1 Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you. 2 Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. 3 Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. 4 Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. 5 You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and murdered innocent men, who were not opposing you.
Look Who Is Standing at the Door
James 4:1-12; 5:1-12Sermon
by James L. Killen
by James L. Killen
Imagine a happening with me. The scene is a fine restaurant all decorated for the holidays. It is noontime and the restaurant is crowded. Five well-dressed businessmen are seated around a round table enjoying drinks after an expensive lunch. They are entrepreneurs. Each has been successful in building up a business and operating it in a way that has made him wealthy. Since it is the holiday season, they have gathered for a celebration. But they are not celebrating Christmas or Hanukkah. They are celebrating their own success. They take turns politely inviting each other to tell their stories. Each in turn tells of how he has come from some kind of situation of disadvantage, either real or imagined, and, by his own shrewdness and willingness to take risks and by hard work has become a successful man. They all listen attentively and wait for their turn to tell their stories. They all speak just a little louder than they need to, as if in the hope of being overheard. It is a celebrative ritual they enjoy indulging in on special occasions.
In fact, the people at the nearby tables do overhear. For the most part, they share in the admiration. These men are telling stories that the culture has taught everyone present to call success stories. There are, however, some who overhear but do not share in the admiration.
Two businesswomen at the next table overhear and are honestly jealous. They, too, are trying to achieve a similar kind of success. They share hushed comments about how they intend to crash that "good old boys' club" and make them take notice.
The waiter overhears too and, in spite of his impeccable courtesy, he does not admire. He recognizes one of the men, but is not recognized by him. He once worked for his company. He had received a commendation for his work two weeks before he was laid off as a part of the company's program of downsizing. He was told that the company had to get lean and mean to meet competition. He doesn't think his former boss looks too lean. He has lots of bad feelings. He is hoping to find a new job that will get him back on some company's ladder. But, right now, he is just hoping for a generous tip.
The woman who is collecting dishes from the tables has bad feelings, too. She is a single mother, holding two jobs to support her family. She is very anxious because she can't give her children the quality time she knows they need. She thinks it is really unfair that some people have so much and some others have so little. No, not everyone who hears is celebrating.
As a matter of fact, some of the people at the table are not really able to put themselves completely into the celebration. One is a younger man who has scored some spectacular early successes in business. He is proud of himself, but he does not yet feel entirely comfortable in this winner's circle. He knows he still has to prove himself in the long haul.
Another of the men has just made a risky investment to expand his business using lots of borrowed money. If the enterprise is successful, he will reap huge profits. But if it is not, he will be very vulnerable. He knows that all of the men at the table know about this situation. He knows that, if his venture fails, it may well be one of these men who will move in to take advantage of his misfortune. He really does not feel that he is among friends. But none of that is mentioned. He speaks of his new enterprise as a sure thing and the others congratulate him for it.
A third man feels thoroughly uncomfortable. He really doesn't feel a part of this scene. He has indeed been successful in business. He would be frank to tell a friend that his success has been three-fourths good luck and only one-fourth his ability to stumble into the right decisions at the right time. He is deeply grateful for his good fortune and he feels a real responsibility to manage it for the good of all whose lives are touched by his enterprise. These are two attitudes that the others at the table would not understand, so he does not mention them. He just participated half-heartedly in the celebration. This man's problem is that he is a Christian. He is grateful for his good fortune and intends to keep on working to be a successful businessman, but he finds the values and the attitudes and the competitive arrogance of his companions foreign to his way of life. He goes along because it is expected, but he will be glad when this lunch is over.
That was not a true story. It is not something that happened just like that at some particular time. But it could have. It wasn't hard to imagine, was it? The elements of that story are all around us every day and we see them. In that sense, it was truer than a story about one particular event.
But the big question is: What does it have to do with our scripture lesson or with the season of Advent or with anything that we are supposed to be talking about in church? Much more than you may think.
Paul contrasted two ways of life: the way of the flesh and the way of the Spirit. Other biblical witnesses refer to the way of the flesh as the way of the world. One of every Christian's greatest challenges is to keep living according to the Spirit, that is to say, living a life that is being shaped daily by a relationship with the living God, while everyone else around us is living a very different kind of life. That is hard to do. The temptations and the influences and the intentional pressures of our culture are always pulling us or pushing us to live like everyone else and making it costly not to do that.
What is this "way of the world" that we have to cope with? Paul's use of the expression, "living according to the flesh," has given lots of us the idea that it must have something to do with sex. But the letter of James goes to some trouble to describe it in another way. What James describes has a remarkable resemblance to the things that we imagined going on in the restaurant. It is life committed to material gain and dominated by envy and competitiveness. Listen to some things that the letter said in the passage just before the one we read.
"Those conflicts and disputes among you, where do they come from? Do they not come from your cravings that are at war within you? You want something and do not have it; so you commit murder. And you covet something and cannot obtain it; so you engage in disputes and conflicts. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, in order to spend what you get on your pleasures. Adulterers! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God" (James 4:1-4). A little later, he hoots at those who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a town and spend a year there, doing business and making money" (James 4:13), as if they could really be in control of their future. And in the beginning of the chapter from which we read our lesson, he said, "Come now, you rich people, weep and wail for the miseries that are coming to you" (James 5:1).
All of a sudden our own culture and perhaps some aspects of our own lifestyles are on the stage on which the biblical drama is being played out.
What does James want to tell Christians who are living in the midst of cultural circumstances like these? Don't give in. Keep living the life of faith and of love that you have learned from Christ, even in the midst of the competitiveness and greed and envy of our culture. And don't let envious and competitive attitudes invade the fellowship of the church. Keep supporting each other in the way that you learned from Jesus. And be patient in enduring any stress or abuse that comes from being "different."
James reminds the Christians that Judgment Day is coming. That is one of the themes that is always a part of the observance of the season of Advent. The time of the coming of the Lord is always a time of judgment in which the things that are wrong with our lives are shown for what they are and we are called to get our lives right. James reminded the early Christians that the way of the world that is so tempting and troublesome will fall under judgment and be shown wanting, and the way into which Christ called them will prove to be real life at its best. James warned his readers not to let themselves be drawn into the ways of the world that will fall under condemnation because "the Judge is standing at the doors" (James 5:9).
We suppose James must have been wrong about that. Judgment day has not come yet - or has it? Judgment doesn't come just on one terrible day at the end of time. Judgment is one aspect of every meeting with the Lord. It is going on all of the time, and it is going on for our own good. All of the awesome biblical images of the final judgment can be taken as descriptions of something that happens right in the midst of our everyday lives. Judgment can happen in lots of different ways. There was really a lot of judgment in the story we imagined, wasn't there? A business failure, the loss of a job, a situation of disadvantage, or any other experience in which the system you depend upon lets you down can be a judgment day. Any day on which you wake up and realize that the life you have invested yourself in has not delivered what it promised, and that you don't like the life you have, and that you really don't like yourself as you have become is judgment day. We are wise to recognize those experiences as times when the Lord comes to show us what is wrong with our lives and to call us to better lives.
What is the message for today? Take a good look at the lifestyle of our culture and recognize all of the things in it that are contrary to a life shaped by a relationship with the living God whom we know through Jesus of Nazareth. Don't let yourself be drawn into the world's way of thinking about things and of acting and of living. It really won't lead to happiness - in spite of what it keeps telling you. Follow the way of Jesus, the way of faith and love, no matter what it costs you. That will lead to the life that really is life at its best.
Where should we start? We might start by taking a good look at the way in which we are planning to celebrate Christmas. Some of you have already thought of that, haven't you? It would be easy to get drawn into an experience of envy and competitiveness that could spoil your season. Open the door and welcome the judge who will help you to get things into a right perspective.
But some may be wanting to cry out, "Wait! Why must we be talking about such a somber subject as judgment during this season when we want to be happy and celebrate Christmas?" The answer is that it is part of our preparation for a real celebration of Christmas. The first verses of our scripture lesson for today spoke of waiting patiently for the coming of the Lord. It is part of God's way of dealing with us that judgment comes before the Savior comes so that we can know our need for the salvation. That is the function of judgment. It is not to condemn us. It is to prepare us. The one who comes brings forgiving of our sins, healing of our sickness and brokenness, and the possibility of a better life. It is important for us to realize that those things don't just have to do with a salvation in some realm of abstract spirituality or with salvation after we die. The forgiving of sins, the healing of brokenness, the offer of a better life has to do with the real things that are going on in our real lives. It has something to offer to people like the ones in the little story of the businessmen's lunch with which we began. It has something to offer to you that has to do with the things that are hurting in your life.
We will be wise to open the door of our lives because the Judge is standing at the door - and so is the Savior.
CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Sermons for Sundays: In Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany From Expectancy to Remembrance, by James L. Killen
The rich people who have brought hardship and trials upon innocent, hardworking poor people will be severely judged by God (5:1–6). Believers who are being put through such trials shouldn’t turn on one another in anger (certainly a tempting reaction) but should stand firm and wait patiently on the Lord’s return (5:7–9). There are plenty of encouraging examples of patience in the face of suffering, such as Job and the prophets (5:10–11). The Lord is faithful, and they can count on him to respond with compassion and mercy (5:11). In any case, they shouldn’t try to talk their way out of the trial by swearing an oath (5:12). In 5:13–18, James instructs those who are facing trials related to physical sickness to pray (notice how often words for prayer are repeated). Prayer is to be a community …
The Baker Bible Handbook by , Baker Publishing Group, 2016
1 Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you. 2 Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. 3 Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. 4 Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. 5 You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and murdered innocent men, who were not opposing you.
The “rich people” whom James addresses in this paragraph are clearly the wicked rich. The Old Testament often uses “poor” and “rich” almost as synonyms for the righteous and the wicked, respectively (see Prov. 10:15–16; 14:20; Ps. 37:1–40; and also the intertestamental book 1 Enoch 94–105). Jesus reflected this usage when he blessed the poor and condemned the rich (Luke 6:20, 24). Thus, while the people addressed in this passage are clearly materially wealthy, they are not condemned for their wealth per se but for their selfish accumulation and abuse of their wealth. Why does James send a denunciation of wicked, wealthy unbelievers to Christians? John Calvin pertinently isolates two main reasons: James “has a regard to the faithful, that they, hearing of the miserable end of the rich, might not envy their fortune, and also that knowing that God would be the avenger of the wrongs they suffered, they might with calm and resigned mind bear them” (342).
Weeping and wailing are typical ways of describing the reaction of evil people to the judgment of the day of the Lord (Isa. 13:6; 15:3; Amos 8:3). These rich people will suffer condemnation on that day for four specific sins. First, they have hoarded their wealth and failed to use it to help the poor (5:2–3). James pictures their wealth rotting and corroding—evidence that it has neither done them any good nor benefited the needy. They have failed to follow Jesus’s advice: “Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys” (Luke 12:33; see also, for the connection between the decay of wealth and failure to help the poor, Sirach 29:9–11). This selfish hoarding of wealth is all the worse in that it is being done “in the last days.” The New Testament consistently portrays the last days, the time of God’s intervention to save and to judge, as having begun with the work of Christ (Acts 2:17; 2 Tim. 3:1; Heb. 1:2; 2 Pet. 3:3; Jude 18). All the more reason to use wealth in a way that will please God!
The second reason for the condemnation of these rich people is their failure to pay their laborers what is owed them (5:4). The Old Testament singled out the prompt payment of wages as a prominent requirement of the law (Lev. 19:13; Deut. 24:14–24; Mal. 3:5). James assures the rich that God, “the Lord Almighty,” the judge, is well aware of their sin against those who depend on them for daily bread. A luxurious, self-indulgent lifestyle is the third basis for God’s judgment (5:5). Like the people of Sodom, who lived in prosperous ease while the “poor and needy” went without (Ezek. 16:49), the rich people of James’s day are preparing themselves for the judgment. James uses the image of cattle being fattened for the slaughter to illustrate this storing up of wrath for the day of judgment. Finally, James condemns the rich for using their influential social and political positions to condemn and murder the “innocent one” (5:6). Some interpreters think this is a reference to Jesus and that James has in mind the Jews’ complicity in the execution of Jesus. But it is more likely that the singular is generic and that James describes the combination of economic and religious persecution that many early Christians suffered at the hand of the upper classes. Such persecution had long been practiced in Israel (cf. Amos 2:6; 5:12; Mic. 2:2, 6–9) and was all the worse in that the innocent had little ability to resist the machinations of the rich.
The Baker Illustrated Bible Commentary by Gary M. Burge, Baker Publishing Group, 2016
Throughout the book James has been dealing with the root causes of disharmony within the community. In the previous section, he has dealt with their complaining, their criticizing, and their roots in worldliness (3:1–4:12). Now he turns to another theme, the test of wealth. The poor person is totally dependent and knows it. Although such a person may well be consumed with envy and ambition, Christians are more likely to turn to prayer and humble dependence upon God. The wealthier person, however, may be lulled into a false sense of security and trust in money by the relative comfort of his or her station in life. It is this problem that James now takes up.
4:13 Now listen shows that James is making a new departure in his thought. Those who should listen are a group of merchants making typical plans: Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money. James does not call these people rich, for he reserves that term for unbelievers (2:6 and 5:1). These people are Christians, who may not be exactly wealthy, but are at least “middle-class.”
The plans that these merchants are making do not seem ungodly. They are making travel plans (perhaps dependent upon when a ship or caravan is finally ready to leave). They have a destination in mind where they realize that their local goods (grain, wine, oil, or spices, if one thinks in terms of Palestine) can be profitably traded. They will carry on business, which means buy and sell goods. They expect the trading expedition to take a year, by which time their stock of goods to sell will be exhausted. They project a profit (make money does not indicate unusual amounts of profit). There appears to be nothing wrong. In trade a person has to plan ahead: Travel plans, market projections, time frames, and profit forecasts are the stuff of business in all ages. Every honest merchant would plan in exactly the same way—pagan, Jew, or Christian—and that is exactly the problem James has with these plans: There is absolutely nothing about their desires for the future, their use of money, or their way of doing business that is any different from the rest of the world. Their worship may be exemplary, their personal morality, impeccable; but when it comes to business they think entirely on a worldly plane.
4:14 In contrast to the secure rationality of their plans stands the insecurity of life: Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. In fact, life is utterly ephemeral: You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Their projections are made; their plans are laid. But it all hinges on a will higher than theirs, a God unconsulted in their planning. That very night disease might strike; suddenly their plans evaporate, their only trip being one on a bier to a cold grave. They are like the rich fool of Jesus’ parable, who had made a large honest profit through the chance occurrences of farming. Feeling secure, he makes rational plans for a comfortable retirement. “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you’ ” (Luke 12:16–21). By thinking on the worldly plane, James’ Christian business people have gained a false sense of security. They need to look death in the face and realize their lack of control over life.
4:15 Instead of relaxing in the false security of worldly thinking, they need to raise their thinking to a higher level: If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that. This, of course, was precisely how Paul lived: Acts 18:21; Romans 1:10; 1 Corinthians 4:19; 16:7; Philippians 2:19, 24. The fact is that God alone controls whether we live. He alone controls whether we are able to do this or that. This acknowledgment recognizes human finiteness and divine sovereignty. But it does not rule out planning. The we will is a plan made in God’s will.
This advice is not simply to add a “God willing” at the end of every plan. Rather, it is to plan with God. Each plan is evaluated by his standards and goals; each plan is laid before God in prayer with adequate time spent in listening for God’s ideas. In such a case the “if God wills” is a prayerful belief that God does will, not a pious hope God won’t interfere. Plans made with careful prayer and aimed at God’s goals need not be insecure.
4:16 These people, however, are far from prayerful planning: As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil. The key term is boast, for it indicates the inner attitude. Pride is the claim of the empty boaster, who claims an ability that he or she does not have. It is the claim of control and status in life that 1 John 2:16 cites, but the claim is false, for the world in the context of which the boast is made is passing away. It is “the presumptuous claims and ostentatious behavior of men by which they seek to impress one another, and very often delude themselves” (C. E. B. Cranfield, The Epistle to the Romans [Edinburgh, 1975], vol. 1, p. 132.) They boast in their empty plans of grandeur: “You should see the deal I’m going to get,” or perhaps a more modest-sounding, “Well, tomorrow I’m going to Rome. My agent has lined up a fine shop right by the new agora. It is said only the wealthiest shop there.” And on it goes: name-dropping, allusions to places and persons of power, gloating over deals to be made, but all of it empty boasting, for only God controls their lives. James evaluates this harshly: It is evil, for it robs God of his rightful honor as sovereign and exalts a mere human as if he or she were God. Any plan confidently made outside God’s will discerned through prayer and meditation is not just foolish—it is sin.
4:17 To round off his thought, James adds a concluding proverb, which some speculate might be a saying of Jesus because of its tone and topic: Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins. On the surface it simply rebukes sins of omission: A person who knows he or she should do something (e.g., give to a poor person) but neglects to do it has not just missed an opportunity for obedience—he or she has sinned. The context, however, lifts this out of the arena of general truth and into the lives of these merchants. There is clearly something they know they ought to do and are thus responsible for (Luke 12:47–48), which is to obey and follow God in business. But their business interests often lead them to worldly planning and hoarding like the rich fool (Luke 12:13–21). To do the good in scripture is frequently to do charitable acts (James 1:21–25 and Gal. 6:9). James, then, may be suggesting that they plan like the world because they are motivated by the world, for God has his own way to invest money: give it to the poor (Matt. 6:19–21). If they took God into account they might not be trying to increase their own standard of living; God might lead them to relieve the suffering around them, that is, to do good.
