CHAPTER 5

VS 1
1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.

((Scientists and doctors tell us that when we are young, our cells reproduce
reapidly -- that's why we GROW.
Then, and middle age, the cells still reproduce pretty fast....that's why we
get FAT!
Then, in our senior years, the cells reproduce slower and we
LOSE WEIGHT!
Wait a minute!!
I'm almost 83, and finding it really hard to lose weight!!
So, I must still be in middle age!! ))

The term "Go to now" is designed to capture attention.
It's sorta like us saying in 2026: "LISTEN UP!"

The Scripture here refers to the rich, and says they will "weep and howl."
Reference is not to be rich, but to what is DONE or NOT done with the riches.

VS 2
2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.

The word "corrupted" is derived from the Greek seepo.
It means putrified.

By the way, that Greek word is not used anywhere else in the New Testament.
Usually the Greek word for corrupt is aphanizo, meaning worthless or bad.

While the poor were suffering, the rich were hiding treasures!

VS 3
3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you,
and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.

The treasure they had "heaped...together" will be "cankered".
Those treasures will be a "witness" against them!
They were STORED, but not USED!

VS 4
4 Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you
kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into
the ears of the Lord of sabaoth.

The poor could find little work.
And, when the rich hired them, the pay was "kept back by fraud!"

The owners of the fields were fraudulent in paying the laborers!
And, the "cries" of the workers had been HEARD by the Lord!

When people are fraudulent, God SEES and KNOWS!

VS 5
5 Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your
hearts, as in a day of slaughter.

Those rich fraudulent people had lived in "wanton" "pleasure!"
They were living in luxury while people were starving!
We can certainly see some of that happening in today's world!

There is enough work on this earth for EVERY PERSON to have a job!
There is no need to tax the poor and exempt the rich!
THAT just happens to be one of the main reasons for CRIME!

Those who raise cattle and sheep are familiar with FEEDING the ones
to be slaughtered soon.
I heard one cattle man say, "We're fattening them for the time of slaughter!"

THAT'S what the Scripture is referring to.
Those who are fraudulently storing riches and not helping the poor,
are fattening themselves up!

VS 6
6 Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.

WOW!
These same had KILLED JESUS!
HE is the only "just" One!

God is patiently watching, knowing all that is happening.
But God is waiting for that LAST one who WILL be saved to BE saved!
THEN, justice will come!!

Jesus said, "Whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that
humbleth himself shall be exalted." (Lk. 14:11)

Those who are given to godliness and righteousness are humble in
spirit.
They will be exalted in heavenly splendor!

VS 7-8
7 Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the
husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience
for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.
8 Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.

The Scripture had been addressing the rich who demean and do not pay
workers properly, nor take care of those who are needy.

NOW, the Scripture turns to address those who are being oppressed.
The Scripture says, "BE PATIENT!"

The ONLY person in charge of YOUR happiness is YOU!
Don't compare yourself to others!
Comparison is the thief of joy!

SMILE!
You do NOT OWN all the the problems in this world!
When Jesus says He's soon coming, BELIEVE it!
And be looking FORWARD to it!

Like the famer ("husbandman") WAIT for the fruit of your labor!
SPIRITUALLY tend and watch your self!
God is doing that NOW, and so should WE!

The Old Testament prophets are an example.
They lived with persecution, deceit, trickery - yet they lived FAITHFUL to God!

VSS 9-10
9 Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the
judge standeth before the door.
10 Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord,
for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience.

The word "grudge" is from the Greek stenazo.
It means to sigh heavily, or to hold against a person for something they
have, for which you don't have.

I remember and old statement we used to make when we were kids.
"I wish I had that car and he had a wart on his nose!"

Now THAT my friend is a GRUDGE!

If ever there was a prophet who might have held a grudge, it was Jeremiah.
But he DID NOT!
He was faithful to the end!

VS 11
11 Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job,
and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.

Remember Job?
He is one of the greatest illustrations of patience in the Bible.
Often, people refer to the "patience of Job."

He lost EVERYTHING!!!
Yet Job BELIEVED GOD, and sat FAITHFUL in mourning.

Then, God provided Job with MORE that he ever had before!!
Job is the story where God PROVED that once a person is truly saved,
the devil, with all his wiles CANNOT take that person away from God!!

In Job 42:10 God gave Job TWICE as much as he had before!
In Job 42:13 God gave Job ANOTHER 7 sons and 3 daughters as before.
(Remember, they had ALL died in tragic situations.)

Now...LISTEN to this!
The VERY NEXT Scripture is Psalm 1.
And verse 1 says, "BLESSED (blissfully happy) is the man that walketh NOT
in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth
in the seat of the scornful!"

