Keeping Back Wages from Laborers James 5:4

As James addressed the “rich men” who were among the “twelve tribes scattered abroad”, he exhorted them concerning their “rusting and cankering” “gold and silver”, and although they had gathered them together for the last days, in chapter five and verse four of his letter James shared how the “cries” of the “hire of the laborers” were “entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabbath” where we read:

Behold, the hire of the laborers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, cries: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabbath.

The verse began, “Behold, the hire of the labors who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, cries:” James began with the word, “Behold” which means “perceive with the eyes and senses, note, discern, discover and see” “the hire” or “dues paid for work or wages” “of the laborers” which refers to “workmen, perpetrators and one who works for hire (especial an agricultural worker)” “who have reaped down” which means “mow down and collected” “your fields” or “the spaces lying between two places or limits, region or country such as a tract of land” “which is of you” which refers to “the rich men who employed the laborers” “kept back by fraud” which means “by robbery, theft and despoil”, “cries” which means “croaks, cries aloud and vociferates”. The “wages” of the “laborers” were stolen by the “rich men” rather than paying them.

The verse continues, “and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabbath.” James added, “and the cries” or “beckoning , halloo and begging for aid ” “of them” which refers to “the laborers” “which have reaped” or “harvested and cut down with a sickle” “are entered” which means “entered and come into ” “into the ears” or “the faculty of perceiving with the mind of understanding and knowing” “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” “of sabaoth” which means “the Lord of the armies of Israel who are under the leadership and protection of Jehovah and maintain his cause in war”. When those who were the “laborers” of “rich men” were deceived and robbed of their wages, they cried out to God and He heard them.

When we consider these words of James, we see his strong exhortation and warning to “rich men” who hire others to harvest their fields. Basically, the employers were keeping earned wages from their workers, and when those workers cried out to God about it, He listened to them. We must understand the Lord's interest in those who are “laborers”, and should we have people who work for us, may we know, the Lord Jesus is hearing their anguished “cries”.

Next time James shares about “living in pleasure on the earth” and “nourishing” their “hearts”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

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