Having spoken to Christians whose hearts were being seduced by the world, James now turns to address wealthy non-Christians. He roundly condemns them in language similar to Jesus’ (Luke 6:20–26), in order to turn Christians away from the seductiveness of wealth and to prepare them to endure the test of suffering at the hands of the wealthy.
5:1 Now listen, you rich people. In calling these people rich he classes them with the non-Christians he cites in 2:6 and 1:9. These people, unlike those addressed in 4:14, are outside the Christian fold, so there will be no comforting words for them. There may be forgiveness if they turn from their ways, repent, and join the community of Christians, but James expresses no hope this will happen. His intention is to encourage the Christian community, not to convert the rich.
The call is to weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you. Just as the poor Christian is to rejoice in present suffering (1:2, 12), so this anticipated joy is matched by anticipated sorrow for the rich. In the middle of their wealth and luxury they should wail, crying out in deep sorrow as if in response to death or disaster (e.g., Isa. 15:1–6). James fully realizes that they are not presently suffering, so he says, is coming upon you. They have plenty to eat, reasonable economic security, social status, and power. But like Isaiah (Isa. 13:6), James looks with divine foresight and sees the dark hurricane cloud of the Day of the Lord about to strike them down.
5:2–3 The initial warning leads to a vivid description of their misery seen through prophetic eyes. Your wealth has rotted is a general description of their state: All their security, all that their hopes and dreams are built upon, has already rotted, from James’ eternal perspective. This is made specific by naming the two classes of wealth that were commonly saved. First, moths have eaten your clothes. They have had closets full of clothing, which might have been used by the poor, but before they look worn the moths get to them. Today one might as easily say, “Your clothes are hopelessly out of style.” Second, your gold and silver are corroded. They have stored their wealth, but it helps neither them nor the poor, for it is saved for “a rainy day.” Its very tarnish shows it is not needed. Today, when money is stored in banks, one might say, “Your money is devalued by inflation.” James’ teaching is therefore similar to that of Jesus: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves to not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matt. 6:19–21).
This stored wealth has a consequence, for their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. The image is that of the final judgment, as if the tarnished coins and the moth-eaten garments were displayed before the court. The evidence condemns them, for if God had been served, the stored goods would have been used to clothe the naked and feed the hungry. Like the rich man in the parable (Luke 16:19–31), they are flung into hell, “where the fire never goes out” (Mark 9:43). James pictures this as if the very tarnish that ate into their silver now eats into them like fire, perhaps picturing the inward torment of guilt at the wasted treasure that forever condemns them.
In a sense the day of judgment is already present: You have hoarded wealth in the last days. James is convinced that in the coming of Jesus time has been totally altered, for he announced, “the kingdom of God is near” (e.g., Mark 1:15), which indicated that the old age was ending and the new beginning, inaugurating the last days. When the Spirit came at Pentecost, Peter saw it as a sign of the last days, “In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people” (Acts 2:17, as also 2 Tim. 3:1; Heb. 1:2). The end is not a distant future point for the church, for it itself lives in the new life of the coming age, as it serves its king. In this context, the piling up of riches is tragically ironic. The rich gather and invest as if they or their descendants will live forever, yet the last days, the beginning of the end, are already here. James sees as tragic figures well-dressed men and women pondering investments over excellent meals; they act as if they were winners, but in reality have lost the only game that matters.
5:4 Furthermore, James knows accumulated wealth usually indicates injustice, which in Palestine was usually injustice against agricultural workers. Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The Palestinian economy used hired day laborers rather than slaves, partly because a slave would cost more should he or she convert to Judaism. The hired laborers would be the younger sons of peasant families or peasants forced off their land due to the foreclosure of mortgages on their property. These laborers lived a hand-to-mouth existence: Today’s wage bought tomorrow’s breakfast. When the wage was not paid at the end of the day, the whole family went hungry. Despite a host of Old Testament laws (Lev. 19:13; Deut. 24:14–15), ways were found to withhold payment (e.g., Jer. 22:13; Mal. 3:5). One might withhold them until the end of the harvest season to keep the worker coming back, appeal to a technicality to show that the contract was not fulfilled, or just be too tired to pay that night. If the poor worker complained, the landlord could blacklist him; if he went to court the rich had the better lawyers. James pictures the money in the pockets of the rich, money that should have been paid to the laborers, crying out for justice.
The cries have not gone unheard, for the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. Since they are harvesters, there is no excuse that there was no money; there are heaps of grain to be sold. The hungry worker has cried out to the only resource he has—God. By saying the Lord Almighty, James reminds the reader of Isaiah 5:9, where those acquiring large estates are condemned. All Jews knew what happened to those whom Isaiah condemned, and they knew that God’s ears are open to the poor (Pss. 17:1–6; 18:6; 31:2), so James’ statement implies a threat of judgment.
5:5 The rich live in contrast to the suffering of the poor: You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. Many of the rich might have protested that they were simply middle-class and had earned their few pleasures. James looks at them from the perspective of the poor and calls it indulgence, which 1 Timothy 5:6 sees as a vice. And it is indeed indulgence in the face of the suffering of others. To this James adds, You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. The Greek has two meanings. On the one hand, it means: “You have enjoyed yourselves on the day of slaughter.” Since the fresh meat was soon dried or salted, it was customary to have a big barbecue when one slaughtered animals. But on the other hand, James understands the double meaning, which the NIV correctly expresses. The wealthy have plenty to eat; they enjoy life. But it is the biblical day of slaughter, the day God slaughters his enemies (e.g., Isa. 30:33; 34:5–8). They have enjoyed life as if on a day of slaughter, yet ironically they are now the fattened calf and God’s slaughter knife is about to fall.
5:6 To emphasize their impending doom, James adds a final charge: You have condemned and murdered innocent [people], who were not opposing you. The first part of the charge is familiar, for it is a charge of judicial murder, either by active or passive means. Actively the courts are used to have inconvenient righteous people executed. Passively the courts are used to rob the poor of their livelihood by taking their farms or other means of support. It is all “perfectly legal,” and the poor “just happen” to die of diseases related to malnutrition. God calls both types murder.
The last half of the charge is more difficult. It is true that the poor often cannot resist the rich and powerful and so frequently hardly protest. Furthermore, the tradition of the gospel is nonresistance to evil (Matt. 5:39), and this nonresistance might be seen as a sign of the new age and thus of coming doom. But the tone of the passage demands a question: “Do they not resist you?” On earth the poor appear not to resist: The rich do not hear the groaning cry in prayer before the poor person dies. But James knows that that is not the end: In heaven the wronged continue to raise their cry, “How long?” (Rev. 6:9–11), for they have an audience in the very presence of God. This is indeed effective resistance, for God will hear.
James has finished his argument. All that remains for him is to summarize (5:7–11) and to add a proper epistolary conclusion (5:12–20: oaths, health wish, purpose). Here his pastoral heart comes out as he advises the community how to live during these “last days.”
5:7 Be patient is his first advice. Here patience means “enduring,” “keeping steady under provocation.” It is the same as “the ability to endure” of 1:2 or “remains faithful” of 1:12. The answer to unfaithfulness in the community or persecution from without is not to strike back but to continue to be faithful. The life of discipleship is its own witness. Just as patience/endurance (i.e., neither compromise nor confrontation), it is a big demand.
Patience lasts until the Lord’s coming. This does not mean that one should make no efforts to ameliorate conditions beforehand: a faithful witness will help conditions in the world as a demonstration of the new life in Christ, but the hope of the Christian is in the second coming. The world will not be destroyed or evil defeated until Christ returns personally to destroy it, root and branch.
Patience is never easy, especially if one is suffering. To bolster their hopes James uses the example of the farmer. For the Palestinian farmer, the crops were literally his life and were therefore valuable. His energy had gone into plowing, weeding, and chasing birds away. He had sowed seed his family might otherwise have eaten. He had waited patiently for the autumn, or early, rains (October–November) before sowing. After the sowing he waited for the spring, or later, rains (March–April) to ripen the crop. All this time his food supplies were getting lower; it was not uncommon for food to be rationed and the children to be crying from hunger during the month or two before harvest. The later the rains, the worse it was. But with his life in his hands he had to wait for conditions outside his control.
5:8 Christians also must be patient. Like the farmer, the Christian bets his or her life on the outcome of a long wait. Like the farmer, reducing the tension (by compromise or attack) would be self-destructive. The Christian must place all hope in a condition outside his or her control, waiting patiently for the coming of the King.
As they wait they are to stand firm. As they wait doubt must be fought at all costs: The inner defenses must be constantly attended, their hearts must be strengthened in the face of suffering.
As a further encouragement he adds, the Lord’s coming is near. For the rich this is bad news (5:3–5); for believers this is good news. The waiting may still be long, but like a runner who has rounded the last curve on the track and sees the finish line down the interminable straightaway, they can receive a new wind from the vision of the end.
5:9 Having summarized Christian patience as a response to testing, James now summarizes his teaching on speech, commanding, Don’t grumble against each other. The term grumble is “to groan.” A groan might be an appropriate response to suffering (Mark 7:34), but the operant word is against each other. Here the sigh is a complaint against a community member, an overt criticism (4:11), or an eloquent sigh that invites a question, and then a reluctant “since you asked” explanation. However expressed, criticism is a great temptation in a community under pressure, both in terms of displaced hostility or jealousy (because someone has life easier than you). James realized that this was destructive to the community, the solidarity of which was vital to support the Christians during hard times. The reason not to complain is or you will be judged, which draws on the teaching of Jesus: “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged” (Matt. 7:1–2). God will be as harsh on the believer as the believer is harsh on others, and a person can never endure his own criticism, for people frequently criticize their own weaknesses in others. James goes beyond Jesus in arguing that since God in Jesus commands the believer not to judge, the very act of criticizing or complaining is disobedience.
Furthermore James adds: The Judge is standing at the door! The picture is that of Christ standing before a door of the house church, his hand reaching out to lift the latch and open it. This is no time to be caught criticizing one another. Like children in a schoolroom hearing the hoarse whisper “the teacher’s coming,” so the Christians should quiet down. The nearness of Christ’s coming both warns and encourages.
5:10 With the theme of speech summarized, James moves to that of suffering: Take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. By the prophets James includes more than just the writing prophets, but all the worthies, obscure and well known, cited in Jewish martyrologies, as well as in Hebrews 11. By using the phrase who spoke in the name of the Lord, he both excludes false prophets and focuses on the true prophets’ crucial characteristic: They confessed true faith in God by word and deed. There is no need to cite them by name, for Jewish Christians had learned the stories.
The prophets are to be looked at as an example of patience in the face of suffering. Their crucial virtue was the ability to endure, whatever the trials. Whether an Amos commanded not to speak (Amos 7) or an Elijah pursued by Jezebel (1 Kings 19:1ff.) or a Jeremiah imprisoned by King Zedekiah (Jer. 38), these people endured. Reflection on them yields two facts: (1) the lot of a servant of God often involves suffering, and (2) a person can endure the suffering and remain faithful.
5:11 In their own day prophets were regarded as reactionary fossils who did not like the modern trends in worship. They were seen as dangerous visionaries who believed that God, not strategic alliances, would protect the nation. Some were even thought to be weak-kneed traitors who suggested surrender (e.g., Jeremiah). Many people probably said, “I admire his convictions, but he seems to be rather masochistic, virtually demanding martyrdom by going public.” Others were glad when the prophet was dead and gone. The suffering itself was far from glamorous, with no angel choirs lending a glow to the setting. Yet now we consider blessed those who have persevered. Matthew 5:11–12 is the background, for Jesus calls blessed those suffering for good deeds. This is a reversal of the world’s evaluation, and James implies that “the same happiness can be yours.” Since the prophets’ happiness was because they did not give up but persevered, perseverance is also required of Christians. In this vein, Jesus had earlier said that the truly saved is “whoever holds out to the end” (Matt. 10:22; 24:13; Luke 21:19), and Paul will point out that it is those who cross the finish line who gain the prize (1 Cor. 9:24–27; Phil. 3:13–14; cf. 2 Tim. 4:6–8).
As a concrete prophet James cites Job: You have heard of Job’s perseverance, and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The story of Job was a favorite in Jewish circles; he is cited as early as Ezekiel 14:14, 29. By the time of James, many embellished versions existed that enlarged upon the canonical account in two directions: (1) they emphasized Job’s endurance under testing, and (2) they stressed his righteousness, especially his great charity. The important point for James, however, is that as much as Job complained, he refused to give up his trust or to disobey God, and the Lord finally brought about his deliverance. The call to the Christian, then, is not to give up and to lose the reward now, after all that has already been endured, but to keep holding on.
Driving his point home, James adds a single clause: The Lord is full of compassion and mercy. James is citing Ps. 103:8 or 111:4 (probably from memory), and the quotation is most appropriate. God does not like watching people squirm. He would not allow suffering to happen if there were not a far greater good ahead. On this note the summary ends: Trust God and keep on patiently enduring, for the Lord is unimaginably concerned about you.
5:12 James is ready to end his letter, so he puts in his equivalents of the customary endings of a Greek literary letter. The first part of such an ending was frequently an oath to guarantee its truth, so having first used a common ending formula (above all), James takes up the topic: Do not swear. Although the Old Testament regulated oaths and demanded that if one used an oath one must fulfill the promise (e.g., Exod. 20:7), it did not prohibit oaths (cf. Exod. 22:10–11). Throughout the Old Testament period there are a series of warnings against using oaths too lightly (e.g., Jer. 5:2), and later Sirach advised not using oaths, so one would not frivolously use one (23:9, 11). Jesus, however, prohibited all oaths, using the words Do not swear—not by heaven or by earth (the or by anything else in James summarizes the rest of Jesus’ saying in Matt. 5:34–37). James has picked up and summarized the words of Jesus; the readers would recognize the source.
Christians are not to use oaths. Among the common oaths of the day were by heaven or by earth. None are to be used: Let your “Yes” be yes, and your “No,” no. If one resorted to oaths it divided speech into two categories: promises one really meant (guaranteed by an oath) and promises that could not be trusted. The Christian demand is for absolute faithfulness and truthfulness in all speech. There should be no social hypocrisy in which one says something other than what is in the heart. This demand is important, for not to observe it means you will be condemned. God is the guarantor of all speech. He will judge every word. God’s judgment is the standard Christians should fear and observe.
5:13 The second topic of a closing in a Greek letter was health; James pursues it extensively, setting the topic within the context of verbal responses to life. First, is anyone of you in trouble? He should pray. The trouble James refers to is the misfortunes of life: persecutions, like those the prophets suffered (5:10; cf. 5:1–6); external misfortunes, like Job suffered (5:11); or being slandered by a community member (3:1–12; cf. 2:6–7). All of these are external misfortunes, which one could easily see as outside of God’s will, for they stem from the evil in the world and are attacks upon the righteous. The response to such evil is not counterattack (fighting violence with violence) or resignation (as the Stoics advised) but prayer. The psalmist appealed to God to deal with his persecutors (Pss. 30; 50:15; 91:15), and this is also the Christian response.
Second, is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Too often happiness or joy is taken for granted. James reminds Christians that there is a proper use of the tongue in joy as well, for the New Testament constantly commands Christians to be full of the praise of God, at home or at work, as well as in Church (e.g., 1 Cor. 14:15; Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16; Phil. 4:4).
5:14 Third, is any one of you sick? Illness was a far more difficult situation than external suffering. War, persecution, or ostracism can be blamed on human evil, but illness appears outside the human sphere and thus invites the question, “Why did this happen to me?” Or, more pointedly, “What have I done to deserve this?” And the New Testament treats illness using different terminology and a different response than that reserved for suffering (which always means that which one experiences because one is a Christian).
In line with the general New Testament attitude, James responds to the issue of illness quite differently to his response to suffering: He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. This means that prayer again is the response to suffering, but in this case the counseling and prayers of the leaders of the church are involved. The local church was run by a council of elders; some of them would come to the person when requested. It is interesting that the elders are called, not people with a specific gift of healing (as in 1 Cor. 12:9, 28, 30), although healing gifts were not a requirement for selection as elders. Apparently James felt that because of the relationship of healing to pastoral ministry (cf. 5:15), the elders as a body should be involved and were gifted for the task by reason of their office.
When the elders respond, they do two things. First, they pray for the person. This is the activity that receives the stress by being put first. They call upon God to heal the person; they do not heal by their own virtue. Second, they anoint the person with oil in the name of the Lord. Though oil was often used as a medicine (Luke 10:34), this is not presented as a medicinal treatment. Rather, it is an outward and physically perceptible sign of the spiritual power of prayer, as well as a sign of the authority of the healer (Mark 6:13). It corresponds to healing prayer as water does to baptismal prayer. It is done in the name of the Lord, for as in baptism (Acts 2:38), the name of Jesus is invoked in prayer as the power and authority of the act.
5:15 This action will be effective, for the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well. Prayer is the term that covers all of the preceding. Although there was oil and probably laying on of hands, it is not the physical actions that possess potency but the prayer to God, which they physically act out. This prayer is offered in faith: The uttering of even the best and finest prayer is no guarantee of assistance if it does not come from the heart. James had already pointed out that trust in God and obedience to his commands is essential to prayer (1:5–8; 4:1–3), now he applies the teaching. Without the life of commitment to God that the prayer expresses, it will be ineffectual. The faith lies in the elders, not in the sick person (about whose faith nothing is said). The elders’ faith is critical: If something “goes wrong” it is they, not the sick person, who bear the onus.
The promise is the Lord will raise him up. In Greek it is clearly physical healing, not just spiritual preparation for death, that James is concerned with, and it is the Lord’s action that does the healing, not the oil, the hands, or the power of the elders. The Lord remains sovereign: God answers prayer; he is not compelled by prayer.
