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Soren Kierkegaard, The Mirror of the Word, Part 5

01 Tuesday May 2018

Posted by memoirandremains in Kierkegaard, Kierkegaard, Psychology, Uncategorized

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Forgetting, James, James 1, Kierkegaard, Lust, Resolutions, temptation, The Mirror of the Word

In this section, Kierkegaard makes some interesting observations about resolutions — and about desire.

Finally, if we true benediction thou art to behold thyself in the mirror of the Word, thou must not straightway forget what manner of man thou art, not be the forgetful hearer (or reader) about whom the Apostle speaks, ‘He beheld his natural face in the mirror, and straightway forgot what manner of man he was.’

Kierkegaard lays emphasis upon the immediacy of the action: I have seen something of myself, I will regard that, I will do that immediately — not tomorrow. The great promise, I shall never forget is of little value. It is the not forgetting right now which is key. It is what happens “in the next hour” which matters.

He then takes this positive resolution and speaks of more damaging resolutions. The man who resolves (he choses gambling) to never gamble will almost certainly gamble. The better determination is, I will not gamble tonight. It is the immediacy which grants strength.

He refers to a hoaxing lust: one who is hoaxed by lust, and one who hoaxes lust:

Lust is strong merely in the instant, if only it gets its own way instantly, there will be no objection on its part to make promises for the whole life. But to reverse the situation so as to say, “No, only not to-day, but to-morrow and the day after, & c.” that is to hoax lust. For it if has to wait, lusts loses its lust; if it is not invited to enter the instant it announces itself,and before everyone else, if it is told that it will not be granted admittance until tomorrow, then lust understand (more quickly that the most ingratiating and wily courtier or the most artful woman understand what it signifies to meet with such a reception in the antechamber), lust understands that it is no longer the one and all, that is say, it is no longer ‘lust’. 

 

Falling Round About You

03 Friday Jul 2015

Posted by memoirandremains in affliction, James, Submission, temptation, Thomas Goodwin

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James, James 1, patience, Thomas Goodwin, Trials

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When you fall into [trials], as into a pit and snare, and so they falling round about you; so as you have nothing to stand or lean upon, but all about you fails with you and under you, so as in all outward appearance ye are sunk and overwhelmed with the ruins. In this case to ‘count it all joy,’ to shout as men in harvest, or that have gotten great spoils; when their miseries are so great that they cannot be endured, that yet their joy must be so great as more cannot be expressed; this is the hardest duty that ever was required of the distressed hearts of men. And yet God would not require it if it were not attainable; and it is attainable by no other principles but of Christianity. And argues that our Christian religion, which is the only true wisdom, ver. 5, hath so spiritful and sovereign a virtue in it that it is able to raise spirits up unto thus high and glorious a pitch and perfection in this life.

Thomas Goodwin, Patience and Its Perfect Work

Trials and Patience

01 Monday Jun 2015

Posted by memoirandremains in affliction, James

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Affliction, James, Patience and its Perfect Work, Thomas Goodwin

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A friend wrote to me today about a trial. I thought perhaps the short answer for him might be of good to someone today (or some other day). The advice comes from Thomas Goodwin (Temptation and its Perfect Work) (James 1:1-5). First, temptations will try our grace like fire purifying gold; God will then put his stamp upon the gold — and reveal that gold to be true when Jesus returns:

They are the refiner’s pot and fire. You would rejoice if you had so much gold given you. Then rejoice that you have so much affliction to try your gold. That your graces are so highly valued by God is the reason why he tries them; he would not be at the pains and cost of it else. And they being tried, and holding to right and true gold indeed, they have thereupon his approbation upon that trial; and he sets his royal Tower stamp and mark upon them, secretly in this life, and the same will openly appear to all the world at latter day;

The second reason: God can only make us “perfect” and whole by means of trials and temptations:

Let patience have its perfect work, and it will make you perfect. Now there is no occasion, or room, or work for patience, unless there be trials. And patience, its work is but so far as the affliction proves to be [we cannot have any patience than we have been afflicted]. So then, …. that the full work of patience in our souls is, of all other graces, the highest perfection of a Christian : and therefore, ‘count it all joy to fall into temptations;’ for thereby you will have that grace drawn forth to the fullest length, wound up to the highest peg, which is not done unless temptations is be answerable.

But self when opposed

05 Sunday Oct 2014

Posted by memoirandremains in Ecclesiology, James

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anger, Ecclesiology, James, Party-spirit, Self, Self-denial, Strife, Tongue, William Kelly

Without doubt each saint is responsible in all humility as regards himself, to speak for the Lord for his glory and will, grace and truth, are plainly revealed. Alas, how much is said that has no higher sourced himself, however veiled it maybe! But self when opposed is apt to break out into strife and party-work, with all the deadly accompaniments and results. Nor are any souls more deceived than those who accredit themselves with the best motives, and fear not to assail with odious imputations those who approve them.

Exposition of the Epistle of James,
William Kelly 1913, p. 114

An Olive Branch in a Catapult

03 Friday Oct 2014

Posted by memoirandremains in James, Peacemaking

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Bolingbroke, James, James 3, Newman, Peaceable, Peacemaking, Pusey, R.W. Dale, reconciliation, Tongue

It is also” peaceable”. That is an excellent test whether the teaching which makes a man thinks he has received from God really came from God or not. Does it make him contentious and aggressive? Or, even while he’s endeavoring to prevail upon Christian men to receive a truth which they record with suspicion and distrust, it is clear that his affection for them is unbroken, and that he dreads the prevalence of bitterness and ill–temper among Christian people as much as he dreads the power of error? Is it manifest that he does not suppose is clear vision of some great truth compares the worth of all that his brother and had noticed that truth before– That he does not imagine that their claim to be regarded as loyal to Christ is lessened by the error which, as he thinks, he has discovered in their creed? Does he teach, or does he fight? Does he imply that the new truth which she has to tell get some some personal distinction?

Lord Bolingbroke said of Fenelon that “the Archbishop never outshone, But would lead you into truths in such a manner that you thought you had discovered them yourself.” What a wonderful contrast to the insolent contempt for all who do not accept their opinions which characterizes some public speakers. The mere profession of brotherly affections for those from whom we differ is not enough. Do we actually treat them as brothers, and his brothers and we love? Some of you may remember Cardinal Newman, and his reply to Dr. Pusey’s Eirenicon, said,”You have discharged your olive branch from a catapult”; And there’re some professions of a peaceable disposition which are more aggressive and exasperating the declaration of war.

The Epistle of James
R.W. Dale, 1902, pp.111-112.

The Tide Rises

30 Tuesday Sep 2014

Posted by memoirandremains in Ecclesiastes, James

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Ecclesiastes 1:1-11, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, James, James 4:13-16, life, The Tide Rises

The tide rises, the tide falls,
The twilight darkens, the curlew calls;
Along the sea-sands damp and brown
The traveller hastens toward the town,
And the tide rises, the tide falls.

Darkness settles on roofs and walls,
But the sea, the sea in the darkness calls;
The little waves, with their soft, white hands,
Efface the footprints in the sands,
And the tide rises, the tide falls.

The morning breaks; the steeds in their stalls
Stamp and neigh, as the hostler calls;
The day returns, but nevermore
Returns the traveller to the shore,
And the tide rises, the tide falls.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

James 4:13–16 (ESV)

13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— 14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.

 

Ecclesiastes 1:1–11 (ESV)

1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.

2  Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher,

vanity of vanities! All is vanity.

3  What does man gain by all the toil

at which he toils under the sun?

4  A generation goes, and a generation comes,

but the earth remains forever.

5  The sun rises, and the sun goes down,

and hastens to the place where it rises.

6  The wind blows to the south

and goes around to the north;

around and around goes the wind,

and on its circuits the wind returns.

7  All streams run to the sea,

but the sea is not full;

to the place where the streams flow,

there they flow again.

8  All things are full of weariness;

a man cannot utter it;

the eye is not satisfied with seeing,

nor the ear filled with hearing.

9  What has been is what will be,

and what has been done is what will be done,

and there is nothing new under the sun.

10  Is there a thing of which it is said,

“See, this is new”?

It has been already

in the ages before us.

11  There is no remembrance of former things,

nor will there be any remembrance

of later things yet to be

among those who come after.

The Doctrine of the Fatherless

13 Monday May 2013

Posted by memoirandremains in 1 John, Deuteronomy, Exodus, Faith, Hosea, Humility, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Service

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1 John 3:13-17, 1 Kings 2:26, 2 Kings 17:20, 2 Samuel 7:10, adoption, Affliction, Boaz, Deut 24:6–25:16, Deuteronomy 14:29, Deuteronomy 16:9–12, Deuteronomy 22:29, Deuteronomy 24:17–22, Deuteronomy 26:12–15, Deuteronomy 8:2-3, Exodus 10:3, Exodus 1:11-12, Exodus 22:22-24, fatherless, Genesis 15:13, Genesis 16:6, Isaiah 31:4, James, James 1:27, Jesus, Joseph, Judges 16:5-6, judgment, Justice, Leviticus 16:29, Leviticus 4:2, Luke 24:27, Matthew 25:45, orphan, Philippians 2:3-4, Preuss, Proverbs 19:17, Proverbs 23:1, Psalm 105:18, Psalm 132:1, Russell Moore, Ruth, Service, stranger, widow, Wisdom, Zephaniah 3:19

[This is a more extensive version of a prior post]

 

Part One: The Requirements of the Old Testament

 

            While the entire Old Testament does testify to Christ (Luke 24:27), the instruction concerning the fatherless holds an emphatic position. As will be shown below, the core of the New Covenant promise and obligation flows from the understanding of fatherless set forth in the Old Testament.

 

            The Old Testament instruction falls into four categories: First, the covenant obligations: 1) do not afflict; 2) do not twist judgment; and 3) do care for. Second, the covenant curses. Third, prophetic indictments. Fourth, teaching on the character of God.

                                  

I.         Consider the Fatherless as More Important Than Oneself

 

            A.        Do Not Mistreat the Fatherless

           

            Mistreatment entails more than just beating, causing physical injury or stealing from (although it certainly entails that). Anything which causes the other to bow down, to crouch, to suffer; anything which humbles the fatherless constitutes mistreatment. The care to be taken is measured by the vulnerability of the fatherless.  If it hurts this particular person, then it has caused injury – even if it would not have hurt someone else.

 

            An analogous principle exists in civil law: The “egg shell” plaintiff is the peculiarly vulnerable person who suffers injury in manner which exceeds that of the general population.[1]

 

            Therefore, the primary analysis must consider (1) did the fatherless suffer an injury; and (2) did the conduct of another person bring about that injury (Is action X the proximate cause of injury Y?). If the answer to both questions is “yes”, then mistreatment has taken place.

 

            Note that such a sin may be unintentional – that is the actor did not commence the action with the hope and intention of causing the injury suffered – and yet be a “real” sin. Leviticus 4:2.

 

            1.        Do not mistreat them. Exodus 22:22-24.

 

 21 “You shall not wrong a sojourner or oppress him, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. 22 You shall not mistreat any widow or fatherless child. 23 If you do mistreat them, and they cry out to me, I will surely hear their cry, 24 and my wrath will burn, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless. Exodus 22:21–24 (ESV)

 

            The command here has some unique aspects. First, a point not to be pressed, but the the verb “mistreat” ends with a paragogic nun. “This usually expresses marked emphasis, and consequently occurs most commonly at the end of sentences (in the principal pause), in which case also the (pausal) vowel of the second syllable is generally retained.” (Gesenius Hebrew Grammar, section 47.4, p. 129). Second, the verb translated “mistreat” (NRSV, “abuse”)  is quite broad and covers any sort pain or humiliation.

 

                        a.         Any mistreatment violates the commandment

 

            Verse 23 contains a strikingly emphatic structure which cannot easily be reproduced in English. In Hebrew, an infinitive can be coupled with a finite verb to create an emphasis.  Often, if noted, the infinitive is translated into English as a participle (ending with -ing). Rendered thus, the passage reads, If mistreating you mistreat them, crying out they will cry out, and hearing I will hear their crying.

 

            To capture this emphasis, the NASB translates the first clause, “If you afflict him at all ….” The NET has “If you afflict him in any way ….”

 

                        b.        Do not consider one’s own interests first.

 

            Hebrew, ani (afflict, humble, mistreat): The word can best be understood as the precise opposite of the command of Philippians 2:3-4:

 

3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.

4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

 

            In each instance, one person places the other into a subordinate position. The interest of the dominate person takes precedent over the weaker. The precise manner in which the stronger acts depends upon the circumstances.

 

            In the most extreme cases, the oppression can entail violence, slavery (Genesis 15:13; Exodus 1:11-12); or military conquest (2 Samuel 7:10; 2 Kings 17:20); or rape (of Tamar, 2 Samuel 13:12; Deuteronomy 22:24; Judges 19:24, 20:5).  It refers Delilah humbling Sampson (Judges 16:5-6, 19).  It refers to David’s trial brought about by Absalom (1 Kings 2:26; Psalm 132:1). It can refer to lesser, similar actions such as Sarah’s mistreatment of Hagar (Genesis 16:6). It refers to sexual conduct between even apparently consenting non-married persons (Deuteronomy 22:29). It refers generally to all oppression (Zephaniah 3:19).

 

            It refers to injury or pain (Psalm 105:18).

 

            It used positively as one’s submission to God. It can refer to God enforcing submission (Exodus 10:3; Deuteronomy 8:2-3, 16). It also refers to the voluntary submission to God required on festival days (Leviticus 16:29, 31; 23:27; Psalm 35:13).  Thus, the affliction of Psalm 119:67, 71, 75 would refer to being brought into submission to God.

