Verses 1 to 6 of this chapter are very strong in their denunciation of the rich. The sins of the rich Christian can be many, and James pronounces judgments on them. He first mentions rich men in 1:10: let the rich rejoice "in that he is made low." In 2:2-7, he condemns showing respect to the rich despising the poor; sharp words are used regarding wicked rich. In our portion, he speaks directly to them.

"Go to now ..." “Go to now” is a common Greek expression to draw attention, showing a degree of contempt for the one spoken to. James uses the same expression in 4:13.

"... ye rich men ..." It is not wrong to be rich, but it is dangerous. There are and have been good rich men. The Bible calls two men "good men" and both were well-off. One was Joseph of Arimathaea and the other Barnabas. We have reason to believe that the three friends of the Lord Jesus, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus were also well-off. Some of the Hebrew Bible saints like Abraham and Job were rich. Some rich Christians use their wealth for the Lord and are not guilty of the things charged against rich men here in our verses.

Riches stumble some: For some, it would have been better if riches had never come their way. At one time they loved: gatherings of the Lord's people, the Bible, telling others about Christ, living for God, but their money drew them away. "But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare ... For the love of money is the root of all evil; which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows" (1 Tim. 6:9,10). "And having food and raiment let us be therewith content" (1 Tim. 6:8).

Worldly rich: We do not read the word "brethren" in verses 1-6. It is possible James is here condemning the unsaved rich, who were utterly careless of any others who might be in need. Riches keep some from trusting and obeying Christ. Gold is their God. Mammon is their master (Matt. 6:24). This portion (1-6), while primarily meant for the rich Jews of James' time, is also prophetic of the rich of our time before the coming of the Lord. His coming is brought up in verses 7-9. There are more rich men today than ever before. Financiers control not only industries, but governments as well.

"... weep and howl ..." This is the second time that James calls for weeping. The first time in 4:9, it is to erring Christians, calling them to repent of their ways. It is different here; there is no call to repent, and it is not a weeping because of sorrow for sin. It is an announcement of weeping and howling because of the miseries coming upon them. This verse reminds us of many Hebrew Bible Scriptures. In Isaiah 15:3 and Joel 1:5, we have exactly the same words, "weep and howl."

Why weep and howl?: The rich man says, like the prosperous farmer of Luke 12:19, "Take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry;" but God says, "weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you." When terrible times come and wealth is swept away, the rich lose more than others, and they have more reason to "weep and howl." Some have already wept and howled because they discovered that "Riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven" (Prov. 23:5).

"... for your miseries that shall come ..." These rich Jews were soon to go through a great time of trial. Most of them lost all they had in the destruction of Jerusalem – many lost their lives. As many as possible of the Jews attended the Passover feast in Jerusalem. The rich could afford to go even if they lived a long way away. It was at the Passover time when Jerusalem was destroyed. This was a time of great slaughter and especially the rich were robbed, tortured and killed. This persecution of the rich later spread to the far corners of the Roman Empire, and many who were not at Jerusalem suffered a like fate. No doubt, many of them literally wept and howled, as our verse says.

Fall of Jerusalem and the Lord's coming: In our Lord's discourse on the Mount of Olives, He starts with the destruction of Jerusalem, goes though to the end of this age, and finally to His wonderful and mighty return in glory. In many ways the destruction of Jerusalem is a picture of the great return of Jesus. While those, to whom James is writing, suffered their miseries at the time of the fall of Jerusalem, he seems to be thinking also of the miseries that are to come upon the rich during the great return of Jesus. He says in verse 3, "Ye have heaped up treasure together for the last days." Then in verse 7, "Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord." So the miseries of these early Jewish rich are typical of the miseries of the wicked rich just before and at the time of the Lord's return in glory. "And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondsman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the wrath of the Lamb" (Rev. 6:15,16).

Rich of our day: While the miseries spoken of in our verse were especially for the rich of that time, they can also be applied to the rich of our time. When the USSR fell, some rich lost their wealth. The same happened in American during the depression; and it’s happened in other parts of the world, too. We often hear rumblings of things which may mean trouble for the rich. If a rich man's wealth does not go while he is alive, it will when he dies. Some rich living today will certainly see the time when they will weep and howl. The rich man in hell (Luke 16) is a picture of the future state of many present rich.