Finally, If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Sin may well be the underlying reason for the illness, but it is not necessarily the cause. Apparently an opportunity for confession of sins was offered by the elders (this counseling aspect may be why elders in particular were called). The confession was raised to God along with the disease, and the resulting healing confirms that God has forgiven the person. But although such a process should be offered, if no sin is known, that is fine. James’ “If” is an important word, and to push beyond it to demand confession is to violate scripture and pastoral wisdom.
5:16 James summarizes his teaching on healing in two sentences. First, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. Confession of sin is important for healing. Pastors experienced in the Christian healing ministry repeatedly witness to times when the confession of a resentment, a grudge, or an unforgiven injury has lead to physical healing with or without further prayer. But James is generalizing beyond the individual healing situation, for now it is not “to the elders” but to each other that confession is made. The picture is that of a church gathering and the confession of sin to the assembled group. The mutual public confession (supplemented by private confession where public confession would not be appropriate) lays the basis for public prayer, in which people freed from all grudges and resentments, and reconciled through confession and forgiveness, pray for healing for each other. In this kind of atmosphere, the services of the elders at the bedside will rarely be needed.
Second, the prayer of a righteous [person] is powerful and effective. The righteous person is not sinlessly perfect, but is the person who has confessed any known sin and who adheres to the moral standards of the Christian community. With a clear conscience and in unity with God, this person prays a prayer that is powerful and effective. The Greek adds a difficult expression that probably means “when it reaches God and he answers it” (lit. “when it works”). Prayer is not itself powerful; it is not magic. But its power is unlimited in that the child of God calls on a Father of unlimited goodness and ability.
5:17–18 To back up his assertion of the power of prayer, James cites Elijah (1 Kings 17:1–18:46). Though the Old Testament says very little about it, later Jewish tradition focused on Elijah’s prayer. James cites the length of the drought to underline the power of the prayer. Moreover, the prayer was not just destructive but also healing, for he prayed and the drought promptly ended (much more important for the Christians James is addressing, who presumably are interested in healing and thus will be more encouraged by prayer’s causing rain to fall and grass to grow than by its causing a drought).
Furthermore, Elijah was a [person] just like us. In Jewish tradition, as in the Old Testament, Elijah is very human. He is godly, but often falls prey to doubts and depression. Elijah does not stride across the stage of history ten feet tall but as an ordinary man with an extraordinary God. Since he is like us, any Christian, as a person obedient to God, has the same power. The mission may be different, but if simple prayer was enough for Elijah’s great mission, it will surely suffice for that of any believer.
5:19 Finally, James is ready to end the letter, but as he does he follows the customary procedure of stating his purpose. Addressing the believers (my brothers), he proposes to them a situation: if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back. To speak of wandering is to speak of a serious departure from the true faith, such as idolatry (e.g., Isa. 9:16). The Christian life can be described as a way of life opposed to the way of death; to wander from the way of life is to stumble onto the broad road to hell (Matt. 7:13–14). The ways of life and death do not cross, for as James has argued (4:4), the world and God are mutually exclusive. The picture brings John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress to mind.
The truth is not intellectual facts but a way of life. James is not concerned about doctrinal error, the dotting of eschatological i’s or the crossing of ecclesiological t’s, but about one central truth: Jesus is Lord! The whole of the book has been demonstrating what this Lordship means in the concrete life of the people. If Jesus is not obeyed, one has lost the central truth and become entangled in a morass of sin and death.
If a person wanders away, the rest of the community is not just to let him or her go, but to try to bring him back. As Paul (Gal. 6:1) and John (1 John 5:16–17) also taught, the goal is not judgment but restoration. Yet restoration and forgiveness cannot come without repentance (cf. Luke 17:3–4). So the first task is not to “accept” someone as he or she sinks, but to reach out to the person, turn the person, and get him or her back on the path.
5:20 This task of bringing the sinner to repentance will not be without its rewards: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins. James recognizes that the person who has left the truth is a sinner, whose way is in error. The Didache begins, “There are two ways—one of life, and one of death. And there is a great difference between the two ways” (1:1). This sober fact is fundamental, for it comes from Jesus (especially the Sermon on the Mount). Where the distinction between the ways is blurred, no rescue effort can begin.
Furthermore, the sinner’s soul is in danger of death. Though James might mean physical death, which he knows can result from sin (5:14–16; 1 Cor. 11:30), it is far more likely he means spiritual and eternal death (Jude 22–23). James recognizes the seriousness of the person’s situation, and this conviction drives him to a rescue effort. He has written 108 verses to try to rescue some from what he knows is death.
But the story does not end there. The wanderer has been brought back again. God does not desire the sinner’s death, but his or her repentance. God’s grace is still available no matter how much he has been wronged (4:6). The sinner, then, is delivered from death. The jaws of hell snap shut on air as the believer once again walks the way of life. The rescue has resulted in the forgiveness of a multitude of sins, which are covered over, forgotten. The person is not branded in the church as someone who once went astray but is part of a company in which all are forgiven sinners. This is James’ goal in writing. He points out the wrong way in hope that the people will turn back and their sins will be forgotten forever. With this note of grace and forgiveness he ends his work.
Additional Notes
4:13 In Greek the now listen is exactly parallel to the “Now listen” of 5:1, which shows that the two passages fit together.
The merchants were upwardly mobile in Palestine. In that day the oldest son took over the property of his father and younger sons were given money and told to make their own fortune. Trade was the best way to make money. It entailed risk, but it was the only way to get ahead, for small farming was too uncertain and the large population of Palestine put pressure on the land, keeping prices up and interest fairly high. So one took a large stock of goods to a place they were scarce and attempted to trade at a profit for the rare goods of that land (e.g., Matt. 13:45–46). When all had been sold, one took the foreign goods back to Palestine and sold them at a profit. The ideal was to repeat the cycle until one was able to buy a large estate and become part of the landed gentry, who had the highest social status. See further S. W. Baron, A Social and Religious History of the Jews, vol. 1, pp. 255–59; F. C. Grant, The Economic Background of the Gospels, pp. 72–76. and J. Jeremias, Jerusalem in the Time of Jesus, pp. 30–57, 195.
4:14 The idea that life is like a mist was common in the ancient world. The Old Testament uses the image frequently (Job 7:7, 9, 16; Ps. 39:5–6; Prov. 27:1; Eccles. 8:7), as did the intertestamental wisdom tradition (Sirach 11:18–19; Wisdom 2:1–2; 3:14); 1 Clement quotes a similar saying (17:6). Though the teaching of Jesus might be the immediate basis of this teaching, it draws on a widespread biblical background.
4:15 Many Greek and Jewish writers knew the wisdom of if it is the Lord’s will. The late first-century rabbi Jose said, “Let all thy actions be to the Name of Heaven” (m. Aboth 2:16, cf. 2:14). A confession of this truth occurs in a Dead Sea Scroll (1 QS 11:10–11). Ignatius said the same years later (To the Ephesians 10:1). See further G. Schrenk, “Thelō,” TDNT, vol. 3, p. 47.
4:16 The term boast is rarely used in the New Testament in this form (only in 1 John 2:16), although the same phrase, proud and you boast or boast in your pride, is found in 1 Clement 21:5. Yet a related word for pride appears in two New Testament vice lists (Rom. 1:30 and 2 Tim. 3:2) as well as in the Greek Old Testament (Job 28:2; Prov. 21:24; 2 Macc. 9:8). It is always a vice, never a virtue; it is closely related to boasting in all New Testament contexts, as pride and conceit normally are related. John makes it a characteristic of the world (1 John 2:16). In secular Greek the emptiness of the boast becomes clear, for it designates primarily the person who claims an ability or virtue he or she does not have. See further G. Delling, “Alazon,” TDNT, vol. 1, pp. 226–27; and E. Gutting and C. Brown, “Pride” NIDNTT, vol. 3, pp. 28–32.
Boasting is rarely virtuous. One may boast legitimately in God, in suffering and humiliation, or in service (Rom. 5:2–3; 1 Cor 13:3b; Phil. 2:16; 1 Thess. 2:9; cf. 1 Clement 21:5), but most boasting is an evil self-sufficiency (Rom 3:27; 4:2; 1 Cor. 1:20; 5:6; Gal. 6:13–14). See also the comment on James 3:14.
4:17 The teaching about not doing good that it is possible to do is also in the Old Testament (e.g., Job 31:16–20) and is based on teachings such as Deut. 15:7–11. It is the basis of the parable of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19–31), for the rich man is condemned to hell simply because there was a need at his gate that he could have met but did not; he should have known better from the Old Testament.
The ability of business to distract a person from proper devotion was proverbial in James’ day: Sirach 11:10; 31:5–11 (“he who pursues money will be led astray by it”). That may be why Agur asks for neither poverty nor wealth (Prov. 30:7–9).
5:1 In addressing you rich people James goes beyond the warnings of Wisdom 2 and Hermas Vision 3.9.3–6, which both see the danger of wealth, and reaches the “how terrible for you who are rich now” of Jesus (Luke 6:24) and the “woe to you, you rich, for you have trusted in your riches, and from your riches shall you depart,” of 1 Enoch 94:8 (cf. 94:6–97:10). For James, as for Jesus, hoarded wealth is evil.
Weep in the Old Testament comes in the face of disaster (Lam. 1:1–2; Jer. 9:1; 13:17) The term wail is not found elsewhere in the New Testament but is frequent in Old Testament prophets (e.g., Isa. 10:1; 14:31; Jer. 31:20, 31; Ezek. 21:12; Hos. 7:14; Amos 8:3). See further H. W. Heidland, “Ololyzō,” TDNT, vol. 5, pp. 173–74.
Misery is another prophetic term, used elsewhere in the New Testament in Rom. 3:16 (quoting Isa. 59:7; cf. Isa. 47:11; Jer. 6:7, 26). A related term appears in James 4:9. Like Amos (6:1–9) or Jesus (Matt 8:12; 13:42; 19:24), James sees beyond the present comfortable state of the rich and calls for mourning in the face of impending misery.
5:2–3 The images in these verses are traditional in the intertestamental tradition. “To rot” is found in Sirach 14:19 and Baruch 6:72; moths have eaten occurs in Job 13:28; Prov. 25:20; Isa. 33:1; 50:9; Sirach 42:13; and corroded occurs in Sirach 12:11; 29:10; Baruch 6:12, 24. James knew gold and silver did not rust, but they would build up heavy tarnish. So the analogy was used, in the tradition, for stored and useless money: “Help a poor man for the commandment’s sake.… Lose your silver for the sake of a brother or a friend, and do not let it rust under a stone and be lost. Lay up your treasure according to the commandment of the Most High [i.e., give it away in charity] and it will profit you more than gold. Store up almsgiving in your treasure, and it will rescue you from all affliction” (Sirach 29:8–13; cf. Matt. 6:19–21 and Luke 12:13–34). James applies Jesus’ teaching about the rich man in Luke 16: The stored wealth is not just lost; it will condemn the person to hell. See further, P. H. Davids, “The New Testament Foundation for Living More Simply,” in Living More Simply, R. Sider, ed., (Downers Grove, Ill.: Inter-Varsity Press, 1980).
The connection of eat your flesh like fire with final judgment is made in Judith 16:17: “The Lord Almighty will take vengeance on them in the day of judgment; fire and worms he will give to their flesh; they shall weep in pain for ever”; cf. Num. 12:12; Isa. 30:27; Ezek. 7:19; 15:7; Amos 1:12; 5:6; Wisdom 1:18; Acts 11:5. The flesh means the whole person (Lev. 26:29; Job 4:15). Fire, as a metaphor for hell, comes from the teaching of Jesus (e.g., Matt. 25:41) and later apocalyptic works (2 Pet. 3:7; Jude 23; Rev. 11:5; 20:9). See H. Bietenhard, “Fire,” NIDNTT, vol. 1, pp. 652–58; and “Hell,” NIDNTT, vol. 2, pp. 205–10.
The last days, meaning judgment and the day of God’s action, is drawn from the Old Testament: Isa. 2:2; Jer. 23:20; Ezek. 38:16; Dan. 2:28; Hos. 3:5. This idea is foundational to the tension in James, for whom the judge is “at the door” (5:8–9). See further S. S. Laws, James, pp. 198–99; O. Cullmann, Christ and Time; or G. E. Ladd, The Presence of the Future (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1974) or A Theology of the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans), pp. 57–80, 91–119, 193–212.
5:4 The workmen who mowed your fields also appear in Jesus’ parables (Matt. 9:37; 10:10; Mark 1:20; Luke 10:2; 15:17). In the Old Testament righteous people might protest that they always paid their workers on time (Job 7:1–2; 24:10; 31:13, 38–40).
The cries are cries for justice (Gen. 4:10; Exod. 2:20; 1 Sam. 9:16; Ps. 12:5; Rev. 6:9–10; Hermas Vision 3.9.6).
The Lord Almighty is a term characteristic of Isaiah, who uses it sixty-one times, versus nine times in the rest of the Old Testament.
The charge of withholding wages may be intended literally, or it may stand as a typical example of a class of abuses, including building large estates (Isa. 5:7–9; Mark 12:40; Luke 20:47).
5:5 Luxury and self-indulgence are condemned throughout scripture (Ezek. 16:49; Amos 2:6–8; 8:4–6; Luke 16:19–31). James uses the same word Jesus used to describe the lifestyle of the rich man in Luke 16 (cf. 1 Enoch 98:11; 102:9–10; Hermas Similitude 6.1.6; 6.2.6; Barnabas 10.3).
On fattened yourselves as an image of indulging pleasures, see Isa. 6:10; Ps. 104:15; Mark 7:21; Luke 21:34; and T. Sorg, “Heart,” NIDNTT, vol. 2, p. 182.
The day of slaughter occurs in Jer. 46:10; 50:26–27; Ezek. 39:17; Pss. 22:29; 37:20; 49:14; Rev. 19:17–21. In 1 Enoch the judgment on the rich is described, “Ye … have become ready for the day of slaughter, and the day of darkness and the day of the great judgment” (1 Enoch 94:9; cf. 97:8–10; 99:15; Jubilees 36:9–10). The Dead Sea Scrolls speak of it as “the day of massacre” (1 QH 15:17–18).
5:6 The concept of judicial condemnation (condemned and murdered) is frequent in the Old Testament: Pss. 10:8–9; 37:14, 32; Prov. 1:11–14; Isa. 3:13–15; 57:1; Amos 2:6; 5:12. Wisdom 2:20, “Let us condemn [the righteous] to a shameful death, for according to what he says, he will be protected,” has been seen by some commentators as the source of this verse in James. The theme is close to James, but there are no verbal parallels to prove literary dependence. Much of the tradition sounds as if murder of the poor were involved. Many of these passages are poetic (e.g., Ps. 10) and may give God’s view of a matter that the people saw differently. Some poor suffered like Naboth (1 Kings 21), but far more suffered from legal confiscation of goods (as in Isa. 3), which only God saw as unjust and immoral. This was frequently termed “murder” in Jewish tradition (e.g., Sirach 34:21–22: “the bread of the needy is the life of the poor; whoever deprives them of it is a man of blood. To take away a neighbor’s living is to murder him; to deprive an employee of his wages is to shed blood.”)
The term innocent [people] is actually singular. The NIV correctly reads it as a collective noun, but because of its singular form, some few commentators have felt it referred to a specific righteous person, either Jesus (as in Acts 3:14; 7:52; 22:14) or James (called “the Just” or “the righteous” in Eusebius’ Ecclesiastical History 2.23). But the strength of the Old Testament parallels is so strong that it is far more probable that the reference is to the suffering Christian poor viewed generically. See further S. S. Laws, James, pp. 204–6.
The who were not opposing you again has a “he” (singular), not a “they” (plural). The NIV reads it as a collective. As an alternative it has “Will God [i.e., he] not resist you?” Others have suggested, “Did [or does] he [i.e., Christ] resist you?” Whereas this commentary suggests “Do they not resist you?” The problem is that the “he” is ambiguous and in Greek only context can differentiate a question from a statement. There is a strong teaching of nonresistance in scripture (Isa. 53:7; Matt. 5:39; Rom. 12:19; 1 Pet. 2:23; cf. Hermas Mandate 8.10, where “resist no one” is a “good thing” pointing to salvation), which led to the pacifist tradition of the early church (see J. M. Hornus, It Is Not Lawful for Me to Fight [Scottdale, Penn.: Herald Press, 1980]). Yet though James clearly does not expect the Christians to resist (cf. 5:7) but to suffer patiently (itself a warning that the new age had dawned), given the Rev. 6 passage and the lack of a clear interpretation of nonresistance in James, it is more likely that heavenly resistance is in mind.
5:7 Although a different word for patient is used here than in 1:2, 12 (makrothymē vs. hypomenō), the two terms are used in parallel in Col. 1:11. Thus, as in 4:1–3 vs. 1:13–15 there is variety in vocabulary as sources change but similarity in content. Patience is a frequent demand in scripture, e.g., Rom. 12:1–21; Heb. 6:12, 15; 10:32–39; 12:1–24; 1 Pet. 4:12–19; Rev. 13:10; 14:12. The Christian is not called to destroy the world, but to endure its attacks and overcome it by the power of the Spirit. See further U. Falkenroth and C. Brown, “Patience,” NIDNTT, vol. 2, pp. 768–76.