 

            Subjectively, not being afflicted would refer to courage — X did not frighten me: Isaiah 31:4, 89:23.

 

            Lexicons: BDB, be bowed down, afflicted. The noun designates, “the poor, humble, afflicted, meed”. HAL    be wretched, emaciated; cringe; be crouched, hunched up, wretched, suffering; bend, submit; be (become) bowed; become weak.  TWOT: The primary meaning of ʿānâ III is “to force,” or “to try to force submission,” and “to punish or inflict pain upon,” mostly in the Piel. Birke-land (see Bibliography) defines the verb “to find oneself in a stunted, humble, lowly position.” ….Ugaritic attests this root with the meaning “cowed, humbled” (active) and “was humbled, punished” (passive).

 

                        c.         Commentators:

 

Vers. 22–24.—Law against oppressing widows and orphans. With the stranger are naturally placed the widow and orphan; like him, weak and defenceless; like him, special objects of God’s care. The negative precept here given was followed up by numerous positive enactments in favour of the widow and the orphan, which much ameliorated their sad lot. (See ch. 23:11; Lev. 19:9, 10; Deut. 14:29; 16:11, 14; 24:19–21; 26:12, 13.) On the whole, these laws appear to have been fairly well observed by the Israelites; but there were times when, in spite of them, poor widows suffered much oppression. (See Ps. 94:6; Is. 1:23; 10:2; Jer. 7:3–6; 22:3; Zech. 7:10; Mal. 3:5; Matt. 23:14.) The prophets denounce this backsliding in the strongest terms.

 

Ver. 22.—Ye shall not afflict. The word translated “afflict” is of wide signification, including ill-usage of all kinds. “Oppress,” and even “vex,” are stronger terms.

 

Ver. 23.—And they cry at all unto me Rather, “Surely, if they cry unto me.” Compare Gen. 31:42.

 

Ver. 24.—I will kill you with the sword. It was, in large measure, on account of the neglect of this precept, that the capture of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, and destruction of its inhabitants, was allowed to take place (Jer. 22:3–5). Your wives shall be widows, etc. A quasi-retaliation. They shall be exposed to the same sort of ill-usage as you have dealt out to other widows.

 

Exodus Vol. II, ed. H. D. M. Spence-Jones, The Pulpit Commentary (London; New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company, 1909), 191.

 

2. Widows and fatherless must not be abused (v. 22): You shall not afflict them, that is, “You shall comfort and assist them, and be ready upon all occasions to show them kindness.’ ’ In making just demands from them, their condition must be considered, who have lost those that should deal for them, and protect them; they are supposed to be unversed in business, destitute of advice, timorous, and of a tender spirit, and therefore must be treated with kindness and compassion; no advantage must be taken against them, nor any hardship put upon them, from which a husband or a father would have sheltered them. For, (1.) God takes particular cognizance of their case, v. 23. Having no one else to complain and appeal to, they will cry unto God, and he will be sure to hear them; for his law and his providence are guardians to the widows and fatherless, and if men do not pity them, and will not hear them, he will. Note, It is a great comfort to those who are injured and oppressed by men that they have a God to go to who will do more than give them the hearing; and it ought to be a terror to those who are oppressive that they have the cry of the poor against them, which God will hear. Nay, (2.) He will severely reckon with those that do oppress them. Though they escape punishments from men, God’s righteous judgments will pursue and overtake them, v. 24. Men that have a sense of justice and honour will espouse the injured cause of the weak and helpless; and shall not the righteous God do it? Observe the equity of the sentence here passed upon those that oppress the widows and fatherless: their wives shall become widows, and their children fatherless; and the Lord is known by these judgments, which he sometimes executes still.

 

Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible: Complete and Unabridged in One Volume (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1994), Ex 22:16–24.

 

 

            B.        Do not Twist Judgment:

 

            Justice/judgment entails decisions made as to a situation or person irrespective of whether the judgment takes place in a formal legal proceeding.  To pervert or twist judgment means to make a decision based upon the benefit or detriment to the one making judgment.  That is, the judge cannot consider whether this decision will help or hurt the judge. The decision made must reflect an objective measure: the fact that the decision may cause the judge to suffer a detriment is not a basis for the judge making a different decision.

 

1.        The Justice Due

 

17 “You shall not pervert the justice due to the sojourner or to the fatherless, or take a widow’s garment in pledge, 18 but you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt and the LORD your God redeemed you from there; therefore I command you to do this.

 

19 “When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. 20 When you beat your olive trees, you shall not go over them again. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. 21 When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not strip it afterward. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. 22 You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I command you to do this. Deuteronomy 24:17–22 (ESV)

 

v. 17: twist, pervert the justice for the fatherless

 

            The verb in most of its usage has the idea of movement.[2] Thus, when coupled with the idea of justice, there is the idea of moving the decision implicitly to obtain a favorable end (Exodus 23:2) or because one obtains a benefit for the decision (such as  a bribe) (Proverb 17:23). The idea is that the decision is right or wrong without respect to the affect, whether good or bad, upon the judge. In fact, one must not only give right justice, but even give good to the weak:

 

Vers. 19–22.—(Cf. Lev. 19:9, 10; 23:23.) Not only was no injustice to be done to the poor, but, out of the abundance of those in better estate, were they to be helped.

 

Deuteronomy, ed. H. D. M. Spence-Jones, The Pulpit Commentary (London; New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company, 1909), 382.

 

God specifically forbids decisions made upon the basis of the effect upon the judge:

 

You shall not pervert justice. You shall not show partiality, and you shall not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and subverts the cause of the righteous. Deuteronomy 16:19 (ESV)

           

            Therefore, when making a decision concerning the orphan, the judgment cannot look to the effect upon the judge, whether good or bad. The justice exists objectively and independently of the judge. This of course corresponds to the nature of love enjoined upon the Christian. Philippians 2 states that love is measure by sacrifice of Christ and entails counting the other (and thus the other’s interest) as more important than my own. In this respect, the wrong captured by the command to not pervert justice covers the same space as the command to not mistreat the fatherless.

 

            This also corresponds to the matter of “righteousness” in the Proverbs. As Waltke explains (lecture), the matter of “righteousness” is the matter of disadvantaging oneself for the good of another. In his commentary on the Proverbs, Waltke explains that “righteousness is a pattern of life, not merely specific acts” (Proverbs, vol. 1, 97).  He explains how the matter of righteousness interacts with the question of judgment: “Since “righteousness” refers to the moral quality that establishes right order and “justice” refers to the moral quality that restores order when disturbed, they frequently go together” (98).  The purpose of the judgment is the restoration of community order (98) which has been disordered by sin.

           

            The command to not mistreat concerns the subjective injury to the fatherless. The command to not pervert justice concerns the decisions made which will result in the injury to the fatherless.

 

                        a.         Remembering Egypt (vv. 17–22)

 

            The last two provisions in this chapter have the same motivation:

 

 ‘You shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt and the LORD your God redeemed you from there; therefore I command you to do this’ (vv. 18, 22). The attitude that the Israelites were to have towards those in need, the sojourner, the fatherless and the widow, was to be based on their experience as needy sojourners in Egypt. It is the principle that Jesus gave us in Matthew 7:12: ‘So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.’ The people of Israel are to remember, and to act as they would have wished the Egyptians acted towards them. If they do, they will give everyone justice, and at harvest time they will leave sufficient for the poor to glean from their fields. This section underlines these two things. The chapter is about moulding the attitudes of Israel more than looking for formal obedience to law. And, as Jesus said, this was the purpose of the law: to bring people to do to others what they would wish to be done to them.

 

Paul E. Brown, Deuteronomy: An Expositional Commentary, Exploring the Bible Commentary (Leominster, UK: Day One Publications, 2008), 185.

 

            Marking the requirement as parallel to their own status ties the rule to the Golden Rule: If I were the fatherless one, what would I desire/need? What would the “right” look like from that position?

 

                        b.        A  Command to Love

 

The concentric structural design of 24:17–22 as a whole may be outlined as follows:

 

 

    A      Do not pervert justice to the alien, orphan, and widow . . .      24:17–18

 

     B      Leave some of your grain for the alien, orphan, and widow      24:19a

 

      X      So that YHWH may bless you in all you do      24:19b

 

     B´      Leave some of your olives for the alien, orphan, and widow      24:20

 

    A´      Leave some of your grapes for the alien, orphan, and widow . . .      24:21–22

 

 There is a great deal of repetition in these verses. Both sections of both the inner and outer frames make specific reference to the alien, the orphan, and the widow (vv 17, 19, 20, 22). Moreover, the statement “and you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt . . . therefore I command you to do this thing” appears in both parts of the inner frame (vv 18, 22). The source of God’s blessing is clear in this structure. It comes from protecting the aliens, orphans, and widows in our midst. As Jesus once put it, the second greatest commandment is this: “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt 22:39). That is the substance of the law, especially in Deut 24:6–25:16.

 

Duane L. Christensen, vol. 6B, Deuteronomy 21:10–34:12, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 2002), 596. “The forgotten sheaf the sheaf of the Lord”.

 

            2.        Do not Move Landmarks

 

            “Do not move an ancient landmark or enter the fields of the fatherless,” Proverbs 23:10 (ESV)

 

            Waltke explains that the “fatherless” refers to one who lost the protection of his father. Therefore, those with power (such as kings) where seen to have a peculiar obligation to care for the fatherless:

 

The king’s caring for the widows, the orphans, and the poor (Prov. 31:8f) is a prevalent ancient Near Eastern topos. In Israel, this topos was “democratized” through the corresponding commandments of YHWH. The God that obligated the people to follow these commandments addressed them to each Israelite.

 

Preuss, Old Testament Theology, vol. II, 32; see, 199.

 

            This proverb prohibits any action which would deprive the fatherless of land (this was heightened for Israel, in that all land belonged to God was effectively leased to the people. Therefore, the stealing would be directly from God. This element is reiterated in Matthew 25:45). The affirmative is likewise true, that in lending (and caring for) the poor, one lends to God (Proverbs 19:17).

 

            C.        Affirmative Obligations of Love and Worship

 

            An affirmative command of love and care is placed upon everyone in the society, “Further, orphans … as social classes are expressly commanded to be recipients of public assistance from everyone, not only from the King ….” (Preuss, 192).

 

            Blessing from God is directly tied into the matter of blessing the fatherless. At this point, it is interesting to note that the Levite (who roughly corresponds to the pastorate in the new covenant) is joined:

 

29 And the Levite, because he has no portion or inheritance with you, and the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, who are within your towns, shall come and eat and be filled, that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands that you do. Deuteronomy 14:29 (ESV)

 

            Structurally, care for the poor lies between two longer sections which formal worship: “In so doing he reminds his hearers of the relationship between life as worship and formal cultic service. True worship is not limited to the latter; in fact, if the former is lacking, the latter is of no positive consequence for the worshiper” (Block, NIV Application Commentary, Deuteronomy).  Craigie notes that the tithe required was owed to God and yet was distributed to the poor, “In receiving it [their sustenance] from the tithe, which properly belonged to God, their needs were met” (Deuteronomy, 234). Thus, to fail to care for the poor was to steal from God.

 

            The matter of a tithe for the fatherless was repeated in Deuteronomy 26:

 

12 “When you have finished paying all the tithe of your produce in the third year, which is the year of tithing, giving it to the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, so that they may eat within your towns and be filled, 13 then you shall say before the LORD your God, ‘I have removed the sacred portion out of my house, and moreover, I have given it to the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, according to all your commandment that you have commanded me. I have not transgressed any of your commandments, nor have I forgotten them. 14 I have not eaten of the tithe while I was mourning, or removed any of it while I was unclean, or offered any of it to the dead. I have obeyed the voice of the LORD my God. I have done according to all that you have commanded me. 15 Look down from your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless your people Israel and the ground that you have given us, as you swore to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey.’ Deuteronomy 26:12–15 (ESV)

 

Here, positive blessing is tied to the way in which one treats the weak.

 

            Care for the fatherless is here tied to the generosity enjoined upon God’s people as the means of  rejoicing for the rescue from Egypt:

 

 “You shall count seven weeks. Begin to count the seven weeks from the time the sickle is first put to the standing grain. 10 Then you shall keep the Feast of Weeks to the LORD your God with the tribute of a freewill offering from your hand, which you shall give as the LORD your God blesses you. 11 And you shall rejoice before the LORD your God, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, the Levite who is within your towns, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow who are among you, at the place that the LORD your God will choose, to make his name dwell there. 12 You shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt; and you shall be careful to observe these statutes. Deuteronomy 16:9–12 (ESV)

 

Thus, again, tying the matter to love for the other “as oneself” and the matter of the Golden Rule.

 

            To understand what is sought by the positive and negative commands we must look to the story of Ruth. First, Ruth subverts her life for the widow Naomi. Second, Boaz takes in the widow Ruth. At the time of their transactions, one cannot say that either receives a good. Yet both express the profound love which God seeks:

 

The story portrays in the dramatic and concrete form of the words and deeds of its protagonists what in the sphere of interpersonal and family obligations constitutes ḥesed while focusing sharply on the element of the imitabile, “go thou and do likewise.” Hence, one of its major theological emphases is that the reader should emulate such a style of life. What such a lifestyle involves becomes clear from Sakenfeld’s examination of this concept when used between human beings in both the secular and religious spheres of life (see The Meaning of Hesed, 233–34; Faithfulness in Action, 39–42). Two aspects of an act of ḥesed are of particular importance. First, there is the emphasis that such an act is, as Sakenfeld terms it, a “free act”; i.e., the one performing the act may have a privately or publicly recognized responsibility in the matter because of the relationship in which he or she stands to the one in need, but there is no binding legal obligation; he or she is free not to act without incurring serious repercussions. That is, to put it positively, the act is one of gracious and loving kindness. Second, equally important is the fact that such an act involves an extraordinary element of mercy or generosity, a “going beyond the call of duty.”

