06—Forty Days with James: Listening and Looking

<p>For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ <a href="https://www.douglasjacoby.com/06-james-listening-and-looking/" target="_blank"><strong>website.</strong></a></p><p>The next two sections in James (today’s offering plus tomorrow’s) introduce 5 key themes in swift succession:</p><ul><li>Restraint of hasty desire</li><li>Practical obedience to God’s Word</li><li>Reception of the Word with humility</li><li>Concern for defenseless members of the community</li><li>Turning from the ways of the world</li></ul><p>1:19-21</p><ul><li>“There are four types of disciples: swift to hear and swift to lose—his gain is canceled by his loss; slow to hear and slow to lose—his loss is canceled by his gain; swift to hear and slow to lose—this is a happy lot; slow to hear and swift to lose—this is an evil lot” (<i>’Avot </i>5:12).</li><li>Not seeking justice through politically motivated violence (v.20).<ul><li>“Impostors and demagogues, under the guise of divine inspiration, provoked revolutionary actions and impelled the masses to act like madmen” (Josephus, <i>Jewish War</i> 259).</li><li>There were numerous first century revolutionaries, e.g. the Samaritan who led a band of followers up Mt. Gerizim; Theudas, who put himself forward as a second Moses; and the Jewish prophet who portrayed himself as a second Joshua, prophesying the collapse of Jerusalem’s walls.</li><li>Such revolutionaries, and those who sided with them, constituted an implicit threat to the Sadducees. (They would not have appreciated James.)</li></ul></li><li>“Put off” (v.21) – baptismal context (clothes).</li></ul><img src="https://www.douglasjacoby.com/wp-content/uploads/Jas-300x169.jpg" alt="" /><ul><li>The implanted word – see Jer 31:33. God’s word is powerful; it changes lives.</li></ul><p>1:22-25</p><ul><li>James is Wisdom Literature.</li><li>Mirror analogy: <ul><li>Many do not spend time in the Scriptures because they don’t like the image of themselves they see there. Of course the Word makes us look <i>better</i>—not in external appearance,