Until the Lord’s coming has sometimes been seen as God’s coming, as in 1 Enoch 92–105. However, by the time of James the term parousia had become a technical term for Christ’s coming: Matt. 24:3, 27, 37, 39; 1 Cor. 15:23; 1 Thess. 2:19; 5:23; 2 Thess. 2:1; 2 Pet. 1:16; 3:4; 1 John 2:28. Thus it would be unusual if it suddenly changed here to mean God’s coming. The fact that James does also refer to God as judge in 4:1–5 is not a real problem. Those who urge this objection fail to note two things: Revelation, John, and other works refer to God as judge and then shift to speak of Christ as judge; and James 5:6 marks the end of a major section. For the various positions, see further G. Braumann, “Present,” NIDNTT, vol. 2, pp. 898–901; M. Dibelius, James, pp. 242–43; S. S. Laws, James, pp. 208–9.
The autumn and spring rains are characteristic of the east end of the Mediterranean south of the Taurus Mountains. The further south one goes, the less reliable and more important these rains are. Though mentioned in the Old Testament (Deut. 11:14; Jer. 5:24; Hosea 6:3; Joel 2:24; Zech. 10:1), there is no evidence that James has a specific scriptural passage in mind. See further D. Baly, The Geography of the Bible, pp. 47–52.
5:8 Stand firm is a translation of the idea found in Pss. 57:7; 90:17; Rom. 1:11; 1 Thess. 3:13; 2 Thess. 2:17; Heb. 13:9. The idea of internal stamina and strengthening must somehow be included, even if the more literal “strengthen” or “establish your hearts” is unacceptable in a modern English version. See further G. Harder, Sterizō, TDNT, vol. 7, pp. 655–57.
The is near formula occurs frequently outside the Gospels for the coming of the Lord: Rom. 13:12; Heb. 10:25; 1 Pet. 4:7. These are not so much time references as indications of immanence: “be prepared,” “hold on.”
5:9 The term to grumble (lit. “groan”) is frequently found in the Greek Old Testament in Job and the prophets. In the New Testament the creation groans (Rom. 8:23) and Christians (including Paul) groan (2 Cor. 5:2). But Christians must not make others groan (Heb. 13:17).
In or you will be judged James shows a typical use of the Jesus teaching tradition. In a similar manner in 1 Cor. 7:10, Paul takes a teaching of Jesus and applies it pastorally in two ways. First, it binds a couple within the church so that Paul permits no divorce. Separation may be necessary, but it can never be recognized as permanent (therefore no remarriage is allowed), for Jesus’ word is authoritative. But second, when one of the partners is outside the church and church discipline, Paul must extend the implication of Jesus’ teaching. The Christian must not end the marriage, but he or she is not bound if the other partner does. This illustrates the application of Jesus’ teaching to a new situation. James takes Jesus’ teaching in Matt. 7:1 and draws an implication in another direction. If Jesus taught that Christians should not judge, then they will be judged for the act of judging.
That the Judge is standing at the door! is a typical New Testament teaching with respect to both the judgment of believers (1 Cor. 3:10–17; 2 Cor. 5:10) and the imminence of judgment (Matt. 24:33, 45–51; Mark 13:29, 34–37; Luke 12:42–46; Rev. 3:3, 20). This tension is a motivation in the Christian life.
5:10 In take the prophets James presents the numerous lists in canonical and extracanonical literature: 1 Macc. 2:49–64; Sirach 44–50; Jubilees; Matt. 23:29–31; Heb. 11. Other apocryphal books (e.g., the Martyrdom of Isaiah) reported tales of deaths of prophets. All of this material, along with histories (2 and 4 Maccabees are extensive martyrologies), played the same role that Foxe’s Book of Martyrs or The Martyr’s Mirror played for past generations of Christians. Significantly, James does not cite Christian martyrs, which means he is too early for a large number of such stories to exist.
5:11 The blessedness of those who persevered is a key theme in scripture. The term for “persevere” here is the same one found in 1:12 and also in 4 Macc. 7:22. See further N. Becker, “Blessing,” NIDNTT, vol. 1, pp. 215–18 and F. Hauck, “Hypomenō,” TDNT, vol. 4, pp. 585–88.
Job is mentioned in Testament of Abraham 15:10 and 1 Clement 17 as an example, but the full extent of the tradition appears in the Greek Testament of Job, which James may never have seen but which contains oral traditions he surely knew. The whole Testament revolves around patient endurance. The Testament also underlines Job’s charity (cf. Job 29:12–17; 31:16–23) and stresses his sufferings as a test from Satan, similar to the tradition of the testing of Abraham. Thus the allusion to Job catches up the theme of James 2. See further P. H. Davids, “Tradition and Citation in the Epistle of James.”
The phrase for what the Lord finally brought about is simply, “the end of the Lord.” Some believe this end refers to the coming of Christ, others that the end refers to the results of Christ’s sufferings. In both these cases Lord must mean “Christ.” Most likely, however, in the context of Job, Lord means “God” and the end is how God cared for Job in Job 42.
The term full of compassion is found in the New Testament only here. It is an intensive term created by the early church to express God’s compassion (cf. Rom 8:28ff.). The term is stronger than the word used in the Greek Old Testament in the Psalms (103:8; 111:4). It occurs later in Hermas (Vision 1.3.2; 2.2.8; 4.2.3; Mandate 4.3.5; 9.2) and other early Christian literature.
5:12 Though the Old Testament regulates swearing and oaths (Lev. 19:12; Num. 30:3) and God swears oaths (Num. 14:21; Deut. 4:31; 7:8), they were a constant problem during the Old Testament period (Jer. 7:9; Hos. 4:2; Zech. 5:3–4; Mal. 3:5). The Greeks had similar problems. In the Dead Sea Scrolls almost all oaths were prohibited. Paul still uses oaths in the New Testament (Rom. 1:9; Gal. 1:20; 2 Cor. 1:23; 11:11; Phil. 1:8; 1 Thess. 2:5, 10), although he uses them, not to imply he might not be speaking truth elsewhere, but to state that no matter how unbelievable his point might seem God knew it was true. Paul is so far from having two levels of truthfulness in language that in 2 Cor. 1:5–2:4 he defends himself for changing travel plans. Once he announced the plans he was bound by them unless other, then unknown, weighty matters came up later.
Jesus’ saying in the Greek text and in some translations has a doubled Yes, and No. Some argue that this is a substitute oath; “yes, yes” is a firm promise, “yes” is not. But the NIV correctly understands Matt. 5:34–37, for in Jewish parallels the “yes-yes” formula means that one’s outer “yes” should match an inner-heart “yes,” i.e., there should be absolute truthfulness and no hypocrisy. James’ verbal differences from Matthew simply show that he has a variant version of the oral tradition.
See further S. S. Laws, James, pp. 219–24; H. G. Link, “Swear,” NIDNTT, vol. 3, pp. 737–43; P. Minear, “Yes or No, the Demand for Honesty in the Early Church”; J. Schneider, “Omnyō,” TDNT, vol. 5, pp. 176–85; and “Horkos,” TDNT, vol. 5, pp. 459–61.
5:13 The word for trouble refers to the inner experience of misfortune or misadventure. For example, Josephus uses it for military reverses. See further W. Michaelis, “Kakopatheō,” TDNT, vol. 5, pp. 936–37.
Sing songs of praise is used fifty-six times in the Greek Old Testament, originally meaning a song with string accompaniment (Pss. 33:2, 3; 98:4, 5; 147:7; 149:3). Later it meant any song of praise (Pss. 7:17; 9:2). In the New Testament one might sing praises in painful circumstances (Acts 5:41; 16:25) as well as in more comfortable circumstances (1 Cor. 14:15). Songs might be Old Testament psalms, traditional hymns (e.g., 1 Tim. 3:16), or improvised (1 Cor. 14:15; Eph. 5:19–20). The important thing was to be constantly thankful to God for whatever blessings one had (Phil. 4:4, 6; 1 Thess. 5:16–18).
5:14 On the differential attitude towards suffering and sickness in the New Testament see P. H. Davids, “Suffering and Illness in the New Testament,” in Understanding Power Evangelism (forthcoming; title tentative), eds. Douglas Pennoyer and C. Peter Wagner (Ventura, Calif.: Regal Books, 1989).
Both Old Testament Judaism (Exod. 3:16; Ezra 10:14) and New Testament Judaism (Matt. 26:3; cf. Susanna 5, 29, 34) were governed by elders. Each synagogue, town, and national unit had its elders. The early church borrowed this organization; hence Paul appointed elders under the inspiration of the Spirit (Acts 11:30; 14:23; 15:2; 20:17). Later writings indicate the standards for selection of elders and their proper functions (1 Tim. 3; 5:17; Titus 1:5; 1 Pet. 5:1; 2 John 1). Thus the readers of the epistle would have been very familiar with elders as the leaders of their local congregation and of the church of a citywide area (a group of house churches, none of which had more than forty to sixty members). See further G. Bornkamm, “Presbyteros,” TDNT, vol. 6, pp. 651–83, and L. Coenen, “Bishop,” NIDNTT, vol. 1, pp. 192–201.
Praying over him is prayer at the bedside in the hearing of the person, probably including the laying of hands upon the person.
The oil (olive oil) is not the medicinal oil of Isa. 1:6 or Jer. 8:22 or other Jewish and Greek sources, although it may be related to the heavenly “oil of gladness” of the coming age (Isa. 61:3). It is an important part of the rite of healing, as water is of baptism, and thus has been retained to this day in the more formalized rites of healing of the more liturgical churches (as in the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer, pp. 455–56). In those rites, however, it runs the risk of taking on a magical power, an idea foreign to James, who never blesses the oil but simply calls upon God. See further H. Schlier, “Aleiphō,” TDNT, vol. 1, pp. 230–32. On healing in general see F. MacNutt, Healing (Notre Dame, Ind.: Ave Maria Press, 1974) and The Power to Heal (Notre Dame, Ind.: Ave Maria Press, 1977); and Roy Lawrence, Christian Healing Rediscovered (Downers Grove, Ill.: Inter-Varsity Press, 1980); even more up-to-date and practical are K. Blue, Authority to Heal (Downers Grove, Ill.: Inter-Varsity Press, 1987) and J. Wimber, Power Healing (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1986).
The name of the Lord was named over people in baptism (Acts 8:16; 10:48; 19:5; cf. Matt. 28:19), healing, and exorcism (Mark 9:38; Luke 10:17; Acts 3:6, 16; 4:7; 9:34). It was a calling out of the name of Jesus to ask him to intervene as appropriate: initiate the candidate into his church, heal, or drive out the demon. Thus it was an act that showed it was God’s power doing the work and at the same time opened the situation to God’s power. See further H. Bietenhard, “Onoma,” TDNT, vol. 5, p. 277; M. Kelsey, Healing and Christianity, pp. 104–99; and S. S. Laws, James, pp. 225–32.
5:15 The relationship of faith to prayer is also important for Mark 2:5; 5:34; 10:52; and Acts 14:9. The locus of faith in most Gospel miracles and many miracles in Acts is in the person who prays (normally Jesus); only rarely is the person who is healed said to have faith. Rejection of Christ prevents healing, but the amount of faith in the patient is biblically unimportant.
Scripture teaches that sin can cause illness, but it also teaches that not all illness is caused by sin (2 Kings 19:15–19; 20:3; Job; Mark 2:5; John 5:14; 9:2–3; 1 Cor. 11:30). Thus James uses a conditional clause: “if he may have committed sin.” Total healing will include the forgiveness of sin (Matt. 12:32; Mark 2:5; Luke 12:10), so the opportunity for examination, confession, and a declaration of forgiveness should be offered. The rabbinic advice “if a person is visited by painful sufferings, let him examine himself” (b. Berakoth 5a) is still good for the Christian, but where dutiful self-examination reveals nothing, the person should remember Job. The rabbis also taught there were chastisements of love (undeserved sufferings) as well as chastisements of reproof (suffering deserved due to sin).
5:16 The Old Testament is full of confessions. Many of the psalms, for example, are public confessions of sin, often with a response of forgiveness and healing. See Lev. 5:5; Num. 5:7; Job 33:26–28; Pss. 32:5; 38:3–4; 40:12; 51:2–5; Prov. 20:9; 28:13. There were also prayers of confession for the community (Lev. 16:21; 26:40; Dan. 9:4–10). The intertestamental period continued this tradition (Psalms of Solomon 9:6; Judith 9:1–14; Tobit 3:1–6; 3 Macc. 2:2–20; 6:2–15). The Dead Sea Scrolls prescribed confession before the community (1 QS 1:23–2:1; CD 20). All of this forms the background to early Christianity, in which John the Baptist began with public confession (Matt. 3:6; Mark 1:5), church discipline demanded confession (Matt. 18:15–22; Gal. 6:1–3), and the documents of the New Testament witness to it (Acts 19:18; 1 John 1:9). In the postapostolic church, public confession of sin continued, particularly as a prelude to prayer (1 Clement 51:3; Didache 4:14; Barnabas 19:12; Hermas Visions 1.1.3; 3.1.5–6; Similitude 9.23.4). If the later church forgot forgiveness, became prudish in what it described as sin, and then formalized, ritualized, and individualized confession, this should not obscure the healthiness of the early practice. Confession leads to forgiveness (for the forgiver as well as the sinner, Matt. 6:14–15), and this leads to health in general (1 Cor. 11:30–32; 1 John 5:16–17). This relationship between confession, public and private; discipline; forgiveness; and health must not be forgotten. See further M. Jeschke, Disciplining the Brother (Scottdale, Penn.: Herald Press, 1979).
The righteous person is not a specially holy person but the community member who has confessed his or her sins and so is living in harmony with God. In the Old Testament many people are declared righteous (Gen. 18:16–33; 20:7; Num. 21:7; Job 42:8; Jer. 15:1), but the same is true in the New Testament (Matt. 1:19; Heb. 12:23; 1 Pet. 4:18; 1 John 3:7; Rev. 22:11). See further H. Seebass and C. Brown, “Righteousness,” NIDNTT, vol. 3, pp. 358–77.
The final word in the verse is a participle, energoumenē (NIV effective). A study of S. S. Laws, James, p. 234; J. H. Ropes, James, p. 309; J. B. Mayor, James, p. 177–79; and J. B. Adamson, James, p. 199, reveals as many attempts to interpret the word as there are commentators. James is surely not referring to how hard one prays (Laws), but more likely to the effectiveness of prayer (Mayor).
5:17–18 Elijah prays in 1 Kings 17:20–22, but that is in a story other than the one cited. Yet by the time of 2 Esdras 7:109, he is a powerful man of prayer: “and Elijah [prayed] for those who received the rain, and for one who was dead, that he might live.” Later Jewish tradition presents him as an intercessor for Israel who occasionally returns to earth. See further P. H. Davids, “Tradition and Interpretation in the Epistle of James,” pp. 119–21; and J. Jeremias, “Elias,” TDNT, vol. 2, pp. 929–30.
The three and a half years (cf. Luke 4:25) are not in the Old Testament but come from tradition, perhaps as one-half of seven, the standard period of judgment (Gen. 41:25–36; Dan. 7:25; 12:7; Rev. 11:2; 12:14). Thus it is a symbolic round figure.
5:19 On the structure of the epistle, see the Introduction and F. O. Francis, “The Form and Function of the Opening and Closing paragraphs of James and 1 John.”
In the Old Testament wander was frequently used for serious error: Prov. 14:8; Jer. 23:17; Ezek. 33:10; 34:4. It is similarly used in the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs. This sense of a moral departure from the faith (often due to demonic entrapment) also is frequent in the New Testament: Matt. 18:12–13; 24:4–5, 11; Mark 12:24; 13:5–6; Rom. 1:27; Eph. 4:14; 2 Thess. 2:11; 2 Tim. 3:13; Titus 3:3; 1 Pet. 2:25; 2 Pet. 2:15–18; 1 John 2:26; 4:6; Rev. 2:20. The early church took most seriously a consistent moral departure from its standards, whether over money, speech (gossip), food (gluttony, intoxication), anger, or sex. These were all grounds for excommunication. See further M. Jeschke, Disciplining the Brother; and W. Gunther, “Lead Astray,” NIDNTT, vol. 2, pp. 457–61.
Truth was a way to live in Judaism (Pss. 25:4–5; 26:3; 86:11), as it is in the New Testament (Matt. 22:16; John 3:21; 14:6; Rom. 1:18; Eph. 6:14; 1 Pet. 1:22; 1 John 1:6). This is clear in 1 John where the phrase “doing the truth” occurs. The truth is not so much believed as acted upon.
To bring him back is literally “to cause him to turn around.” It is an “about-face,” which is the way scripture usually pictures repentance (Isa. 6:10; Ezek. 33:11; Acts 3:19; 9:35; 2 Cor. 3:16). The person must be brought to recognize the error of the wrong way of life, to reject that life, and to reverse course and begin following the correct way of life. People are encouraged to help in this process from Leviticus (19:17) to Jude (23). See further Ps. 51:13; Ezek. 3:17–21; 33:7–9; 1 Thess. 5:14; 2 Thess. 3:15; 2 Tim. 2:25; 1 John 5:16; and F. Laubach, “Conversion,” NIDNTT, vol. 1, pp. 353–55.
5:20 The idea of death as the penalty for sin is usually that of eternal judgment: Deut. 30:19; Job 8:13; Pss. 1:6; 2:12; Prov. 2:18; 14:12; Jer. 23:12. The soul is not a part of the person, but the whole person, physical and spiritual. See further C. Brown, “Soul,” NIDNTT, vol. 3, pp. 676–89; W. Schmithals, “Death,” NIDNTT, vol. 1, pp. 430–41.
The covering over a multitude of sins means to forgive, pictured as cultic atonement (i.e., sins are covered by sacrificial blood): Pss. 32:1; 85:2; Dan. 4:24; Rom. 4:7. The multitude of sins is not to stress the wickedness of the sinner but the extent of God’s grace (Ps. 85:2, Ezek. 28:17). A related expression from Prov. 10:12, “Love covers over all wrongs” or “Love covers a multitude of sins,” is quoted in 1 Pet. 4:8. It became a favorite of the church fathers, who believed Jesus coined James’ version of the saying.
