WHEN THE BILL COMES DUE …
Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on September 4, 2024 under AM Bible Study |
AM Bible Study Group: September 4, 2024 from James 5:1-6
Theme: God will bring just judgment upon those who make themselves rich through the oppression of His people.
(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).
Throughout this very ‘pastoral’ letter, Pastor James has shown himself to be a compassionate shepherd. He had some occasions where he said some hard and convicting things—but he always said them with compassion and love. But when we come to the beginning of Chapter 5, he seems to set the love and compassion and gentleness aside; and he suddenly speaks in the manner of a fiery prophet … sending out imprecations of fierce judgment.
The reason was because—for a brief rhetorical moment—he ceased addressing his fellow believers in James 5:1-6, and turned to address those who were oppressing them. He wrote;
Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you! Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure in the last days. Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. You have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury; you have fattened your hearts as in a day of slaughter. You have condemned, you have murdered the just; he does not resist you (James 5:1-6).
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Now; to a casual reader, it may sound like James was simply attacking the whole idea of wealth, or that he was saying that it’s somehow evil to have riches. But if ever there was a time when the words of a passage needed to be taken in careful context, it would be this one.
The Bible doesn’t condemn the possession of riches as a thing in and of itself. In fact, some of the Bible’s most noteworthy saints were blessed by God with great material prosperity, and had substantial wealth that was used for godly purposes. Abraham was a very wealthy man, as also were the patriarchs Isaac and Jacob. Joseph was raised to a position of great wealth and power in Egypt. Job was a man who, at the beginning of his story, was very prosperous; and who, at the end of his story, was made even more prosperous. King Solomon was not only the wisest man of his time but also the wealthiest. And in the New Testament, think of Joseph of Arimathea—the wealthy man who sought to lay Jesus’ body in his own tomb. Lydia—the first Christian convert in Europe—was a wealthy merchant woman who was able to provide greatly for the missionary work of Paul and Silas. Or think of Paul himself. He wrote that he had learned the secret not only of suffering need, but also of having an abundance. In no case does the Bible present any of these saints as unrighteous for having riches. In fact, the Proverbs seem to speak of prosperity as the result of industriousness, prudence, and righteous living.
So; why then does James speak so harshly about the rich in our passage? It’s because he’s not talking about all wealthy people, but only about a certain kind of wealthy people. In James 1:9-11, he urged the ‘lowly brother’ to glory in his future exaltation; but then wrote to the ‘rich’ to glory in his humiliation—as if still talking to a ‘brother’ in Christ. But in James 2:6-7, he made it clear that there were some who were ‘rich’ who were not believers—who had been even actively oppressing the poor man and dragging him to courts. At the end of his harsh words in James 5:1-6, he then spoke to suffering Christians and wrote;
Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand (vv. 7-8).
James, then, is speaking in this passage about the wicked rich who oppress the righteous. Christians suffering under such oppression would be tempted to despair, or to take vengeance, or to grow bitter and envious. But as a good pastor, James pointed his brothers and sisters to the promised return of the Lord Jesus. He showed them that fixing their minds and hopes on the Lord’s glorious coming would help them to be patient when treated unjustly. It would help them to keep on with the work of the kingdom—knowing that God will bring just judgment upon those who make themselves rich through the oppression of His people.
It’s that ‘just judgment’ that James is focusing on in this morning’s passage.
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Now; James began this section in the same way that he began the last one. In James 4:13, he wrote to those who boast of their own plans by saying, “Come now …” And he begins this new section in the same way. But whereas he spoke then to the irreverent believer who boasts in his or her plans, he now speaks to the wicked unbeliever who trusts in his or her riches.
So; notice first that James highlights …
1. THE PROMISE OF JUDGMENT (v. 1)
In verse 1, he wrote, “Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you!”
James, it seems, drew much from the teaching of the Lord Jesus in the Gospels. And Jesus Himself had spoken of Christians being patient while suffering oppression. In Luke 6:20-26, He said;
“Blessed are you poor,
For yours is the kingdom of God.
Blessed are you who hunger now,
For you shall be filled.
Blessed are you who weep now,
For you shall laugh.
Blessed are you when men hate you,
And when they exclude you,
And revile you, and cast out your name as evil,
For the Son of Man’s sake.
Rejoice in that day and leap for joy!
For indeed your reward is great in heaven,
For in like manner their fathers did to the prophets.“But woe to you who are rich,
For you have received your consolation.
Woe to you who are full,
For you shall hunger.
Woe to you who laugh now,
For you shall mourn and weep.
Woe to you when all men speak well of you,
For so did their fathers to the false prophets” (Luke 6:20-26).
In our passage this morning, James is simply calling for the ungodly—specifically, the ungodly ‘rich’—to mourn now over what the Lord Jesus said they will experience on the day of judgment. In chilling words, James literally tells them to “weep, howling”, or to “cry, crying loudly”—using a Greek word that makes a sound like howling or loud crying (ololuzo). A related word (alalazo) was used in Mark 5:38 to describe mourners in the house of the synagogue official whose daughter had suddenly died—creating a commotion by their wailing in which they not only wept but “wailed loudly”. James was telling the ungodly to howl “for your miseries which are coming upon you”—using a tense of the verb, in the original language, that suggested that those miseries were coming upon them even as he wrote.