 

Fredric W. Bush, vol. 9, Ruth, Esther, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 1998), 53.

 

 

IV.      God enforces the command by means of peculiar warnings:

 

23 If you do mistreat them, and they cry out to me, I will surely hear their cry, 24 and my wrath will burn, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless. Exodus 22:23-24.

 

This curse is interesting in that there are curses which apply to the entire covenant. Yet, in the case of the fatherless, God appends a specific curse. The implications being: 1) he has especial care for the fatherless; and 2) the Israelites would be inclined to overlook the rights (granted by God) of the fatherless.

 

            In the final covenant curses, God specifically iterates the curse for those who abuse the fatherless: 19 “ ‘Cursed be anyone who perverts the justice due to the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’ Deuteronomy 27:19 (ESV) This curse is preceded by one’s obligations to the blind and followed by a list of sexual perversions and violent crimes.

 

            Fulfilment of the curse is noted in Lamentations 5:3, “We have become orphans, fatherless; our mothers are like widows.”

 

            The curse upon Judas was that his own children should be fatherless, “May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow! Psalm 109:9 (ESV)

 

V.        Prophetic Charges

 

            Mistreatment of the widow and orphan resulted in multiple specific charges against Israel. It is important to note that 1) proper temple worship was not acceptable when not accompanied by proper treatment of the fatherless; and 2) treatment of the fatherless was at least as important as temple worship – indeed, neither was acceptable without the other:

 

Isaiah 1:14–17 (ESV)

                14     Your new moons and your appointed feasts

my soul hates;

                        they have become a burden to me;

I am weary of bearing them.

                15     When you spread out your hands,

I will hide my eyes from you;

                        even though you make many prayers,

I will not listen;

your hands are full of blood.

                16     Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean;

remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes;

                        cease to do evil,

                17     learn to do good;

                        seek justice,

correct oppression;

                        bring justice to the fatherless,

plead the widow’s cause.

 

 

Note that the manner of one’s life supersedes care in temple practice: There can be no true worship without a corresponding life. Young notes that the “justice” owed to the fatherless entails more than formal judicial proceedings  and means “the orphan should always be treated justly” (Young, Isaiah, vol. 1, 74).  The charge is then repeated in a slightly different format

 

Isaiah 1:21–23 (ESV)

 

            21       How the faithful city

      has become a whore,

      she who was full of justice!

                  Righteousness lodged in her,

      but now murderers.

            22       Your silver has become dross,

      your best wine mixed with water.

            23       Your princes are rebels

      and companions of thieves.

                  Everyone loves a bribe

      and runs after gifts.

                  They do not bring justice to the fatherless,

      and the widow’s cause does not come to them.

 

 

Here the perversion of justice is specifically linked to making judgment based upon the outcome upon the judge – as opposed to making an objectively appropriate decision. Calvin explains this point in his commentary:

 

Judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. The Prophet here selects two classes, by means of which the wickedness of men is more fully exposed; for it seldom happens that the causes of the fatherless and widows are defended, because men do not expect from them any rewards. To such an extent are they exposed to every kind of injustice, that no man comes forward in defense of them, because there is no man who follows justice on its own account; and not only so, but there is a very great number of persons who are ready to plunder the poor and needy. This proves that there is no one who cares about exercising judgment; for we need not at all wonder that men of wealth and influence have friends to assist them, who are excited and allured by the expectation of reward. But the Lord declares that he takes charge of the fatherless and widows, and will avenge them if they shall sustain any injury.

 

  “Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child. If thou afflict then in any wise, and they cry at all unto me, I will surely hear their cry: and my wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.” (Exodus 22:22-24.)

 

The same declaration is now extended to all others, who are oppressed and groan under the violence and lawless passions of men of rank and influence.

 

John Calvin, Isaiah, electronic ed., Calvin’s Commentaries (Albany, OR: Ages Software, 1998), Is 1:17. Note that this negative command is affirmatively stated by the Lord as requiring doing good those who cannot do us good in return:

 

12 He said also to the man who had invited him, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. 13 But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.” Luke 14:12–14 (ESV)

 

The matter of “judgment” is also linked to the concept of mercy:

 

The five positive demands proceed from the general to the particular. For in advance stands the quite general “learn to do well.” Then follows the exhortation to “seek judgment,” (the phrase is found again only 16:5). The Old Test. צְדָקָה, “righteousness,” consists essentially in conformity to מִשְׁפָּט, “judgment.” Whoever, under all circumstances, does what is right, even when he has the power to leave it undone, is a צַדִּיק, “righteous one.” When the powerful, then, spite of his power, suffers the poor, the wretched, the widow and the orphan to enjoy their rights, then this justice appears subjectively as gentleness and goodness, objectively as salvation. Hence צַדִּיק has so often the secondary meaning of “kindness, mercy” (comp. Ps. 37:21; Prov. 12:10; 21:26) and צֶדֶק or צְדָקָה that of “salvation” (Ps. 24:5; 132:9, 16; Isa. 41:10; 45:8, etc.). The Old Test. צְדָקָה contrasts, therefore, on the one hand with grace, that gives more than can justly be demanded, on the other hand, with oppressive unrighteousness, (comp. מְרֵצֵּחַ ,חָמוֹץ ,עָרִיץ and others) that gives less. Comp. my comment, on Jer. 7:5.—Whoever exercises strict justice will quite as much restrain the oppressor from doing injustice, as aid those seeking their rights to the enjoyment of them. The prophet expresses the former by the words אַשְּׁרוּחָמוֹץ, “righten [marg. Eng. vers.] the oppressor.”

 

John Peter Lange, Philip Schaff, Carl Wilhelm Eduard Nägelsbach et al., A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Isaiah (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2008), 43.

 

Isaiah 10:1–4 (ESV)

 

Woe to those who decree iniquitous decrees,

      and the writers who keep writing oppression,

            2       to turn aside the needy from justice

      and to rob the poor of my people of their right,

                  that widows may be their spoil,

      and that they may make the fatherless their prey!

            3       What will you do on the day of punishment,

      in the ruin that will come from afar?

                  To whom will you flee for help,

      and where will you leave your wealth?

            4       Nothing remains but to crouch among the prisoners

      or fall among the slain.

                  For all this his anger has not turned away,

      and his hand is stretched out still.

 

 

Here the failure to do justice incurs the responsive wrath of God.

 

5 “For if you truly amend your ways and your deeds, if you truly execute justice one with another, 6 if you do not oppress the sojourner, the fatherless, or the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not go after other gods to your own harm, 7 then I will let you dwell in this place, in the land that I gave of old to your fathers forever. Jeremiah 7:5–7 (ESV)

 

Thus says the Lord: “Go down to the house of the king of Judah and speak there this word, 2 and say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, O king of Judah, who sits on the throne of David, you, and your servants, and your people who enter these gates. 3 Thus says the Lord: Do justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor him who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the resident alien, the fatherless, and the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place. Jeremiah 22:1–3 (ESV)

 

The concept of “doing wrong” is contrasted in Leviticus 19:33-34 as (1) treating the sojourner the same as the native and (2) showing positive love to the sojourner:

 

33 “When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. 34 You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God. Leviticus 19:33–34 (ESV)

 

 By ending the command with the reminder of God being God, we have a hint of the doctrine of God’s lack or partiality:

 

Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him. Ephesians 6:9 (ESV)

 

This also again parallels the commands of love:

 

43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Matthew 5:43–48 (ESV)

 

This reference bears another interesting parallel, because the love which one must show to even the enemy demonstrates that one has been adopted by God.  That is, the measure of love required to be shown to another is the love shown to us by God. This duty is so great that love must be extended to even the enemy.

 

6 “Behold, the princes of Israel in you, every one according to his power, have been bent on shedding blood. 7 Father and mother are treated with contempt in you; the sojourner suffers extortion in your midst; the fatherless and the widow are wronged in you. 8 You have despised my holy things and profaned my Sabbaths. Ezekiel 22:6–8 (ESV)

 

Here again the mistreatment of fatherless is coupled to disregard of liturgical worship.

 

 

9 “Thus says the LORD of hosts, Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another, 10 do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart.” Zechariah 7:9–10 (ESV)

 

Smith’s comment at this point is most telling: What one does when not required by force of law tells most of the heart:

 

There is a group of people in every society that requires special care. They are the unfortunate, the helpless, the disenfranchised ones. They are identified by Zechariah as the widow, orphan, alien, and poor (7:10). Isaiah admonished his hearers “to seek justice, correct oppression, defend the fatherless, plead for the widow” (1:17). Amos spoke of those who “trample on the needy and bring the poor of the land to an end” (2:6–7; 8:4). D. R. Jones observes that the widow had no husband to speak for her, orphans had no parents to love and care for them, the alien had no country to protect and sustain them, and no shopkeeper had a legal responsibility to provide food and clothes to those without money to pay for them. Then Jones (100) says, “It is exactly in this area of life, beyond the limits of legal duty, that men and women sort themselves out, as to what they are in their innermost being, and in the sight of God.”

 

Ralph L. Smith, vol. 32, Micah–Malachi, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 1998), 226.

 

            Zechariah explicitly contrasts oppression with affirmative acts of kindness and mercy. The implication here is that mere indifference does not satisfy the demands of not doing wrong – rather, affirmative obligations of love must be shown and action must be rendered.

 

The command for mercy is half of a two-part obligation, “show mercy and compassion.” Like the Hebrew word for “mercy,” the word for “compassion” (reḥem) also evokes strong connotations.Related etymologically to the Hebrew word for “womb,” reḥem expresses tenderness toward another like a mother manifests gentle, devoted feelings toward the fruit of her womb. Theologically, reḥem signifies “something that goes beyond what ought to be given.”68 In this spirit, Jacob sent Benjamin and his other sons back to Joseph with the prayer that “God Almighty will grant you mercy before the man” (Gen 43:14). Speaking of the Lord, Exod 34:6–7 portrays God as, “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.” Thus, the Lord charges the community to treat each other with this same spirit of compassion.

 

Verse 10 mirrors the two positive admonitions in v. 9 with two requirements stated in the negative. As the first requirement, Zechariah warned his audience never to “oppress” a fellow Israelite who might not enjoy equal social protection, such as a widow or an orphan. This was not intended to limit God’s admonition to widows and orphans. Rather, these groups represent everyone who does not have a defender. The Mosaic law governs the way these constituencies should be treated (Exod 22:22; 23:6–9; Lev 19:15–18; Deut 10:18–19; 24:14). The theme of protecting the vulnerable in society occurs often in the prophets as well (see Isa 1:17; Jer 7:6; Amos 2:6–7; 4:1; 5:11–12; 8:4).

 

George L. Klein, vol. 21B, Zechariah, The New American Commentary (Nashville, TN: B & H Publishing Group, 2008), 223-24.

 

5 “Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts. Malachi 3:5 (ESV)

 

This uncovers the real fault of misusing the fatherless: a failure to fear the Lord. The Lord had given more than sufficient ground to induce fear with respect to the matter of the fatherless. Yet in the mistreatment of the fatherless, one showed that he believed God would overlook the matter:

 

And this reproof ought to be a warning to us in the present day, that we may not call forth God’s judgement on others, while we flatter ourselves as being innocent. Whenever then we flee to God for help, and ask him to succor us, let us remember that he is a just judge who has no respect of persons. Let then every one, who implores God’s judgement, be his own judge, and anticipate the correction which he has reason to fear. That God therefore may not be armed for our destruction, let us carefully examine our own life, and follow the rule prescribed here by the Prophet; let us begin with the worship of God, then let us come to fornications and adulteries, and whatever is contrary to a chaste conduct, and afterwards let us pass to frauds and plunder; for if we are free from all superstition, if we keep ourselves chaste and pure, and if we also abstain from all plunders and all cruelty, our life is doubtless approved by God. And hence it is that the Prophet adds at the end of the verse, They feared not me; for when lusts, and plunder, and frauds and the corruptions which vitiate God’s worship, prevail, it is evident that there is no fear of God, but that men, having shaken off the yoke, as it were run mad, though they may a thousand times profess the name of God.

 

By mentioning the orphan, the widow, and the stranger, he amplifies the atrocity of their crimes; for the orphans, widows, and strangers, we know, are under the guardianship and protection of God, inasmuch as they are exposed to the wrongs of men. Hence every one who plunders orphans, or harasses widows, or oppresses strangers, seems to carry on open war, as it were, with God himself, who has promised that these should be safe under the shadow of his hand. With regard to the expressions, it seems not suitable to say that the hire of the widow and of the orphan is suppressed; there may therefore be an inversion of the words  — they oppressed the widows, the orphans, strangers.

 

 

John Calvin, Malachi, electronic ed., Calvin’s Commentaries (Albany, OR: Ages Software, 1998).