The one problematic issue in this verse is whether the action will save him [that sinner] or him [the rescuer]. The Greek is not clear, but the NIV has probably made the correct choice. There is a scriptural tradition that places responsibility on the rescuer (Ezek. 3:18–21; 33:9; 1 Tim. 4:16); to callously watch someone go to his or her death spiritually (and often physically as well) without trying to warn that person is to endanger your own soul, for now you are the one outside of the way of Jesus, who never failed to warn and save people. This may not be James’ meaning (although M. Dibelius, James, pp. 258–60, and S. S. Laws, James, pp. 240–41, believe it is), but it is in scripture and may well have motivated him to do the act of warning and rescue that is his Epistle.
Understanding the Bible Commentary Series by Peter H. Davids, Baker Publishing Group, 2016
Direct Matches
Israel shared the cosmology of its ancient Near Eastern neighbors. This worldview understood the earth as a “disk” upon the primeval waters (Job 38:13; Isa. 40:22), with the earth having four rims or “corners” (Ps. 135:7; Isa. 11:12). These rims were sealed at the horizon to prevent the influx of cosmic waters. God speaks to Job about the dawn grasping the edges of the earth and shaking the evil people out of it (Job 38:12 13).
Israel’s promised land was built on the sanctuary prototype of Eden (Gen. 13:10; Deut. 6:3; 31:20); both were defined by divine blessing, fertility, legal instruction, secure boundaries, and were orienting points for the world. Canaan was Israel’s new paradise, “flowing with milk and honey” (Exod. 3:8; Num. 13:27). Conversely, the lack of fertile land was tantamount to insecurity and judgment. As Eden illustrated for Israel, any rupture of relationship with God brought alienation between humans, God, and the land; this could ultimately bring exile, as an ethically nauseated land “vomits” people out (Lev. 18:25, 28; 20:22; see also Deut. 4; 30).
For Israel, land involved both God’s covenant promise (Gen. 15:18–21; 35:9–12) and the nation’s faithful obedience (Gen. 17:1; Exod. 19:5; 1 Kings 2:1–4). Yahweh was the earth’s Lord (Ps. 97:5), Judge (Gen. 18:25), and King (Ps. 47:2, 7). Both owner and giver, he was the supreme landlord, who gifted the land to Israel (Exod. 19:5; Lev. 25:23; Josh. 22:19; Ps. 24:1). The land was God’s “inheritance” to give (1 Sam. 26:19; 2 Sam. 14:16; Ps. 79:1; Jer. 2:7). The Levites, however, did not receive an allotment of land as did the other tribes, since God was their “portion” (Num. 18:20; Ps. 73:26). Israel’s obedience was necessary both to enter and to occupy the land (Deut. 8:1–3; 11:8–9; 21:1; 27:1–3). Ironically, the earth swallowed rebellious Israelites when they accused Moses of bringing them “up out of a land flowing with milk and honey” (Num. 16:13). As the conquest shows, however, no tribe was completely obedient, taking its full “inheritance” (Josh. 13:1).
The Bible contains many references to minerals and metals. Minerals can encompass a wide array of topics, thus the focus here is on valuable minerals such as ornamental stones as well as precious and useful metals.
Copper. References to copper within the Bible are few. Several passages discuss the basic origins of copper, such as the gathering of ore or the smelting process (Deut. 8:9; Job 28:2; Ezek. 22:18, 20; 24:11). Several NT passages acknowledge the presence of minted copper coins as currency (Matt. 10:9; Mark 12:42; Luke 21:2). Pure copper, however, was hard to use, although it could be combined with tin to make the alloy bronze.
Bronze. The first biblical reference to bronze is found in Gen. 4:22, in which we are told that Tubal-Cain forged tools out of bronze and iron. Next, bronze is mentioned in its use in the tabernacle built in the desert. Among the bronze items included were the many bronze clasps and bases for the tent construction (Exod. 26:11, 37; 27:10 11, 17–19). The altar and all its utensils were made of, or overlaid with, bronze (27:1–8). God also instructed Moses to make a bronze basin for washing (30:18). Moses also made a snake out of bronze and placed it on top of his staff when the Israelites were struck with an abundance of venomous snakes (Num. 21:9). Samson was bound with shackles of bronze (Judg. 16:21), and Goliath wore armor and carried weapons of bronze (1 Sam. 17:5–6). Solomon used an extensive amount of bronze in his building of the temple (2 Kings 25:16), and there was bronze in the statue that Daniel dreamed of (Dan. 2:32, 35). Many of the prophets used bronze as a way to discuss something that was to be strong or strengthened by God (Isa. 45:2; Jer. 1:18; Ezek. 40:3).
Iron and steel. One of the earliest references to iron in Scripture is its use by the Canaanites to make chariots (Josh. 17:16, 18). This would have been an early use of the metal in the Iron Age I period (1200–1000 BC). Also, Goliath’s spear, which was as big as a weaver’s rod, is said to have had a head made of iron (1 Sam. 17:7). Elisha’s miracle of making a borrowed ax head float (2 Kings 6:6) shows the continued value of the metal. In his latter days, David amassed iron among the goods to give Solomon to use in building the temple (1 Chron. 22:14; 29:2); Solomon later used these materials with the help of Huram-Abi (2 Chron. 2:13–14). Ezekiel discusses the economic value of iron in the context of trading (Ezek. 27:12, 19), and Daniel uses it as a metaphor for discussing strength (Dan. 2:40–41). The NT recognizes the strength of iron when discussing Christ’s iron scepter (Rev. 2:27; 19:15).
Tin. Tin was initially used mainly to produce the copper alloy bronze. Tin was not used in its pure form until well into the Roman period, and even then seldom by itself. The sources of tin in the ancient world are currently debated. The tin from large deposits in Tarshish in southern Spain (Ezek. 27:12) was available through Phoenician traders. Tin is also found in large deposits in Anatolia, but it is currently unknown whether these deposits had been discovered and used during biblical times. A third option is modern-day Afghanistan. Archaeologists have discovered in modern Turkey the remains of a wrecked ship, dated to around 1350 BC, that was carrying ten tons of copper ingots and about one ton of tin ingots. These ingots possibly originated in the area of modern-day Afghanistan and were bound for the Mediterranean trade routes. Tin is mentioned only four times in Scripture, always within a list of other metals (Num. 31:22; Ezek. 22:18, 20; 27:12).
Lead. Lead was used early in human history, but its applications were few. It would have been mined with copper and silver ore and then extracted as a by-product. The Romans used it for various implements, most notably wine vessels. It is referenced nine times within Scripture, either in a list or in reference to its weight. The only two times it is referenced as an object is when Job mentions a lead writing implement (Job 19:24), and when Zechariah has the vision of a woman sitting in the basket with a lead cover (Zech. 5:7, 8).
Gold and silver. Sought after for much of human history, gold and silver have been worked by humans for their ornamental value. The practical uses of these metals within the biblical setting were constrained mainly to their economic and ornamental value. Gold and silver jewelry were used as a form of payment and were minted into coins during the Greco-Roman era. Gold objects are relatively scarce in archaeological finds, mainly because most gold items would have been part of a large treasury carried off as tribute or plunder. Silver appears in the archaeological record more frequently; a remarkable hoard of silver in lump form was found at Eshtemoa (see 1 Sam. 30:26–28). This silver has been dated to the time of the kingdom of Judah, after the northern kingdom of Israel had fallen. The silver in raw lump form was most likely used as a monetary payment, even though it had not yet been minted into coins.
Gold in the ancient world came largely from Egypt and northern Africa. The Bible mentions Havilah as a land of gold (Gen. 2:11), as well as Ophir (1 Kings 9:28), but the exact location of both places is unknown. Silver was mined in southern Spain, along with other metals, and brought to the area through sea trading. The Athenians of the Classical period were also known for their vast silver-mining operations.
Silver and gold are mentioned repeatedly in the OT in reference to their uses in trading and their economic value. Most notably, the Israelites asked their Egyptian neighbors to give them gold and silver items just before they left Egypt (Exod. 3:22). The tabernacle was highly ornamented with these two metals, as was the temple built by Solomon. It is said that Solomon made the nation so wealthy that silver was considered as plentiful as stone (1 Kings 10:27). Perhaps the most notorious articles of silver within Scripture are those paid to Judas for his betrayal of Jesus (Matt. 26:15).
Precious stones. Stones of various origins were used in and around Palestine. The Bible makes few references to their use. Like gold and silver, they were used mainly for their ornamental value. Their scarcity made them highly prized. One notable exception is turquoise. The Egyptian pharaohs were fascinated with turquoise, and they mined extensively for it on the Sinai Peninsula. The remains of several turquoise mines have been found with Canaanite markings, indicating the presence of Canaanite slaves working the Egyptian mines. There was also a line of forts along the northern edge of the Egyptian Empire, used presumably to protect the pharaohs’ turquoise interests. Precious stones were also found in Syria, where Phoenician traders would have been able to bring them from other parts of the known world.
Exodus 28:17–21 describes twelve stones set in the breastpiece worn by the Israelite high priest. Twelve stones likewise appear in the foundations of the new Jerusalem (Rev. 21:19–20). Ezekiel uses nine of these same twelve stones to discuss the adornment of the king of Tyre (Ezek. 28:13).
The Bible uses the blanket term “precious stones” to denote a hoard of riches, such as that owned by Solomon (1 Kings 10:10).
Treasure was stored in the Jerusalem temple and palace (Josh. 6:24) and was collected from the spoils of war (Josh. 6:19), from offerings (2 Kings 12:4; Mark 12:41), and from royal gifts (2 Kings 12:18; 1 Chron. 29:3). The temple treasury contained gold, silver, other metals, and precious stones (1 Chron. 29:8). Treasuries also housed written records (Ezra 6:1). Treasure was stored in the small rooms that surrounded the sanctuary (1 Chron. 28:12; see also Jer. 38:11) and was guarded by Levites (1 Chron. 9:26). Several treasurers are named (1 Chron. 9:26; 26:20, 22; 2 Chron. 25:24). The Ethiopian eunuch who met Philip was a treasurer in the court of the Kandake (Acts 8:27). The treasury funded repairs to the temple (2 Kings 12:7; Ezra 7:20).
Invading kings frequently raided the temple treasury, including Shishak of Egypt (1 Kings 14:26), Jehoash of Israel (2 Kings 14:14), and finally Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon (2 Kings 24:13; Dan. 1:2), as foretold by Jeremiah (Jer. 15:13). On other occasions, the kings of Judah drew money from the treasury to make tribute payments to foreign rulers (1 Kings 15:18; 2 Kings 12:18; 16:8; 18:15). “Treasury” can also refer to a private account (Prov. 8:21).
Jesus taught that his followers should store up their treasures in heaven and not on earth (Matt. 6:19 21). Earthly treasures will be destroyed over time or perhaps even stolen. In this vein, he urged the rich young ruler to sell his possessions so he might have “treasure in heaven” (Matt. 19:21).
The English term “witness” occurs in both Testaments numerous times, with a wide range of meanings. One common meaning relates to someone who gives legal testimony and to the legitimacy of that testimony (Num. 35:30; Deut. 17:6; 19:15 16, 18; Prov. 12:17; Isa. 8:16, 20). Throughout the NT the term occurs primarily in the context of someone bearing witness—especially God—or testifying to something (Rom. 1:9; 2 Cor. 1:23; Phil. 1:8; 1 Thess. 2:5, 10), though it also has a forensic dimension in regard to one who establishes legal testimony (e.g., Acts 6:13; 7:58; 2 Cor. 13:1; 1 Tim. 5:19; Heb. 10:28).
Central to the concept of witness is the truthfulness of the witness. This was a vital component of the OT concept of witness. Thus, in legal proceedings a lone witness was insufficient to establish testimony against anyone (Deut. 17:6). This principle carries over into the NT (cf. Matt. 18:16; 2 Cor. 13:1). Such truthfulness was so significant that the ninth commandment expressly forbids bearing false witness (Exod. 20:16; Deut. 5:20; cf. Prov. 19:5, 9).
Truth-telling was not something that the people of Israel were called to merely among themselves. They were to be God’s witnesses to the nations (Isa. 43:10; 44:8). As witnesses of God’s existence and holiness, they were called to be separate from the nations (Exod. 19:6) and to be a light to them (Isa. 49:6). Tragically, Israel failed in this responsibility and was deemed “blind” (Isa. 42:19).
The NT continues the concept that the people of God are to be God’s witnesses. John the Baptist is commissioned “to testify concerning that light” (John 1:7). It is in this context that Jesus later declares himself to be “the light of the world” (John 8:12; 9:5). Jesus himself is the exemplar of a “faithful witness” (Rev. 1:5). And his followers, whom he has designated as “the light of the world” (Matt. 5:14), are then called to bear witness to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8).
“Witness” is also employed in terms of a legal testimony regarding what one has seen. That the disciples were intent on establishing such legal testimony is evident in their stipulation that the person to replace Judas Iscariot be someone from among those who had been with Jesus from the beginning of his ministry to his ascension, so that “one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection” (Acts 1:22). This forensic aspect of witness appears in the close of the Gospel of John: “This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true” (21:24). Paul demonstrates this forensic concern for witnesses when he references Peter, the Twelve, some five hundred others, and himself as among those who have witnessed the resurrection (1 Cor. 15:3–8).
Throughout Revelation there resides a direct link between Christians bearing witness and suffering, and perhaps dying, as a consequence of this witness. This is evident in the mention of Antipas, who was martyred, and is then designated as “my faithful witness” (Rev. 2:13). Also, the two unnamed witnesses in 11:1–12, who explicitly function as witnesses, are the subject of attack and are eventually murdered. Their murder occurs only after they have finished “their testimony” (11:7).
It is this association of persecution and martyrdom that likely leads to the second-century employment of “martyr” as a designation for those who bear witness to Christ to the point of death.
Direct Matches
Divine titles using “almighty” indicate God’s supreme, incomparable power. God is named “the Almighty” (shadday) throughout the OT, most frequently in Job. “God Almighty” (’el shadday) is concentrated in the Genesis patriarchal narratives (see also Exod. 6:3; Ezek. 10:5).
In the majority of its occurrences in the NIV, “Almighty” renders tsebaot (lit., “armies” [KJV, NRSV, NASB: “hosts”). Across the OT, “the Lord Almighty” connotes overwhelming forces, earthly and heavenly, under command of Israel’s divine warrior (1 Sam. 17:45; Judg. 5:20). Especially frequent in Jeremiah, Isaiah, Amos, Zechariah, and Malachi, it bolsters the prophetic message by leveraging God’s awesome power and authority (cf. James 5:4). Appropriately, the NT book of Revelation marshals these concepts and repeatedly refers to God as “almighty” ( pantokratōr).
This term appears in the KJV translation of 2 Tim. 2:17; James 5:3, involving two different Greek words. A canker is any source of corruption or debasement. In 2 Tim. 2:17 the word is gangraina, referring to a disease involving inflammation and spreading ulcers. Modern translations read “gangrene,” the local death of body tissues due to loss of blood supply. In James 5:3 the word is katioō, which refers to the corrosion of metal, in this case silver and gold. Modern translations read “corroded” or “rusted.”
God the Worker
A biblical theology of work starts with God as the creator of all things. In the OT, the verb bara’ (“to create”) is used only with God as subject. The first verb in the Bible (Gen. 1:1), it occurs also in many other texts that describe God accomplishing what only God can do. Other terms such as yatsar (“to form, fashion”) and ’asah (“to make, do”) are used numerous times throughout the OT with either God or humans as subjects.
These three terms reinforce the portrayal of God as worker in Gen. 1–2 (cf. Isa. 45:7). God creates light and darkness; sky and earth; sun, moon, and stars; land and sea; plant and animal life; and humankind—in sum, all that is. He forms the “man” (Heb. ’adam) from the dust of the ground, bringing him to life by breathing into him the breath of life.
Elsewhere in the OT God is said to build, build up, or rebuild/restore (Heb. banah [e.g., Pss. 102:16; 147:2; Jer. 24:6; Amos 9:11]). Interestingly, God takes a rib from the man, which he then makes (lit., “builds into” [Heb. banah + le]) a woman (Gen. 2:22). He founds (Heb. kun) the earth (Isa. 45:18) and stretches out (Heb. natah) the heavens (Zech. 12:1). Further, wisdom is God’s “craftsman” (Heb. ’amon), taking part in the world’s creation (Prov. 8:30). The NT reveals Christ as the one through whom God creates all things (John 1:1–3; Col. 1:16). This brief sketch suggests the range of ways in which God’s work is described.
Human Labor
Ideally, work is performed as service to God (Col. 3:17, 22–24). Work is one way we express the divine image. God’s creation mandate to fill, subdue, and rule the earth implies work (Gen. 1:26–28), and God places the man in the garden “to work it and take care of it” (Gen. 2:15). The importance of work for human dignity as well as survival undergirds the laws of gleaning that make provision for the poor to gather their own food (e.g., Deut. 24:19–22). The expansion of human technologies and occupations (mela’kah [see Exod. 12:16]) reflects that dignity and God’s own diverse workmanship. Job 28 celebrates human industry and achievement while subordinating all to the prevailing value of wisdom, rooted in “the fear of the Lord.” Given the indispensable role of work within the limits of human life, diligence is commended (Eccles. 3:9–10), idleness condemned (Prov. 10:4; 12:24; 21:5; 2 Thess. 3:6–10). Work is essentially God’s good gift to us in creation.
