What are his commandments?

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400» Jas 4:13-16 . . Come now, you who say: Today or tomorrow, we shall
go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business
and make a profit.

. .Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a
vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you
ought to say: If The Lord wills, we shall live and also do this or that. But as
it is, you boast in your self confidence; all such boasting is evil.

There are two benefits to my association with God that I value very highly.
One is the ransom that His son paid to rescue my soul from the death
depicted by Rev 20;11-15; viz: the destination spoken of by Isa 66:23-24,
Matt 10:28, Mark 9:43-48, and Luke 16:19-31.

The second benefit that I value very highly is providence; which is the thing
that James is getting at. His criticism is directed towards overly ambitious
Christians who deliberately neglect to take into consideration God's thoughts
about their schemes.

They also neglect to take into consideration the brevity of life. In other
words: if you're getting by alright in your present circumstances, don't seek
better circumstances. Instead, live out the remaining days of your fragile life
where you are now unless circumstances beyond your control force you to
relocate and make some changes.

● 1Tim 6:6-10 . . Piety, with contentment, is great gain. For we brought
nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have
food and clothing, we will be content with that.

. . People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many
foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For
the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for
money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with much
grief.

The love of money is quite a bit different than the necessity for money. The
love of money tends to be grasping, i.e. desiring material possessions
urgently and excessively and often to the point of ruthlessness. The love of
money says: more, more, more. Whereas the necessity for money says:
there's no need for more when adequate is enough.
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401» Jas 5:1-3 . . Come now, you rich, weep and wail over your impending
miseries. Your wealth has rotted away, your clothes have become moth
eaten, your gold and silver have corroded, and that corrosion will be a
testimony against you; it will devour your flesh like a fire. You have stored
up treasure for the last days.

Gold doesn't react with oxygen so it won't rust. However, gold isn't
indestructible. Under certain conditions gold will tarnish, e.g. long-term
storage in boxes, bins, and or environments containing organic sulfur
compounds. In other words; James condemns the rich for stockpiling their
gold and never putting any of it to a use beneficial to their fellow man.

The worst case scenario is the hoarding of gold that rightfully belonged to
laborers who worked to earn it.

● Jas 5:4 . . Behold, the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, and
which has been withheld by you, cries out against you; and the outcry of
those who did the harvesting has reached the ears of The Lord of Sabaoth.

James' final comment actually accuses unfair labor practices of murder
because they deprive the working man of a living wage; and of course most
of the world's working men do not challenge unfair labor practices in court
because they simply cannot afford to; and in some countries, they would risk
severe political reprisals if they dared.

● Jas 5:6 . .You have condemned and put to death the righteous man; he
does not resist you.

The "righteous man" in this context refers to people putting in an honest
day's work and not being fairly compensated for it and/or employers
contriving tricky ways to short change them by deducting trumped up
expenses from their pay. There's a lot of that goes on in the garment
industry.

It's still true even in our day that only the rich and powerful can afford
justice. However; there's a day coming when that imbalance will all come to
an end.

● Ps 72:4 . . He will defend the afflicted among the people and save the
children of the needy; he will crush the oppressor.

● Isa 11:4 . . But with righteousness He will judge the poor, and decide with
fairness for the afflicted of the earth;
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402» Jas 5:7-8 . . Be patient, therefore, brethren, until the coming of the
Lord. Behold, the farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being
patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains. You too be patient;
strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

Something like +/- 1,970 years have gone by since James wrote his epistle,
so for him "at hand" had a long ways to go yet.

Although James' encouragement no doubt applies to all believers, it
especially applies to his Jewish countrymen. They have been waiting, and
waiting, and waiting for God to fulfill the promises He made to Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob; and to restore David's kingdom per the words of the
prophets. I'm told that many have given up hope of the promises and the
predictions ever coming to pass.

But James urges them not to give up; God is reliable; and He and the
kingdom are both worth waiting for no matter how long it takes because
Moses' people will be so much better off then.

The delay, if we can call it that, is according to 2Pet 3:9 wherein is said the
Lord is reluctant to return; primarily because of the amount of suffering and
loss of life that will occur when He does.