WOW!
WHAT a LESSON!

VS 12
12 But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth,
neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into
condemnation.

The habit of swearing was common among Jewish people!
Here, the Scripture says, DON'T SWEAR!

And, the Scripture says this is "above all things!"

Jesus taught this too!
(See Matt. 5:33-37)

Just make simple affirmations...and be TRUTHFUL!
"Lest you fall into condemnation!"

Remember Ex. 20:7 says, "Thou shalt NOT take the name of the LORD thy GOD
in vain; for the LORD will NOT hold him guiltless that taketh His Name in vain!"

VSS 13-16
13 Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.
14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray
over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:
15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up;
and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed.
The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

HERE is the IMPORTANCE of PRAYER!!

1st, if you're persecuted, oppressed, PRAY!
God sees, knows ALL! He will HELP!

Prayer is acknowledging that God IS, and that he KNOWS our situation
even before we explain it.
And prayer is acknowledging that we NEED God's presence and power!!

2nd, if you're happy, sing songs - sing praises to God!
Singing actually LIFTS your spirit (even if you can't carry a tune)!!

3rd, if you're sick, BRING it to the church and let them PRAY for you!!
One note here.
CALL for the elders!
Don't ASSUME they already know about the situation!
Don't WAIT for them to be informed!
INFORM them, and ask for PRAYER!

Of course the prayer should be in submission to God's WILL!
That's actually what it means to pray "in the NAME of JESUS!"

You nor I can HEAL!
ONLY GOD can!
We are just vessels of clay!

Whether the person for whom we pray is healed or not -
he/she willl be "lifted up!"
Just KNOWING someone is praying for us LIFTS our spirits!!

It IS absolutely true that the "effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man
availeth MUCH!!"

Prayer, in order to be effective, we must pray "not my will, but THINE!"

Believers are to confess their faults "one to another," expecting that
the relief of confession will aid in healing!
Prayer, coupled with confession, brings forgiveness of God!
(See 1John 1:9)

That prayer does NOT need the aid of another person.

Let me stress one point here.
I have prayed for many people, and they were healed.
But I did NOT heal them!!
GOD did, because it was His will!

((Here is one example.
One Sunday, at the first church where I was pastor, my family and I drove up
to the church early.
There was a lady there with her daughter.
I asked if they were all right, and the mother blurted out:
"See this big box. It is full of x-rays, cat scans, and MRI's that show my
daughter has cancer ALL OVER her body. She is only 7 years old!
We are headed to Houston to see if they can do anything.
But a friend of mine said we could come to this church and that you and
your church would PRAY for her!"
Quickly, I said, "Yes! We will certainly pray for her!"
"BUT," I said, "You must realize we can ONLY pray for God's will to be done!"
She answered, "YES! And we are in agreement with that! We bend our will
to God's will!"
After worship service, we gathered people to anoint the daughter with oil and pray.
They left for Houston.
Next Sunday, they were BACK!
The mother said, "I want to say a big THANK YOU to God and to your church for
praying. When we got to Houston, they did ALL KINDS of TESTS! And, they
could find NO SIGN of cancer in my daughter!!"
After church that Sunday, that Mom got up and gave a glowing testimony to
the grace and power of God!!))

VSS 17-18
17 Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly
that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years
and six months.
18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth
her fruit.

Here's a Biblical example.
Elijah prayed there would be NO RAIN for 42 months!!!
It HAPPENED!!

WHY? Because God TOLD Elijah to pray that prayer!
God had ORDERED it at the perfect time.

But, LISTEN!
Elijah had to be FAITHFUL!!

19 Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him;
20 Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his
way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.

If ANY believer does "err from the truth," then another believer
needs to TRY and turn him back to the Lord.

When one DOES turn another believer to the right way of living for Jesus,
he/she saves a soul from "death!"

Get this: To be OUT of the way of life in Jesus is to be DEAD spiritually!!
Death means separation from life.
The one who is erring from the truth is ALREADY separated from LIFE
with Christ!

He/she will not be separated for eternity, IF they are a
true believer.
When we are going the wrong way in life, our relationship with Christ
is STRAINED!

Now. When a true believer is turned, by confession and begging forgiveness,
God DOES forgive and the relationship is REPAIRED!
(See 1John 1:9 again.)

Now, if the person going the wrong way is NOT a believer, then he/she
is turned TO Christ, he/she will be SAVED through Christ!

And a person who is converted to Christ has a MULTITUDE of sins HIDDEN!

PRAISE JESUS!!