​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.
Patience in Suffering
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.
The Prayer of Faith
13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. 14 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. 15 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. 16 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. 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. 18 Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.
19 My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, 20 let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.
 
Meditation
“Good fruit” (3:17) grows from the Word implanted (1:21) into a heart transformed by God’s grace, watered with wisdom from above. A “faith that saves” (2:14) has heart fruit of humility, patience, and prayer.
 
The rich receive warning because they hope in the treasures “laid up in these last days” (1-6). James warns the rich to cease self-exaltation. Wisdom seeks first God and His kingdom, laying treasures in Heaven with faith that the King will return.
 
James emphasizes the return of Jesus, repeating, “The Lord is coming (7) … the Lord is coming soon (8-9) … to judge (9-10).” The Lord is coming and He is compassionate and gracious (11), yes, but the Lord is just. And faith waits for Jesus to return by living with patience, prayerfully trusting God’s promises.
 
Patience is illustrated in four ways: Farmers are patient to trust God’s growth (7). Prophets were patient to trust God’s sovereign promises (8-11). God’s family is patient by being truth tellers (12) and powerfully praying (13-20).
 
Patience is fruit evidenced by wisdom and humility to participate with God through prayer at all times (13-16), trusting the power of prayer to water the earth with Heaven’s resources (17-18). Prayer connects us with “God’s reality” as prayer connects us with the promises and purposes of God.
 
The righteous open their hearts to be watered with wisdom from above to grow fruit from the implanted word, living in humble faith that patiently waits on the return of our King.
 
Richly Dwelling
-What stands out to you from today’s reading? Why?
 
-Where do you long to see the fruit of wisdom grow from the word implanted in your heart, especially in the categories of humility, patience, and prayer?
 
-Jesus is the treasury of all wisdom (Colossians 2:2-3) and He longs to water your heart with His grace, love, forgiveness, and Spirit. Ask Jesus to water your soul. Ask Jesus to flood your heart with wisdom from above to grow the fruit of wisdom from the word implanted in your heart.
 
Key Verse
16 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.

Saul lived for one year and then became king, and when he had reigned for two years over Israel, 2 Saul chose three thousand men of Israel. Two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and the hill country of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin. The rest of the people he sent home, every man to his tent. 3 Jonathan defeated the garrison of the Philistines that was at Geba, and the Philistines heard of it. And Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, “Let the Hebrews hear.” 4 And all Israel heard it said that Saul had defeated the garrison of the Philistines, and also that Israel had become a stench to the Philistines. And the people were called out to join Saul at Gilgal.
 
5 And the Philistines mustered to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots and six thousand horsemen and troops like the sand on the seashore in multitude. They came up and encamped in Michmash, to the east of Beth-aven. 6 When the men of Israel saw that they were in trouble (for the people were hard pressed), the people hid themselves in caves and in holes and in rocks and in tombs and in cisterns, 7 and some Hebrews crossed the fords of the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. Saul was still at Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling.
Saul’s Unlawful Sacrifice
8 He waited seven days, the time appointed by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people were scattering from him. 9 So Saul said, “Bring the burnt offering here to me, and the peace offerings.” And he offered the burnt offering. 10 As soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came. And Saul went out to meet him and greet him. 11 Samuel said, “What have you done?” And Saul said, “When I saw that the people were scattering from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines had mustered at Michmash, 12 I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the favor of the Lord.’ So I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering.” 13 And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the command of the Lord your God, with which he commanded you. For then the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. 14 But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.” 15 And Samuel arose and went up from Gilgal. The rest of the people went up after Saul to meet the army; they went up from Gilgal to Gibeah of Benjamin.
 
And Saul numbered the people who were present with him, about six hundred men. 16 And Saul and Jonathan his son and the people who were present with them stayed in Geba of Benjamin, but the Philistines encamped in Michmash. 17 And raiders came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies. One company turned toward Ophrah, to the land of Shual; 18 another company turned toward Beth-horon; and another company turned toward the border that looks down on the Valley of Zeboim toward the wilderness.
 
19 Now there was no blacksmith to be found throughout all the land of Israel, for the Philistines said, “Lest the Hebrews make themselves swords or spears.” 20 But every one of the Israelites went down to the Philistines to sharpen his plowshare, his mattock, his axe, or his sickle, 21 and the charge was two-thirds of a shekel for the plowshares and for the mattocks, and a third of a shekel for sharpening the axes and for setting the goads. 22 So on the day of the battle there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people with Saul and Jonathan, but Saul and Jonathan his son had them. 23 And the garrison of the Philistines went out to the pass of Michmash.
 
