Warning to the Rich: Part 3 - James 5:4-6

Warning to the Rich: Part 3 - James 5:4-6
Written by LaRosa Johnson
Monday, October 27, 2008

Up to this point, we've seen quite a bit of talk concerning these rich believers. James has told them that they need to mourn and weep for the miseries that were about to come upon them. He then went on to detail the kind of misery that they would encounter as a means of divine judgment, which was the loss of their wealth. With everything that has been said thus far, the one thing that hasn't been discussed is why they are facing such judgment. Our passage and study today will reveal why these well-to-do believers were facing condemnation. So, if we are prepared for the study of God's Word, let's open our Bibles to James 5:4-6.

Quote :

James 5:4-6 (NASB) - 4Behold, the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, and which has been withheld by you, cries out against you; and the outcry of those who did the harvesting has reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. 5You have lived luxuriously on the earth and led a life of wanton pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. 6You have condemned and put to death the righteous man; he does not resist you.

As we stated in our opening, up to this point, James had only issued out condemnation to these rich believers, but had not told them why there were about to have divine punishment come their way. Well, we now have the reasons why they are being judged by the Lord. These three verses give four reasons as to why they are in the situation they're in: 1) they failed to pay the laborers who kept their fields, 2) they failed to do the same with those who harvested the crops, 3) they used the unpaid wages to live a luxurious lifestyle, and 4) they have condemned innocent and righteous men unjustly. Taken together, this is the reason for their judgment; and, put mildly, they're suffering because they failed to treat people fairly. We will now take a look at these reasons and expound upon them.

The first reason that James cites is that they have withheld daily wages from the laborers that kept their fields and harvested their crops. Before we go any further with this point, let's make sure we're clear on a few items. First, we are still dealing with an agrarian society, and one of the marks of the wealthy is that they owned a lot of land, to the extent that they needed to hire people in order to work the fields, as it was too much to do on their own. Secondly, these workers were day laborers, and the nature of their work was such that they got paid at the end of each day's work. This is a stark contrast to today, where many of us work for a week or two, and then expect to be paid for the work we've done; these workers were paid daily. Another thing to note about these workers is that a land owner only hired the number of workers that he needed for a particular day, which we can get a glimpse of in one of Jesus' parables (Matt. 20:1-16); it was partly for this reason that laborers were paid daily. The real reason for paying laborers daily had to do with the Mosaic Law, because, remember, we're dealing with Jews; the Law stated that they were to not let the sun go down without paying their workers (Lev. 19:13; Deut 24:14, 15). By not paying their laborers at the end of each day, the rich were sinning against their laborers and God.

That is the problem here, the matter of fairness. These believers failed to treat their labor fairly, and this was a sin in the sight of God, especially to do it to someone that you call a brother. As a result of not receiving their daily wages, these laborers cried out, even to the point of the Lord hearing their prayers and answering them with the judgment listed in verses 2 & 3. These employers failed to realize that even though they are in a position of authority, they still have an authority over them in God (Col. 4:1). For this reason, the cries of the laborers have become yet another testimony against the wealthy believers, much like their corrupted treasures. It is further proof that they are not walking upright with their eyes on the Lord. What's more, James specifically indicates that the God that hears the cry of these laborers is the Lord of Sabaoth, or the Lord of Hosts. What significance does this have? Well, it is showing these rich that they are dealing with God, who is commander of the armies of heaven, thus bringing a strong significance to this matter.

The next reason that James lists as a reason for their punishment is that they were living luxurious lives and leading a life of pleasure. What's wrong with this? Well, take into account our previous point; a part of the money they were using to live this kind of lifestyle came from the wages that they were withholding from the laborers who were working their fields. It's one thing to not pay them, but it strengthens the argument against you that much more when you take that money and spend it on yourself. If we go back to chapter 4, we could probably very well say that these are some of the same people that James was addressing in that chapter who were living hedonistic lives chasing after their own lusts. For these people, one of the ways in which they did it was to not pay their laborers, and use that money to fund their lusts. This isn't a reason that requires much detail as it is quite obvious that these people weren't doing what they were supposed to be doing with their money. It is interesting, though, that James compares them to fattened cattle who are ready to be slaughtered because this is exactly what their lifestyle resembles. The words of Paul in 1 Timothy 5:6 states, "But she who gives herself to wanton pleasure is dead even while she lives." The context of that passage is speaking of widows, but the same principle applies here; the one who chooses to ignore God during their life is walking as one who is spiritually dead. This is the state of the rich, they are dead to the ways of God because they choose to focus on their wealth.

The final area James points out is their condemning of the righteous. The term used here for condemned is a legal term and means "to give judgment against" or "pronounce guilty." We don't have a lot of detail to go off of here, but there is a lot that we can probably say, given the circumstances. Not only were these rich hoarding money by not paying their laborers, but it would probably be safe to assume that they would then make up charges (theft?) against them so that they would not have to pay the wages owed. Much like our judicial system today, in many regards, those who have money and better lawyers are generally more believable than the common man and end up having the judge rule in their favor. We can't really say, but we do know that they were taking them to court as a means of doing anything to sustain their current lifestyle, even if it meant defrauding others. If we go back to James 2:6, when James spoke on favoritism, he made mention of the rich dragging believers into court and oppressing them, which is likely a similar situation here, if not the exact same thing. The bottom line, this is not behavior becoming one who should be walking in the Spirit.

Furthermore, we also find that not only are the rich condemning them, but they are putting the righteous to death. Again, we don't have the precise details, but we can garner that this is probably both literal and figurative, depending on the person. Again, going back to chapter 4, James spoke a great deal about how these believers lusted to the point of committing murder, both physical and verbal; this is the same situation here. In the most extreme cases, these rich probably had people put to death in an attempt to protect their wealth, while others would have resorted to verbal slander and using the courts to produce a kind of "judicial murder." Either way, the purpose was the same, which was to sustain their wealth and slander their opposition to the point where they could no longer be trusted.

The point that we want to close today's study and this section with is that the righteous did not resist the rich. The Christians that were being cheated out of their wages and drug into court by no means resisted the rich; instead of fighting back and defending their name and honor, they chose to take the high road and walk in a Christlike manner by turning the other cheek (Matt. 5:39). As believers today, when we find ourselves facing these same kinds of circumstances, that should be our response, humility instead of resistance. We can rest assured that God will render the justice that is due, as the Scripture says that we should leave room for the wrath of God to do its thing, as opposed to seeking vengeance on our own (Rom. 12:19). This is the very word that James gives to those believers who were being oppressed, as we will see next time when we get into verse 7 and following. Until then, walk upright and in the Spirit.

devotion courtesy of Trailblazin Ministries
http://www.trailblazinministries.com/devotions/james079.php