 

This list of sins builds to a climax in contempt for the Lord. As failure to fear the Lord had resulted in religious activity that actually insulted him (1:6–14), so here it resulted in wickedness and injustice toward the helpless. In fact, according to Isaiah, if Israel’s temple worship had been meticulous, it would still have been meaningless and even detestable in view of the absence of the essential ethical component that included justice for the fatherless and the widow (Isa 1:13–17; cf. Isa 10:1–3; Jer 7:11). The widow, the fatherless, and the stranger are also treated together in such passages as Exod 22:21–22 (in whose context the sin of sorcery is also listed, 22:18).330 The Mosaic law included the stranger with the poor as those who should not be harmed in any way but deserved gracious provision and even “love.” Israel was to consider and treat them with kindness, remembering that they themselves had been strangers in Egypt before the Lord freed them and that they remained strangers in that the land continued to belong not to them but to the Lord (Lev 19:10, 33–34; 23:22).

 

Richard A. Taylor and E. Ray Clendenen, vol. 21A, Haggai, Malachi, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2004), 398.

 

 

VI.      To Fail to Care for the Fatherless was to Deny God

 

 

For the prophets, social justice was not a theological abstraction or a passive activity; it was a way of being rooted in Israel’s covenant identity, one that had consequences for how the nation lived and ordered its life. Within Israelite society, values and hence behaviour were governed by roles and responsibilities laid out in covenant that bound members of society to each other and to God. …This covenant identity taksed Israel with the responsibility of living in a way that reflected Yahweh’s character to the nations.

 

Boda & McConville, Dictionary of the Old Testament Prophets, “Social Justice”, 721. Therefore, to fail in respect of social justice was to represent God. “YHWH is the defender and father of widows and orphans (Ps. 68:6) and their protector who requires their preservation” (Preuss, 192). Thus, all of Israel were “brothers” bound to God in such care.

 

16 Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn. 17 For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe. 18 He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. 19 Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. 20 You shall fear the Lord your God. You shall serve him and hold fast to him, and by his name you shall swear. Deuteronomy 10:16–20 (ESV)

 

 The character of God as set forth in this passage – and the required response – directly correspond to the understanding and demonstration of life in Christ: our love toward God precisely corresponds to our love toward – especially as demonstrated in our love toward the weak (1 John 3:11-18; James 2:14-17; Matthew 25:31-46):

 

10:17 Such a spirit of indifference is incomprehensible in light of who God is, the “God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome” (v. 17). Such a description does not admit to the reality of other gods but simply emphasizes the absolute uniqueness and incomparability of the Lord and his exclusive right to sovereignty over his people (cf. Deut 3:24; 4:35, 39). As Lord over all he cannot be enticed or coerced into any kind of partiality through influence peddling (v. 17) and, in fact, is the special advocate of defenseless persons who are so often victims of such unscrupulous behavior (v. 18).

 

10:18–19 What God does in the social realm his people are to imitate (cf. Exod 22:22–24).179 They must be especially sensitive to aliens living among them, particularly since they also had been aliens in Egypt (v. 19). The word for alien here (gēr) is the same as appears in Lev 19:34: “The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself.” Exactly the same sentiment (but with “neighbor,” rēʿa) is expressed in Lev 19:18, the verse Jesus quoted when he was quizzed about the greatest of the commandments (Matt 19:19). Jesus attached this to the command to “love the LORD” with all one’s being (cf. Deut 6:5), thus joining love for God with love for others. This is precisely what the present passage is teaching as the enveloping structure makes clear.

 

Eugene H. Merrill, vol. 4, Deuteronomy, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1994), 203-04.

 

Hosea 14:4, “In you the orphan finds mercy”:

 

The precise form of Hosea’s prayer is important: “For280 in you the orphan receives compassion.” It is not simply that God is compassionate to orphans but that the orphan seeks and finds compassion in God. The point of Hosea’s prayer is that the people of Israel have become orphans. When the nation, along with its shrines, priests, kings, and military forces, is destroyed, then the general populace will be left as orphans. They will be Lo-Ammi, not my people. Their adulterous mother, the institutions of Israel, will be dead; their father, Baal, will have given them no help. But this fatherless people will turn back to their one true father, the refuge of orphans, and find shelter in him. The dispirited Diaspora of Israel must accept its position of orphan and return to Yahweh in that role and not come back as the people who proudly wear the title of the “elect of God.” When that happens, Not-my-people will become the sons and daughters of the living God.

 

 Duane A. Garrett, vol. 19A, Hosea, Joel, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1997), 272.

 

 

Psalm 10:12–15 (ESV)

 

             12       Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up your hand;

      forget not the afflicted.

            13       Why does the wicked renounce God

      and say in his heart, “You will not call to account”?

            14       But you do see, for you note mischief and vexation,

      that you may take it into your hands;

                  to you the helpless commits himself;

      you have been the helper of the fatherless.

            15       Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer;

      call his wickedness to account till you find none.

 

The prayer seeks to end oppression and it is based upon the characteristic of God as the helper of the fatherless.

 

Psalm 68:4–6 (ESV)

 

            4       Sing to God, sing praises to his name;

      lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts;

                  his name is the LORD;

      exult before him!

            5       Father of the fatherless and protector of widows

      is God in his holy habitation.

            6       God settles the solitary in a home;

      he leads out the prisoners to prosperity,

      but the rebellious dwell in a parched land.

 

Here Calvin again ties the character of doing good to orphans to the concept that we must particular good to those who cannot do us good in return:

 

David would have them draw near to him with cheerfulness and alacrity; and, accordingly, proceeds to insist upon his transcendent goodness shown in condescending to the orphans and widows. The incomprehensible glory of God does not induce him to remove himself to a distance from us, or prevent him from stooping to us in our lowest depths of wretchedness. There can be no doubt that orphans and widows are named to indicate in general all such as the world are disposed to overlook as unworthy of their regard. Generally we distribute our attentions where we expect some return. We give the preference to rank and splendour, and despise or neglect the poor.

 

 John Calvin and James Anderson, vol. 3, Commentary on the Book of Psalms (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2010), 10-11.

 

 

Psalm 82:1–4 (ESV)

 

            1       God has taken his place in the divine council;

      in the midst of the gods he holds judgment:

            2       “How long will you judge unjustly

      and show partiality to the wicked? Selah

            3       Give justice to the weak and the fatherless;

      maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.

            4       Rescue the weak and the needy;

      deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”

 

Psalm 94:1–7 (ESV)

 

94 O Lord, God of vengeance,

O God of vengeance, shine forth!

                2        Rise up, O judge of the earth;

repay to the proud what they deserve!

                3        O Lord, how long shall the wicked,

how long shall the wicked exult?

                4        They pour out their arrogant words;

all the evildoers boast.

                5        They crush your people, O Lord,

and afflict your heritage.

                6        They kill the widow and the sojourner,

and murder the fatherless;

                7        and they say, “The Lord does not see;

the God of Jacob does not perceive.”

 

In this instance, the mistreatment of the orphan is tied to the concept that God does not care what happens.

 

Which in fact took place.

 

Psalm 146:9 (ESV)

 

            9       The LORD watches over the sojourners;

      he upholds the widow and the fatherless,

      but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.

 

 

 

THE NEW COVENANT

 

            The teaching concerning the fatherless becomes directly applicable to the New Covenant.

 

I.         One Must Care for the Orphan:

 

            The command of James could not be clearer:

 

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. James 1:27 (ESV)[3]

 

This command specifically picks up on the substantial OT teaching concerning the fatherless and is implicit in James’ command (Moo, James, 97). Accordingly, at the very least, the OT commands have been brought forward by James.  “James echoes not only the approach of the Hebrew prophets to these issues, he also reflects his brother’s vital concerns, with the poor (here represented by ‘orphans and widows’) being the ones in 2:5 who are rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom” (Varner, James, 82).

 

            Doriani sets forth the rationale for the command. First, “it is pure kindness. It is mercy for the sake of mercy” (James, 59).  Such mercy is expressly enjoined by the Lord:

 

13 But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just. Luke 14:13–14 (ESV)

 

            Second, such mercy is God-like, “We sustain aliens, widows, and orphans because he sustains aliens, widows and orphans (Ps. 146:9)” (59). Charnock commenting on Psalm 10:14: writes:

 

Ver. 14. Thou art the helper of the fatherless. God doth exercise a more special province over men, as clothed with miserable circumstances; and therefore among his other titles this is one, to be a “helper of the fatherless.” It is the argument the church used to express her return to God; Hosea 14:3, “For in thee the fatherless find mercy.” Now what greater comfort is there than this, that there is one presides in the world who is so wise he cannot be mistaken, so faithful he cannot deceive, so pitiful he cannot neglect his people, and so powerful that he can make stones even to be turned into bread if he please!… God doth not govern the world only by his will as an absolute monarch, but by his wisdom and goodness as a tender father. It is not his greatest pleasure to show his sovereign power, or his inconceivable wisdom, but his immense goodness, to which he makes the other attributes subservient. Stephen Charnock. (Quoted in Treasury of David).

 

            Third,

 

We should care for orphans because the gospel teaches that we once were and still are poor….By faith in Jesus, we are adopted into God’s family. We should care for widows and orphans, thereby living out the gospel principle of adoption of the needy” (59).

 

Bauckham (James) (addressing the same matter as Smith, Micah – Malachi, supra) writes:

 

For the community whose life is characterized not by competitive ambition, self-seeking and greed, but by peaceableness and selfless consideration fo others (3:13-17), attitudes to the poor expressed in concrete economic and social relationships are the litmus test, the diving line between friendship with God and friendship with the world (4:4). Visiting orphans and widows – implying compassionate practical involvement, — is an essential characteristic of the true worship of God untained by the values of the world (1:27) (195-196).

 

The concern of James here implicitly returns in the matter of true, saving faith

 

14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? 17 So Faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. James 2:14–16 (ESV)

 

Seen in context, one must immediately consider the widow and the orphan mentioned a few verses earlier, as well as the poor mentioned in 2:6. Moreover, the tie between demonstrative love for the weak as a necessary element of true piety is something repeatedly insisted upon by the prophets[4].

 

2:15 Much like the example of the poor man visiting the local church (2:2–3) is that of the brother or sister who is lacking food and clothing.44 Within the fellowship of believers are those who lack the necessities of daily life. These members of the church are easily overlooked because of their constant neediness. The context for the encounter is not limited to a particular assembly of Christians. A fellow Christian is simply encountered who is needy. What is to be done in this encounter is all-important. What was at stake for James’s hearers was much akin to what was at issue in John’s first epistle: “If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth” (1 John 3:17–18). Also evident here is the close connection between mercy (pity) and helpful actions for the poor.

 

Kurt A. Richardson, vol. 36, James, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1997), 129-30. Here, Richardson ties the matter of faith to the matter of true love in 1 John:

 

16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. 17 But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. 1 John 3:16–18 (ESV)

 

This matter of true faith and love brings us back to the standard for care of the orphan in the OT: “Mistreatment” and perverted judgment were both measured as the opposite of true love required of the people of God. The OT and NT commands form a comprehensive picture which works in both directions: Love is to be sacrificial – it is to favor the other over one’s self. To fail to do so is to mistreat and pervert judgment for the orphan.

 

II.        Failure to Care for the Orphan is to Court God’s Justice

 

            The chilling words of Matthew 25:45 without question encompass the favourite of God:

 

41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” Matthew 25:41–46 (ESV)

 

This takes up the extensive OT teaching on the treatment of the weak and God’s special concern and willingness to help and transfers it to the final judgment.

 

III.      Joseph as the Demonstration of the Love Required

 

            Joseph, the putative father of Jesus demonstrates the love required for the fatherless. From all human appearance, Jesus was “fatherless”. Fatherless never means without a biological parent; but rather a child without a father who protects him.  Joseph had no legal obligation to proceed. He was within his legal rights to divorce Mary.

 

            By agreeing to take Mary and Jesus, Joseph was subjected to life-long hardship. He became a refuge (Matthew 2:14-15). On his return to Nazareth, everyone would have known Jesus to be Mary’s “bastard”. Joseph would have been the schmuck who married the girl who got pregnant by someone else while they were engaged.

 

            Russel Moore’s sermon “Joseph as a Single Issue Evangelical Voter” writes of Joseph:

 

Brothers and sisters, with the tumult and rage that is all around us, we must insist that a just government recognize the personhood of unborn children. We must not flinch in insisting that this is the case, but that itself is not enough. The protection that Joseph images here is a personal and familial kind of provision. It is like the kind of fatherhood our heavenly Father displays—a fighting fatherhood. This kind of fatherhood rips open seas, drowns armies, and fights for the vulnerable and the orphans. Please do not miss how countercultural Joseph’s act is here. His betrothed comes to him and says, “I am pregnant.” And Joseph’s response isn’t, “Well, it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.” Rather, Joseph responds like any good country song: “I’ve been cheated on/She did me wrong.” And when Joseph moves to Egypt he is doing something extremely significant. That’s because you don’t just move to Egypt like someone today might move to London or Little Rock. When Joseph moves to Egypt he his foregoing all of his economic security. He is walking away from the carpentry business that has been handed down, perhaps from generations back. He is walking away from all his relationships. And had he simply done what he initially wanted to do—quietly divorce this woman and allow the child to be slaughtered by Herod—he could have lived to ripe old age as a father of that city, revered by everyone. Instead, Joseph ended his life with his neighbors saying, “Joseph, he’s the one who got into trouble with that young woman way back when. What a shame.” But instead of seeking praise at his funeral, Joseph does something unusual: he protects the orphans and the widows; he sees the task of fatherhood as more important than the self. That is immensely difficult for all of us to see.