Meditation
God’s relentless grace gives garments of righteousness to cover the shame of sin (Isaiah 61:10; Revelation 19:8). Religious rags are not sufficient, feeble efforts echoing the attempts of Adam and Eve to do the same (Genesis 3:7). God’s steadfast love invites us to come to Him, repent of our sin, and receive the righteous robes with which He desires to dress us.
 
Corruption cascades from an insecure heart. After pointing out the enemy needing to be removed by the king, Samuel commanded Saul to wait until his arrival to make sacrifices (10:5-7). Saul did not fight the enemy… his son Jonathan lead the charge (3), and then Saul claimed the credit (4)!  Saul grew weary waiting for Samuel to offer sacrifice, but he decided to proceed to do it himself before blaming Samuel for being late (8-12). Covering the shame of our sin with religious ritual is a failed venture from the start. Foolishness is the heart rejecting God’s word yet still pretending to be religious. God seeks a king after His own heart.
 
Jesus is the true king demonstrating a heart for the Father by fulfilling every detail of Divine direction (Matthew 5:17-18). Jesus is the true king who demonstrates His love for us by doing what a king should do, defeating the enemy, and this by dying in our place. Like Saul, we reject God’s direction, blame others, and seek to cover our sin with religious ritual. Jesus’ grace moves us from rags to riches when we remove religion from covering our shame, give Him our heart, and receive His righteous robes.
 
Richly Dwelling
-What stands out to you from today’s reading, especially Saul’s misrepresentation of himself, rejecting God’s word, and blaming God’s prophet?
 
-Where do you identify?
 
-How does the finished work of Jesus not only fulfill the need for a king after God’s own heart but also provide a safe place for you to trust Jesus as king with all your heart? Where do you need to remove your religious rags and receive His righteousness? Be specific.
 
Key verse
13 And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the command of the Lord your God, with which he commanded you. For then the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. 14 But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart…

“Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook
or press down his tongue with a cord?
2     Can you put a rope in his nose
or pierce his jaw with a hook?
3     Will he make many pleas to you?
Will he speak to you soft words?
4     Will he make a covenant with you
to take him for your servant forever?
5     Will you play with him as with a bird,
or will you put him on a leash for your girls?
6     Will traders bargain over him?
Will they divide him up among the merchants?
7     Can you fill his skin with harpoons
or his head with fishing spears?
8     Lay your hands on him;
remember the battle—you will not do it again!
9     Behold, the hope of a man is false;
he is laid low even at the sight of him.
10    No one is so fierce that he dares to stir him up.
Who then is he who can stand before me?
11    Who has first given to me, that I should repay him?
Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine.
12    “I will not keep silence concerning his limbs,
or his mighty strength, or his goodly frame.
13    Who can strip off his outer garment?
Who would come near him with a bridle?
14    Who can open the doors of his face?
Around his teeth is terror.
15    His back is made of rows of shields,
shut up closely as with a seal.
16    One is so near to another
that no air can come between them.
17    They are joined one to another;
they clasp each other and cannot be separated.
18    His sneezings flash forth light,
and his eyes are like the eyelids of the dawn.
19    Out of his mouth go flaming torches;
sparks of fire leap forth.
20    Out of his nostrils comes forth smoke,
as from a boiling pot and burning rushes.
21    His breath kindles coals,
and a flame comes forth from his mouth.
22    In his neck abides strength,
and terror dances before him.
23    The folds of his flesh stick together,
firmly cast on him and immovable.
24    His heart is hard as a stone,
hard as the lower millstone.
25    When he raises himself up, the mighty are afraid;
at the crashing they are beside themselves.
26    Though the sword reaches him, it does not avail,
nor the spear, the dart, or the javelin.
27    He counts iron as straw,
and bronze as rotten wood.
28    The arrow cannot make him flee;
for him, sling stones are turned to stubble.
29    Clubs are counted as stubble;
he laughs at the rattle of javelins.
30    His underparts are like sharp potsherds;
he spreads himself like a threshing sledge on the mire.
31    He makes the deep boil like a pot;
he makes the sea like a pot of ointment.
32    Behind him he leaves a shining wake;
one would think the deep to be white-haired.
33    On earth there is not his like,
a creature without fear.
34    He sees everything that is high;
he is king over all the sons of pride.”
 
Meditation
God is sovereign over the devil, darkness, death, and demons. Jesus proved these truths and today’s reading invites us to participate in them. Yes, we should tremble at the power of Satan, but the authority of King Jesus gives peace.
 
When reading this passage you know what Job did not know, Satan had sought permission to persecute Job (Job 1 and 2). God imaginatively reveals His authority over Satan by walking Job to the shoreline of where he stays.
 
The leviathan is terrifying, a fire-breathing sea dragon who laughs at humans who attempt attack. He is an untamable creature of the “mire… deep… sea,” (30-31) the king of pride (31) and chaos. No one considers stirring up the Leviathan. Yet God rules over the beast (10).
 
