Blunders Of Self-Indulgent Gain-2

Blunders of Self-indulgent Gain-II—James 5:1-8

Attention:

‘Religious’ people can make tremendous life-altering blunders.

Need:

James warned of the danger in self-indulgent gain

Accumulation of wealth is spiritually questionable.

So there are danger in self-indulgent gain.

How is self-indulgent gain dangerous?

5 Blunders of self-indulgent gain.

Last time we discovered that...

A Blunder of self-indulgent gain is in its Accumulated...

1—MISERY/Wrath(:1)

2—CORRUPTION(:2-3)

3—A Blunder of self-indulgent gain is...

Accumulated CRIES/Testimony(:4)

Explanation:(:4)

:4—“Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; & the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.”

The very wages(without life) which these rich employers have fraudulently withheld indeed speak to the situation. The unpaid wages are not left to no notice because they “cry” aloud, relaying the anguish they have caused while sitting idle in the vault of the owner/businessman.

The rich have hired workers to harvest their vast crops with the promise of wages which they did not relinquish. One senses a willingness to defraud rather than an inability to pay.

This could picture the wages not being paid because a buying & selling scheme hadn’t panned out yet(4:13, 16)—‘Counting their chickens before they hatch‘ situation. Which business approach in itself is thoughtless & selfish placing too much faith in human authority/ability/knowhow/human engineering rather than faith upon the Lord of love & provision.

This can also minimally picture a sinister/stingy approach to those employed.

?What does this say about the inner working of our current Stock Market? Promises made but left unpaid.

The “cries” of both the “wages” & the employees themselves have indeed been heard by the One who commands all the hosts of Heaven itself!

“Sabaoth” is a term which emphasizes God’s inestimable, offensive, & punitive strength.

“Laborers”—ergathv—1) A workman, a laborer—1a) Usually one who works for hire esp. an agricultural worker; 2) One who does, a worker, perpetrator. Strong—A toiler; figuratively, A teacher:-- Laborer, worker(-men).

“Mowed”—amaw—1) To reap, mow down. Strong—properly, To collect, i.e. (by implication) Reap:-- Reap down. Used 1X.

“Fields”—cwra—1) The space lying between two places or limits; 2) A region or country i.e. A tract of land—2a) The (rural) region surrounding a city or village, the country, 2b) The region with towns & villages which surround a metropolis; 3) Land which is ploughed or cultivated, ground"region, country", extensive; space, yet unbounded. Strong—through the idea of empty expanse; Room, i.e. A space of territory (more or less extensive; often including its inhabitants):-- Coast, county, fields, ground, land, region.

“Kept back by fraud/Withheld by you/Failed to pay”—aposterew—1) To defraud, rob, despoil. Strong—To despoil:-- Defraud, destitute, kept back by fraud.

“Cry out”—krazw—To cry out harshly, often of inarticulate & brutish sound. Strong—To "croak" (as a raven) or Scream, i.e. (genitive case) To call aloud (shriek, exclaim, intreat):-- Cry (out).

“Cries”—boh—N. f.—A cry. To cry out as a manifestation of feeling, esp. a cry for help. Strong—A halloo, i.e. Call (for aid, etc.):-- Cry. From—boaw—V.—1)To raise a cry, of joy pain etc.; 2) To cry, speak with a high, strong voice; 3) To cry to one for help, to implore his aid.

“Reapers”—yerizw—1) To reap, harvest; 2) Proverbial expression for sowing & reaping; 3) Cut off, destroy—3a) As crops are cut down with a sickle.

“Lord”—kuriov—1) He to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has power of deciding; master, lord. Has a wider meaning than despothv, applicable to the various ranks & relations of life & not suggestive of either property or of absolutism. Strong—from kurov (supremacy); Supreme in authority, i.e. (as noun) Controller; by implication, Mr. (as a respectful title):-- God, Lord, master, Sir.

“Sabaoth”—sabawy—of Hebrew origin abu tsaba’ twabu in feminine plural(here)—1) "Lord of Sabaoth"—1a) Lord of the armies of Israel, as those who are under the leadership & protection of Jehovah maintain his cause in war. Used 2X.

Argumentation:

Gen. 4:8-11—“Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; & it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother & killed him. Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” And He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground. So now you are cursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.”

Ex. 3:4-7—“So when the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush & said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then He said, “Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.” Moreover He said, “I am the God of your father--the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, & the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God. And the LORD said: “I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, & have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows.”