James adds to 1:3-4 that patience produces wholesome results in light of the coming of the Lord. Patience says leave in God’s hands things you can do nothing about (5:7).
When Leonardo de Vinci was verbally abused by Michelangelo, who hated him, he made no reply other than to note in his journal that it is wise to cultivate patience. James’s word for patience in 5:7 means “desire for the thing far off” (“long patience,” KJV).
This image pictures a difficult journey to reach an enjoyable destination. Because the timing of the Lord’s coming is in His hands alone, patience marks one’s ability to stay with the things of Christ until He comes (5:7a).
A farmer can do many things about a crop, but he cannot alter the steps required to ripen that crop (5:7b).
Patience says hope overrides disappointment and frustration (5:8-9) by keeping the long term in view (5:8a). “James seeks to encourage and strengthen his community in its everyday trials, and one of the perennial sources of weakness to a community is internal bickering and fault-finding” (Sophie Laws).
Patience cooperates with what the Lord’s return means for today; that is, the certainty of His coming in the future changes one’s outlook in the near term (5:8b).
The long view increases sensitivity toward others rather than criticism of others (5:9a), concerning which criticism God picturesquely disapproves (5:9b).
The Old Testament prophets provide examples for bearing witness of the Lord in the face of harsh opposition (5:10). “The point is that when it falls our lot to be like them in suffering, we should also strive to be like them in patience” (Curtis Vaughan).
Job is one example that God blesses those who prove faithful in patience (5:11). James uses the word for patience that means steadily persevering in moving forward under a load (1:3). Job’s experience was not so much inspired by a patient “big picture” as it was his determination not to give in to hardships.
Through perseverance, James says Christians can recognize the value of enduring trials for the Lord (5:11a). The greatest difference between Job and his so-called friends was that Job spoke “to” God, where the friends presumed to speak “for” God.
James’s focus is on the God who blesses Job rather than on Job himself; that is, God’s blessings show He is compassionate and merciful, an outcome of endurance that Christians can anticipate.
Dr. David Moore is a retired pastor and Bible teacher. Email: dm5867se@outlook.com
