Page 57 - book_james

The example of patience is a farmer who, after planting the seed, waits for the time of harvest.
The waiting is easier knowing what is coming in a few weeks and months. He waits for signs in
the heavens, which let him know that harvest is coming soon. For the farmer, the signs are the
former and latter rains that come to Palestine in the spring and fall of the year. The people of
James’s day are the farmers who are looking for a different harvest: the millennial reign of the
Lord Jesus Christ, which has been spoken of throughout the Old Testament and the gospels of
Jesus.

Jas 5:8 Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.

Be ye also patient; stablish (sterixate: stabilized) your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth
nigh.

The command is for the people of the congregation to become patient and stabilize their own
hearts. All of the proper tools have been given by the Lord to get the job done; people just need
to put them into effect in their own personal lives. The way to become stabilized is through
constant intake and application of the Word of God (1 Thessalonians 3:12; 2 Thessalonians 2:16‐
17; 1 Peter 5:10).
Our patience and stability will pay off one day, for the Lord Jesus will return for us at the rapture
and later to the earth at His second advent. James is not the only one who wrote of the coming
of the Lord Jesus. He joins Paul, Peter, and John (1 Corinthians 15:51; Philippians 4:5; 1 Peter 4:7;
1 John 2:13, 3:2‐3). Patiently awaiting the coming of the Lord Jesus keeps us working for the Lord
each day. We should not give up living for the Lord to simply wait for His return (1 Thessalonians
4:10‐12; 2 Thessalonians 2:1‐3).

Jas 5:9 Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge
standeth before the door.

Grudge (stenazete: stabilize) not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned (krino:
murmur, grumble): behold, the judge standeth before the door.

The conditions for these believers are not easy; they are difficult. James is instructing them not
to become irritable toward one another and began to grumble and gripe. It is often easy during
a time of oppression to put the blame on others around you and get your eyes off the real issue.
When we begin to gripe against each other, we stand before the Judge, the Lord Jesus Christ,
who has warned us not to judge each other lest we be judged ourselves (Matthew 7:1‐7; Luke
6:37). He presently stands before the doors, indicating the nearness of His arrival to the earth for
the rapture and second advent. All of the oppression these believers are experiencing will be
handled then and settled once and for all. In the meantime, they are to be patient, stabilized
through the Word, and not to become angry toward each other.

Jas 5:10 Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an
example of suffering affliction, and of patience.