But work now has negative aspects. In response to Adam’s sin, God curses the ground, introducing “painful toil” into the work cycle (Gen. 3:17–19; 5:29). We now eke out our living by hardship, finding frustration instead of bounty—a lifelong reminder that we are made of dust and will return to dust. The book of Ecclesiastes echoes this note of futility and raises sharp questions about the lasting value of human labor (1:2–3, 14; 2:4–11, 17–23; 3:9; 4:4–6; 8:16–17). Sin and death haunt the unfolding occupations in Gen. 4, and the episode of the tower of Babel in Gen. 11 signals God’s judgment on human pretension (cf. James 4:13–16). Excessive toil (workaholism) is a pitfall, not a virtue, for it expresses reliance on self rather than on God, who builds, protects, and gives rest (Ps. 127:1–2). Oppressive, unjust working conditions are cause for lament, and they incur God’s judgment (Exod. 5:6–19; Prov. 14:31; James 5:4–6).
Thus, Israel’s labor policy is to reflect God’s covenant faithfulness, generosity, and concern for the vulnerable. Moses’ law places limits on employers/masters to protect employees, slaves, and foreign workers from exploitation. The primary limit is God’s command that Israel keep the Sabbath holy by a complete cessation of labor (Exod. 20:8–11; Deut. 5:12–15). This move prioritizes God’s covenant above human labor and sets a rhythm of work and rest. Exodus grounds the Sabbath in God’s rest from his work of creation on the seventh day. Deuteronomy ties it to Israel’s history of slavery in Egypt and deliverance by God; by keeping the Sabbath, Israel shows gratitude to God and guards against replicating Egypt’s oppressive policies.
Exodus 31–32 portrays work in its best and worst lights. The proper interplay of work and rest is seen in chapter 31, which narrates the divinely empowered work on the tabernacle, followed by a strong reminder to keep the Sabbath as a “sign” between God and Israel. In contrast, chapter 32 portrays artisanship put to the worst use, the making of a golden idol. Aaron fashions gold with a tool and makes the calf image, but later he tells Moses, “I threw [their gold jewelry] into the fire, and out came this calf!” (32:24). This remark anticipates the prophets’ later mockery of idol-makers (e.g., Isa. 44:9–20) and raises the issue of personal responsibility for the outcome of one’s labor: Aaron seeks to avoid being implicated in Israel’s idolatry by concealing his own role in the project.
Public labor issues increase in complexity when Israel adopts human kingship and engages in international trade (e.g., 1 Sam. 8; 1 Kings 9:15–23). Babylon deals a decisive blow to Judah’s statehood by deporting leaders and skilled workers. Many of these establish such viable, productive new lives in Babylon that when Cyrus later allows the exiled Judeans to return, they choose to remain.
The NT assumes the legitimacy of work and adopts the OT’s view that within proper limits work is a good gift of God. Jesus, however, has come to do his Father’s “work” (John 5:16–18), which entails calling some people away from their normal occupations to follow him, as well as a new approach to Sabbath observance (Mark 2:21–27; 3:4). These moves signal the urgency and newness of the kingdom of God. Consequently, the apostles are “co-workers in God’s service” (1 Cor. 3:9), and Christians are “God’s handiwork” (Eph. 2:10). In light of the resurrection, we offer to God work (Gk. ergon) and labor (Gk. kopos), not in futility but in hope (1 Cor. 15:58; cf. Rev. 14:13).
The corrosion of metal. It is used metaphorically in the Bible to illustrate the transitory nature of earthly treasures. Jesus warns against storing up treasure on earth, where moth and rust destroy (Matt. 6:19 ESV, NRSV, NASB). Ezekiel uses rust as an image of the lasting blight of sin, comparing the people’s wickedness to the corrosion encrusting a pot that not even fire can remove (Ezek. 24:6, 12). James combines these ideas as he warns the rich that the corrosion of their gold and silver will testify against them, eating their flesh like fire (James 5:3). Because James is building on these metaphors, the fact that gold and silver do not actually rust should not distract from his message: the rust that symbolizes the destruction of earthly goods threatens to destroy those who rely on them.
This term occurs in the KJV of Rom. 9:29; James 5:4 (NIV: “Almighty”). In both cases the word in the Greek text (sabaōth) is a transliteration of the Hebrew term tseba’ot. This word occurs approximately five hundred times in the OT and is variously rendered. Among English translations, the NIV is practically alone in translating it as “Almighty,” but in doing so it follows the practice of the LXX. Most translations render it as “hosts” or “armies.” The underlying thought is that Israel’s God is “Yahweh of hosts” or “Yahweh of armies” (a phrase occurring approximately 280 times), the God who commands all the armies of both heaven and earth.
The term is grounded in the Israelite understanding of God as a warrior (Exod. 15:3) who fights alongside and for Israel against its enemies (holy war). In doing so he commands the armies of the heavens (the angels) as well as Israelite soldiers. It is also important to note that when Israel forsakes its God to serve other deities, “Yahweh of armies” will become the unseen commander of the armies of Israel’s enemies (e.g., the Assyrians or Babylonians) to fight against Israel (see, e.g., Isa. 7:18–20).
A precious metal used in the ancient world and the Bible as a measure of wealth (Gen. 13:2) and a medium of exchange (Deut. 2:28). The minting of coins did not begin until the very end of the OT, so the hundreds of earlier scriptural references to money were to silver. Ancient peoples used animals, grain, or other commodities to barter (Hos. 3:2) or pay taxes, but substituting smaller, more easily handled pieces of precious metal had obvious advantages, and silver served as a standard medium of exchange in the land of the Bible.
Silver had to be mined and purified before serving as an object of value. Silver ore was crushed, washed, strained, and heated to remove undesired materials (dross), a process that God used to symbolize spiritual purification (Ps. 66:10; Ezek. 22:18–22). Smiths then formed the refined silver (or gold or bronze) into pure pieces of metal that functioned as money (Gen. 23:15–16), war plunder (2 Sam. 8:11), jewelry (Gen. 24:53), household items (2 Tim. 2:20), or other desired objects. These other objects included trumpets (Num. 10:2) and implements used in worshiping God (Exod. 26:19–25) or items for illicit or pagan worship (Judg. 17:4; Acts 19:24). The Bible notes that the value and stability of silver are transient in light of eternity (1 Cor. 3:12–13; James 5:3).
Payment for the hire of one’s labor, often disbursed daily. The Bible refers to wages in connection with various occupations, including agricultural worker (Gen. 29:15; 30:27–29; Zech. 11:12; Matt. 20:1–16; John 4:36), artisan (1 Kings 5:6; Isa. 46:6), soldier (2 Chron. 25:6; Ezek. 29:18–19; 1 Cor. 9:7), prostitute (Hos. 9:1; Mic. 1:7), priest (Judg. 18:4; Num. 18:31), nurse (Exod. 2:9), and even the beast of burden (Exod. 22:15; Zech. 8:10; 1 Tim. 5:18). Prophets were paid for their work (Amos 7:12), though a late OT and Second Temple period tradition regarded the sin of Balaam as prophecy for hire (Deut. 23:4; Neh. 6:12–13; 13:2; 2 Pet. 2:15; Jude 11). In the NT, the concept of wage labor is extended to the church leader and the apostle (Luke 10:7; 1 Cor. 3:8; 1 Tim. 5:18).
Behind many references in the NT to wages lies the Latin term denarius (Gk. dēnarion) a small silver coin equivalent to a day’s wages (as in Matt. 20:2). Thus, in Mark 6:37 “more than half a year’s wages” (NIV) translates what in Greek is “two hundred denarii” (NRSV) (see also Mark 14:5), and the commodity prices in Rev. 6:6 show massive inflation relative to the day’s wage or denarius. In addition to the payment of wages with money, the Bible attests the payment of wages in kind, including wives (Gen. 29:17), livestock (Gen. 30:32), food (Num. 18:31; 1 Sam. 2:5), and, in the case of soldiers, plunder (Ezek. 29:19).
Several texts regard the fair payment of wages as a basic element of social justice and, conversely, the withholding of wages as an evil. Deuteronomy 24:15 commands the employer to pay workers wages “each day before sunset, because they are poor and are counting on it” (cf. Lev. 19:13; Job 7:2). Likewise, Mal. 3:5 denounces those who defraud workers of wages (cf. Gen. 31:2), a stance continued in the NT (Rom. 4:4; James 5:4).
The reward of righteousness and the punishment of wickedness are described as a wage, as in Rom. 6:23: “The wages of sin is death.” Proverbs 10:16 says, “The wages of the righteous is life, but the earnings of the wicked are sin and death” (cf. Prov. 11:18; Isa. 65:7; 2 Pet. 2:13).
Secondary Matches
The following suggestions occured because James 5:1-6 is mentioned in the definition.
The Bible is full of teeming creatures and swarming things. These creatures, insects, often play significant roles in the stories and the events described in them. From the first chapter of the Bible to the very last book, these flying, creeping, hopping, and crawling things are prominent.
Terms for Insects
Insects are described in the Bible with both general and specific terms. In the OT, there are three general terms for insects and twenty terms used to refer to specific types of insects. In the NT, two different types of insects are referenced: gnats and locusts.
The two most common general terms for insects are variously translated. Terms and phrases used to describe them include “living creatures” (Gen. 1:20), “creatures that move along the ground” (Gen. 1:24–26; 6:7, 20; 7:8, 14, 23; 8:17, 19; Lev. 5:2; Ezek. 38:20; Hos. 2:18), that which “moves” (Gen. 9:3), “swarming things” (Lev. 11:10), “flying insects” (Lev. 11:20–21, 23; Deut. 14:19), “creatures” (Lev. 11:43), “crawling things” (Lev. 22:5; Ezek. 8:10), “reptiles” (1 Kings 4:33), “teeming creatures” (Ps. 104:25), “small creatures” (Ps. 148:10), and “sea creatures” (Hab. 1:14). The other general term for insects is used with reference to swarms of insects, typically flies (Exod. 8:21–22, 24, 29; Pss. 78:45; 105:31). Specific insects named in Scripture are listed below.
Ants. Ants are used in Proverbs as an example of and encouragement toward wisdom. In 6:6 ants serve as an example for sluggards to reform their slothful ways. Also, in 30:25 ants serve as an example of creatures that, despite their diminutive size, are wise enough to make advance preparations for the long winter.
Bees. Bees are used both literally and figuratively in Scripture. Judges 14:8 refers to honeybees, the product of which becomes the object of Samson’s riddle. The other three uses of bees in the OT are figurative of swarms of enemies against God’s people (Deut. 1:44; Ps. 118:12; Isa. 7:18).
Fleas. Fleas are referenced in the OT only by David to indicate his insignificance in comparison with King Saul (1 Sam. 24:14; 26:20). The irony of the comparison becomes clear with David’s later ascendancy.
Flies. The plague of flies follows that of gnats on Egypt (Exod. 8:20–31). Although the gnats are never said to have left Egypt, the flies are removed upon Moses’ prayer. In Eccles. 10:1 the stench of dead flies is compared to the impact that folly can have on the wise. In Isa. 7:18 flies represent Egypt being summoned by God as his avenging agents on Judah’s sin. In addition, one of the gods in Ekron was named “Baal-Zebub,” which means “lord of the flies” (2 Kings 1:2–3, 6, 16). The reference to Satan in the NT using a similar name is likely an adaptation of the OT god of Ekron (Matt. 10:25; 12:24, 27; Mark 3:22; Luke 11:15, 18–19).
Gnats. Gnats are distinguished from flies in the OT, though the distinction is not always apparent. Gnats are employed by God in the third plague on Egypt (Exod. 8:16–19), while flies form the means of punishment in the fourth plague. The two are listed together in Ps. 105:31 and appear parallel, though the former may be a reference to a swarm. Gnats were also used by Jesus to illustrate the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and the scribes (Matt. 23:24).
Hornets. The Bible uses hornets in Scripture as an agent of God’s destruction. The term occurs three times in the OT. In each occurrence these stinging insects refer to God’s expulsion of the Canaanites from the land that God promised to his people. The first two times, Exod. 23:28 and Deut. 7:20, hornets are used in reference to a promise of what God will do; the third time, Josh. 24:12, they illustrate what God did.
Locusts. Of particular interest is the use of locusts in the Bible. The term or a similar nomenclature occurs close to fifty times in the NIV. Locusts demonstrate a number of characteristics in Scripture. First, they are under God’s control (Exod. 10:13–19). As such, they have no king (Prov. 30:27). They serve God’s purposes. Second, locusts often occur in very large numbers or swarms (Judg. 6:5; Jer. 46:23; Nah. 3:15). At times, their numbers can be so large as to cause darkness in the land (Exod. 10:15). Third, in large numbers these insects have been known to ravage homes, devour the land, devastate fields, and debark trees (Exod. 10:12–15; Deut. 28:38; 1 Kings 8:37; 2 Chron. 7:13; Pss. 78:46; 105:34; Isa. 33:4; Joel 1:4–7). Due to their fierceness, they were compared to horses (Rev. 9:7). Fourth, locusts hide at night (Nah. 3:17). Finally, certain types of locusts were used as food.
Moths. Moths are referred to seven times in the OT and four times in the NT. Job uses moths to illustrate the fragility of the unrighteous before God (4:19) and the impermanence of their labors (27:18). The other references to moths in Scripture present them as the consumers of the wealth (garments) and pride of humankind as a means of God’s judgment (Job 13:28; Ps. 39:11; Isa. 50:9; 51:8; Hos. 5:12; Matt. 6:19–20; Luke 12:33; James 5:2).
Functions of Insects in Scripture
As agents in God’s judgment. Insects serve a variety of functions in Scripture. Most notably, insects serve as agents of judgment from God. The OT indicates how insects were used as judgment on both Israel and their enemies.
Moses warned of God’s judgment for Israel’s violation of the covenant. He advised Israel that as a consequence of their sin, they would expend much labor in the field but harvest little, because the locusts would consume them (Deut. 28:38).
Solomon, in his prayer of dedication at the temple, beseeched God regarding judgment that he might send in the form of grasshoppers to besiege the land. He asked that when the people of God repent and pray, God would hear and forgive (2 Chron. 6:26–30). God similarly responded by promising that when he “command[s] locusts to devour the land” as judgment for sin, and his people humble themselves and pray, he will heal and forgive (2 Chron. 7:13–14; cf. 1 Kings 8:37).
The psalmist reminded Israel of God’s wonderful works in their past, one of which was his use of insects as a means of his judgment (Ps. 78:45–46; cf. 105:34).
Joel 1:4 and 2:25 describe God’s judgment on Israel for their unfaithfulness in successive waves of intensity (cf. Deut. 28:38, 42; 2 Chron. 6:28; Amos 4:9–10; 7:1–3). The devastation led to crop failure, famine, destruction of vines and fig trees, and great mourning. The severity of the judgment is described as being unlike anything anyone in the community had ever experienced (Joel 1:2–3).
Locusts are the subject of one of the visions of the prophet Amos. In the vision, God showed him the destructive power of these insects as a means of judgment. Upon seeing the vision, the prophet interceded for the people, and God relented (Amos 7:1–3).
Insects were also used as judgments on Israel’s enemies. In the plagues on Egypt, insects were the agents of the third, fourth, and eighth plagues. The third plague (Exod. 8:16–19) was gnats. Interestingly, this was the first of Moses’ signs that the magicians of Pharaoh could not reproduce. Their response to the Egyptian king was that this must be the “finger of God.” There is no record of the gnats ever leaving Egypt, unlike the other plagues.
The fourth plague was flies (Exod. 8:20–32). Here the Bible specifically indicates a distinction between the land of Goshen, where the Israelites dwelled, and the rest of the land of Egypt. The flies covered all of Egypt except Goshen. This plague led to Pharaoh’s first offer of compromise. Once Moses prayed and the flies left Egypt, Pharaoh hardened his heart.
The eighth plague was in the form of locusts (Exod. 10:1–20). In response to this plague, Pharaoh’s own officials complained to him, beseeching him to let Israel leave their country lest it be entirely destroyed. The threat of this plague led to Pharaoh’s second offer of compromise. Once the locusts began to devastate the land of Egypt, Pharaoh confessed his sin before God, but as soon as the locusts were removed, his heart again became hardened. Thus, three of the ten plagues on Egypt were in the form of insects.
At the end of a series of “woe” passages, the prophet Isaiah proclaimed God’s judgment against the enemies of his people because of their oppression. In the end, those who plundered will themselves be plundered, as if by a “swarm of locusts” (Isa. 33:1–4; cf. Jer. 51:14, 27).
Insects were also used as judgment on people who dwelled in the land of Israel prior to Israel’s occupation. Both before and after the event took place, the Bible describes how God sent hornets to help drive out the occupants of the land of Canaan in preparation for Israel’s arrival. This is described as part of God’s judgment on these nations for their sins against him (Exod. 23:28; Deut. 7:20; Josh. 24:12).
As food. Insects also are mentioned in Scripture as food. Certain types of locusts are listed as clean and eligible for consumption. The NT describes the diet of John the Baptist, which consisted of locusts and wild honey—a diet entirely dependent on insects (Matt. 3:4; Mark 1:6). The OT also notes Samson enjoying the labor of bees as food (Judg. 14:8–9).
Used figuratively. Most often, insects are used figuratively in Scripture. They are used in the proverbs of Scripture to illustrate wisdom. The sages wrote about ants (Prov. 6:6; 30:25), locusts (Prov. 30:27), and even dead flies (Eccles. 10:1) both to extol wisdom and to encourage its development in humankind.
Another figurative use of insects is in the riddle about bees and honey posed by Samson to the Philistines (Judg. 14:12–18). As noted above, Samson ate honey (Judg. 14:8–9; cf. 1 Sam. 14:25–29, 43). Also, Scripture describes the promised land as a place of “milk and honey.”