Wise counsel to the rich: Any unsaved rich who might read these lines, should turn to Christ at once and use their riches for His service. "And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations" (Luke 16:9). "Mammon of unrighteousness" is a term used for money. It is called this by the Lord because of the sin and mischief it often produces. To "make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness" means to make friends by means of your money. "When ye fall" is generally thought to mean "when you die." Could it mean that when you as a Christian fail in other ways, the Christians you have helped through your money will welcome you, when you cross over? Money helps the evangelist: In many ways we may fail as a Christian, but have given liberally to the support of the Gospel. Perhaps our money has made it possible for some servant to carry the Gospel to needy souls. In the day when we cross over, both the servant and the saved will welcome us warmly.

Money can help the poor: There are some among God's children who are in need. Through your money you can be a real help to them. They will rise up in glory and call you blessed. Money can be a great curse, but it can also be a great blessing. You can be a slave of money, or it can be your servant.

Scripture Reading: James 5:2 (KJV)

In this verse and the first part of the next, James speaks of three corrupting agencies. The first is "corruption" or "rot;" the second is "moth" and the third "rust." He speaks in a prophetic way, as if already come to pass.

"Your riches are corrupted ..." We have all had experience with corruption or rot. Food stuffs do spoil. Wealth today is much different than in Bible times. Now much of it consists of bonds and stocks of mammoth business concerns, or real estate holdings, etc. These things were then unknown. Wealth consisted of stores of food stuffs, clothing, and gold or silver coins. The rich man in Luke 12 had great stores of food, but he died before he could use them. Some have lost much through food spoilage. The story is told of a farmer who had a tremendous pile of squash. He expected to realize a large sum of money from them, but before he could get them to market, they spoiled.

Rotting food stuffs: Farmers sometimes withhold things from the market with the expectation that the price will rise. Some have lost heavily through this. The prices did not rise and shrinkage and rot took their toll. Isn’t it much better to give to the poor than to lose in this way? What good is corn moldering in the crib, when there is so much famine all about? "He that withholdeth corn, the people will curse him: but blessing shall be upon the head of him that selleth it" (Prov. 11:26). James compares the rich of his time to a farmer with his barn full of produce about ready to rot. How much better to have "an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven" (1 Pet. 1:4).

"... your garments ..." Costly garments and plenty of them were the pride of the rich of the East. We see signs of this throughout the Word of God. In the story of the rich man and Lazarus, the rich man "was clothed in purple and fine linen" (Luke 16:19). With Achan in Joshua 7, it was the goodly Babylonish garment as well as the silver and the gold that caused him to sin. Among the things that Naaman was ready to pay for his recovery from leprosy were ten changes of raiment. Gehazi's covetousness for these things caused his downfall (2 Kin. 5).

"... your garments are moth eaten." Moths can be a pest now, but must have been worse then. We have insecticides to combat them, but, as far as we know, the ancients did not. Even now pests often win the battle. The story is told of a man who found a good deal on three fine suits of clothing. He bought them and they stayed in his closet a long time. When the time finally came to use them, he couldn't because the moths had done their job. No doubt this happened in Bible times, too. It is much better to give such to the poor. "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal" (Matt. 6:19).

Riches often a curse: This all tells us that God will not bless riches stored up for no purpose. Idle riches will but injure the owners. In themselves they do not make for happiness. In fact, they have been a plague and a curse to many; especially if riches are ill gotten by oppressing and underpaying the poor – thus will they become corrupted and moth eaten. Jeremiah 17:11 has often been proven correct; "He that getteth riches, and not by right, shall leave them in the midst of his days."

Scripture Reading: James 5:3 (KJV)

In this verse, James deals with his third destructive agency, rust. The Revised Version has "rusted" rather than "cankered." Gold and silver, along with food stuffs and garments, were the riches hoarded in those days. The rot of food stuffs, the moth eating of garments, and the rusting of gold and silver are all typical of God's wrath that will consume the owners. "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (Heb. 10:31).

