As the people
within the “twelve tribes scattered abroad” obeyed James
by “drawing near to God”, the promise would be for God to
“draw near” to them. They were to be “afflicted, to
mourn, and weep” and allow their “laughter to be turned to
mourning” and their “joy to heaviness”.
In chapter four and verse ten of his letter, James told his readers
to “humble”
themselves “in the
sight of the Lord” where we read:
The
verse begins, “Humble yourselves in the sight of the
Lord,...” James began with the
words, “humble yourselves”
which means “to make themselves low, reduce to a plain and meaner
circumstance” “in the sight” or
“in the presence of, in an occupied place or over against and
opposite to anyone and toward which another turns his eyes” “of
the Lord” which refers to “he
to whom a person or thing belongs about which he has power of
deciding, master and the title given to God the Messiah”. James'
exhortation was for his readers to “make themselves low, plain and
mean” within God's presence.
The
verse goes on to say, “...and he shall lift you up.”
James continued, “and
he” which refers to “The
Lord God” “shall lift” or
“exalt, raise to the very summit of opulence and prosperity,
dignity, honor and happiness” “you up”
which means “the people of the “twelve tribes scattered abroad”
shall be lifted to an exalted state”. When the people “humbled
themselves”, God would exalt them to higher “prosperity, honor
and happiness”.
When
we consider these words of James, we should note a distinct advantage
to “humbling” ourselves
before God. As we obey the Lord by submitting to a subordinate
position before Him, we actually put ourselves in the best place of
advancement. It seems counter intuitive to “humble” ourselves to
be “exalted”, however this is Jesus Christ's way, and He was our
ultimate example for this behavior - “And being found in
fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death,
even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also has highly exalted
him, and given him a name which is above every name:” (Philippians
2:8,9). May we observe Jesus' example and follow Him in obeisance and
humility.
Next
time James tells his readers to “speak
not evil one of another”,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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