Warning to the Rich: Part 2 - James 5:2-3

Warning to the Rich: Part 2 - James 5:2-3
Written by LaRosa Johnson
Friday, October 24, 2008

Now that we know who James is referring to in this particular passage, a group of rich believers who are walking in carnality, let us continue on in our study of the text as we move forward to verses 2 and 3. It is here that we find James progressing in his judgment and condemnation towards these believers as we begin to see why these rich were commanded to weep and howl. If hearts and minds are ready for the study of God's Word, let us begin.

Quote :

James 5:2-3 (NASB) - 2Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten. 3Your gold and your silver have rusted; and their rust will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have stored up your treasure!

In the opening verse of this chapter we found James commencing a judgment against rich believers. He began by telling them to burst out in weeping while howling with grief because miseries were about to come upon them. That's all that was given to us in verse 1, and today's passage picks up right where James left off, as he starts to lay out exactly what those miseries are. In verse 2 we find him talking about two things that the wealthy hold dear, their riches and their clothing. In speaking about these things, he says that they have rotted and become moth-eaten. For the wealthy, this is probably one of the worst things that can happen to them, as it means a loss of financial gain. If your wealth has rotted away and your clothes become incapable of being worn, then you are seemingly out of quite a bit of money and financial assets. Furthermore, in the first half of verse 3 we find that their gold and silver has also rusted, along with what happened to their other signs of status. That's the one thing about the rich, they constantly want to store up treasure, and the last thing they want is to lose what they have worked so hard to gain. If you look at things like the stock market crash of 1929, you could almost say that this same thing was happening, going back to verse 1 and tying in this passage. After finding out that they had lost all of their money (similar to rust, rot, and moth-eaten in this passage), they couldn't help but to weep and howl in grief. I really like how the Bible Knowledge Commentary puts it when it states:

Quote :

The story is not from "rags to riches" but from "riches to rags." Gold and silver are the most sought-after metals and have long been considered the material standards for the world. Though they do not rust, they do become corroded. Gold can darken and silver tarnishes. Their corrosion (ios, or "poison," as in 3:8 and Rom. 3:13) is a testimony to the rich man's folly and will consume his flesh like fire. As metals lose their luster, the poison of greed eats up people. The corrosion of wealth is testimony to this sickness of the wealthy.[1]

That's what we're dealing with here, we see believers who have put more faith in the their money and social status, instead of the Lord Almighty. It will even get to a point that the corruption of this wealth will become a testimony against these believers. How will it do this? Just like with those in the stock market crash, it was quite obvious who had put their faith & hope in stocks because they were now at the level of common man, or even worse. It's just like actors or athletes who squander their earnings and wind up worse off than before they had even acquired the cash. What's worse is that you find them doing any and everything that they can to regain their former glory and what they had lost. This is akin to what the text is saying when it states "it will consume your flesh like fire;" their folly is evident and they are consumed with trying to reacquire wealth or with guilt over what they had lost. 1 Timothy 6:9-10 also paints a very clear picture of what is being talked about here; in this passage we find those who seek to get rich and the destruction and ruin they eventually face as their monetary pursuits shift their focus away from God.

In the latter end of verse 3, James goes on to say that they have stored up their treasure in the last days. Simply put, Church Age believers need to realize that Jesus Christ can return at any moment and anything that we have acquired here will be left behind. This is why Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:19, 20 to store up treasures that are eternal where they will not suffer corrosion and theft, like here on earth. Jesus further makes his point in His parable of the rich man when he says that this man was foolish for tearing down his barns to build new ones when he didn't even know if his soul would be required of him that very night (Luke 12:16-21). The point that Jesus was making here is that we need to be rich towards God, and not just this world, because these earthly riches will be of no value to us once we leave this earth. This is the same warning that James is giving to these rich believers; he wants them to realize that their life could end at any moment, so they need to get focused on the things of God instead of being so consumed with how they are going to acquire and store up more riches. Even for us today, just as these believers, we need to stop living as if Jesus isn't soon to return or never coming back; we need to be ready at all times to leave this earth.

As a point of summary, what we see happening here is a description of the misery that James said would come upon these rich believers: they would lose their riches. Their faith and priorities were in acquiring wealth and God is bringing condemnation against them for not making Him a priority. That alone doesn't finish the picture though, because if we go back to 1 Timothy 6 again (vv. 17-19), we see Paul telling Timothy to encourage other rich believers to continue to walk in a manner that's pleasing to God and do good with their wealth. With that, we can conclude that these believers had to have been doing something wicked in order to justify such harsh words and judgment. Well, James doesn't leave us hanging there because as we move forward in this chapter we will see part of the reason why God is judging these rich believers so harshly; but, we will save that for next time.

Until next time, stay in the Word and diligent in prayer. God bless!

[1] Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas Theological Seminary. (1983-c1985). The Bible knowledge commentary : An exposition of the scriptures (2:832). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

devotion courtesy of Trailblazin Ministries
http://www.trailblazinministries.com/devotions/james078.php