Take for example Rev 16:18-19 where there's predicted a world-wide
earthquake preceding Christ's return so severe on the Richter scale that
cities all over the world will collapse at once.

Something like 2,829 lost their lives when the World Trade Center was
demolished by a terrorist attack in 2001. Well that was only a few acres of
New York City. Just imagine the body count when all of Manhattan comes
down at once. along with other major cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco,
Mexico City, Paris, Moscow, Beijing, Tokyo, et al. The carnage will be beyond
belief. Surely no rational person is anxious to see all of that start to happen.
(cf. Isa 2:1-4:6 and Jer 31:1-7)
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403» Jas 5:9 . . Do not complain against one another, brethren, that you
yourselves may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing right at the
door.

If there’s a personality clash between you and a fellow believer; God forbid
you should drag other people into the middle of it! And keep in mind that
God is an eavesdropper. He hears and sees everything we do, think, or say.
Don't let Him catch you maliciously shredding a fellow believer's reputation,
assassinating their character and/or running them into the ground behind
their back. (cf. Matt 18:15)
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404» Jas 5:10 . . For an example of suffering and patience, brethren; take
the prophets who spoke in The Lord's name.

The days of Israel, wherein many of the prophets resided, were not ideal,
Much of the time, their country was largely dystopian.

There's an era looming on the horizon wherein the world will be governed by
a man of honor; and justice and stability will be the rule rather than the
exception. But for now, we here in America, and many folks abroad, are
stuck in a world where commerce and government are in the hands of men
and women gone mad with evil. The year 2020 was especially discouraging
in America when a man was elevated the office of President by illegal means
and unscrupulous methods.

In times like these, it's helpful to keep in mind that God has not been
overthrown, nor has He abdicated. The Lord is still on God's throne; and His
plan, purpose, and program for us has neither been altered nor thwarted. It
will go forward even when all 'round us are fear, anxiety, pessimism,
despair, and insecurity.
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405» Jas 5:12 . . Above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or
by earth or with any other oath; but let your yes be yes, and your no be no;
so that you may not fall under judgment.

Christ took an oath. (Matt 26:62-64, Mark 14:61-62)

God takes oaths. (Gen 22:15-18, Heb 6:13-18, Heb 7:20-21)

Angels swear (Rev 10:5-6)

Paul swore. (Rom 1:9)

Israel's covenanted law, which Christ came to defend (Matt 5:17-19)
requires oaths on special occasions. (e.g. Ex 22:10-11, Lev 5:1, Num 5:19,
Deut 29:10-15)

So then, not all oaths are wrong.

The problem is, people are too careless with their oaths. They’re wont to say
"I swear to God" and/or "Hand to God" for just about everything. And they
make promises sealed with the same words.

Those promises are a snare because like Jesus said "you cannot make one
hair white or black". Sure enough, when you seal a promise by God's name,
the forces of heaven and hell, the stars in their courses, dumb luck, brute
force, circumstances beyond your control, and the neighbor's dog are going
to make it impossible for you to keep that promise.

Will God grant you an excuse? Probably not because in order to grant you an
excuse, He would have to compromise not only His integrity; but also the
dignity of the name by which you swore; and that He will never do.

So, it's okay to give your word on a matter, but if at all possible; avoid
attaching God's name to it.

● Ex 20:7 . .You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the
Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses His name.
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406» Jas 5:13a . . Is anyone among you undergoing hardship? Let him pray.

Though Jesus' followers weren't experiencing difficulty while he was getting
ready for his destiny on the cross (Luke 22:39-46) he no doubt knew that
they were soon to undergo a stress test that would cause them to do
something really stupid if they failed to seek God's providence in what lay
ahead. (e.g. Mark 14:50-52 & 66-72)

Most any kind of "hardship" can cause us to become irrational, lose our
composure, and do something contrary to our better judgment, e.g. layoff,
illness, death in the family, old age, betrayal, divorce, legal problems,
student loans, traffic incidents, crime, political events; etc.

FAQ: Why pray about our difficulties? In hopes that God will make them go
away?

REPLY: Well; if God is any kind of a parent at all; He's wanting to be a
part of your life rather than an audience or a bystander. Just having
someone you can talk to, or a shoulder to cry on, is very helpful at times.
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