Jam 5:7-10 | KingComments | STEP | . James connects his exhortation to be patient with the previous verse. There you saw that the Lord Jesus has patiently endured the suffering. Patience is something we can learn from Him. In the word “patience (patient, patiently)” appears four times. That shows how important it is to be patient, for how easily feelings of impatience can arise. Patience is needed in circumstances where you are treated unjustly and/or when you have no prospect in your circumstances. Patience is always rewarded when it means waiting on the Lord. Being patient until the coming of the Lord here refers to His coming to the earth to do justice, to exert justice and to reign justly and to reward everything that was done for Him. As a member of the church of God you may also look forward to the coming of the Lord Jesus when He will catch up all the believers to be with Him ( ). That coming will precede the coming of the Lord to the earth. You may also look forward to the coming of the Lord in the sense of a coming into the circumstances wherein you find yourself (cf. ). That is not so much the point here, but you may surely draw consolation from it. You can be sure that the Lord wants to be involved in your circumstances, to support you That will keep you from getting caught up in the injustice that has been done to you all and to which you seem to be at the mercy of. Sometimes you have to accept that things will not change. Then you can be sure that the Lord will come to you to strengthen you. In that sense Paul had also experienced that the Lord came to Him and encouraged him ( ). If you have a vivid thought about the coming of the Lord, you will experience that He is with you. The thing with patience is the same as the farmer who has sown. The only thing that is left for him to do, which he does after he has finished sowing, is to patiently wait until the delicious fruit of the land comes. For the growing of the seed and the ultimate fruit he is dependent on the rain from heaven ( ). He expects that from God. Your life is a field in which God has sown the seed of His Word. His desire is that fruit will come out of that. He does not accelerate the process of growing, but He waters the soil with His Word and His Spirit. His Word is like rain ( ). He wants to have delicious fruit for Himself out of your life. That also applies to professing Christianity as a whole. At the beginning there was the “early” rain. You can apply that to the pouring out of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost ( ). That is how the church has come into existence which was purposed by God to be bearing fruit for Him. After the rapture of the church, there will be another outpouring of the Holy Spirit and that will be over the remnant of Israel ( ). That is the application of the “latter” rain. When the remnant has received the latter rain, it will then surely produce delicious fruit for God. . The patience to wait is the opposite of the immediate satisfaction of need to which the rich deliver themselves. They want to have something and they want it right now. Such an attitude is inappropriate for a child of God. A child of God is not supposed to expect that his desires will be directly fulfilled. He needs to learn to be patient. Therefore James, after the example of the farmer, repeats his exhortation to be patient. He adds to that to strengthen their hearts and passes on the means of strengthening: the coming of the Lord. For the second time he refers to the coming of the Lord. The believer will only be satisfied in his desires when the Lord comes. And His coming is near. That thought gives the heart courage to persevere in the path of faith. As soon as you lose sight of the coming of the Lord, you will make an effort to make your life on earth as pleasant as possible. When the Israelites were tired of waiting on Moses, they demanded a gold calf to be made and therefore they fell into idolatry ( ). In a parable the Lord Jesus shows that the same danger is threatening the Christians ( ). . Looking forward to the coming of the Lord will therefore be a guarantee that we do not trouble one another, but on the contrary encourage and comfort one another with the view to that coming. How easily it occurs that we complain against one another about the injustice we suffer. If we complain against each other we quickly say things that are not appropriate or that are even untrue. It is possible that we accuse those who make our life difficult of much more than they in fact do. It is even possible that we blame God for our difficulties. We will then be judged for that at the coming of Him Who is on the edge of coming as Judge. The coming of the Lord is not only a comforting event, through which there comes an end to all injustice that is done to us. The coming of the Lord also has the result that each person, you and I included, will have to give account of himself ( ). . Instead of grumbling and complaining about our circumstances, we have to look at the prophets and follow their example. Haven’t they tolerated many who grumbled about them; not to mention the injustice that they had to suffer? They had the thankless task from God to reprimand the people for their sins. That was not something for which the people were grateful. On the contrary, the people mocked, despised and ridiculed them ( ). What a lot of patience these prophets have shown. The people refused to listen, but they still went on to preach in the Name of the Lord. . If we notice endurance, a sense of admiration arises from our hearts. People who endure show character. They also achieve something. That definitely goes for us also when it comes down to the faith. Those who endure in faith, show that they possess something that is worthy of holding on to, right through all adversities. That is what the prophets have shown. James points at another remarkable example of endurance and that is Job. What this man has shown in terms of endurance, can indeed be called unique. Consider all the sufferings he had to endure. All his possessions were taken away from him in a short time. He lost all his children and also his health. When he got into that situation he was even deprived from his wife’s support. As his help she should have been pointing him to God, but instead she encouraged him to say goodbye to God. From being a very wealthy and blessed man, Job in a short time turned into the most pitiable man on earth ( ). The readers of this letter are familiar with the matchless suffering of Job. James, however, does not write about the suffering of Job, but about the endurance of Job. They have heard about that and that had to be an encouragement for them. If Job has endured, shouldn’t they, who had to suffer to a lesser extent, also endure? James adds another important detail. He does not tell us how gloriously Job overcame the tough afflictions. He writes about “the outcome of the Lord”, meaning the final result of the Lord’s purposes with Job ( ). In this way James emphasizes that the Lord has achieved His goal with Job. All the time of Job’s suffering, also caused by the accusations of his friends, the Lord was “full of compassion and merciful” toward Job (cf. ). It can be of comfort to us that if we feel rejected and lonely and that we have failed, to be reminded that the Lord is with us with His compassion and mercy. . After the examples of patience James also exhorts to be patient with the tongue. He sees the abuse of the tongue as the greatest danger, for he says that they “above all” should not swear. If someone is facing a suffering which seems to last endlessly, and if waiting for an answer becomes very hard, he is in great danger to swear. A person then may for instance promise to do things as long as the pain gets lighter or as long as the difficulty disappears. Also revenge can be sworn toward the person who is seen as the cause of this suffering or that problem. Such expressions of the tongue show the mind of a heart that is not subjected to God. That heart does not strengthen itself in God or in grace, but gives in to impatience. The Lord and His majesty are forgotten and heaven or earth or other things are called upon to empower the own will. That is bad and judgment must come on that. James speaks a lot about judgment. That’s because he approaches the Christian life practically and he calls the Christian to account for his responsibility. He often points at the tongue. Instead of using powerful terms we are to express ourselves by common words like ‘yes’ and ‘no’. We should not be ambiguous about these words. God and men must be able to rely on our words. Now read James 5:7-12 again. Reflection: What makes you to be quickly impatient? How realistic is the coming of the Lord to you?

