From a Reading on James 5
I. Suffering and Having Patience
“Take as an example, brethren, of suffering and having patience, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord.”
James 5:10
“Having so great a cloud of witnesses…” (Hebrews 12:1) speaks to the fact that we do not have just one, but many who serve as examples to us of “suffering and having patience.” Simeon, for example, who was waiting for the consolation of Israel when they brought the Lord Jesus into the temple, said: “Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: For mine eyes have seen thy salvation!” (Luke 2:29-30). Not all of the prophets who were waiting for the first coming of the Lord had the privilege to actually see Him. We see in Simeon, at least, an example of the patience of which the passage in James speaks. We see that it looks onward to the promise given which is sure of fulfillment.
II. “The Endurance of Job”
“Behold, we call them blessed who have endured. Ye have heard of the endurance of Job, and seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is full of tender compassion and pitiful.”
James 5:11
The New Translation clarifies that the word here is closer to endurance.
In the beginning, Job was very blessed; however, he had a double blessing at the end. In the beginning, all of his blessings came with fear, because he said, “what I feared has come upon me!” (Job 3:25). At the end, he knew how to take it all from God and receive it as a gift of God’s grace.
The endurance of Job relates to circumstance. Some may think about endurance as an endurance race where you have to just grit your teeth, work hard, and get through it. But if God is the God of circumstance, then we know that the endurance of Job is not like that at all. It was related to the work that the Lord did in Job through his circumstances.
As the naming of his daughters (Job 42:14-15) shows, it was fruit that God was seeking to get in Job’s trial. These names reflect the fruit of the Spirit and speak to us of Christ.
Another short post on enduring: Enduring (persevering) with the People of God