESUS CHRIST AS LORD AND PERSONAL SAVIOR
I now invite every person who wants to become a new creation by walking in the truth, to pray with me the following prayer:
Lord Jesus, I have long walked in the lusts of the world ignoring your love for humans. I admit to having sinned against you and ask your forgiveness for all my sins, because today I have decided to give you my life by taking you as Lord and personal Savior. I recognize that you died on the cross of Calvary and rose from the dead for me.
I am now saved and born again by the power of the Holy Spirit. Lead me every day to the eternal life that you give to all who obey your Word. Reveal yourself to me and strengthen my heart and faith, so that your light may shine in my life right now.
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for accepting me into your divine family, so that I may also contemplate the wonders of your kingdom.
I will now choose a nearby waterpoint to baptize myself by immersion, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
All adoration, power and glory are yours, now and forever and ever. Amen!
I would be happy to react to any questions and comments you may have, before sharing with you tomorrow “Christian hope; the test of faith.”
May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you abundantly.
David Feze, Servant of the Almighty God.