 

http://www.russellmoore.com/documents/russellmoore/Joseph_Single_Issue_Evangelical.pdf

 

IV.      The Teaching on Orphans Sets Up the Doctrine of Adoption

 [outline]

 

Adoption is a peculiar benefit of God’s people

            Outside of Christ, we are slaves & orphans

            We are adopted

                        In Christ

                        Into the family of God

            The difficulty the of the adoption

                        We are dead

                        We are slaves of sin

                        Therefore we must be redeemed to be adopted

                                    To redeem us, God         

                                                Sends his Son who dies in our place

                                                Pours love into us, which love must be expressed by us

            The effect of this adoption

 

                        In this age, it shows itself as a new identity

 

                        In this age, it shows itself as love

                                    Love to one’s brother

                                    Love to one’s neighbor

                                    Love to one’s enemy

                                    In short, the love of God in our adoption causes us to show love to those — like us — who have no claim on our love               

           

                        In the age to come,

                                    The Fall of Adam brought injury to the entire creation

                                    The redemption of our bodies will bring the redemption of creation

                                    The redemption of our bodies will complete our adoption

 

 

Along with marriage, adoption is a principle image of the Gospel

 

The love which flows from the adoption

 

The bonds created by the adoption supersede all other relationships; all other relationships must be evaluated in terms of the adoption.

 


[1] Two boys, Pete and Victor, were sitting across from each other in their classroom at school.  Pete kicked Victor on his shin so lightly that Victor did not immediately feel it.  However, minutes later Victor was crying out in pain due to the injury.  Over the next week, the wound swelled and surgery was performed on Victor’s shin.  The surgeons found that Victor’s shin bone was damaged from an earlier sledding accident and the kick that Pete delivered to Victor’s shin exacerbated the injury, causing bone degradation and irreparable harm to the leg.  Due to these events, Victor would never use the leg again.

 

 

 

Victor sued Pete for the damages he incurred.  The eggshell skull rule says that a tortfeasor must take his victim as he finds him.  Damages are not mitigated because the victim is more susceptible to injury than an average person.  Therefore, the court ruled against Pete for the full amount of damages incurred by Victor even though the kick would not have normally caused the extent of injury he sustained.

 

 

 

Vosburg v. Putney, 78 Wis. 84 (1890)

[2]           The root meaning of “extend,” “stretch out,” is especially common in the Qal stem. …

 

 The root also occurs with the basic meaning of “to bend.” A wadi “bends” (i.e. slopes, Num 21:15), the shoulder of an ass “bends down” with a load (Gen 49:15), and one “bends down” (i.e. tilts) a pitcher of water to pour a drink (Gen 24:14). The term is also used figuratively of the “perverting” or “warping” of justice, the condemnation of which lies at the heart of Israel’s law code (see Ex 23:6; Deut 16:19; 24:17; 27:19; I Sam 8:3; Isa 10:2; 29:21; Lam 3:35; Amos 2:7; 5:12; Mal 3:5).

 

A large number of other references employing nāṭâ carry the nuance of “turn,” “incline,” or “decline.” It is used in the literal sense of “turning aside” or “away,” or “diverting” from the path (Num 20:17; 21:22; 22:23, 26, 33; II Sam 6:10) or “turning toward” something (Gen 38:1, 16).

 

But most usages are figurative. One’s heart may “turn away” (i.e. shift its loyalty, apostatize; cf. I Kgs 11:2–4, 9) or “be swayed” (II Sam 19:14 [H 15]). On the other hand, one’s heart may be “inclined” to God and his commands (Josh 24:23; I Kgs 8:58; Ps 119:36).…

 

 

Marvin R. Wilson, “1352 נָטָה” In , in Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, ed. R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer, Jr. and Bruce K. Waltke, electronic ed. (Chicago: Moody Press, 1999), 573-74.

[3]

To be careful of the orphans and widows.—We translate thus because it brings out the antithesis to be careful of worldly affairs, which James has doubtless before his mind’s eye, like Peter in his ἀλλοτριοεπίσκοπος 1 Pet. 4:15. Although the verb is frequently applied to visiting the distressed (Huther: Matth. 25:36, 43; Jer. 23:2 etc.), it has also in this form a wider meaning (Theile: the species pro genere). The wider sense: to be careful of, to care for, to protect one, is directly brought out in Acts. 15:14; Heb. 2:6 and elsewhere; Philo calls ἐπίσκεψις providentia. “The ὀρφανοί are named first as those in want of help, as in Deut. 10:18; Job 29:12, 13 etc.” Huther. This Divine service answers to the fatherhood of God; those who engage in it do His work in love and compassion, because He is a Father of the orphans and a Judge (a Protector of the rights of) the widows, Ps. 68:6 and other passages. Now according to the book of Tobit it was the ideal of a true Israelite to protect the distressed among the captives of his people and Tobit 1:6, 7 we read that it was an integral part of the religious service of Tobit that every third year he gave the tithe to the strangers, the widows and the fatherless. In this manner the Israelite of the New Testament was called upon to help his poor people especially the distressed in their affliction. The state of affliction in its concrete form is most frequently and most touchingly exhibited in the distress of widows and orphans. In this direction we may have to seek the sense of keeping oneself unspotted from the world; and this probably explains the asyndeton of the two sentences (cf. Huther). They are not strictly coördinate, but the second is the reverse or the sequence of the first, its pure antithesis. Hence ἄσπιλον comes emphatically first. Cf. 1 Pet. 1:19; 2 Pet. 3:14. The expression ought really to be resolved into two ideas, firstly, to keep oneself from the world, secondly to keep oneself unspotted from the world, that is, from the world is connected with the two elements of the sentence: to keep oneself unspotted. The ethical idea of κόσμος is everywhere the personal totality of life converted into the Impersonal, i.e. mankind as to its ungodly bias. The peculiarity of this idea in James comes out more clearly in ch. 4:4. What heathenism was to the Jew, the antithesis of the holy people, to which it might apostatize by spiritual idolatry, such was to the apostolical mind, the ungodly doing of the world, whether manifested in Judaistic visionariness or in a heathen form. Oecumenius’s idea of the δημώδης καὶ συρφετὸς ὄχλος, ὁ κατὰ τὰς ἐπιθυμίας τῆς ἀπάτης αὑτοῦ φθειρόμενος was consequently not far from the image of the excited condition of the world, which was floating before the Apostle’s imagination; but the Judaistic ὄχλος assumed a prouder and more spiritual shape. This specific reference, of course does not exclude the more general. [Alford: “The whole earthly creation, separated from God and lying in the sin, which, whether considered as consisting in the men who serve it, or the enticements which it holds out to evil lust (ἐπιθυμία) is to Christians a source of continual defilement.”—M.]

 

John Peter Lange, Philip Schaff, J. J. van Oosterzee and J. Isidor Mombert, A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures: James (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2008), 67-68.

[4]

 In contrast to this empty religious practice (v 26), which indeed has the proper ritual and doctrine but fails in ethical results, the author places a correct religious practice, which also assumes ritual and doctrine (these are neither questioned nor discussed but rather assumed in the whole of the epistle) yet leads to the proper ethical action as well.

 

Peter H. Davids, The Epistle of James: A Commentary on the Greek Text, New International Greek Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1982), 102.

 

Exegetical Notes on James 5:13-16

23 Tuesday Apr 2013

Posted by memoirandremains in Faith, James, Prayer

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Daniel M. Doriani, Douglas Moo, Faith, James, James 5:13-16, John MacArthur, Prayer, Richard Bauckman, Sickness, weakness

James 5:13–16 (ESV)

Is anyone among you suffering? (kakopathei)

            Let him pray[1].

Is anyone cheerful? (euthumei)

            Let him sing praise.

Is anyone among you sick? (asthenei)

            Let him call for the elders of the church,

                        and let them pray over him,

                                    anointing him with oil

                                                in the name of the Lord.

 

            And the prayer of faith will

                        Save (sosei) the one who is sick,

                        and the Lord will raise him up[2].

                        And if he has committed sins,

                                    he will be forgiven.

Therefore,

            confess your sins to one another

            and pray for one another,

                        that you may be healed (iathete).

The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

 

Interpretation:

Primary issue: Does this “sick” in verse 14 refer to “spiritual” or “physical” sickness? One’s decision on this point will affect one’s interpretation of the remainder of the passage.

 

Argument for “spiritual”:

 

            MacArthur begins this argument with v. 13, kakopathei tis: “James addresses not those suffering from physical diseases, but those being persecuted, abused and treated wickedly” (275). This creates the context for understanding the remainder of the passage.

            When we get to “sick” (v. 14), he notes that the word is used for both physical and spiritual weakness. In the epistles (of Paul) it always refers to a spiritual/emotional weakness. The weak person then calls for the elders of the church to come pray for him (her). This he relates to Galatians 6:1, where the stronger must strengthen the weak.

            Since the oil was known to be used for treating wounds (Luke 10:34), the anointing here was “rubbing” (perhaps the most common translation of the word) oil into the wounds and bruises as an act of treatment and kindness.

            He also points to use of ton kamnonta, “the one who is sick” in v. 15 which is only used one other time in the NT at Hebrews 12:3, “that you may not grow weary” – in response to mistreatment for being a Christian.

            “Healed” in v. 14 is often translated “saved”, elsewhere in the NT – with a spiritual reference. The word “healed” in v. 16 is used to refer to the healing of Israel from her sin in Matthew 13:15. He thus understands “raise him up” in an emotional/spiritual manner.

            The remainder of the passage speaks of sin:  forgiveness and confession; coupled with prayer.

 

Advantages of this interpretation:

 

1) It is plausible – it does not require any impossible twisting of the text.

 

2) It avoids the primary difficulty of the physical healing: Why are some/many not physically healed in response to prayer:

 

VER. 14. Is any sick among you?—Here is the culminating point of the question whether the language of James is to be uniformly taken in a literal sense, or whether it uniformly bears a figurative character. The literal construction involves these surprising moments: 1. The calling for the presbyters of the congregation in the Plural; 2. the general direction concerning their prayer accompaning unction with oil; 3. and especially the confident promise that the prayer of faith shall restore the sick apart from his restoration being connected with the forgiveness of his sins. Was the Apostle warranted to promise bodily recovery in every case in which a sick individual complied with his directions? This misgiving urges us to adopt the symbolical construction of the passage, which would be as follows: if any man as a Christian has been hurt or become sick in his Christianity, let him seek healing from the presbyters, the kernel of the congregation. Let these pray with and for him and anoint him with the oil of the Spirit; such a course wherever taken, will surely restore him and his transgressions will be forgiven him. This symbol, explained in the Epistles of Ignatius as containing the direction that the bishop, the centre of the congregation should be called in, may be founded on a wide-spread Jewish Christian custom of healing the wounds of the sick by prayer accompanying the application with oil.

 

John Peter Lange, Philip Schaff, J. J. van Oosterzee and J. Isidor Mombert, A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures: James (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2008), 138.

 

3) It can be related to the context of the text – referencing the abuse of Christians by those more powerful.

 

Difficulties:

 

Moo, James sets out the difficulties with this view:

 

1) The spiritual view  hinges upon the translation of the word “asthenei” – one who is weak/sick. Moo notes that “virtually all modern English Bibles” take the position of physical sickness.  This means that most scholars understand the word to reference physical sickness.  While merely counting noses does not prove the meaning of a text, it does give one significant pause and does shift the burden of proof to the one arguing “spiritual weakness”.[3]

 

2) Moo also notes that the other uses of the word to reference “spiritual weakness” are made by plain by other a modifier of context.

 

3) Moo also notes that for James the parallel vocabulary is not Paul’s epistles but rather the text of the Gospels. In the Gospels, the word always means “physical sickness/weakness”.

 

4) The verb “save” in v. 15 is used in the Gospels to reference physical healing. The verb “heal” in v. 16 means “physical heal”.

 

5) The only place where anointing with oil is described in the NT (Mark 6:13), it refers to physical medicinal usage (MacArthur deals with this objection by tying the spiritual weakness to physical abuse).

 

 

Analysis of the Words:

 

Weakness:

 

 

 

 SBLGNT

 

 English Standard Version

 

Matt 10:8

 

ἀσθενοῦντας θεραπεύετε, νεκροὺς ἐγείρετε, λεπροὺς καθαρίζετε, δαιμόνια ἐκβάλλετε· δωρεὰν ἐλάβετε, δωρεὰν δότε.

 

Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay.

 

Matt 25:36

 

γυμνὸς καὶ περιεβάλετέ με, ἠσθένησα καὶ ἐπεσκέψασθέ με, ἐν φυλακῇ ἤμην καὶ ἤλθατε πρός με.

 

I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’

 

Matt 25:39

 

πότε δέ σε εἴδομεν ἀσθενοῦντα ἢ ἐν φυλακῇ καὶ ἤλθομεν πρός σε;

 

And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’

 

Mark 6:56

 

καὶ ὅπου ἂν εἰσεπορεύετο εἰς κώμας ἢ εἰς πόλεις ἢ εἰς ἀγροὺς ἐν ταῖς ἀγοραῖς ἐτίθεσαν τοὺς ἀσθενοῦντας, καὶ παρεκάλουν αὐτὸν ἵνα κἂν τοῦ κρασπέδου τοῦ ἱματίου αὐτοῦ ἅψωνται· καὶ ὅσοι ἂν ἥψαντο αὐτοῦ ἐσῴζοντο.

 

And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or countryside, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and implored him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well.

 

Luke 4:40

 

Δύνοντος δὲ τοῦ ἡλίου ἅπαντες ὅσοι εἶχον ἀσθενοῦντας νόσοις ποικίλαις ἤγαγον αὐτοὺς πρὸς αὐτόν· ὁ δὲ ἑνὶ ἑκάστῳ αὐτῶν τὰς χεῖρας ἐπιτιθεὶς ἐθεράπευεν αὐτούς.

 

Now when the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to him, and he laid his hands on every one of them and healed them.

