James told the
people within the “twelve tribes scattered abroad” to
“grudge not one against another” because if they did, they
would be “condemned”. He warned them “the judge
stands before the door” which meant the Almighty Judge was
before the “gate and door” of the Kingdom of God and has
authority to rule and officiate over everyone. In chapter five and
verse ten of his letter, James used “the prophets” as an
example of how we must “suffer affliction” and have
“patience” where we read:
Take, my
brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord,
The
verse begins, “Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have
spoken in the name of the Lord,...” The
verse begins, “Take”
or “lay hold of, claim, procure and seize”, “my
brethren” which refers to “a
fellow believer who is united to another by the bond of affection in
Christ”, “the
prophets” or “men filled
with the Spirit of God who by God's authority and command in words of
weight plead the cause of God and urged salvation of men”, “who
have spoken” which means
“uttered, articulated, told and used words in order to declare
their mind and disclose their thoughts” “in the name”
or “everything which the name covers including the thoughts or
feeling which are aroused in the mind by mentioning, hearing and
remembering” “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 give to God the Messiah”.
The “prophets” in
the Old Testament who “spoke”
about the Lord Jesus' coming were those to whom James referred.
The
verse goes on to say, “...for an example of suffering
affliction, and of patience.” James continued, “for an
example” or “a sign, suggestion, delineation and
representation for imitation” “of suffering affliction” or
“evil, trouble and distress”, “and of patience” which
means “endurance, constancy, steadfastness and perseverance”.
Those Old Testament prophets were to be “signs and representations”
of how James' readers were to “endure” “troublesome and
distressful” times.
When
we consider these words of James, we should be encouraged that he
gave us guidance in the way we are endure troubles in this world. We
must look at the “prophets” of old if we are to know how
to make it through them. Jesus Christ gave us the ultimate example of
how to endure afflictions, troubles and difficulties in this life,
and as we look to those who “spoke” about Him, we are
inspired to follow their examples. Let us pray for the Lord Jesus to
help us go through troubles in a manner that is pleasing to Him, and
should we feel inept and feckless doing so, let us turn to the
“prophets” for inspiration.
Next
time James tells his readers how he “counts
them happy that endure”,
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment