Be patient, therefore, beloved, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious crop from the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near. Beloved, do not grumble against one another, so that you may not be judged. See, the Judge is standing at the doors! As an example of suffering and patience, beloved, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Indeed we call blessed those who showed endurance. You have heard of the endurance of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful. Above all, my beloved, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your "Yes" be yes and your "No" be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.
-- James 5:7-12
December 10, 2004
Strengthen Your Hearts
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4 comments:
Hmmm ... one article I read about James pointed out the oddity of him using Job and the prophets as examples of hardship, patience, perseverance instead of Jesus (especially if he was Jesus' brother).
You have heard of the perseverance of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, because "the Lord is compassionate and merciful." ... I don't think the story of Job is a good example of God's compassion. I know that he restored to Job all that had been taken from him, but still, he allowed him to be tormented in the first place although Job had done nothing wrong.
I don't understand the significance of the part about not swearing an oath.
Soryy, it's late and the old brain's sleepy :-)
I read about James pointed out the oddity of him using Job and the prophets as examples of hardship, patience, perseverance instead of JesusMaybe Crystal, James knew Jesus personally, and had a hard time seeing the person as the patient and enduring fellow the gospels present.
Just a thought. Though that would mean the "real" Jesus may be very different from the cleaned up version we have in the Synoptics.
Re the last thing you said, David:
I haven't the slightest doubt about that. I recommend The Everlasting Gospel of William Blake.
Thanks, Larry for commending the peom to me. It will bear more than one reading to parse out Blake's full meaning but looks likely to be worth it.
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