Daily Scripture Reading James 5:1-20
I am fairly certain most Christians agree we should pray frequently and fervently. I am also confident most believers agree we should bring all matters before God, both great and small.
Today’s passage includes a command regarding prayer that is inconsistently observed. Some streams of Christianity do well at teaching and following it. Others ignore it. Then there are streams that don’t ignore the practice, but they don’t necessarily promote it and give it the attention that perhaps it should have, either.
A complication in obeying this particular command is that it is difficult to know when this command applies and when it does not. The command has to do with calling the elders for prayer and anointing when sick. The gray area involves the determination of how sick a person has to be in order to say that this should be done.
At the end of chapter 4, James warned us that we do not know what tomorrow will bring; therefore, while it is okay to make plans for the future, we should do so with the recognition that our plans will only come to fruition if God allows them to come to pass.
James 5:1 ¶ Come now, you rich, cry, howling over your miseries which are coming upon you.
Most humans think being rich is better than being poor. There is some truth to that. However, James instructed the rich to cry and howl because of their coming miseries. Just because someone is rich on earth does not mean their existence after life on earth will be pleasant.
James 5:2 Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten.
James 5:3 Your gold and your silver have rusted, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire. You have stored up such treasure in the last days!
The problem with earthly riches is they decay and wear out. They can also be stolen. The drawback of being rich is that rich people can get so focused on their earthly possessions that they fail to store up treasure in heaven. We cannot take earthly possessions with us when we die, so if we don’t store up heavenly rewards, we will have nothing when we die.
James 5:4 Behold, the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields—that which has been withheld by you—cries out against you; and the outcries of those who did the harvesting have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.
Some rich people are very generous. However, other rich people are rich because they took advantage of people. James warns dishonest rich people that their theft cries out against them. The Lord knows when rich people cheat and steal.
This is a warning to all of us that we should pay people what we owe them. Even if we can legally get away with paying less than we should, God knows when we are shortchange someone.
An example of short-changing a worker is failing to leave a tip when the employees in a particular industry rely on tips to earn a decent wage. Legally, a Christian is not required to leave a tip. Morally, Christians should leave tips; otherwise, you are stealing someone’s labor.
James 5:5 You have lived luxuriously on the earth and lived in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a DAY OF SLAUGHTER.
James 5:6 You have condemned and murdered the righteous man; he does not resist you.
The pronoun “you” refers to the rich. In the following verse, James began addressing brothers, presumably brothers who were not rich, and were perhaps the victims of the rich.
James 5:7 ¶ Therefore be patient, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the soil, being patient about it, until it receives the early and late rains.
James 5:8 You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.
Those who are not rich or who have been taken advantage of are encouraged to be patient because the day of the Lord is coming when the Lord will bring justice to all. Those who are disadvantaged or oppressed here on earth will experience perfect justice in heaven.
James 5:9 Do not groan, brothers, against one another, so that you yourselves may not be judged. Behold, the Judge is standing right at the door.
James 5:10 As an example, brothers, of suffering and patience, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
James 5:11 Behold, we count those blessed who persevere. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.
James 5:12 ¶ But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let your yes be yes, and your no, no, so that you may not fall under judgment.
Note the words “swear” and “oath”. Some of the precepts of the Law of Moses allowed and encouraged Israelites to swear oaths. Swearing oaths was how they made agreements legally binding or forced eyewitnesses to come forward with their testimony. They would also swear oaths to bind themselves to follow a particular course of action or to indicate when they were telling the truth.
By the time of Jesus, the Jews had developed elaborate rules around oaths, saying things like an oath is only binding if one swears by the gold of the sanctuary, but not if he only swears by the sanctuary. Jesus criticized those rules and taught during the Sermon on the Mount not to make any oaths.
In this passage James made it clear that Christians should not use oaths to indicate when they are speaking the truth. Instead, Christians should always speak the truth.
James 5:13 ¶ Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises.
James 5:14 Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.
The words “call” and “pray” are imperatives in the original Greek. Calling the elders for prayer when sick is not a suggestion, it is a command.
This is something that happens, but I am not sure it happens as much as it should. Some streams of Christianity have always done a good job of teaching and practicing this. Others have mostly ignored this command.
Having said that, the question is how sick does a person need to be in order for this command to come into play. If someone receives a diagnosis of terminal cancer, then he should certainly call the elders. However, I don’t think someone should call the elders every time he gets the common cold. The Bible is not clear on James’ definition of sick.
James 5:15 And the prayer offered in faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.
James 5:16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.
The words “confess” and “pray” are also imperatives in the original Greek.
Look at the last sentence of this verse. This sentence tells us prayer works. Notice the words “effective” and “righteous”. It is not just any man praying any prayer that works. It is righteous men praying effective prayers who can accomplish much.
James 5:17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months.
James 5:18 Then he prayed again, and the sky gave rain and the earth produced its fruit.
James 5:19 ¶ My brothers, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back,
James 5:20 let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will COVER A MULTITUDE OF SINS.
James clearly taught that people should call the elders when they are sick and the elders should anoint them and pray for them.
What does your church practice in regards to anointing the sick?
How sick does a person need to be in order to determine that this command applies and the elders should be called in for prayer and anointing?
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“Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com.”