Insects also are used to symbolize pursuing enemies (Deut. 1:44; Ps. 118:12; Isa. 7:18), innumerable forces (Judg. 6:5; 7:12; Ps. 105:34; Jer. 46:23; Joel 2:25), insignificance (Num. 13:33; 1 Sam. 24:14; 26:20; Job 4:19; 27:18; Ps. 109:23; Eccles. 12:5; Isa. 40:22), vulnerability (Job 4:19), God’s incomparable nature (Job 39:20), the brevity of life (Ps. 109:23), wisdom and organization (Prov. 30:27), and an invading army (Isa. 7:18; Jer. 51:14, 27), and they are employed in a taunt against Israel’s enemies (Nah. 3:15–17), a lesson on hypocrisy (Matt. 23:24), and an image of eschatological judgment (Rev. 9:4–11).
Scriptural Truths about Insects
1. Insects are part of God’s creation. In view of all the uses of insects in Scripture, several key truths emerge. First, insects are a part of the totality of God’s creation. The very first chapter of the Bible uses one of the general terms for insects as part of God’s creative activity on the sixth day of creation (Gen. 1:24). After God reviewed the creation on that day, his assessment of it, including the insects, was that it was “good” (1:25).
2. Insects are under God’s control. A second scriptural truth related to insects in the Bible is that they are under God’s control. In Deut. 7:20 God promised to send hornets ahead of the children of Israel to prepare the promised land for their arrival. Also, in Joel 2:25, when God promised to repair the damage to the land caused by the locusts, he described them as “my great army that I sent.” Thus, the picture emerges that what God has created, he alone reserves the authority to control.
3. Insects are cared for by God. A final truth regarding insects in Scripture is that God takes care of them. Just as Jesus explained God’s care for the birds of the air (Matt. 7:26), the psalmist explained that all of God’s creation, specifically insects, “look to you to give them their food at the proper time” (Ps. 104:25–27). The conclusion of the psalmist is appropriate for all of God’s creation: “When you hide your face, they are terrified; when you take away their breath, they die and return to the dust. When you send your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the ground” (104:29–30). Thus, in the end, God creates, God controls, and God cares—a lesson that all of God’s creation shares.
Little, if anything, in the Bible directly addresses financial planning, but some principles are relevant. The obvious need for basic financial planning was used by Jesus as an illustration for the cost of discipleship: those who seek to build a tower must count the cost before they begin (Luke 14:28). The motivation for financial planning ought not to be fear or anxiety (Matt. 6:25–26), for God can be trusted to provide. Appropriate motivations for good financial planning include the desire to store up wealth as an inheritance for one’s children (Ps. 17:14), to provide for one’s household (1 Tim. 5:8), and to avoid the dangers of debt and dependence on others (1 Thess. 4:11–12).
Financial planning ought not to be considered a guarantee of wealth, since the future is unknown to people, and the success of any venture is dependent upon God’s will (James 4:13–15). Neither should storing up wealth be viewed as a goal in its own right, for such wealth will be of no ultimate benefit to its owner (Ps. 49:10; Prov. 11:4). Hoarded wealth will only rot away (James 5:2–3); wealth is given by God to be used (Luke 16:11). In particular, the acquisition of wealth by ungodly means will not benefit its owner and will end up in the hands of the righteous, although this may not occur until a future generation (Prov. 13:22; 28:8).
The Bible is full of teeming creatures and swarming things. These creatures, insects, often play significant roles in the stories and the events described in them. From the first chapter of the Bible to the very last book, these flying, creeping, hopping, and crawling things are prominent.
Terms for Insects
Insects are described in the Bible with both general and specific terms. In the OT, there are three general terms for insects and twenty terms used to refer to specific types of insects. In the NT, two different types of insects are referenced: gnats and locusts.
The two most common general terms for insects are variously translated. Terms and phrases used to describe them include “living creatures” (Gen. 1:20), “creatures that move along the ground” (Gen. 1:24–26; 6:7, 20; 7:8, 14, 23; 8:17, 19; Lev. 5:2; Ezek. 38:20; Hos. 2:18), that which “moves” (Gen. 9:3), “swarming things” (Lev. 11:10), “flying insects” (Lev. 11:20–21, 23; Deut. 14:19), “creatures” (Lev. 11:43), “crawling things” (Lev. 22:5; Ezek. 8:10), “reptiles” (1 Kings 4:33), “teeming creatures” (Ps. 104:25), “small creatures” (Ps. 148:10), and “sea creatures” (Hab. 1:14). The other general term for insects is used with reference to swarms of insects, typically flies (Exod. 8:21–22, 24, 29; Pss. 78:45; 105:31). Specific insects named in Scripture are listed below.
Ants. Ants are used in Proverbs as an example of and encouragement toward wisdom. In 6:6 ants serve as an example for sluggards to reform their slothful ways. Also, in 30:25 ants serve as an example of creatures that, despite their diminutive size, are wise enough to make advance preparations for the long winter.
Bees. Bees are used both literally and figuratively in Scripture. Judges 14:8 refers to honeybees, the product of which becomes the object of Samson’s riddle. The other three uses of bees in the OT are figurative of swarms of enemies against God’s people (Deut. 1:44; Ps. 118:12; Isa. 7:18).
Fleas. Fleas are referenced in the OT only by David to indicate his insignificance in comparison with King Saul (1 Sam. 24:14; 26:20). The irony of the comparison becomes clear with David’s later ascendancy.
Flies. The plague of flies follows that of gnats on Egypt (Exod. 8:20–31). Although the gnats are never said to have left Egypt, the flies are removed upon Moses’ prayer. In Eccles. 10:1 the stench of dead flies is compared to the impact that folly can have on the wise. In Isa. 7:18 flies represent Egypt being summoned by God as his avenging agents on Judah’s sin. In addition, one of the gods in Ekron was named “Baal-Zebub,” which means “lord of the flies” (2 Kings 1:2–3, 6, 16). The reference to Satan in the NT using a similar name is likely an adaptation of the OT god of Ekron (Matt. 10:25; 12:24, 27; Mark 3:22; Luke 11:15, 18–19).
Gnats. Gnats are distinguished from flies in the OT, though the distinction is not always apparent. Gnats are employed by God in the third plague on Egypt (Exod. 8:16–19), while flies form the means of punishment in the fourth plague. The two are listed together in Ps. 105:31 and appear parallel, though the former may be a reference to a swarm. Gnats were also used by Jesus to illustrate the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and the scribes (Matt. 23:24).
Hornets. The Bible uses hornets in Scripture as an agent of God’s destruction. The term occurs three times in the OT. In each occurrence these stinging insects refer to God’s expulsion of the Canaanites from the land that God promised to his people. The first two times, Exod. 23:28 and Deut. 7:20, hornets are used in reference to a promise of what God will do; the third time, Josh. 24:12, they illustrate what God did.
Locusts. Of particular interest is the use of locusts in the Bible. The term or a similar nomenclature occurs close to fifty times in the NIV. Locusts demonstrate a number of characteristics in Scripture. First, they are under God’s control (Exod. 10:13–19). As such, they have no king (Prov. 30:27). They serve God’s purposes. Second, locusts often occur in very large numbers or swarms (Judg. 6:5; Jer. 46:23; Nah. 3:15). At times, their numbers can be so large as to cause darkness in the land (Exod. 10:15). Third, in large numbers these insects have been known to ravage homes, devour the land, devastate fields, and debark trees (Exod. 10:12–15; Deut. 28:38; 1 Kings 8:37; 2 Chron. 7:13; Pss. 78:46; 105:34; Isa. 33:4; Joel 1:4–7). Due to their fierceness, they were compared to horses (Rev. 9:7). Fourth, locusts hide at night (Nah. 3:17). Finally, certain types of locusts were used as food.
Moths. Moths are referred to seven times in the OT and four times in the NT. Job uses moths to illustrate the fragility of the unrighteous before God (4:19) and the impermanence of their labors (27:18). The other references to moths in Scripture present them as the consumers of the wealth (garments) and pride of humankind as a means of God’s judgment (Job 13:28; Ps. 39:11; Isa. 50:9; 51:8; Hos. 5:12; Matt. 6:19–20; Luke 12:33; James 5:2).
Functions of Insects in Scripture
As agents in God’s judgment. Insects serve a variety of functions in Scripture. Most notably, insects serve as agents of judgment from God. The OT indicates how insects were used as judgment on both Israel and their enemies.
Moses warned of God’s judgment for Israel’s violation of the covenant. He advised Israel that as a consequence of their sin, they would expend much labor in the field but harvest little, because the locusts would consume them (Deut. 28:38).
Solomon, in his prayer of dedication at the temple, beseeched God regarding judgment that he might send in the form of grasshoppers to besiege the land. He asked that when the people of God repent and pray, God would hear and forgive (2 Chron. 6:26–30). God similarly responded by promising that when he “command[s] locusts to devour the land” as judgment for sin, and his people humble themselves and pray, he will heal and forgive (2 Chron. 7:13–14; cf. 1 Kings 8:37).
The psalmist reminded Israel of God’s wonderful works in their past, one of which was his use of insects as a means of his judgment (Ps. 78:45–46; cf. 105:34).
Joel 1:4 and 2:25 describe God’s judgment on Israel for their unfaithfulness in successive waves of intensity (cf. Deut. 28:38, 42; 2 Chron. 6:28; Amos 4:9–10; 7:1–3). The devastation led to crop failure, famine, destruction of vines and fig trees, and great mourning. The severity of the judgment is described as being unlike anything anyone in the community had ever experienced (Joel 1:2–3).
Locusts are the subject of one of the visions of the prophet Amos. In the vision, God showed him the destructive power of these insects as a means of judgment. Upon seeing the vision, the prophet interceded for the people, and God relented (Amos 7:1–3).
Insects were also used as judgments on Israel’s enemies. In the plagues on Egypt, insects were the agents of the third, fourth, and eighth plagues. The third plague (Exod. 8:16–19) was gnats. Interestingly, this was the first of Moses’ signs that the magicians of Pharaoh could not reproduce. Their response to the Egyptian king was that this must be the “finger of God.” There is no record of the gnats ever leaving Egypt, unlike the other plagues.
The fourth plague was flies (Exod. 8:20–32). Here the Bible specifically indicates a distinction between the land of Goshen, where the Israelites dwelled, and the rest of the land of Egypt. The flies covered all of Egypt except Goshen. This plague led to Pharaoh’s first offer of compromise. Once Moses prayed and the flies left Egypt, Pharaoh hardened his heart.
The eighth plague was in the form of locusts (Exod. 10:1–20). In response to this plague, Pharaoh’s own officials complained to him, beseeching him to let Israel leave their country lest it be entirely destroyed. The threat of this plague led to Pharaoh’s second offer of compromise. Once the locusts began to devastate the land of Egypt, Pharaoh confessed his sin before God, but as soon as the locusts were removed, his heart again became hardened. Thus, three of the ten plagues on Egypt were in the form of insects.
At the end of a series of “woe” passages, the prophet Isaiah proclaimed God’s judgment against the enemies of his people because of their oppression. In the end, those who plundered will themselves be plundered, as if by a “swarm of locusts” (Isa. 33:1–4; cf. Jer. 51:14, 27).
Insects were also used as judgment on people who dwelled in the land of Israel prior to Israel’s occupation. Both before and after the event took place, the Bible describes how God sent hornets to help drive out the occupants of the land of Canaan in preparation for Israel’s arrival. This is described as part of God’s judgment on these nations for their sins against him (Exod. 23:28; Deut. 7:20; Josh. 24:12).
As food. Insects also are mentioned in Scripture as food. Certain types of locusts are listed as clean and eligible for consumption. The NT describes the diet of John the Baptist, which consisted of locusts and wild honey—a diet entirely dependent on insects (Matt. 3:4; Mark 1:6). The OT also notes Samson enjoying the labor of bees as food (Judg. 14:8–9).
Used figuratively. Most often, insects are used figuratively in Scripture. They are used in the proverbs of Scripture to illustrate wisdom. The sages wrote about ants (Prov. 6:6; 30:25), locusts (Prov. 30:27), and even dead flies (Eccles. 10:1) both to extol wisdom and to encourage its development in humankind.
Another figurative use of insects is in the riddle about bees and honey posed by Samson to the Philistines (Judg. 14:12–18). As noted above, Samson ate honey (Judg. 14:8–9; cf. 1 Sam. 14:25–29, 43). Also, Scripture describes the promised land as a place of “milk and honey.”
Insects also are used to symbolize pursuing enemies (Deut. 1:44; Ps. 118:12; Isa. 7:18), innumerable forces (Judg. 6:5; 7:12; Ps. 105:34; Jer. 46:23; Joel 2:25), insignificance (Num. 13:33; 1 Sam. 24:14; 26:20; Job 4:19; 27:18; Ps. 109:23; Eccles. 12:5; Isa. 40:22), vulnerability (Job 4:19), God’s incomparable nature (Job 39:20), the brevity of life (Ps. 109:23), wisdom and organization (Prov. 30:27), and an invading army (Isa. 7:18; Jer. 51:14, 27), and they are employed in a taunt against Israel’s enemies (Nah. 3:15–17), a lesson on hypocrisy (Matt. 23:24), and an image of eschatological judgment (Rev. 9:4–11).
Scriptural Truths about Insects
1. Insects are part of God’s creation. In view of all the uses of insects in Scripture, several key truths emerge. First, insects are a part of the totality of God’s creation. The very first chapter of the Bible uses one of the general terms for insects as part of God’s creative activity on the sixth day of creation (Gen. 1:24). After God reviewed the creation on that day, his assessment of it, including the insects, was that it was “good” (1:25).
2. Insects are under God’s control. A second scriptural truth related to insects in the Bible is that they are under God’s control. In Deut. 7:20 God promised to send hornets ahead of the children of Israel to prepare the promised land for their arrival. Also, in Joel 2:25, when God promised to repair the damage to the land caused by the locusts, he described them as “my great army that I sent.” Thus, the picture emerges that what God has created, he alone reserves the authority to control.
3. Insects are cared for by God. A final truth regarding insects in Scripture is that God takes care of them. Just as Jesus explained God’s care for the birds of the air (Matt. 7:26), the psalmist explained that all of God’s creation, specifically insects, “look to you to give them their food at the proper time” (Ps. 104:25–27). The conclusion of the psalmist is appropriate for all of God’s creation: “When you hide your face, they are terrified; when you take away their breath, they die and return to the dust. When you send your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the ground” (104:29–30). Thus, in the end, God creates, God controls, and God cares—a lesson that all of God’s creation shares.
The concept of justice pervades the Bible, especially, though not exclusively, the OT. The key biblical terms that convey this concept include mishpat, tsedeq/tsedaqah, yashar in the OT and the dik- word group in the NT (whose noun and verb forms are translated respectively as “righteous” and “justify” or their respective cognates). The biblical concept of justice is an embodiment of two contemporary concepts: righteousness and justice. The former designates compliance with the divine norm, while the latter emphasizes conformity to a societal standard of what is right and equitable. Focusing exclusively on the latter hinders the correct understanding of justice in the biblical sense. Additionally, the biblical understanding of this concept is encumbered by the use of differing English terms to translate the same Hebrew or Greek terms.
Mishpat and Tsedaqah
Mishpat inherently encompasses the idea of judicial activism consisting in the provision of standard criteria (legislation, instructions, directives) for conduct and adjudication, and/or the actual arbitration between parties with the goal of ascertaining culpability or otherwise and administering the requisite sanctions or acquittal. Tsedaqah, on the other hand, emphasizes the established norm of just order for right conduct both in the larger society and for individuals. Whereas mishpat emphasizes the action that seeks to establish or enforce right patterns of behavior for the common good, tsedaqah stresses the practice (or lack thereof) of such a norm in society, or between individuals, or an individual’s compliance with such a norm.
When used in combination as a hendiadys (or word pair), these two terms signify an inherent requirement for conformity to an established norm (whether in the religious sphere or in civil society) or the requirement of loyalty or right conduct between individuals. To the person who stands to benefit from this norm, it approximates a right (i.e., a claim). Conversely, implicit duty is placed upon the person who ensures the conformity to such an established norm. This fact is better appreciated when we reckon with the covenantal nature of requirements for justice in the ancient world, in which both parties have both claim and responsibility. Broadly speaking, this concept also implies good governance, which accrues order to life and common benefits to all members of the community.
This idea is exemplified even in passages that do not use this precise phraseology (mishpat utsedaqah). Judah’s widowed daughter-in-law, Tamar, had an inherent right to be provided with a (kinsman-redeemer) husband to raise up progeny for her deceased husband, while Judah had the incumbent duty of giving her in levirate marriage to his surviving son. When Judah failed to execute his duty, Tamar entrapped him into an incestuous relationship, from which she conceived. When condemned to die for adultery in a clannish court setting, Tamar revealed the identity of her unborn child’s father, to which Judah responded by saying, “She is more righteous than I, since I wouldn’t give her to my son Shelah” (Gen. 38:26). That is, she acted more in conformity to the norm than he did. In another instance, Yahweh, while challenging the Judeans concerning their loyalty to him in a covenant lawsuit setting, asks, “A son honors his father, and a slave his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me?” (Mal. 1:6). It is Yahweh’s right as father and master to receive honor and respect, while it is their duty to give him both.