 

John 4:46

 

Ἦλθεν οὖν πάλιν εἰς τὴν Κανὰ τῆς Γαλιλαίας, ὅπου ἐποίησεν τὸ ὕδωρ οἶνον. καὶ ἦν τις βασιλικὸς οὗ ὁ υἱὸς ἠσθένει ἐν Καφαρναούμ.

 

So he came again to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water wine. And at Capernaum there was an official whose son was ill.

 

John 5:3

 

ἐν ταύταις κατέκειτο πλῆθος τῶν ἀσθενούντων, τυφλῶν, χωλῶν, ξηρῶν.

 

In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed.

 

John 5:7

 

ἀπεκρίθη αὐτῷ ὁ ἀσθενῶν· Κύριε, ἄνθρωπον οὐκ ἔχω ἵνα ὅταν ταραχθῇ τὸ ὕδωρ βάλῃ με εἰς τὴν κολυμβήθραν· ἐν ᾧ δὲ ἔρχομαι ἐγὼ ἄλλος πρὸ ἐμοῦ καταβαίνει.

 

The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.”

 

John 6:2

 

ἠκολούθει δὲ αὐτῷ ὄχλος πολύς, ὅτι ἐθεώρουν τὰ σημεῖα ἃ ἐποίει ἐπὶ τῶν ἀσθενούντων.

 

And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick.

 

John 11:1

 

Ἦν δέ τις ἀσθενῶν, Λάζαρος ἀπὸ Βηθανίας ἐκ τῆς κώμης Μαρίας καὶ Μάρθας τῆς ἀδελφῆς αὐτῆς.

 

Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.

 

John 11:2

 

ἦν δὲ Μαριὰμ ἡ ἀλείψασα τὸν κύριον μύρῳ καὶ ἐκμάξασα τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ ταῖς θριξὶν αὐτῆς, ἧς ὁ ἀδελφὸς Λάζαρος ἠσθένει.

 

It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill.

 

John 11:3

 

ἀπέστειλαν οὖν αἱ ἀδελφαὶ πρὸς αὐτὸν λέγουσαι· Κύριε, ἴδε ὃν φιλεῖς ἀσθενεῖ.

 

So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.”

 

John 11:6

 

ὡς οὖν ἤκουσεν ὅτι ἀσθενεῖ, τότε μὲν ἔμεινεν ἐν ᾧ ἦν τόπῳ δύο ἡμέρας·

 

So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.

 

Acts 9:37

 

ἐγένετο δὲ ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις ἀσθενήσασαν αὐτὴν ἀποθανεῖν· λούσαντες δὲ ἔθηκαν αὐτὴν ἐν ὑπερῴῳ.

 

In those days she became ill and died, and when they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room.

 

Acts 19:12

 

ὥστε καὶ ἐπὶ τοὺς ἀσθενοῦντας ἀποφέρεσθαι ἀπὸ τοῦ χρωτὸς αὐτοῦ σουδάρια ἢ σιμικίνθια καὶ ἀπαλλάσσεσθαι ἀπʼ αὐτῶν τὰς νόσους, τά τε πνεύματα τὰ πονηρὰ ἐκπορεύεσθαι.

 

so that even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were carried away to the sick, and their diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them.

 

Acts 20:35

 

πάντα ὑπέδειξα ὑμῖν ὅτι οὕτως κοπιῶντας δεῖ ἀντιλαμβάνεσθαι τῶν ἀσθενούντων, μνημονεύειν τε τῶν λόγων τοῦ κυρίου Ἰησοῦ ὅτι αὐτὸς εἶπεν Μακάριόν ἐστιν μᾶλλον διδόναι ἢ λαμβάνειν.

 

In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”

 

Rom 4:19

 

καὶ μὴ ἀσθενήσας τῇ πίστει κατενόησεν τὸ ἑαυτοῦ σῶμα νενεκρωμένον, ἑκατονταετής που ὑπάρχων, καὶ τὴν νέκρωσιν τῆς μήτρας Σάρρας,

 

He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb.

 

Rom 8:3

 

τὸ γὰρ ἀδύνατον τοῦ νόμου, ἐν ᾧ ἠσθένει διὰ τῆς σαρκός, ὁ θεὸς τὸν ἑαυτοῦ υἱὸν πέμψας ἐν ὁμοιώματι σαρκὸς ἁμαρτίας καὶ περὶ ἁμαρτίας κατέκρινε τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ἐν τῇ σαρκί,

 

For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh,

 

Rom 14:1

 

Τὸν δὲ ἀσθενοῦντα τῇ πίστει προσλαμβάνεσθε, μὴ εἰς διακρίσεις διαλογισμῶν.

 

As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions.

 

Rom 14:2

 

ὃς μὲν πιστεύει φαγεῖν πάντα, ὁ δὲ ἀσθενῶν λάχανα ἐσθίει.

 

One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables.

 

Rom 14:21

 

καλὸν τὸ μὴ φαγεῖν κρέα μηδὲ πιεῖν οἶνον μηδὲ ἐν ᾧ ὁ ἀδελφός σου προσκόπτει ἢ σκανδαλίζεται ἢ ἀσθενεῖ·

 

It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble.

 

1 Cor 8:11

 

ἀπόλλυται γὰρ ὁ ἀσθενῶν ἐν τῇ σῇ γνώσει, ὁ ἀδελφὸς διʼ ὃν Χριστὸς ἀπέθανεν.

 

And so by your knowledge this weak person is destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died.

 

1 Cor 8:12

 

οὕτως δὲ ἁμαρτάνοντες εἰς τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς καὶ τύπτοντες αὐτῶν τὴν συνείδησιν ἀσθενοῦσαν εἰς Χριστὸν ἁμαρτάνετε.

 

Thus, sinning against your brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ.

 

2 Cor 11:21

 

κατὰ ἀτιμίαν λέγω, ὡς ὅτι ἡμεῖς ἠσθενήκαμεν· ἐν ᾧ δʼ ἄν τις τολμᾷ, ἐν ἀφροσύνῃ λέγω, τολμῶ κἀγώ.

 

To my shame, I must say, we were too weak for that! But whatever anyone else dares to boast of—I am speaking as a fool—I also dare to boast of that.

 

2 Cor 11:29

 

τίς ἀσθενεῖ, καὶ οὐκ ἀσθενῶ; τίς σκανδαλίζεται καὶ οὐκ ἐγὼ πυροῦμαι;

 

Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant?

 

2 Cor 12:10

 

διὸ εὐδοκῶ ἐν ἀσθενείαις, ἐν ὕβρεσιν, ἐν ἀνάγκαις, ἐν διωγμοῖς καὶ στενοχωρίαις, ὑπὲρ Χριστοῦ· ὅταν γὰρ ἀσθενῶ, τότε δυνατός εἰμι.

 

For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

 

2 Cor 13:3

 

ἐπεὶ δοκιμὴν ζητεῖτε τοῦ ἐν ἐμοὶ λαλοῦντος Χριστοῦ· ὃς εἰς ὑμᾶς οὐκ ἀσθενεῖ ἀλλὰ δυνατεῖ ἐν ὑμῖν,

 

since you seek proof that Christ is speaking in me. He is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful among you.

 

2 Cor 13:4

 

καὶ γὰρ ἐσταυρώθη ἐξ ἀσθενείας, ἀλλὰ ζῇ ἐκ δυνάμεως θεοῦ. καὶ γὰρ ἡμεῖς ἀσθενοῦμεν ἐν αὐτῷ, ἀλλὰ ζήσομεν σὺν αὐτῷ ἐκ δυνάμεως θεοῦ εἰς ὑμᾶς.

 

For he was crucified in weakness, but lives by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but in dealing with you we will live with him by the power of God.

 

2 Cor 13:9

 

χαίρομεν γὰρ ὅταν ἡμεῖς ἀσθενῶμεν, ὑμεῖς δὲ δυνατοὶ ἦτε· τοῦτο καὶ εὐχόμεθα, τὴν ὑμῶν κατάρτισιν.

 

For we are glad when we are weak and you are strong. Your restoration is what we pray for.

 

Phil 2:26

 

ἐπειδὴ ἐπιποθῶν ἦν πάντας ὑμᾶς, καὶ ἀδημονῶν διότι ἠκούσατε ὅτι ἠσθένησεν.

 

for he has been longing for you all and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill.

 

Phil 2:27

 

καὶ γὰρ ἠσθένησεν παραπλήσιον θανάτῳ· ἀλλὰ ὁ θεὸς ἠλέησεν αὐτόν, οὐκ αὐτὸν δὲ μόνον ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐμέ, ἵνα μὴ λύπην ἐπὶ λύπην σχῶ.

 

Indeed he was ill, near to death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow.

 

2 Tim 4:20

 

Ἔραστος ἔμεινεν ἐν Κορίνθῳ, Τρόφιμον δὲ ἀπέλιπον ἐν Μιλήτῳ ἀσθενοῦντα.

 

Erastus remained at Corinth, and I left Trophimus, who was ill, at Miletus.

 

James 5:14

 

ἀσθενεῖ τις ἐν ὑμῖν; προσκαλεσάσθω τοὺς πρεσβυτέρους τῆς ἐκκλησίας, καὶ προσευξάσθωσαν ἐπʼ αὐτὸν ἀλείψαντες αὐτὸν ἐλαίῳ ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι τοῦ κυρίου·

 

Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.

 

 

 

Notes:  The default usage is for physical weakness. Paul does use the word to refer to spiritual weakness (including in Acts 20:35 – when elsewhere in Acts it is used to refer to physical weakness).  Moo correctly notes that Paul indicates that the word refers to a non-physical ailment by means of modifier or context: e.g., Romans 4:19, “weaken in faith”.

 

When Paul uses the word without modification, it refers to physical illness: Philippians 2:26-27, 2 Timothy 4:20. 

 

Thus, it is possible for the word to mean spiritual weakness, but something in the context must indicate such a usage.  The reference to “sin” may possibly indicate such a meaning – but the connection is not necessary. In fact, the context indicates the opposite “If he has sinned ….” The connection between sin and the weakness is possible but not necessary. A spiritual weakness would likely be indicated with a more necessary connection.

 

 

Finally, one might find himself in a third condition which was neither external suffering nor inner cheerfulness, namely, ill. It is true that ἀσθενέω may indicate weakness of any form (e.g. Rom. 4:19; 1 Cor. 8:9; 2 Cor. 11:29; cf. BAG, 114, for other meanings), but the contrast with κακοπαθεῖ, the need to call the elders to him, the use of oil, and the two terms σώσει and κάμνοντα indicate that illness is intended. Here there is no question of outward reverses through the evil in others, suffering for the faith, or similar sources of internal distress (i.e. 5:13); the person is sick, which means that the cause lies outside the human sphere: either God or evil powers must be involved.

 

Peter H. Davids, The Epistle of James: A Commentary on the Greek Text, New International Greek Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1982), 192.

 

14 ἀσθενεῖ τις ἐν ὑμῖν, “Is there one of you weak?” James lists a third circumstance that engages prayer. Not all find themselves the victims of external suffering or share the experience of inner cheerfulness. Yet it is a much more common feature of life when people fall ill (BGD, 115; Matt 25:39; John 4:46; 11:1–3, 6; Phil 2:26–27; 2 Tim 4:20). ἀσθενεῖν can include weakness of any kind (2 Cor 12:10; Rom 4:9; 14:2; 1 Cor 8:11–12; 2 Clem 17.2), but Davids (192) is probably right to conclude that the context has physical illness in mind. He points out that ἀσθενεῖν stands in conjunction with κακοπαθεῖν (5:13), that the elders are called to come to the disabled person and pray, that oil is used for anointing and that the terms σῴζειν (“to make whole”) and κάμνειν (“to be ill”) in 5:15 are all features to show that a physical malady is the topic of discussion (see below).

 

Ralph P. Martin, vol. 48, James, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 1998), 206.

 

 

 

Healed (v. 16)

 

 

 SBLGNT

 

 English Standard Version

 

Matt 8:8

 

καὶ ἀποκριθεὶς ὁ ἑκατόνταρχος ἔφη· Κύριε, οὐκ εἰμὶ ἱκανὸς ἵνα μου ὑπὸ τὴν στέγην εἰσέλθῃς· ἀλλὰ μόνον εἰπὲ λόγῳ, καὶ ἰαθήσεται ὁ παῖς μου·

 

But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed.

 

Matt 8:13

 

καὶ εἶπεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς τῷ ἑκατοντάρχῃ· Ὕπαγε, ὡς ἐπίστευσας γενηθήτω σοι· καὶ ἰάθη ὁ παῖς ἐν τῇ ὥρᾳ ἐκείνῃ.

 

And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment.

 

Matt 13:15

 

ἐπαχύνθη γὰρ ἡ καρδία τοῦ λαοῦ τούτου, καὶ τοῖς ὠσὶν βαρέως ἤκουσαν, καὶ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτῶν ἐκάμμυσαν· μήποτε ἴδωσιν τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς καὶ τοῖς ὠσὶν ἀκούσωσιν καὶ τῇ καρδίᾳ συνῶσιν καὶ ἐπιστρέψωσιν, καὶ ἰάσομαι αὐτούς.

 

For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.’

 

Matt 15:28

 

τότε ἀποκριθεὶς ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν αὐτῇ· Ὦ γύναι, μεγάλη σου ἡ πίστις· γενηθήτω σοι ὡς θέλεις. καὶ ἰάθη ἡ θυγάτηρ αὐτῆς ἀπὸ τῆς ὥρας ἐκείνης.