"Your gold and your silver is cankered ..." "Rusted" (R.V.) Pure gold and silver does not rust, but does tarnish. Perhaps the coins of that time were mixed with quite a large percentage of alloys and actually rusted. Rust is a symbol of disuse. It is not wrong to have money pass through your hands, but it is wrong to hold it until it is rusted. Idle money is of no value. We are only stewards of that with which the Lord entrusts us. If He gives us money, we must use it for Him. Whatever He gives us, whether wealth or talent, we must not allow it to lie around unused.

Rust consumes: Rust not only symbolizes disuse, but also destruction. It eats away a little at a time, until finally it fully consumes. It pictures the destruction of some of the rich with rusted consciences. If we are wise, we will turn loose our money to help the poor, the Lord's servants and needy saints. The Lord has ways of taking away the wealth of those who prove faithless stewards.

"... the rust of them shall be a witness against you ..." James pictures the rust as speaking against them in the day of judgment. They might try to make excuses, but the rust will be evidence they have sinned. Some have translated this "a witness to you." They were to notice the rust and see how it consumed the silver and the gold, remembering they too were but dust and would have to face the day of wrath.

"... shall eat your flesh as it were fire ..." They say it is an awful feeling for a rich man to suddenly find himself poor. Most of us have never lost great amounts of money, because we have never had it to lose.

Remembering his grandfather, William Harrison wrote: When the depression hit, like thousands of others my grandfather was without work. Before passing away, he said that when news came that the banks closed, with only $10.00 in his pocket, he brought grandmother and dad together and prayed. He undertook the family cause, but had nothing to lean on but the Lord. A few days later, there was a knock at the front door. There stood a man he had served under in World War I and for whom he had previously worked. The seemingly impossible happened. The man wanted to know if grandfather and dad were looking for work. While thousands hunted for months on end for jobs that were not available, two came to the front door. Dad often said that the family never had to go into debt during that period of time, and always believed it was a blessing from the Lord.

Lost riches torment the soul: Though most of us are not financially rich, still, we can learn from such an experience a little of what must happen inside a rich man who leans on his riches – when he suddenly finds them gone. We can better understand how their flesh would be eaten by fire. Many such not only lose sleep, and weight, but even their minds – some their lives.

Riches lost do no good: The story is told of a Christian who lost a good deal of money during the depression. He lamented the fact that he had not used it in the Lord's work, but had hoarded it for himself. He said, “Now it's gone, and who knows how much good it would have done had I invested it in the work of the Lord."

"... ye have heaped treasure together ..." Some translate this, "Ye have heaped up fire for the last day." This would agree with, "After thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath" (Rom. 2:5). Some are like these rich men, piling up for themselves the fires of God's judgment. The time when they would be losing their wealth and some their lives, was fast approaching. At the time of James' writing it was perhaps 10 years to the destruction of Jerusalem. That was a terrible time for rich Jews. How much better it would have been for them, had they laid up treasures in heaven rather than on earth (Matt. 6:19, 20).

"... for the last days." Some have translated this "in the last days" and applied it to the last days of Jerusalem. It is not clear what James had in mind, but the Spirit inspiring him to write was surely aware of both the fall of Jerusalem and the coming of the Lord! In many ways the fall of Jerusalem is typical of the great return of Jesus. Verses 7-9 indicate that James had more than the fall of Jerusalem in mind. All the early Christians expected Christ to return very soon. It seems to be the intention of the Lord to have all Christians in all ages live in constant expectation of His return.

This whole age the last days: Sometimes this expression "the last days" refers to this whole age, sometimes to the end of this age. Our verse anticipates the end time of this age, as also do verses like, "That there shall come in the last days scoffers walking after their own lusts, and saying, where is the promise of his coming?" (2 Pet. 3:3, 4) But in, "Little children, it is the last time" (1 John 2:18), it evidently refers to the whole age from the resurrection of Christ until His return. This is also true of "In the last days, saith God, I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh" (Acts 2:17). Peter applies this to Pentecost, the beginning of this age, but it is true of the whole age.

Rich of our day: Without a doubt, we are in the last days of the last days. There probably never was a time when there were more rich men than today. Income and wealth is tremendous – reaching as high as billions. What could that do for missionaries around the world? From this we can gather a little of the stupendous responsibility such riches bring. Some have already had their riches swept away, but at the second coming of the Lord, all will be gone for everyone. Then we all will be held accountable for every dollar passing through our hands. If we have wealth, may we be wise and use it for the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ.

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