The mythical beast is detailed in scripture to illustrate Satan. He is a “fleeing, twisting” serpent of the sea (Isaiah 27:1) with multiple heads (Psalm 74:12-14). Yet God gave him the sea as a place to stay (Psalm 104:25-26). This imagery directly correlates with Satan, the great dragon who deceives the world (Revelation 12:9) and the serpent who has been bound by the authority of King Jesus (Revelation 20:2).
 
The king of pride is the prince of demons (Matthew 12:24), domesticated and defeated by the work of King Jesus. Yes, we must beware the dragon who is the devil in the same way we are aware and guard against raging flood waters after heavy rain. But this is greatly outsized by reverence for our victorious King who redeems the terror and torrent of the devil to fill a reservoir of grace, love, life, and hope.
 
Richly Dwelling
-What stands out to you from today’s reading, especially the detailed description of the Leviathan?
 
-Why is being aware of and guarding against the devil (who is the dragon) important in cultivating a healthy reverence for the Lord?
 
-How does Jesus’ authority over the devil and his work develop worship from our hearts? Where do you need to right size your fear of death and the devil by seeing the sovereignty of King Jesus freshly?
 
Key verse
10    No one is so fierce that he dares to stir him up. Who then is he who can stand before me? 

Save, O Lord, for the godly one is gone;
for the faithful have vanished from among the children of man.
2     Everyone utters lies to his neighbor;
with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.
3     May the Lord cut off all flattering lips,
the tongue that makes great boasts,
4     those who say, “With our tongue we will prevail,
our lips are with us; who is master over us?”
5     “Because the poor are plundered, because the needy groan,
I will now arise,” says the Lord;
“I will place him in the safety for which he longs.”
6     The words of the Lord are pure words,
like silver refined in a furnace on the ground,
purified seven times.
7     You, O Lord, will keep them;
you will guard us from this generation forever.
8     On every side the wicked prowl,
as vileness is exalted among the children of man.
 
Meditation
Prayer is the place where the depths of our grieving hearts connect with the heights of God’s great faithfulness, cultivating confidence in Him. Charles Spurgeon describes this Psalm as “mingled melody of lowly mourning and lofty confidence.”
 
Prayer holds in contrast God’s trustworthy words to protect with the empty words of the godless.  David laments the loss of godly leaders, lying and flattering lips pouring forth deceit from their double hearts (1-2). David prays their lips and tongues will be cut off (3-4), plainly stating both the problem and desire of his grieving heart. Lament is honest with both the brokenness of the world and burden of our soul.
 
God’s faithfulness is revealed in His word and work, and confidence in prayer sees the Lord rising to rescue. God hears the groans of our hearts. God rises to redeem what He has allowed (5). Confidence sees God’s words as “pure words, like silver refined in a furnace” (6). God keeps His words, promising to protect even as the wicked prowl to deceive the children of humanity (7). Confidence in prayer is cemented when we seek refuge in the word and work of the Lord.
 
Prayers of lament are endorsed by Scripture! The covenant faithfulness of God’s word and work moves our heart focus from the valley of lament towards the great ascent in trusting God’s faithfulness. God hears our groaning. God will rise and act to redeem what He allows.
 
Richly Dwelling
-What stands out to you from David’s bold prayer? Where do you identify with his lament over a godless world?
 
-Where do you need to combine your lament with God’s covenant faithfulness, cultivating trust in Him through prayer?
 
-How does the work of Jesus both demonstrate the truths of this Psalm and invite you to trust God’s word and work? Where do you need to apply this? Be specific.
 
Key verse
5  “Because the poor are plundered, because the needy groan, I will now arise,” says the Lord;  “I will place him in the safety for which he longs.” 

​What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? 2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. 4 You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? 6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
 
11 Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. 12 There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?
Boasting About Tomorrow
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. 17 So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.
 
Meditation
Wisdom grows from the ground of God’s grace.
 
The driving question of the larger section of James is, “Who is wise and understanding among you?” (3:13) The wise person produces wise fruit (3:13-18), loves God and not the world (4:1-12), humbles themselves before the Lord (4:13-17), and stewards God’s blessings in justice (5:1-6). These are both inspirational and indicting. We need God’s grace to grow in godly wisdom.
 
Living by passions produces fruit of friction and fighting in the church and faithlessness towards God and His promises (1-12). “Passions” (1,3) is the Greek word “hedone” from which we get “hedonism” – a worldview focusing on maximizing personal pleasure and enjoyment for yourself. We desire to satisfy our passions from the well of the world, rejecting God and seeing other believers as obstacles.  
 
Is my conviction a table for one? Or do you identify with me in feeling indicted?
 
