"Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering and affliction and of patience" (James 5:10).
James 5:7-11
Part 5
Yesterday: Be Patient with Each Other, Brethren
“Grudge not one against another, brethren.”
“Lest ye be condemned.”
“Behold, the Judge standeth before the door.”
We know that our Lord Jesus is ready to return. Now is not the time to judge, condemn, or mistreat each other but to encourage each other in our steadfast faithfulness to Him.
Today: The Patience of the Prophets
(James 5:10) “Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction and of patience.”
“Take, my brethren, the prophets.”
If anyone is to be respected, it’s a preacher, right? Especially if they are “rightly dividing the Word of truth” and faithfully proclaiming it to God’s people. But, in the past, in Israel, it was not so. God’s messengers, the prophets, were the most unappreciated and hated of men. Oh, there are a few exceptions here and there. But by and large, to be God’s prophet in Israel was a lonely and trying job, with a short life expectancy. James wrote that if you want to see an example of godly patience, take a look at these men.
These Old Testament prophets, who were faithful to God’s calling on them, had a rough time of it, but God never forgot their service and devotion to the truth.
“the prophets — who were especially persecuted, …were especially “blessed”[1] (JFB).
“Who have spoken in the name of the Lord.”
God used messengers who would speak for Him and in His name. He was not looking for envoys with self-promotion in mind. God did not need analysts who offered their own commentary of His words. He needed heralds who proclaimed His words just as He told them what to say.
Isaiah was one such faithful prophet. He spoke God’s Word. King Hezekiah was impressed by Isaiah’s faithfulness to speak God’s message to Him. God’s words to him were favorable. Here is what he said of Isaiah,
“Then said Hezekiah to Isaiah, Good is the word of the LORD which thou hast spoken. He said moreover, For there shall be peace and truth in my days” (Isaiah 39:8).
Isaiah was faithful to deliver God’s thoughts precisely as God wanted them said, whether good or bad. Reading Isaiah’s book, we can see that he did not mince words.
Unfortunately for Israel, there were plenty of false prophets speaking for their own pleasure. God said of the false prophets that spoke in their own names,
“But if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings” (Jeremiah 23:22).
Imagine God’s anger at those evil prophets! When men and women listened to the false prophets, it was always detrimental and often cost them their lives.
And then there were prophets like Jeremiah, who still spoke the Word of the LORD even when he was threatened with death. He was mistreated and imprisoned for his preaching.
“Then said the princes and all the people unto the priests and to the prophets; This man is not worthy to die: for he hath spoken to us in the name of the LORD our God” (Jeremiah 26:16).
“He [Jeremiah] was put in the stocks (Jeremiah 20:2), thrown into prison (Jeremiah 32:2), and lowered into miry dungeon (Jeremiah 28:6), yet he persisted in his ministry”[2] (Guzik).
All of God’s faithful Old Testament prophets spoke for Him. Jesus Christ was also faithful as He preached for His Father.
“…God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began” (Acts 3:20-21).
It is all these Old Testament “holy prophets” that have something to teach us today. They are our examples.
“For an example of suffering affliction, and of patience.”
“An Example.”
The word “example”[3] is interesting in the text. It literally means “to copy under.” As a teacher gives the students information they need, they can copy it down and learn it well. This is similar to how Jesus taught us in the “Sermon on the Mount,” when He said,
“Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will show you to whom he is like: He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock” (Luke 6:47-48).
This is a vital lesson that we need to take down and learn well – come to Jesus, listen to His words, and do what He says!
The word “example” also means just that, an example. This is what Jesus did for His men in the upper room during that last Passover with them.
“If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you” (John 13:14-15).
And then this word “example” sometimes is used as a warning, as in Hebrews.
“For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from His. Let us labor, therefore, to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief” (Hebrews 4:10-11).
“An Example of Suffering Affliction, and of Patience.”
“Suffering affliction” – If we want to understand how to handle life under “evil” treatment, the Old Testament prophets can show us how. And James gives us this wise word,
“Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms” (James 5:13).
“Patience” – We are warned not to be lazy in our pursuit of patience.
“That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises” (Hebrews 6:12).
Even though these faithful prophets spoke for God, it did not exclude them from suffering for Him. And they did so, patiently.
“But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused His prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against His people, till there was no remedy” (2 Chronicles 36:16).
“In vain have I smitten your children; they received no correction: your own sword hath devoured your prophets, like a destroying lion” (Jeremiah 2:30).
“Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar” (Matthew 23:34-35).
Jesus said that they have killed God’s prophets from “A to Z!”
“Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which showed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers” (Acts 7:52).
“The prophets who had spoken to their forefathers by the authority of God were persecuted by the very people to whom they delivered the Divine message; but they suffered affliction and persecution with patience, commending their cause to him who judgeth righteously; therefore, imitate their example”[4] (Clarke).
Believers, woe be unto us, if we like Israel fail to listen to the man (or men), God has sent us who are preaching His Word faithfully![5] God says that we are to follow their godly example.
“Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation” (Hebrews 13:7).
One last thought. How do we witness in this lost world that hates Jesus Christ? “Patiently.”
Quote: If you are being abused for the Lord’s sake, you will be rewarded for doing right. “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you” (Matthew 5:11-12).
[1] JFB, Jamison, Fausset, and Brown. Jamison-Fausset-Brown’s Commentary, the electronic version in eSword. James 5:10. The emphasis is theirs.
[2] Guzik’s quote is from the Enduring Word Commentary, the electronic version in eSword. James 5:10.
[3] See A.T. Robertson. Word Pictures in the New Testament, the electronic version in eSword. Hebrews 5:10.
[4] Adam Clarke, Adam Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible, the electronic version in eSword. James 5:10.
[5] We are to never follow false prophets! Let me encourage you to study the scriptures diligently to learn the difference between the godly prophet and the false prophet.