 

Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.

 

Mark 5:29

 

καὶ εὐθὺς ἐξηράνθη ἡ πηγὴ τοῦ αἵματος αὐτῆς, καὶ ἔγνω τῷ σώματι ὅτι ἴαται ἀπὸ τῆς μάστιγος.

 

And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease.

 

Luke 5:17

 

Καὶ ἐγένετο ἐν μιᾷ τῶν ἡμερῶν καὶ αὐτὸς ἦν διδάσκων, καὶ ἦσαν καθήμενοι Φαρισαῖοι καὶ νομοδιδάσκαλοι οἳ ἦσαν ἐληλυθότες ἐκ πάσης κώμης τῆς Γαλιλαίας καὶ Ἰουδαίας καὶ Ἰερουσαλήμ· καὶ δύναμις κυρίου ἦν εἰς τὸ ἰᾶσθαι αὐτόν.

 

On one of those days, as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with him to heal.

 

Luke 6:18

 

οἳ ἦλθον ἀκοῦσαι αὐτοῦ καὶ ἰαθῆναι ἀπὸ τῶν νόσων αὐτῶν· καὶ οἱ ἐνοχλούμενοι ἀπὸ πνευμάτων ἀκαθάρτων ἐθεραπεύοντο·

 

who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. And those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured.

 

Luke 6:19

 

καὶ πᾶς ὁ ὄχλος ἐζήτουν ἅπτεσθαι αὐτοῦ, ὅτι δύναμις παρʼ αὐτοῦ ἐξήρχετο καὶ ἰᾶτο πάντας.

 

And all the crowd sought to touch him, for power came out from him and healed them all.

 

Luke 7:7

 

διὸ οὐδὲ ἐμαυτὸν ἠξίωσα πρὸς σὲ ἐλθεῖν· ἀλλὰ εἰπὲ λόγῳ, καὶ ἰαθήτω ὁ παῖς μου·

 

Therefore I did not presume to come to you. But say the word, and let my servant be healed.

 

Luke 8:47

 

ἰδοῦσα δὲ ἡ γυνὴ ὅτι οὐκ ἔλαθεν τρέμουσα ἦλθεν καὶ προσπεσοῦσα αὐτῷ διʼ ἣν αἰτίαν ἥψατο αὐτοῦ ἀπήγγειλεν ἐνώπιον παντὸς τοῦ λαοῦ καὶ ὡς ἰάθη παραχρῆμα.

 

And when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before him declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed.

 

Luke 9:2

 

καὶ ἀπέστειλεν αὐτοὺς κηρύσσειν τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ ἰᾶσθαι τοὺς ἀσθενεῖς,

 

and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal.

 

Luke 9:11

 

οἱ δὲ ὄχλοι γνόντες ἠκολούθησαν αὐτῷ. καὶ ἀποδεξάμενος αὐτοὺς ἐλάλει αὐτοῖς περὶ τῆς βασιλείας τοῦ θεοῦ, καὶ τοὺς χρείαν ἔχοντας θεραπείας ἰᾶτο.

 

When the crowds learned it, they followed him, and he welcomed them and spoke to them of the kingdom of God and cured those who had need of healing.

 

Luke 9:42

 

ἔτι δὲ προσερχομένου αὐτοῦ ἔρρηξεν αὐτὸν τὸ δαιμόνιον καὶ συνεσπάραξεν· ἐπετίμησεν δὲ ὁ Ἰησοῦς τῷ πνεύματι τῷ ἀκαθάρτῳ, καὶ ἰάσατο τὸν παῖδα καὶ ἀπέδωκεν αὐτὸν τῷ πατρὶ αὐτοῦ.

 

While he was coming, the demon threw him to the ground and convulsed him. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the boy, and gave him back to his father.

 

Luke 14:4

 

οἱ δὲ ἡσύχασαν. καὶ ἐπιλαβόμενος ἰάσατο αὐτὸν καὶ ἀπέλυσεν.

 

But they remained silent. Then he took him and healed him and sent him away.

 

Luke 17:15

 

εἷς δὲ ἐξ αὐτῶν, ἰδὼν ὅτι ἰάθη, ὑπέστρεψεν μετὰ φωνῆς μεγάλης δοξάζων τὸν θεόν,

 

Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice;

 

Luke 22:51

 

ἀποκριθεὶς δὲ ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν· Ἐᾶτε ἕως τούτου· καὶ ἁψάμενος τοῦ ὠτίου ἰάσατο αὐτόν.

 

But Jesus said, “No more of this!” And he touched his ear and healed him.

 

John 4:47

 

οὗτος ἀκούσας ὅτι Ἰησοῦς ἥκει ἐκ τῆς Ἰουδαίας εἰς τὴν Γαλιλαίαν ἀπῆλθεν πρὸς αὐτὸν καὶ ἠρώτα ἵνα καταβῇ καὶ ἰάσηται αὐτοῦ τὸν υἱόν, ἤμελλεν γὰρ ἀποθνῄσκειν.

 

When this man heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death.

 

John 5:13

 

ὁ δὲ ἰαθεὶς οὐκ ᾔδει τίς ἐστιν, ὁ γὰρ Ἰησοῦς ἐξένευσεν ὄχλου ὄντος ἐν τῷ τόπῳ.

 

Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place.

 

John 12:40

 

Τετύφλωκεν αὐτῶν τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς καὶ ἐπώρωσεν αὐτῶν τὴν καρδίαν, ἵνα μὴ ἴδωσιν τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς καὶ νοήσωσιν τῇ καρδίᾳ καὶ στραφῶσιν, καὶ ἰάσομαι αὐτούς.

 

“He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, lest they see with their eyes, and understand with their heart, and turn, and I would heal them.”

 

Acts 9:34

 

καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ ὁ Πέτρος· Αἰνέα, ἰᾶταί σε Ἰησοῦς Χριστός· ἀνάστηθι καὶ στρῶσον σεαυτῷ· καὶ εὐθέως ἀνέστη.

 

And Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; rise and make your bed.” And immediately he rose.

 

Acts 10:38

 

Ἰησοῦν τὸν ἀπὸ Ναζαρέθ, ὡς ἔχρισεν αὐτὸν ὁ θεὸς πνεύματι ἁγίῳ καὶ δυνάμει, ὃς διῆλθεν εὐεργετῶν καὶ ἰώμενος πάντας τοὺς καταδυναστευομένους ὑπὸ τοῦ διαβόλου, ὅτι ὁ θεὸς ἦν μετʼ αὐτοῦ·

 

how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.

 

Acts 28:8

 

ἐγένετο δὲ τὸν πατέρα τοῦ Ποπλίου πυρετοῖς καὶ δυσεντερίῳ συνεχόμενον κατακεῖσθαι, πρὸς ὃν ὁ Παῦλος εἰσελθὼν καὶ προσευξάμενος ἐπιθεὶς τὰς χεῖρας αὐτῷ ἰάσατο αὐτόν.

 

It happened that the father of Publius lay sick with fever and dysentery. And Paul visited him and prayed, and putting his hands on him healed him.

 

Acts 28:27

 

ἐπαχύνθη γὰρ ἡ καρδία τοῦ λαοῦ τούτου, καὶ τοῖς ὠσὶν βαρέως ἤκουσαν, καὶ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτῶν ἐκάμμυσαν· μήποτε ἴδωσιν τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς καὶ τοῖς ὠσὶν ἀκούσωσιν καὶ τῇ καρδίᾳ συνῶσιν καὶ ἐπιστρέψωσιν, καὶ ἰάσομαι αὐτούς.

 

For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed; lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.’

 

Heb 12:13

 

καὶ τροχιὰς ὀρθὰς ποιεῖτε τοῖς ποσὶν ὑμῶν, ἵνα μὴ τὸ χωλὸν ἐκτραπῇ, ἰαθῇ δὲ μᾶλλον.

 

and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed.

 

James 5:16

 

ἐξομολογεῖσθε οὖν ἀλλήλοις τὰς ἁμαρτίας καὶ εὔχεσθε ὑπὲρ ἀλλήλων, ὅπως ἰαθῆτε. πολὺ ἰσχύει δέησις δικαίου ἐνεργουμένη.

 

Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

 

1 Pet 2:24

 

ὃς τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν αὐτὸς ἀνήνεγκεν ἐν τῷ σώματι αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τὸ ξύλον, ἵνα ταῖς ἁμαρτίαις ἀπογενόμενοι τῇ δικαιοσύνῃ ζήσωμεν· οὗ τῷ μώλωπι ἰάθητε.

 

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.

 

 

 

Notes: Again, the default usage of the word is physical in orientation.  The word can and is used in a broader manner, but each of these “spiritual” uses is based upon a quotation or allusion to the LXX, Isaiah 6:10 & 53:5.

 

 

Saved in 15 can mean either physical or spiritual salvation/restoration depending upon the context. Thus, the meaning in James 5:15 cannot be determined from other usage, because its meaning here depends upon the nature of the sickness at issue:

 

The reference in 5:15 to the prayer arising from “the faith” (the subjective genitive) that “will save” (sosei) the sickly one, should be taken not in a spiritual sense but in a physical sensxe. This is illustrated by the next action, i.e., that “the Lord will raise him up,” with the addendum, “and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.” In other words, the order is first physical healing and then spiritual healing.

 

Varner, James, 191.

 

            Physical Healing

 

While physical healing makes for the easiest reading of the text as written, it still faces one significant problem:

 

And the prayer of faith

            will save the one who is sick,

and the Lord

            will raise him up.

And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. James 5:15 (ESV)

 

 

Here is the trouble: Not everyone is “saved” from physical illness; nor is everyone “raised up”.

 

Calvin resolves the problem by asserting that such healing occurred only during the Apostolic period:

 

That the gift of healing was temporary, all are constrained to allow, and events clearly prove: then the sign of it ought not to be deemed perpetual. It hence follows, that they who at this day set anointing among the sacraments, are not the true followers, but the apes of the Apostles, except they restore the effect produced by it, which God has taken away from the world for more than fourteen hundred years. So we have no dispute, whether anointing was once a sacrament; but whether it has been given to be so perpetually. This latter we deny, because it is evident that the thing signified has long ago ceased.

 

John Calvin, James, electronic ed., Calvin’s Commentaries (Albany, OR: Ages Software, 1998), Jas 5:14.

 

Moo provides a remedy here:  He looks the to the “prayer of faith” for explanation:

 

The faith with which we pray is always faith I the God whose will is supreme and best; only sometimes does this faith include assurance that a particular request is in his will.  This is exactly the qualification that is needed t understand Jesus’ own promise, “You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it” (John 14:14). To ask “in Jesus’ name” mean not simply to utter his name, but to take into account his will. Only those requests offered “in that will” are granted. Prayer for healing offered in the confidence that God will answer that prayer does bring healing; but only when it is God’s will to heal will that faith, itself a gift of God, be present (245).

 

 

Richard Bauckman, James:

 

By contrast, asking in faith without doubting (1:6) is the whole hearted commitment to what the believers trusts to be God’s will…. ‘Faith means wanting and willing something with all our hearts’ …. But it is also entrusting these wholehearted wishes and desires to God.

 

Prayer has always been difficult, but the difficulty of prayer in the modern western world has its own specific profile. The fundamental reason why prayer has become difficult in the modern period was humanity’s modern self-image as those who, especially through technology, have gained control over the world. Rather like affluence, this assume dposition of mastery over trhe world has deluded modern people into trusting their own capacity to achieve all human ends and has promoted a sense of autonomy and self-sufficiency to which prayer is alien. Whereas petitionary prayer is recognition of the limits of human abilities, the modern age has encouraged the sense that all problems have human solutions and that all human desires may in the end be realizable by human means ….

 

207. Thus prayer becomes merely an instrument in our hands to control God:

 

It poses a real danger of misreading James’ claim that ‘the prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective’ (5:16) in an instrumental way, as though prayer were a powerful means which qualified people can use to achieve things. That way of thinking ends by making God himself a means to human ends….

 

If faith means wanting and willing something with all our hearts, it also requires the very unmodern renunciation  of attempting total control and the wholehearted surrender of what we want and will to God.

 

 

 

The problem, of course, concerns those many times when the process has been followed, and there has been no healing. When such instances occur, the usual explanation is that we have failed to have faith. We assume that faith is ours to work up and that we should be able to do so at any moment. If healing does not come, it is our fault. We haven’t worked up the faith.

But the Bible says faith is a gift of God (Eph. 2:8). When it is his will to heal, the Lord grants the persuasion that he will grant the healing and enables the elders to pray ‘the prayer of faith’. Kent Hughes explains: ‘… the prayer of faith is not something we can manufacture by saying “I believe, I believe, I believe, I really believe, I truly believe, I double believe!” It is a gift from God’ (italics are his).5 Hughes then shares these words from John Blanchard: ‘The “prayer offered in faith” is circular in shape; it begins and ends in heaven, in the sovereign will of God.’6

It comes down to this: the sick person is to call for the elders, the elders are to anoint and pray, and God will do as he pleases.

 

Roger Ellsworth, Opening Up James, Opening Up Commentary (Leominster: Day One Publications, 2009), 161-62.

 

Annointing: Varner affirms Moo’s position that the anointing  was so consecrate, and thus “ ‘set apart’ the sick on for concentrated prayer” (Varner, James, 191).

 

Respiritualizing illness:

 

In Jesus’ day, people overspiritualized illness. Many assumed that all tragedy and disease were direct consequences of sin. Today, in the West, we despiritualize illness. We believe microbes and defective genes cause all illness. We deny a link between sin and illness except in obvious cases such as cirrhosis of the liver and sexually transmitted diseases.

