5: Warnings and Encouragements — James 5:1-20

5Come now, you rich people, weep and wail for the miseries that are coming to you. ² Your riches have rotted, and your clothes are moth-eaten. ³ Your gold and silver have rusted, and their rust will be evidence against you, and it will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure for the last days. ⁴ Listen! The wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. ⁵ You have lived on the earth in luxury and in pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. ⁶ You have condemned and murdered the righteous one, who does not resist you.

⁷ Be patient, therefore, beloved, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious crop from the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. ⁸ You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near.^{a  9} Beloved, do not grumble against one another, so that you may not be judged. See, the Judge is standing at the doors!
¹⁰ As an example of suffering and patience, beloved, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. ¹¹ Indeed we call blessed those who showed endurance. You have heard of the endurance of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.

¹² Above all, my beloved, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “Yes” be yes and your “No” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.

The Prayer of Faith

¹³ Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise. ¹⁴ Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. ¹⁵ The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven. ¹⁶ Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective. ¹⁷ Elijah was a human being like us, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. ¹⁸ Then he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain and the earth yielded its harvest.

¹⁹ My brothers and sisters, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and is brought back by another, ²⁰ you should know that whoever brings back a sinner from wandering will save the sinner’s soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.  NRSV

Get into the Word

1. Who is James’ next target for warning? What is their problem? How does James feel about them? 

2. What images does James use to describe selfish people? How do you suppose his readers reacted? How do you think selfish people responded?

3. What is James’ next topic? How does he describe this virtue? What example does he use? Where else is this image in the Bible? [see notes] Why are these good examples for his readers? What is the goal of our patience?

4. What does James say about oaths? What rationale does he give his audience? Who else had a problem with taking oaths? [see notes]

5. How does James respond to people who are suffering? Who are joyful? What is similar about these choices?

6. How should believers deal with people who are sick? How do we know this response will work? What else can we expect to happen?

7. What advice does James close with? Why is prayer important for Christians? What example does James give? What is his final encouragement? What is the result?

Get Personal

Even though it is a list of “oughts” what is the common thread that ties all James’ ideas together? How does your recent walk with Christ compare to James basic point about a vital faith? 

5:1.  Wail — often translated “howl,” which is closer to the Greek meaning of “cry out.”
Miseries — the Greek word is very strong: “calamity” or “wretchedness.”
5:2.  Rotted — also “corrupted.”
5:3.  Last days — James’ usage echoes Old Testament prophecies of the end times or “Day of the Lord.”
5:4.  Fraud — the Bible is consistent about paying fair wages: Never take advantage of poor laborers, whether fellow Israelites or foreigners living in your towns. Pay them their wages each day before sunset because they are poor and are counting on it. Otherwise they might cry out to the Lord against you, and it would be counted against you as sin, [Deut 24:14-15].  Also check Lev 19:13, Prov 3:27-28, Jer 22:13 and Mal 3:5.
Lord of hosts — the original Hebrew word is “Sabaoth” which means “Leader of Armies.” Paul quotes Isaiah using the term in Romans: ‘If the Lord Almighty had not spared a few of us, we would have been wiped out as completely as Sodom and Gomorrah,” [9:29]. 
James is consistent with both the prophets and the apostles in his picture of the end times. Check Isa 13:5-10, Amos 8:3, Matt 8:12 and 2 Tim 3:1-3.
5:7.  Rains — rains are a familiar symbol in the Bible of God’s love and promises: Rejoice, you people of Jerusalem! Rejoice in the Lord your God! For the rains

he sends are an expression of his grace. Once more the autumn rains will come, as well as the rains of spring, [Joel 2:23-24]. Also check Gen 8:22 and Jer 5:24.
5:8.  Strengthen your hearts — the literal meaning is to “resolve to face in a certain way.” The King James used “stablish your heart, “ – perhaps a short version of “establish.”
5:9.  Grumble — the King James uses “grudge” as in “don’t hold a grudge against a person.”
5:12.  Oath — James is echoing Jesus’ warning: But I say, don’t make any vows! . . . Just say a simple, `Yes, I will,’ or `No, I won’t.’ Your word is enough. To strengthen your promise with a vow shows that something is wrong, [Matt 5:33-37]. 
5:16.  Confess — the Greek word means “say the same thing” or “agree that a statement is correct.”
5:19.  Brought back — literally “change back to the original.”
5:20.  Cover — the Greek word literally means “cover over,” but the intent is not to hide them, but to deal with them, like covering a debt by paying it. Compare: Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins, [1 Peter 4:7-9] and Oh, what joy for those whose rebellion is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight! [Ps 32:1].