Examples of Patience

The certainty and nearness of the return of Jesus should motivate us to patiently endure our trials and tribulations (James 5:1–9). Of course, this does not mean that God forbids all attempts to alleviate suffering or to escape tribulation. Other passages of Scripture tell us to improve our lot if we are able to do so (e.g., 1 Cor. 7:21). The point, rather, is that we should take our eyes off personal vengeance and not allow our difficulties to make us grumble against others (James 5:7–9). Knowing that Christ will soon set all things right can help us fulfill those directives.

Continuing his exhortations to patience, James in today’s passage directs us to Old Testament examples of individuals who suffered patiently and experienced blessing. First, the Apostle reminds us of “the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord” (v. 10). James does not tell us exactly whom he has in mind, but we can think of someone such as Jeremiah, who was imprisoned in the king’s palace, cast into a cistern, and eventually dragged off to Egypt because he continued to proclaim the oracles of judgment against Judah that God gave him (Jer. 32:1–2; 38:1–13; 43:1–7). James may also be thinking of Isaiah, who was sawn in two according to a Jewish tradition apparently endorsed in Hebrews 11:37. It might be hard for us to consider the sufferings of these prophets and others and regard those men as blessed, but we should remember Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:11–12 that those who are reviled and persecuted for Christ’s sake are blessed because they are experiencing the same things as the prophets and will receive a great reward. James almost certainly had these words of Jesus in mind when he wrote today’s passage.

James also gives us Job as an example of the patient saint whose steadfastness is rewarded. Job might seem an odd choice to illustrate patience, for the book that bears his name records his frequent complaints to God about his suffering. Importantly, however, Job never abandoned his faith during his ordeal, and in fact we see that by the end of his story, his faith is more perfected than at the start, for he comes to confess the power and goodness of our inscrutable Creator (Job 42:1–6). The endurance that Job acquired is itself a blessing, but we also note that he received twice as much as he had before his trial because of his patient endurance (vv. 10–17).