Chapter 4

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James 4:1 From where do wars and fighting among you come? Do they not come from your desires(hēdonē/hedonism) that war in your members?
The whoremonger philosophy that makes pleasure and licentiousness mankind’s chief end.

Plato, Phaedo: “And the body fills us with passions and desires and fears, and all sorts of fancies and foolishness, so that, as they say, it really and truly makes it impossible for us to think at all. The body and its desires are the only cause of wars and factions and battles.”

Now we spiral downward in the progression of worldliness, four things:

1. James 4:2 You desire, and have not. Evil desires and cravings for pleasure that are unfulfilled and rage in the heart of man. ‘And have not’ means this self-seeking is always frustrated.
2. You kill. The frustrations of lust lead to violence outbursts and if left unchecked – murder. Hatred in the heart equals murder. David – Uriah desiring Bathsheba, Ahab – Naboth desiring Naboth’s field.
3. And desire to have, and cannot obtain. Jealousy and envy for the possessions of others, yet you cannot obtain them. Don’t compare yourself to any man, more frustrations will follow.
4. You strive and fight; yet you have not. Whatever extremes you go to satisfy your lusts, even murder, they will remain unsatisfied.

Didache 3:1 My child, run from every evil, even that which resembles it.[1] 2 Do not get mad, for anger leads to murder. Do not be jealous, inciteful, enraged; murders are born from all of these. 3 My child, do not be lustful, for lusting surely leads to perversity. Neither will you be foul—mouthed; from such are adulteries conceived. 4 My child, do not cast spells, since such leads to idolatry; do not be a medium, astrologer, or magician – do not be in any way willing to even consider such things – for idolatry is born out of them all.[2] My child, do not be a liar, since lying leads to theft; do not be greedy or conceited; for robbery is born from all of these. 6 My child, do not be a complainer, since such leads to blasphemy; do not be selfish or one who is filthy—minded; for blasphemies are born from all of these. 7 Instead, be gentle, since the gentle will inherit the earth. 8 Be patient, merciful, honest, quiet, and kindly. Always consider the words you have just heard. 9 You will not pu [3] up, nor will you allow disrespect to enter in. You will not associate with the self—important, but you will walk with the righteous and humble; 10 then even when accidents happen to you, such will be received as good, for nothing happens without Elohim knowing.

Didache at least, and most probably Yaakov, addressed Jewish zealots who’s actions left unaddressed could have led to murder being practiced by a number within the assembly. This was written in a time when murder as accepted as a religious way to solve disagreements.

There’s two reasons for man’s failure to satisfy his lusts:

1. Because you ask not. Present tense, a continuous failure to ask, failing to turn in humbleness to the living Yah. We’re required to be like our authors name sake – Yaakov and wrestle with יהוה in prayer instead of wrestling bitterly with man.
2. James 4:3 You ask, and receive not, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your own lusts.
   Man asks amiss due the wicked inclinations of his heart – wrongly motivated. There are prerequisites for prayer: V. 6 lay aside pride, approach in humbleness, 1 John 5:14 have confidence in יהוה, seeking His will, asking His will to be done.

James 4:4 You adulterers and adulteresses. (Feminine plural collective – Israel the bride of יהוה.) know you not that chavurah with worldly things is enmity with vuvh ? Whoever therefore wants to be a chaver of worldly things is the enemy of vuvh.

Romans 8:5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Ruach, the things of the Ruach. For to be fleshly minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and shalom. Because the fleshly mind is an enemy of יהוה because it’s not humbled itself to the Torah of יהוה , nor indeed can it be. So those in the flesh, (standing proud against Torah) cannot please those led , יהוה V.12 If you continue to live this way you’ll die. Only the sons of……יהוה by the Ruach will live and be called children and heirs (Enmity against יהוה and His Torah means you’re carnal and will inherit death).

James 4:5 Do you think that the Katuv said in vain, The ruach made to dwell in us is being provoked to envy?