God as the Source and Model of Justice
To be just, then, implies conformity to that which is right—yashar (the standard or norm). In Scripture, this standard is the revealed divine will and character. Compliance to it is often expressed in biblical narrative as doing what is “right [or good] in the Lord’s sight” (Deut. 6:18; 12:28; 1 Kings 14:8; 22:43), while its antithesis is doing what is “evil in the eyes of the Lord” (Judg. 2:11; 1 Kings 11:6; 14:22) or doing what some human figure(s) “saw fit” (Deut. 12:8; Judg. 17:6; 21:25).
Therefore, the source of justice is God himself. It flows from his essential character as one who is both just and righteous, whose actions are flawless, perfect, upright, and just (Deut. 32:4; 1 Sam. 12:7; 2 Sam. 22:31; Job 37:23; Ps. 89:14). God is the righteous lawgiver, hence the one who establishes the norm for right conduct (Deut. 4:4–8; Ps. 19:7–9). He requires justice of all his creatures (cf. Gen. 9:5–6; Exod. 21:12, 28–29). God also judges righteously (Gen. 18:25; 1 Kings 8:32; Ps. 9:4, 9; Jer. 9:24) and defends and vindicates the weak and oppressed (Deut. 10:18; Ps. 103:6). The responsibility of maintaining justice in the human community, however, he delegates to its leaders, such as civil magistrates or political officials, and requires them to execute this responsibility with integrity, equity, and impartiality (Deut. 1:16–17; 16:18–20; Ps. 82:2–4; Prov. 31:8–9; John 7:24; 1 Pet. 2:13–14). God’s requirement of justice in the human community is not limited to its leaders only; it is incumbent upon everyone therein (Ps. 15:1–5; Mic. 6:8; Zech. 7:9; 8:17; Matt. 23:23).
Executing justice requires doing all that is essential to bring about the divine order implicit in creation and explicit in revealed truth, to produce harmony in all relationships in which humankind is involved (divine-human, human-human, and human-nature). This has the twofold result of restraining evil and advancing the benefits of just living within the human society. Thus, the fruits of justice are to be seen in all spheres of human life, such as spirituality (2 Cor. 5:17–21), morality and ethics (Phil. 4:8; Col. 3:5–9; Titus 2:11–13), social justice (Exod. 22:21–24; Isa. 56:1; Amos 2:6–7; Ezek. 22:7–29; James 2:1–9), and economic justice (Amos 5:11; 8:4–6; James 5:1–6), as well as in the environment (Deut. 20:19–20; Pss. 96:9–13; 104:1–31; Eccles. 2:5–6; Rom. 8:19–22).
Additionally, the outworking of justice produces (re)distribution and retribution. Distribution means that those blessed materially share of their blessings with those in need (Deut. 15:1–15; Ps. 112:5–9; Prov. 28:27; Isa. 58:1–11; 2 Cor. 8–9). Retribution relates to the vindication and deliverance of the oppressed and judgment on the wicked (1 Sam. 2:7–10; Job 36:5–10; Ps. 72:4; Luke 4:17–20). This is both attested in biblical Israel’s experience (Isa. 1:17–20; 5:1–9; Jer. 5:26–29; Mic. 2:1–3) and is being anticipated at the final judgment (Isa. 66:24; Dan. 12:1–3; Matt. 25:31–46; 2 Thess. 1:5–10). The vindicated obtain God’s love and grace, while the judged receive his justice. Justice and love, therefore, are the two sides of God’s holiness.
The Letter of James has been hailed as possibly the earliest, most Jewish, and most practical of all NT letters. James 3:13 aptly communicates the book’s theme: “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in humility that comes from wisdom.” The terms “wise” and “wisdom” occur five times in the book (1:5; 3:13 [2×], 15, 17). Hence, the author instructed his readers on leading a life of faith that was characterized by a wisdom expressed through speech and actions (2:12).
Literary Features
The author’s employment of picturesque, concrete language has close affinities to OT wisdom literature and reflects Jesus’ teaching in the Sermon on the Mount.
James 1:2 – Matthew 5:10-12
James 1:4 – Matthew 5:48
James 1:5; 5:15 – Matthew 7:7-12
James 1:9 – Matthew 5:3
James 1:20 – Matthew 5:22
James 1:22 – Matthew 7:21
James 2:5 – Matthew 5:3
James 2:13 – Matthew 5:7; 6:14-15
James 2:14-16 – Matthew 7:21-23
James 3:12 – Matthew 7:16
James 3:17-18 – Matthew 5:9
James 4:4 – Matthew 6:24
James 4:10 – Matthew 5:3-4
James 4:11 – Matthew 7:1-2
James 5:2 – Matthew 6:19
James 5:10 – Matthew 5:12
James 5:12 – Matthew 5:33-37
Like the OT wisdom literature, the teaching in James has a strongly practical orientation. Although the book contains some lengthier paragraphs, much of it consists of sequential admonishments and ethical maxims that in some cases are only loosely related to one another. The sentences generally are short and direct. There are fifty-four verbs in the imperative. Connection between sentences is sometimes created through repeated words. Yet the overall topic of practical faith and wisdom links these exhortations together.
Background and Occasion
After the death of Stephen, many disciples were scattered into the regions of Judea and Samaria (Acts 7:54–8:3). In Acts 11:19 the narrator notes, “Now those who had been scattered by the persecution that broke out when Stephen was killed traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, spreading the word only among Jews.” James may have written this letter to instruct and comfort those scattered believers, as he addressed his letter to “the twelve tribes dispersed abroad” (1:1 NET). These Jewish Christians no longer had direct contact with the apostles in Jerusalem and needed to be instructed and admonished in their tribulations. Apparently, the rich were taking advantage of them (2:6; 5:1–6), and their trials had led to worldliness, rash words, and strained relationships (2:1; 4:1, 11; 5:9). In view of persecution, some may have been tempted to hide their faith (5:10–11). James exhorted them to demonstrate a lifestyle that would reflect their faith.
James’s View on Works and Salvation
Some readers of this letter have observed a seeming contradiction between James’s call for good works and Paul’s insistence on salvation by grace through faith apart from works (cf. James 2:14–26 with Eph. 2:8–10). The discussion is complicated by James’s argument that a faith without works cannot “save” and by his observation that Abraham was justified by what he did, not by faith alone (James 2:14, 20–24). Paul, by contrast, maintains that Abraham was justified exclusively by faith (Rom. 4:1–3).
Referring rhetorically to people who claim to have faith but have no deeds, James asks, “Can such faith save them?” (2:14). That is, can the kind of faith that results in no works be genuine? The expected answer is no. The kind of faith that produces no works cannot be genuine faith; rather, it is “dead” (2:17, 26) and “useless” (2:20). This kind of faith is “by itself,” meaning that it produces no lasting fruit (2:17). James’s point is that genuine faith will produce good works in the believer’s life. By way of contrast, a mere profession is not necessarily an indication of genuine faith. Even demons believe in God, but they are not saved; the kind of belief that they exhibit is merely an acknowledgment of God’s existence (2:19).
According to James, Abraham was justified not in the sense of first being declared righteous, but rather in the sense that his faith was demonstrated as genuine when he offered up Isaac (2:21). Paul, on the other hand, argues that salvation is obtained not through works but rather by faith alone. He quotes Gen. 15:6 to show that Abraham trusted God and was declared righteous several years before he offered up Isaac (Rom. 4:3).
According to Paul, Abraham was justified (declared righteous) before God when he believed God’s promise (Gen. 15:6), but for James, he was justified in the sense of giving observable proof of salvation through his obedience to God. Whereas Paul refers to the point and means of positional salvation, James refers to a subsequent event that confirmed that Abraham was justified.
I. Faith
A. Paul (Romans 4:1-3):
1. Is personal trust in God
2. Justifies one before God
3. Is not proof of Salvation
B. James (2:14-26)
1. Is a mere claim if there is no resulting fruit
II. Works
A. Paul (Romans 4:1-3):
1. Precede salvation
2. Attempt to merit salvation
3. Cannot justify before God
B. James (2:14-26)
1. Follow conversion
2. Are evidence of salvation
3. Confirm one’s salvation
It is important to keep in mind that each author wrote with a different purpose. Paul wrote against Judaizers, who taught that a man had to be circumcised and keep the OT law to be saved. James was warning against a mere profession of faith that leads to self-deception (1:22). John Calvin correctly expressed the biblical teaching that faith alone saves, but that kind of faith does not remain alone; it produces good works (cf. Rom. 3:21–6:14; Eph. 2:8–10; Titus 2:11–14; 3:4–7).
Authorship
The author identifies himself as “James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ” (1:1). The NT mentions five persons having the name “James”: (1) James the son of Zebedee and the brother of John (Matt. 4:21); (2) James the son of Alphaeus (Matt. 10:3); (3) James “the younger” (Mark 15:40); (4) James the father of the apostle Judas (not Judas Iscariot; Luke 6:16); and (5) James the brother of Jesus (Matt. 13:55; Mark 6:3; Gal. 1:19).
James the brother of John was executed by Herod Agrippa I, who died in AD 44 (Acts 12:2). Since the Letter of James probably was written after this date, the brother of John could not have written it. Neither James the son of Alphaeus, James the younger, nor James the father of Judas was as prominent in the early church as the writer of this letter, who simply identified himself and assumed that his readers would know him (1:1). James the son of Alphaeus is mentioned for the last time in Acts 1:13, and nothing is known of James the father of Judas apart from the listing of his name in Luke 6:15; Acts 1:13. (It is uncertain whether James the younger should be identified with one of the other four or is a separate figure.) Thus, it is unlikely that any of them wrote the book. James the brother of Jesus is most likely the author of this letter.
James the Brother of the Lord
At the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, James, as well as his brothers Joses (Joseph), Judas, and Simon, did not believe that Jesus was the Messiah (Matt. 13:55; Mark 6:3; John 7:5). However, they came to believe in him after the resurrection (Acts 1:14; 1 Cor. 15:7). Paul called James, along with Peter and John, the “pillars” of the church (Gal. 2:9). James does not claim to be an apostle in this letter; however, he is identified as one in Gal. 1:19. But there the term “apostle” probably refers to a group of leading disciples outside the Twelve (cf. Acts 14:4, 14; 1 Cor. 15:7; Gal. 2:9). Since the author of this letter employed many imperatives, his readers clearly accepted his authority. James, the brother of Jesus, who also became a key leader of the church in Jerusalem, possessed such authority (Acts 12:17; 15:13, 19; 21:18; Gal. 1:18–19; 2:9).
Date
Some scholars hold that the Letter of James was written around AD 62, while others argue that James wrote this letter sometime in AD 45–50. Those who favor the earlier dates point out that the Jewish character of this letter fits with this period when the church was mainly Jewish, based on the following criteria: (1) There is no mention of Gentile Christians in the letter. (2) The author does not refer to the teachings of the Judaizers. If the letter had been written at a later date, we would expect the author to address the issue of circumcision among Christians. (3) The mention of “teachers” (3:1) and “elders” (5:14) as the leaders in the church reflects the structure of the primitive church. (4) The word “meeting” in 2:2 is the same Greek word as for “synagogue.” It describes the gathering place of the early church. This implies a time when the congregation was still primarily Jewish (Acts 1–7).
Outline
I. Introduction (1:1)
II. The Wise Christian Is Patient in Trials (1:2–18)
A. How the Christian should face trials (1:2–12)
B. The source of temptations (1:13–18)
III. The Wise Christian Is a Practical Doer of the Word (1:19–2:26)
A. Hearers and doers of the word (1:19–25)
B. True religion (1:26–27)
C. Prejudice in the church (2:1–13)
D. Faith that works (2:14–26)
IV. The Wise Christian Masters the Tongue (3:1–18)
A. The power of the tongue (3:1–12)
B. The wisdom from above (3:13–18)
V. The Wise Christian Seeks Peace in Relationships (4:1–17)
A. The cause of quarrels (4:1–3)
B. Warning against worldliness (4:4–10)
C. Warning against slander (4:11–12)
D. Warning against boasting and self-sufficiency (4:13–17)
VI. The Wise Christian Is Patient and Prays When Facing Difficulties (5:1–20)
A. Warning to the rich (5:1–6)
B. Exhortation to patience (5:7–12)
C. The power of prayer (5:13–18)
D. The benefit of correcting those in error (5:19–20)
God the Worker
A biblical theology of work starts with God as the creator of all things. In the OT, the verb bara’ (“to create”) is used only with God as subject. The first verb in the Bible (Gen. 1:1), it occurs also in many other texts that describe God accomplishing what only God can do. Other terms such as yatsar (“to form, fashion”) and ’asah (“to make, do”) are used numerous times throughout the OT with either God or humans as subjects.
These three terms reinforce the portrayal of God as worker in Gen. 1–2 (cf. Isa. 45:7). God creates light and darkness; sky and earth; sun, moon, and stars; land and sea; plant and animal life; and humankind—in sum, all that is. He forms the “man” (Heb. ’adam) from the dust of the ground, bringing him to life by breathing into him the breath of life.
Elsewhere in the OT God is said to build, build up, or rebuild/restore (Heb. banah [e.g., Pss. 102:16; 147:2; Jer. 24:6; Amos 9:11]). Interestingly, God takes a rib from the man, which he then makes (lit., “builds into” [Heb. banah + le]) a woman (Gen. 2:22). He founds (Heb. kun) the earth (Isa. 45:18) and stretches out (Heb. natah) the heavens (Zech. 12:1). Further, wisdom is God’s “craftsman” (Heb. ’amon), taking part in the world’s creation (Prov. 8:30). The NT reveals Christ as the one through whom God creates all things (John 1:1–3; Col. 1:16). This brief sketch suggests the range of ways in which God’s work is described.
Human Labor
Ideally, work is performed as service to God (Col. 3:17, 22–24). Work is one way we express the divine image. God’s creation mandate to fill, subdue, and rule the earth implies work (Gen. 1:26–28), and God places the man in the garden “to work it and take care of it” (Gen. 2:15). The importance of work for human dignity as well as survival undergirds the laws of gleaning that make provision for the poor to gather their own food (e.g., Deut. 24:19–22). The expansion of human technologies and occupations (mela’kah [see Exod. 12:16]) reflects that dignity and God’s own diverse workmanship. Job 28 celebrates human industry and achievement while subordinating all to the prevailing value of wisdom, rooted in “the fear of the Lord.” Given the indispensable role of work within the limits of human life, diligence is commended (Eccles. 3:9–10), idleness condemned (Prov. 10:4; 12:24; 21:5; 2 Thess. 3:6–10). Work is essentially God’s good gift to us in creation.
But work now has negative aspects. In response to Adam’s sin, God curses the ground, introducing “painful toil” into the work cycle (Gen. 3:17–19; 5:29). We now eke out our living by hardship, finding frustration instead of bounty—a lifelong reminder that we are made of dust and will return to dust. The book of Ecclesiastes echoes this note of futility and raises sharp questions about the lasting value of human labor (1:2–3, 14; 2:4–11, 17–23; 3:9; 4:4–6; 8:16–17). Sin and death haunt the unfolding occupations in Gen. 4, and the episode of the tower of Babel in Gen. 11 signals God’s judgment on human pretension (cf. James 4:13–16). Excessive toil (workaholism) is a pitfall, not a virtue, for it expresses reliance on self rather than on God, who builds, protects, and gives rest (Ps. 127:1–2). Oppressive, unjust working conditions are cause for lament, and they incur God’s judgment (Exod. 5:6–19; Prov. 14:31; James 5:4–6).
Thus, Israel’s labor policy is to reflect God’s covenant faithfulness, generosity, and concern for the vulnerable. Moses’ law places limits on employers/masters to protect employees, slaves, and foreign workers from exploitation. The primary limit is God’s command that Israel keep the Sabbath holy by a complete cessation of labor (Exod. 20:8–11; Deut. 5:12–15). This move prioritizes God’s covenant above human labor and sets a rhythm of work and rest. Exodus grounds the Sabbath in God’s rest from his work of creation on the seventh day. Deuteronomy ties it to Israel’s history of slavery in Egypt and deliverance by God; by keeping the Sabbath, Israel shows gratitude to God and guards against replicating Egypt’s oppressive policies.
Exodus 31–32 portrays work in its best and worst lights. The proper interplay of work and rest is seen in chapter 31, which narrates the divinely empowered work on the tabernacle, followed by a strong reminder to keep the Sabbath as a “sign” between God and Israel. In contrast, chapter 32 portrays artisanship put to the worst use, the making of a golden idol. Aaron fashions gold with a tool and makes the calf image, but later he tells Moses, “I threw [their gold jewelry] into the fire, and out came this calf!” (32:24). This remark anticipates the prophets’ later mockery of idol-makers (e.g., Isa. 44:9–20) and raises the issue of personal responsibility for the outcome of one’s labor: Aaron seeks to avoid being implicated in Israel’s idolatry by concealing his own role in the project.
Public labor issues increase in complexity when Israel adopts human kingship and engages in international trade (e.g., 1 Sam. 8; 1 Kings 9:15–23). Babylon deals a decisive blow to Judah’s statehood by deporting leaders and skilled workers. Many of these establish such viable, productive new lives in Babylon that when Cyrus later allows the exiled Judeans to return, they choose to remain.
The NT assumes the legitimacy of work and adopts the OT’s view that within proper limits work is a good gift of God. Jesus, however, has come to do his Father’s “work” (John 5:16–18), which entails calling some people away from their normal occupations to follow him, as well as a new approach to Sabbath observance (Mark 2:21–27; 3:4). These moves signal the urgency and newness of the kingdom of God. Consequently, the apostles are “co-workers in God’s service” (1 Cor. 3:9), and Christians are “God’s handiwork” (Eph. 2:10). In light of the resurrection, we offer to God work (Gk. ergon) and labor (Gk. kopos), not in futility but in hope (1 Cor. 15:58; cf. Rev. 14:13).
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