‏ James 5:7-10

Patience

Jam 5:7. James connects his exhortation to be patient with the previous verse. There you saw that the Lord Jesus has patiently endured the suffering. Patience is something we can learn from Him. In Jam 5:7-10 the word “patience (patient, patiently)” appears four times. That shows how important it is to be patient, for how easily feelings of impatience can arise. Patience is needed in circumstances where you are treated unjustly and/or when you have no prospect in your circumstances. Patience is always rewarded when it means waiting on the Lord.

Being patient until the coming of the Lord here refers to His coming to the earth to do justice, to exert justice and to reign justly and to reward everything that was done for Him. As a member of the church of God you may also look forward to the coming of the Lord Jesus when He will catch up all the believers to be with Him (1Thes 4:14-18). That coming will precede the coming of the Lord to the earth.

You may also look forward to the coming of the Lord in the sense of a coming into the circumstances wherein you find yourself (cf. Phil 4:5b). That is not so much the point here, but you may surely draw consolation from it. You can be sure that the Lord wants to be involved in your circumstances, to support you That will keep you from getting caught up in the injustice that has been done to you all and to which you seem to be at the mercy of.

Sometimes you have to accept that things will not change. Then you can be sure that the Lord will come to you to strengthen you. In that sense Paul had also experienced that the Lord came to Him and encouraged him (Acts 18:9). If you have a vivid thought about the coming of the Lord, you will experience that He is with you.

The thing with patience is the same as the farmer who has sown. The only thing that is left for him to do, which he does after he has finished sowing, is to patiently wait until the delicious fruit of the land comes. For the growing of the seed and the ultimate fruit he is dependent on the rain from heaven (Deu 11:11 ; 14). He expects that from God.

Your life is a field in which God has sown the seed of His Word. His desire is that fruit will come out of that. He does not accelerate the process of growing, but He waters the soil with His Word and His Spirit. His Word is like rain (Deu 32:2). He wants to have delicious fruit for Himself out of your life.

That also applies to professing Christianity as a whole. At the beginning there was the “early” rain. You can apply that to the pouring out of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1). That is how the church has come into existence which was purposed by God to be bearing fruit for Him.

After the rapture of the church, there will be another outpouring of the Holy Spirit and that will be over the remnant of Israel (Joel 2:28-29). That is the application of the “latter” rain. When the remnant has received the latter rain, it will then surely produce delicious fruit for God.

