James Chapter Five, The Patient Farmer

 

James 5:7 Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. [8] You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

 

“Patience is a virtue,” happens to be an old saying, which has fallen into the realm of clichés. But clichés are what they are for good reason. In our current world patience is not seen as a virtue any longer since technology is being produced to make patience obsolete. With the click of a button from virtually anywhere in the world we can access nearly anything we desire. The fast food lifestyle has given way to the fast everything lifestyle, and the practice of patience has fallen by the wayside. We are certainly living in a time when, “many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase,” Daniel 12:4.

The Hebrew word “increase” is “rabah” and means “exponential or numerical.” It does not appear to indicate an increase in quality or superiority. The increased knowledge is simply that: abundantly, incredibly more. It’s a unique challenge for Christians today to be patient and wait on God, trusting Him to act in His wisdom, not driven by our desires but by His perfect will. When we have everything at the touch of a button courtesy of modern tech, patience may start to appear alien. This is only exacerbated by the first 6 verses detailing the outrageous behavior of the rich. The saints are called to be patient if we are victims of this behavior. We are to leave judgment in the hands of our Lord should we become the targets of mistreatment.

 

The coming of the Lord is always imminent; James twice reminds us of that in just two verses. There are some critics of the Bible that attempt to level charges against Paul or James regarding this type of thinking that Christ’s return is near at hand. Such critics state that the apostles were men of their time, convinced that the summation of history would occur before their demise. But the truth of this mentality is simply that James and Paul did not know when He would return, and they longed for it so they might be with Him. Shortly before His arrest, Jesus issued this command, saying, “Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming…lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping. And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch! But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, buy My Father only…watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming…therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect,” Mark 13:35-37, Matthew 24:36, 42, 44.

 

The imminence of Christ’s return should always be in our present thoughts. James, ever watchful, admonished his fellow believers to be vigilant for His soon return. When Jesus returned to reign there would be true justice. With a rod of iron He would bring equity into this formerly godless world. The oppressed would be relieved of their burdens, and judgment would be impartial and executed justly, Psalm 2:8, 9.

 

James turns our attention to the farmer and his patience. Crops aren’t aware of our expectations; they simply grow in the conditions provided them as God designed them. Though we may wait a season, fruit will come and the harvest with it. In the meantime, by commending patience James invites us to learn endurance through trials. It is how God teaches His children, and it is how we as Christians mature in faith and learn to relinquish dependency on earthly things, Hebrew 12:10, 11. The Greek word for “establish” is “sterizo” and is defined, “to turn resolutely in a certain direction.” Read in laymen’s terms the verse would say, “Turn your heart resolutely.” We resolve, through patient obedience, to leave matters of justice and wrongdoing to God, who will mend all hurts and wipe away all tears in His time. His plan spans all of creation and involves all of humanity. His redemption sweeps through all of history, enveloping Israel, the church, and the nations that have forgotten Him. Neither angels nor demons are exempt from the plan of God, established and executed before the world’s foundation. God is our example for patient endurance, as He bears with this corrupt world, showing His mercy to our fallen race as He demonstrates that any will opposed to His suffers the debilitating blindness of willful ignorance; and this blindness is only effectively cured in Christ. While we wait, should we suffer wrong, count it as joy. Not that someone has wronged us, but that through their wrong God gives us a chance to mature in Christ-likeness and witness that the second birth is effectually transformative. And when we have truly been led to endure we can say, along with Joseph, “you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good,” Genesis 50:20.

 

James 5:9 Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned. Behold, the Judge is at the door!

 

The word “grumble” here (grudge in the KJV) is the Greek, “stenazo” and translates, “to express grief by inarticulate or semi-inarticulate sounds.” I am immediately reminded of my son, whom I love immensely but sometimes have a difficult time compelling him to engage his listening skills. In response to my verbal prompts “stenazo” would aptly describe his behavior. He mumbles lowly but no specific words escape his mouth, almost as if he carefully masks expressing the grief he’s clearly thinking about for fear of upsetting me. Grumbling is a passive-aggressive way of vocalizing displeasure with a situation without accentuating yourself overmuch.

 

The condemnation James mentions in this verse is the Greek, “katakrino.” In this instance it appears to be used metaphorically; these grumbling Christians having their less than exemplary conduct “condemned” by the virtuous example set forth by Job and the prophets, James 5:10, 11; see Matthew 12:41, 42 for similar instances. We are reminded that the true Judge is ever imminent. “He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.” Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!” Revelation 22:20. All Christians have a role to play in God’s rescue plan. His imminent return is infinitely good news for the redeemed, and infinitely bad news for the lost. Paul, who was always keenly aware of the lost’s need of Christ, grieved over the damage done to the Corinthian’s witness because of their carnal behavior. “Why do you not rather accept wrong? Why do you rather not let yourselves be cheated?” 1 Corinthians 6:7.

 

Once more the modern American Christian is confronted with something wholly alien. Material loss cannot compare to the loss of souls when Christians cannot be distinguished from the unsaved. Our lofty ethical message falls on deaf ears when the speaker looks just like the soul he seeks to convert! In light of our Lord’s soon return, suffer indignity and loss, counting them as rubbish to gain a righteousness imbued not by worldly effort but by God’s Son, Philippians 3:8, 9. Rather than the arrogance, egotism, or hypocrisy self-righteousness manufactures, we must be found in Christ, possessed of an adoptive righteousness that can and does change us from the inside out. Then, and only then, will patience have its perfect work to see us through the trials that await us, James 1:2-4.