Now; it’s important to understand that the cause of the coming of these promised miseries as a judgment from God was not because of what they had, but rather because of what they did to obtain what they had. James therefore goes on to explain …
2. THE REASONS FOR THE JUDGMENT (vv. 2-6).
In the verses that follow, he gives four basic reasons—and these reasons clarify the evil of their actions. The first reason that judgment was coming upon the evil rich was because they had heaped up goods to the point of waste. Others could not have what they needed because it was being hoarded and kept by the wicked rich; and it was even being hoarded in such a way that it underwent loss and decay. In verses 2-3 James wrote, “Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire” (vv. 2-3a).
This is a powerful indictment against the wicked rich; because the only reason such a thing would happen to such otherwise-useful goods was because the rich were gathering up and collecting more than they could use. Such hoarding always comes from a sinful motive—either from fear of the future that comes from a lack of faith in God’s providence, or from a desire to impress others by an ostentatious display, or simply from a desire to gorge themselves on the things of this world to whatever degree they wanted.
And notice what a bad investment this was. James wrote at the end of verse 3, “You have heaped up treasure in the last days” (v. 3b). It’s like the man in our Lord’s parable in Luke 12—the man who said to his own soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry” (v. 19); but to whom God said, “Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?” (v. 20).
The second reason that James gave for the just judgment of God upon the wicked rich was because they were withholding the just pay due to others. They were becoming rich unjustly by holding on to what they owed; that is, that which genuinely belonged to others in need. In verse 4, James wrote, “Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.”
The Bible strongly condemns the evil of intentionally withholding the pay due to those who work hard for it. The Bible defines it as robbery; saying,
“You shall not cheat your neighbor, nor rob him. The wages of him who is hired shall not remain with you all night until morning” (Leviticus 19:13);
and,
“You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether one of your brethren or one of the aliens who is in your land within your gates. Each day you shall give him his wages, and not let the sun go down on it, for he is poor and has set his heart on it; lest he cry out against you to the Lord, and it be sin to you” (Deuteronomy 24:14-15).
According to James, it’s not just the workers who cry out and are heard by God. It’s the withheld pay itself! It cries out to God along with the workers! And we’re told that the cry of both the oppressed and their withheld pay reaches the ears of none other than “the Lord of Sabaoth”; or “The Lord of Hosts”; or as we might put it today, “The Lord of Armies”! How ominous a warning this is! Such a powerful God is able to bring about justice swiftly!
A third reason James gives for the justness of God’s judgment on the wicked rich is because they were engaging in sensual self-indulgence; and the context seems to suggest that this self-indulgence was being practiced while others suffered—perhaps living in luxury off of the same wages that they were withholding from their workers. In verse 5, James wrote, “You have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury; you have fattened your hearts as in a day of slaughter.”
The word that James used for ‘luxury’ literally meant ‘to break down’. It almost suggests the idea of someone passively ‘going to pot’ in the process of their self-indulgences; as if ‘the good life’ was proving to be bad for them. But he also uses a word that describes them as giving themselves over to sinful pleasures—perhaps knowingly doing so while others suffered as a result. Amos 6:3-7 speaks ‘woe’ upon the ancient ‘luxury lovers’ of Israel;
Woe to you who put far off the day of doom,
Who cause the seat of violence to come near;
Who lie on beds of ivory,
Stretch out on your couches,
Eat lambs from the flock
And calves from the midst of the stall;
Who sing idly to the sound of stringed instruments,
And invent for yourselves musical instruments like David;
Who drink wine from bowls,
And anoint yourselves with the best ointments,
But are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.Therefore they shall now go captive as the first of the captives,
And those who recline at banquets shall be removed (Amos 6:3-7).
James tells those who engage in such self-indulgence that they set themselves up for a tragic irony; letting them know that they fatten themselves up for “the day of slaughter”—like hogs that gorge themselves while on the way to the butcher shop. As Romans 2:5-6 puts it;
But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who “will render to each one according to his deeds” (Romans 2:5-6).
And a final reason James gave for God’s just judgment on the wicked rich—perhaps a reason that sums up the guilt of the other reasons—is that they were unjust and oppressive to those who were righteous in God’s sight. In verse 6, James said, “You have condemned, you have murdered the just; he does not resist you.”
James said that they “condemned” the righteous man; and this may speak of what James mentioned in 2:6; that the wicked rich actually dragged the righteous into courts and took advantage of them through seemingly-legal processes. But notice also that James said that they “murdered” the just”. This may be understood figuratively in the sense that stealing away the sustenance of an innocent man was like putting him to death; but it may also be understood literally.
And take special note of the response of the righteous man toward this treatment. He shows his righteousness by the fact that he does not resist the oppressor. The persecuted and oppressed believer faithfully followed the instructions of the Lord in Matthew 5:38-42;
“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away” (Matthew 5:38-42).
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So; it’s plain from all this that James isn’t condemning prosperity in and of itself. As someone once wisely put it, a faithful follower of Jesus can be rich in this world and be even richer in the next—if they live righteously before the Lord with their riches. But all of this is a powerful condemnation to those who obtain their riches at the oppression of others—especially of God’s people. Those who hoard riches to the point of wastefulness, or who make themselves rich by withholding the pay justly owed to others, or who greedily consume their wealth in sensual self-indulgence while allowing others to suffer, or who openly oppress the righteous and take the life of the just—these will suffer the just judgment of God when the final bill comes due.
And let’s remember that James wasn’t saying all of this just to speak against the wicked. He was urging us—as Jesus’ faithful followers—to keep our confidence in the face of such suffering, and to remember where our hopes truly lie. That’s why he went on to say,
Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord (v. 7).
AE
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