Faith Works | Week 22

Review, review, review. The way to learn to spell words (without Google) is to recite them over and over. The way to learn your multiplication table is to recite them over and over. The way to learn to walk is to fall and get up again over and over. Zig Zigglar said, “Repetition is the mother of learning, the father of action, which makes it the architect of accomplishment.” The jewish Rabbi’s would state that the one who has quoted a passage 100’s fails to the one who has quoted a passage 101’s. The point is that one can never be reminded of the importance of something too many times. So we shall review.

James is writing the letter to Jews that have been scattered. They no longer live in the place they once did. They are not in the friendly confines of Jerusalem. Many are now living among the heathen and pagan nations. Most of the people they now call their neighbors do not have the God of the Jews, Adoni, as their God. Many of them would have more than one god as this was common place in that eastern culture as well as it still is today. James deals with many issues that they and we experience in life. Trials, humility being a doer and not a hearer only, the dangers of showing favoritism, a living faith full of works, the untamable tongue, pride, judging another and so on. He is giving the Jews things that will help them to be the people that God has called them to be in all areas of life. Not only in public but also toward on another. That’s a very high level overview of where we have been thus far.

Last week Tyler took up the subject of abundance from verses 1-6. God speaks directly and often harshly to those who get an abundance by defrauding others, while simultaneously dealing with those who have an abundance and simply want hoard it for themselves. There is great reason for God to speak in such a manner. Again, James is writing to the Jewish people. The Israelites. These people who’s ancestry were the vary ones that God delivered from the Egyptian slavery. Their forefathers knew well what it was like to be beaten for not meeting the brick quota. They knew well what it was like to cry out to God because the burden placed upon them was heavy and harsh. This cry was not a cry that we make when we stump our toe. No this cry was the Hebrew word Sa’aq (sa-ok). “It is the expression of pain, the ouch, the sound we utter when we are wounded.” The JPS Torah commentary calls it one of the most powerful words in the Hebrew language. It is the agonized pleas of the helpless victim. It is the crying of a newborn baby left alone to be tormented by the absence of its mother who will not return. This is the cry of the oppressed and marginalized that rings loudly in the ears of Almighty God. This is the cry of these Jewish slaves in Egypt. It’s no wonder that God speaks in bold language toward those that want to do nothing with their abundance. It all actuality we all have an abundance of something. And there are those we need our abundance. But I want you to notice something very closely. Lets read the first 6 verses of 5 and then read 7 - 12. I want you to notice the tone change in James and there is a good reason for it.