Jam 5:8. The patience to wait is the opposite of the immediate satisfaction of need to which the rich deliver themselves. They want to have something and they want it right now. Such an attitude is inappropriate for a child of God. A child of God is not supposed to expect that his desires will be directly fulfilled. He needs to learn to be patient. Therefore James, after the example of the farmer, repeats his exhortation to be patient.

He adds to that to strengthen their hearts and passes on the means of strengthening: the coming of the Lord. For the second time he refers to the coming of the Lord. The believer will only be satisfied in his desires when the Lord comes. And His coming is near. That thought gives the heart courage to persevere in the path of faith. As soon as you lose sight of the coming of the Lord, you will make an effort to make your life on earth as pleasant as possible. When the Israelites were tired of waiting on Moses, they demanded a gold calf to be made and therefore they fell into idolatry (Exo 32:1). In a parable the Lord Jesus shows that the same danger is threatening the Christians (Mt 24:48-49).

Jam 5:9. Looking forward to the coming of the Lord will therefore be a guarantee that we do not trouble one another, but on the contrary encourage and comfort one another with the view to that coming. How easily it occurs that we complain against one another about the injustice we suffer. If we complain against each other we quickly say things that are not appropriate or that are even untrue. It is possible that we accuse those who make our life difficult of much more than they in fact do. It is even possible that we blame God for our difficulties. We will then be judged for that at the coming of Him Who is on the edge of coming as Judge.

The coming of the Lord is not only a comforting event, through which there comes an end to all injustice that is done to us. The coming of the Lord also has the result that each person, you and I included, will have to give account of himself (2Cor 5:10).

Jam 5:10. Instead of grumbling and complaining about our circumstances, we have to look at the prophets and follow their example. Haven’t they tolerated many who grumbled about them; not to mention the injustice that they had to suffer? They had the thankless task from God to reprimand the people for their sins. That was not something for which the people were grateful. On the contrary, the people mocked, despised and ridiculed them (2Chr 36:15-16). What a lot of patience these prophets have shown. The people refused to listen, but they still went on to preach in the Name of the Lord.

Jam 5:11. If we notice endurance, a sense of admiration arises from our hearts. People who endure show character. They also achieve something. That definitely goes for us also when it comes down to the faith. Those who endure in faith, show that they possess something that is worthy of holding on to, right through all adversities. That is what the prophets have shown.

James points at another remarkable example of endurance and that is Job. What this man has shown in terms of endurance, can indeed be called unique. Consider all the sufferings he had to endure. All his possessions were taken away from him in a short time. He lost all his children and also his health. When he got into that situation he was even deprived from his wife’s support. As his help she should have been pointing him to God, but instead she encouraged him to say goodbye to God. From being a very wealthy and blessed man, Job in a short time turned into the most pitiable man on earth (Job 1:1-3 ; 12-19 ; Job 2:7-9 ; 11-13).

The readers of this letter are familiar with the matchless suffering of Job. James, however, does not write about the suffering of Job, but about the endurance of Job. They have heard about that and that had to be an encouragement for them. If Job has endured, shouldn’t they, who had to suffer to a lesser extent, also endure?

James adds another important detail. He does not tell us how gloriously Job overcame the tough afflictions. He writes about “the outcome of the Lord”, meaning the final result of the Lord’s purposes with Job (Job 42:7-17). In this way James emphasizes that the Lord has achieved His goal with Job.

All the time of Job’s suffering, also caused by the accusations of his friends, the Lord was “full of compassion and merciful” toward Job (cf. Exo 34:6). It can be of comfort to us that if we feel rejected and lonely and that we have failed, to be reminded that the Lord is with us with His compassion and mercy.

Jam 5:12. After the examples of patience James also exhorts to be patient with the tongue. He sees the abuse of the tongue as the greatest danger, for he says that they “above all” should not swear. If someone is facing a suffering which seems to last endlessly, and if waiting for an answer becomes very hard, he is in great danger to swear. A person then may for instance promise to do things as long as the pain gets lighter or as long as the difficulty disappears. Also revenge can be sworn toward the person who is seen as the cause of this suffering or that problem.

Such expressions of the tongue show the mind of a heart that is not subjected to God. That heart does not strengthen itself in God or in grace, but gives in to impatience. The Lord and His majesty are forgotten and heaven or earth or other things are called upon to empower the own will. That is bad and judgment must come on that.

James speaks a lot about judgment. That’s because he approaches the Christian life practically and he calls the Christian to account for his responsibility. He often points at the tongue. Instead of using powerful terms we are to express ourselves by common words like ‘yes’ and ‘no’. We should not be ambiguous about these words. God and men must be able to rely on our words.

Now read James 5:7-12 again.

Reflection: What makes you to be quickly impatient? How realistic is the coming of the Lord to you?