Oesterley finds proof of the “patchwork” character of the epistle in the
five paragraphs of the closing chapter. But in a “wisdom” book one does
not expect direct connection between the paragraphs. That is not true of
the practical portions of the Pauline epistles. In the first eleven
verses of this chapter the eschatological standpoint is occupied,
possibly that of Jewish eschatology in 1-6 and that of Christian
eschatology in 7-11 (Oesterley). Note “in the last days” in verse 3.
James is familiar with the prophetic imagery of the messianic times in
apocalyptic style but is very pointed in his courageous indictment of
the follies and iniquities of the wicked rich. Johnstone entitles this
paragraph “the woes of the wicked rich.” Mayor says, “It is not the
careless worldliness of the bustling trader which is condemned, but the
more deadly worldliness of the unjust capitalist or landlord.” In verse
7 James seems to contrast “the brethren” with the rich of verses 1-6. It
is worthwhile to quote Isaiah 33:1: “Woe to thee that spoilest, and thou
wast not spoiled; and dealest treacherously, and they dealt not
treacherously with thee! when thou shalt cease to spoil, thou shalt be
spoiled; and when thou shalt make an end to deal treacherously, they
shall deal treacherously with thee” (AV). And Habakkuk 2:9: “Woe to him
that getteth an evil gain for his house, that he may set his nest on
high, that he may be delivered from the hand of evil!” Note also the
book of Enoch: “Woe to those that build their houses with sin” (94:7);
“Woe unto you mighty who violently oppress the righteous, for the day of
your destruction will come” (96:8).
Perhaps there is an allusion to the words of Jesus against the Pharisees
(Matt. 23:13-36). The Gospel of Luke is held by some to have an
Ebionitic tendency because it preserves some plain words of Jesus to,
and about, the rich (6:24; 18:24). But Jesus is not hostile toward the
rich, for he had friends and followers from the wealthy classes,
although he dealt very squarely and honestly with them. Some Jews held
that all the rich were wicked, as some modern socialists and anarchists
do. But certainly Jesus did not fawn upon the rich or curry favor with
them by flattery or compromise. It is easy to denounce classes of men en
masse. It requires perspicacity and courage to discriminate, to be just,
and to seek to remedy real ills. The rich Jews had already oppressed the
Christians and made the conditions of life hard.
The Christians were helpless for any immediate relief. They had little
or no power in government and had to live in the social and economic
atmosphere created by those hostile to them. It was not a democratic but
an imperialistic age. In holding out the consolation that rectification
of these grave evils will take place at the second coming of Christ,
James does not mean to condone the present situation or to acquiesce in
it. But what cannot be cured can be endured.
Christianity has had a long and hard fight in the effort to alleviate
the sufferings of the poor. Ofttimes grasping men of money have used the
very church itself as a means of oppression instead of an agent of
blessing. It is a sad state when men and women with real social wrongs
come to feel that Christianity is a negative factor in their struggle or
a positive hindrance to success.
James turns upon these oppressors: “Come now, ye rich, weep and howl for
your miseries that are coming upon you.” This “come now” is like that in
4:13. “Weep and shriek,” Moffatt has it. The word is an onomatopoetic
word and is used only of violent grief, as in Isaiah 13:6; 4:31. It does
not occur elsewhere in the New Testament. The apocalyptic writings have
a good deal to say about the miseries that were coming upon them (cf.
Joel 2:10 ff.; Zech. 14:6 ff.; Dan. 12:1). The Gospels connect them also
with the Day of the Lord (Matt. 24-25; Mark 13:14-27; Luke 21:9-19).
Part of the Gospel prophecies were fulfilled in the destruction of
Jerusalem.
“Your riches are corrupted,” “your wealth lies rotting” (Moffatt). The
perfect tense presents the state of rottenness. This ill-gotten gain
will not keep; it is already putrid. There is such a thing as tainted
money—blood money wrung from the oppressed toilers; money gained by
financial legerdemain (high finance) at the expense of helpless
stockholders, whose stock is watered for the benefit of the few in
control; money made out of the souls and bodies of men and women in the
saloon and the white slave traffic.
The ethics of money-making is a large question and a vital one in modern
life. It is raised in an acute form by this passage. Christians cannot
afford to make money by crushing the life out of business rivals on the
juggernaut principle. The Golden Rule ought to work in business. Christ
claims control of money and the making of money. The Christian who acts
on the “bulkhead,” or compartment, principle of life and keeps his money
in a separate bulkhead into which he does not allow Christ to enter is
disloyal to Christ. Christ claims the right of a partner in our
business, not a silent but an active partner. We are in business with
Christ and for Christ. The Christian has no right to have rotten riches.
He should have clean money, not filthy lucre. Sound money is more than
mere phrase. Money represents labor, and labor is the sweat of brain and
brawn. The gambler cannot offer clean money to God. He has robbed a man
of his money.
“Your garments are moth-eaten.” We have the prophetic perfect here, and
James sees the outcome as a reality in a state of completion. It is a
vivid picture of fine clothes eaten by moths and full of holes, ruined
beyond repair. In the East these rich garments were handed down as
heirlooms from generation to generation and often formed a considerable
part of the wealth of a rich man. Paul refers to this when he said, “I
coveted no man’s silver, or gold, or apparel” (Acts 20:33). The picture
of an old moth-eaten garment is forlorn in the extreme. “Though I am
like a rotten thing that consumeth, like a garment that is moth-eaten”
(Job 13:28). A plutocrat is subject to the fate of all mortals.
“Your gold and your silver are rusted,” “lie rusted over” (Moffatt). As
a matter of fact, gold does not rust in the ordinary sense, except by
chemicals, though silver tarnishes rather easily. However, this verb is
used in Sirach 12:11 of a mirror dimmed with rust; but the Hebrew word
is used also of filth. A dirty mirror is one of the ugliest sights.
James is using popular language, to be sure, and is not to be held to
the terminology of science. But scientists themselves hardly know how to
use language accurately, since radium is found to break down the lines
between metals and transmutation actually occurs like the alchemy of the
ancients.
In James 3:8 this word for “rust” is used for poison. At any rate, decay
rests on all mortal things. It is not necessary to wait for the Day of
the Lord to see this fact. “Their rust shall be for a testimony against
you.” There will be no escape from this telltale rust which, like gray
hairs, betrays age and the approach of death. “And shall eat your flesh
as fire.” Westcott and Hort place “as fire” with the next sentence.
Either punctuation makes good sense, but it is a bolder figure used as
mentioned, for nothing eats up what it seizes upon more rapidly or
completely than fire. Feeding the flames of a furnace, as a stoker in a
great ship, is one of the most exhaustive of all tasks. Fire licks up
all in its reach and will gut modern fireproof buildings (iron and
concrete) when once it gets started. The plural here emphasizes the
completeness of the work of destruction.
“Ye have laid up your treasure in the last days.” These wicked rich have
heaped up treasure like a thesaurus and in the end of the day have seen
it turn to dust and ashes, crumbling between their fingers. There is no
vault on earth secure against moth, rust, and thieves (Matt. 6:19).
Those who set their hearts upon the wealth of earth are bound to come to
grief. Pitiful is the state of the man “that layeth up treasure for
himself, and is not rich toward God” (Luke 12:21). The only wealth that
lasts is riches toward God, and this is open to us all. The only wise
use of money is in making friends who will welcome us (Luke 16:9) into
the eternal tabernacles. The mammon of unrighteousness may be so
employed. If it is not, one will find that he has simply treasured up
wrath against the day of wrath, to be paid at last with compound
interest (Rom. 2:5).