 

In fact, we need to respiritualize illness, for Scripture often links sin and illness: ( Luke 5:20, Jhn 5:14, 1 Corinthians 11:30, Acts 12 (Herod), Proverbs 3:28-35, 13:13-23. Deuteronomy 28:58-63; Ezekiel 18:1-29 … Psalm 32).

 

To some extent, then, spiritual health engenders physical health, and spiritual troubles beget physical sorrows.

 

Doriani, James, 198-199.

 

This verse is another indication of the affirmation that Wesley would have for James’s epistle. Wesley’s “bands”—small groups of believers who met regularly to share their lives with one another—practiced “confession.” In these sessions, there would be strict accountability for the sins in one’s life, not for the purpose of judgment, but for the purpose of prayerful support, encouragement and, most of all, healing forgiveness. Wesley knew that this was a key to growing deep in the Lord. He and his followers have practiced it throughout the years. It is heartening to see this kind of small group accountability becoming an ever-growing part of the spiritual exercises of many modern Christians.

 

The relationship between one’s physical health and spiritual well-being is becoming clearer all the time. How many sick people in our world could be healed if they knew they could be forgiven? How much of the physical pain in our world is rooted in spiritual causes? James’s admonition here to holistic spirituality in the context of real community is a key component to the practice of true religion.

 

One truth that easily could be overlooked here is the emphasis on the church as a healing community. James’s concern throughout this letter is to preserve the health and vitality of the Christian community—the church. Among other reasons for wanting to do so is that the health of individual Christians depends directly upon the health of the Christian community. For those of us who have grown up in the Protestant West, which emphasizes individualism, that is a difficult concept to grasp. But James’s words here about healing demonstrate that it is in community that the healing grace of God operates most effectively.

 

 

J. Michael Walters, James: A Bible Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition (Indianapolis, IN: Wesleyan Publishing House, 1997), 200-01.

 

 

 


[1]

Instead of grumbling against each other (v. 9) or taking oaths (v. 12), the believers should pray, strengthened by the corporate life that was theirs. James’s tone had become very pastoral. He asked if anyone was “in trouble” or (the better translation) “suffering” (the noun form of the same root, kakopath, is used in v. 10). He then commended private prayer20 as the antidote to falling into the temptation of grumbling against another believer. Their prayer must be for wisdom (1:5), and it should be whole-hearted (1:6), seeking a firm conviction for the perseverance needed to endure the suffering.

Kurt A. Richardson, vol. 36, James, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1997), 229-30.

[2]

Then James elaborated by stating that the Lord would “raise” the person up. This choice of verb (egeirō) is remarkable because it does not repeat the word meaning “save/heal,” which had just been used, but rather brings in another word with the same kind of dual meaning. “Raise up” refers to an act of God in the present, as in healing one who is bedridden, or an act of God in the eschaton, as in resurrection. Jesus’ healing of the synagogue ruler Jairus’s daughter is an example of this raising: “Little girl, I say to you, get up!” (Mark 5:41)—a restoration of life. The connection between being raised up miraculously from the bed of sickness and the resurrection is also poignantly presented in Martha’s confession at the tomb of her brother Lazarus (John 11:27).

Kurt A. Richardson, vol. 36, James, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1997), 234.

[3]

καὶ ἡ εὐχή τῆς πίστεως σώσει τὸν κάμνοντα καὶ ἐγερεῖ αὐτὸν ὁ κύριος, “And the request based on faith will make the sick one well; and the Lord will raise him up.” Difficulties in deciding what exactly in the preceding verse is meant by anointing should not cause us to overlook the main point of vv 13–18, which is prayer. It is prayer—not the anointing—which leads to the healing of the sick person. This prayer is described as a fervent wish or request (ἡ εὐχή) offered in faith (τῆς πίστεως). The faith mentioned here is evidently, if not exclusively, that of the elders. The results of this “request based on faith” are that the sick person (i) will be made well (σώσει, lit., “made whole”) and (ii) will be raised by the Lord. The verb σώζειν is often used in the NT to refer to the eschatological salvation of believers (see BGD, 798; this idea is close to the meaning of the same verb in 5:20), suggesting to some scholars that James is referring to deliverance from spiritual death. This argument gains support if ἀσθενεῖν (v 14) means “to be spiritually weak” (as in Rom 14:2; 1 Cor 8:11–12), as may be the case with κάμνειν (in v 15: see Heb 12:3). Moreover, ἰᾶσθαι (“to cure”) can conceivably be understood as referring to a restoration to spiritual wholeness (cf. Meinertz, “Die Krankensalbung”; Pickar, “Is Anyone Sick?”; Hayden, “Calling the Elders to Pray”). Yet these are exceptional meanings attached to the vocabulary, ἀσθενεῖν and κάμνειν are better understood to refer to cases of physical illness (cf. Wisd Sol 4:16; 15:9; Sib. Or. 3.588, where the meaning is “to be seriously”—but not necessarily terminally—“ill”). ἰᾶσθαι most naturally refers to the curing of a person who is sick (see Moo, 184). In addition, σῴζειν (Mark 5:23, 28, 34; 10:52; John 11:12) and ἐγείρειν (Mark 1:31; 2:9–12; 9:27; Matt 9:5–7; Acts 3:7; Josephus, Ant. 19.294) can be used to describe someone who is healed of a physical malady.

Ralph P. Martin, vol. 48, James, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 1998), 209.

But above all ….

04 Friday Jan 2013

Posted by memoirandremains in James, Leviticus

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deceit, False Swearing, James, James 5, James 5:12, Leviticus, Leviticus 19, Love of Neighbor, Speech, Swearing, Tongue

James 5 has a seeming disconnected series of exhortations, which seems to come to a culmination of sorts, Before, above, more than everything brothers: Do not swear ….James 5:12. The connection between care for the poor, a metaphorical discourse as to the harvest & a command to not swear may have been suggested by the commands of Leviticus 19:9-18:

9 “When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest.
10 And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the LORD your God.
11 “You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; you shall not lie to one another.
12 You shall not swear by my name falsely, and so profane the name of your God: I am the LORD.
13 “You shall not oppress your neighbor or rob him. The wages of a hired servant shall not remain with you all night until the morning.
14 You shall not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall fear your God: I am the LORD.
15 “You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor.
16 You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand up against the life of your neighbor: I am the LORD.
17 “You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him.
18 You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.

Compare the combination of commands with the series of commands in James 5:

1 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you.
2 Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten.
3 Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days.
4 Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.
5 You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter.
6 You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you.
7 Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains.
8 You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.
9 Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door.
10 As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
11 Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.
12 But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.

While the relationship is not exact, there are numerous points of correspondence. If James did rely upon Leviticus, the importance of swearing makes sense: to swear falsely is to profane the name of The Lord (Lev.19:12). Both passages directly tie reverence of The Lord to love of neighbor. That relationship must not include deceit, injury or fraud (resulting from false swearing).

How We Must Govern Our Tongues, Part 2

06 Thursday Dec 2012

Posted by memoirandremains in Acts, Discipleship, James, Obedience, Preaching, Psalms, Puritan

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Acts, Discipleship, Edward West, How Must We Must Govern Our Tongues, James, Obedience, Preaching, Proverbs, proverbs, Psalms, Puritan, Sermon Outline, Tongue, Wisdom

The first part is found here: https://memoirandremains.wordpress.com/2012/12/06/how-must-we-govern-our-tongues-part-1/

C. The tongue possesses a capacity for sin like no other aspect of our lives[1]: It is a “world of iniquity” (James 3:6). It injures the speaker, the hearer, and the one of who the tale is told.

1. The tongue flies at everyone and everything: The one who would not strike an authority will slander the same. As Peter writes of the false teachers, “Bold and willful, they do not tremble as they blaspheme the glorious ones,” 2 Peter 2:10 (ESV). Jude adds, “9 But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you.” 10 But these people blaspheme all that they do not understand, and they are destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively” Jude 9–10 (ESV).

2. The tongue, like an uncontrollable water house, flies about in every vein of sin: The tongue will lie to destroy or flatter; the tongue can poison whether we are in a good or bad mood; it is always ready to destroy and has a means for every opportunity and time.

3. It can destroy like nothing else: it can destroy a person’s reputation, marriage, job, life. Its darts sink deepest, and its wounds heal slowest of any other. (Psalm 69:19, 21.) And in this respect the tongue may be expressed not only by a rod, by a scourge, by a sword, but by the sting and poison of a serpent, to note the anguish of its biting, and the difficulty of its curing. (Psalm 140:3; 42:10; Prov. 14:3.)

D. What Conclusions Should We Draw From This?

1.     We should do everything necessary to control the tongue: we should treat it like a dog known to bite; or, (as West puts it)That in all reason and righteousness such a member should be strictly kept-in, even as an ox that is wont to goring.

2. That if we keep it not in, God will cut it out:: God will need to eventually correct his children to prevent their sin. Thus, with Ananias and Sapphira, God brought their death to stop their sin (Acts 5:1-10). God punished the unquestioned unbeliever Herod for his sin (Acts 12:23).

II  The Excellence of the Tongue: When properly governed, the tongue has power to do excellent good.

A.  The Tongue Permits to Speak to God: Consider throughout the Psalms, the psalmists call out to God to see his circumstances, to rescue from one’s enemies (Psalm 3); to hear his prayer (Psalm 5); to cease from correction (Psalm 6);  to remember and come near (Psalm 13); et cetera.  The prophets set forth many such prayers (Habakkuk 1:1-3).

B. The Tongue permits us to praise and thank God: The Psalms are again filled with such praise.[2] And example of such praise, remembrance, and thanksgiving can be found in Psalm 105; see, e.g., Psalm 51:15, 145:21).

C. To Bring Rebels Into Reconciliation With God:  2 Corinthians 5:16–21 (ESV)

16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

D. Believers can encourage, exhort, comfort, bless one-another: Proverbs 10:21 (ESV)The lips of the righteous feed many, but fools die for lack of sense. Proverbs 10:11 (ESV) The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence. See, also Proverbs 12:18 & 15:4.  The entire Bible is a book of words. The proclamation of Jesus lies at the heart of the Christian’s duty, Matthew 28:18-20.

E. Inferences:

1. The Advantage to Others: Since our tongues can bring such good, we should use diligence to bring our tongues to order.

2.  God Delights in Ordering our Tongues: God delights to do the things he commands.  16 Then those who feared the LORD spoke with one another. The LORD paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the LORD and esteemed his name. 17 “They shall be mine, says the LORD of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him. Malachi 3:16–17 (ESV)

III It is the Glory of a Man to Govern His Tongue:

A.     General Observations:

1. Not Speaking: Proverbs 17:28 (ESV) Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.

2. Foolish Speaking Makes a Fool: Proverbs 10:18–19 (ESV) 18 The one who conceals hatred has lying lips, and whoever utters slander is a fool. 19 When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent.

3. Control is  Mark Of Godliness: James 3:2 (ESV) For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body.

4. Impotence: Whereas, on the other hand, he is fit for nothing that has a loose and licentious tongue; and it is generally a token of an impotent man.

5. A Worse Friend: As bad a neighbour as he is, he is yet a worse friend: he trifles away our time, he tires our patience, he betrays our trusts: there can be no confidence in him; we must still be upon the watch; one may as well make a whole town our friend as such an one. But yet, too, a much worse relation he makes: it is next [to] dwelling in a mill, to dwell with him; his clack is always going, only not in so good tune and order as that we allude to. The wise man could not think of a condition so intolerable as the being yoked with such a relation (Prov. 25:24).

B.     The Measure of Right Government

1.     Don’t Be Too Silent:  Though it is rare, there are times when we should speak.

a. We should speak when justice will be denied or obstructed. When our silence permits wickedness to flourish, we have sinned. Jeremiah 1 gives a vivid picture of God requiring speech.

b. We should be speak to promote love, comfort or good. There many commands to affirmatively speak to our fellows: Hebrews 3:12-13; Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 4:19-20; Lev. 19:17; Matt. 18:15-20.

c. If our own spirits be soured by it.—Words kept-in are, many times, like humours struck-in,—go to the heart and offend the vital parts. Maliciousness, censoriousness, are often so fed; vent might give relief in this case, and be the only means for our cure, immoderately and discreetly given. Proverbs 28:13 (ESV) 13 Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.

d. Where it would offend those about us: There are times when keeping silence will be a grief to those about us: “you had as good send your horse among them, if you will not converse like a man with them.”

e. If God’s cause requires public testimony: Matthew 21:15-16; Luke 19:40.

2. Don’t Speak Too Much:

a. When talking excludes thinking: Don’t talk if you have not thought: “but it is an intolerable presumption upon men to entertain them with words more crude than our belches, that we fetch not so low as our breath, and that little differ from an ass’s braying.”

b. When we should listen, particularly where someone more appropriated and fitted to the occasion can and will speak. James 1:19 (ESV) Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;

c. When talking stops work – our work, the work of others, or the honor of Christ. These are people who keep others distracted at work and away from their work. 1 Timothy 5:13 (ESV) 13 Besides that, they learn to be idlers, going about from house to house, and not only idlers, but also gossips and busybodies, saying what they should not.

3. Wisdom lies between these Extremes

 


[1] West has the quaint line, “The tongue is a very mischievous outlaw, no member like it, if it get loose.”

[2] There is the strange thought of why does God ordain Psalm of himself in the Psalms. C.S. Lewis provides an extraordinary and insightful observation, discussed here, http://www.enjoyinggodministries.com/article/27-c-s-lewiss-most-important-discovery/

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