“But there is more grace….” To redeem the fruit of our lives we must sink the roots of our faith deep into the soil of God’s grace. Enjoy God’s grace filled faithfulness by repenting, submitting to Him, drawing near to Him, and humbling yourself at His feet (6-10). Dependance on God’s sovereign love is shown in knowing God owns time (14-14), His agenda wins (15), and His work should be our will (16-17).
 
God promises more grace. To grow wisdom, we must deepen our dependency on the Lord, humbling ourselves to trust Him with all our hearts.
 
Richly Dwelling
-What stands out to you from today’s reading, especially in how James compels Christians to grow in wisdom?
 
-Do you love the world more than the Lord, seeking to satisfy your passions from places the world provides? What fruit has grown from this choice?
 
-How does the inexhaustible riches of God’s grace through Christ invite you to move from indictment to enjoyment of Him and His ways? Where do you need to take Him up on this invitation? Be specific.
 
Key verse
6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

In the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim, 2 these kings made war with Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). 3 And all these joined forces in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea). 4 Twelve years they had served Chedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled. 5 In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him came and defeated the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim, the Zuzim in Ham, the Emim in Shaveh-kiriathaim, 6 and the Horites in their hill country of Seir as far as El-paran on the border of the wilderness. 7 Then they turned back and came to En-mishpat (that is, Kadesh) and defeated all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites who were dwelling in Hazazon-tamar.
 
8 Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) went out, and they joined battle in the Valley of Siddim 9 with Chedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of Goiim, Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar, four kings against five. 10 Now the Valley of Siddim was full of bitumen pits, and as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some fell into them, and the rest fled to the hill country. 11 So the enemy took all the possessions of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their provisions, and went their way. 12 They also took Lot, the son of Abram’s brother, who was dwelling in Sodom, and his possessions, and went their way.
 
13 Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew, who was living by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and of Aner. These were allies of Abram. 14 When Abram heard that his kinsman had been taken captive, he led forth his trained men, born in his house, 318 of them, and went in pursuit as far as Dan. 15 And he divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and defeated them and pursued them to Hobah, north of Damascus. 16 Then he brought back all the possessions, and also brought back his kinsman Lot with his possessions, and the women and the people.
Abram Blessed by Melchizedek
17 After his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley). 18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.) 19 And he blessed him and said,
       “Blessed be Abram by God Most High,
Possessor of heaven and earth;
20    and blessed be God Most High,
who has delivered your enemies into your hand!”
And Abram gave him a tenth of everything. 21 And the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the persons, but take the goods for yourself.” 22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have lifted my hand to the Lord, God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth, 23 that I would not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’ 24 I will take nothing but what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me. Let Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre take their share.”
 
Meditation
The king of peace rescues believers from a world of war. And rescue demands response.
 
Living by sight led Lot to camp in the midst of warfare. Warring kings kidnapped Lot, taking his people and possessions (1-11). Abram mobilized resources to defeat the kings who captured his kin (side note- it is pretty amazing that Abram had 318 trained fighters ready to rescue!). As people who live by what we see, we need rescue from the many things that take our hearts captive.
 
After victory, Abram was met by two kings. The unnamed king of Sodom offered treasure as blessing for victory. Abram refused to receive from the king of a wicked region (21-24). Melchizedek was the king of Salem (peace) who offered Abram bread, wine, and blessing. Melchizedek’s actions and words focus on God’s role in Abram’s victory. Living by faith, Abram received provision and blessing from the king of peace and responded with a tithe (18-20).
 
Faith recognizes that rescue and blessing from God must fuel a response of worship to God. Melchizedek is a king who is a priest (Hebrews 7:2; Psalm 110:4) that points to Jesus Christ (Hebrews 7:19-25). Jesus gives a more comprehensive victory, blessing, and peace to people who trust in His life, death, and resurrection. With Abram, we are tempted to twist Christ’s blessings to take and trust treasure from our cultural kings. Faith sees worldly treasure as a vehicle to demonstrate trust in King Jesus, represented in tithing.
Christians honor Christ’s grace by worshipping Him with our treasure- The Lord is provider and King of all!
 
Richly Dwelling
-What stands out to you from Abram’s response to different kings after he experienced victory?
 
-Where do you fall generally, receiving treasure from cultural kings or demonstrating the trust of your heart in the Lord by using your treasure to worship Him and build His kingdom?
 
-How does the finished work of Jesus give you the security needed to worship Jesus with your treasure? What does living more by faith than sight look like for you in this regard? Be specific.
 
Key verse
18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.) 19 And he blessed him and said,
       “Blessed be Abram by God Most High,
Possessor of heaven and earth;
20    and blessed be God Most High,
who has delivered your enemies into your hand!”