יהוה is a jealous Elohim and the Ruach He put within us craves and yearns for Him like יהוה longing affections of a lover, a lover’s jealousy over a rival. יהוה is unwilling to share man’s lusts and affections with the world.

Testament of Dan 1:5 I confess, therefore, this day to you, my children, 5 that in my heart I resolved on the death of Joseph my brother, the true and good man. [And 6 I rejoiced that he was sold, because his father loved him more than us.] For the spirit of jealousy 7 and vainglory said to me: Thou thyself also art his son. And one of the spirits of Beliar stirred me up, saying: Take this sword, and with it slay Joseph: so shall thy father love thee when he is dead. 8 Now this is the spirit of anger that persuaded me to crush Joseph as a leopard crusheth a kid…… 2:1 1 And now, my children, behold I am dying, and I tell you of a truth, that unless ye keep yourselves from the spirit of lying and of anger, and love truth and longsuffering, ye shall perish. 2 For anger is blindness, and does not suffer one to see the face of any man with truth. 3:1 For anger is an evil thing, my children, for it troubleth even the soul itself. And the body of the angry man it maketh its own, and over his soul it getteth the mastery.

Two possible meanings to the term “The ruach made to dwell”

1. If the ruach is the object of the verb form ‘made to dwell’ then it reads, “He yearns jealousy over the Ruach which He made to dwell in us.”
2. If the Ruach is the subject of the verb form ‘made to dwell’ then it reads, “as the Ruach Ha Kodesh, whom He made to dwell in us, yearns enviously.’ II. would mean at conversion the Ruach Ha Kodesh yearns enviously for the neophyte’s total devotion and loyalty against worldliness.

V.6 We have seven specific obligations to יהוה: James 4:6 But He gives more favor. Therefore He said, vuvh resists the proud (Lxx Prov 3:34 יהוה scoffiing at sinners is on par to fighting against them) , but gives favor to the humble
James 4:7 Subject yourselves יהוה therefore to vuvh. Resist s.a.tan, and he will flee from you.
James 4:8 Draw near to vuvh, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your levavot, you double minded.
James 4:9 Lament, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your simcha to heaviness.

James 4:10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Master vuvh, and He shall lift you up.

1. “He gives more favor.” Appropriate grace:
2. “Subject yourself.” We accept our proper station, this really speaks of difference of those who are able to come ‘under rank’ – a priestly or military term.
3. “Resist S.a.tan.” Take a stand…
4. V.8 “Draw near to יהוה.” In the LXX ‘eggizō’ ‘draw nigh’ is used ‘to come near to at the Malki-Tzedik covenant confirming meal in Exodus 24:2 – Yaakov is instructing ‘יהוה us to pledge our fellowship and communion with יהוה in the Malki-Tzedik priesthood!
5. “Cleanse your hands, you sinners.” Personal cleansing – the language of ceremonial priestly cleansing as we approach יהוה in our proper ‘priestly’ rank (V.7) and leave behind the world.
6. “Teshuva” (ture teshuva contains four things) 1. Be afflicted – your sin should weigh heavy, a realization of your wretchedness. 2. Mourn – express grief and sorrow. 3. Weep – there should be an emotional response to sin and shame. 4. “Laughter turned to mourning”
7. “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Master vuvh, and He shall lift you up.”

James 4:11 Speak not evil one of another, Yisraelite brothers. He that speaks evil of his brother, and judges his brother, speaks evil of the Torah, and judges the Torah: But if you judge the Torah, you are not a doer of the Torah, but a judge of it.

Low value and overvalue:

Overvalue:

V.8 and the covenant confirming meal and its priestly ceremonial language it’s talking of “Torah” the only “Torah” available at Exodus 24:2 was the newly ratified Book of the Covenant Torah – the law governing Israel’s life, ‘the perfect law of liberty’ that was given to a newly ‘liberated’ priestly nation.

James 4:12 There is one Lawgiver and Shophet, who is able to save and to destroy: who are you to judge your neighbor?

Yaakov is showing the contrast between יהוה and man, where mans judgement is limited to the guidelines laid out under Torah covenant not as a judge of a Torah covenant.

I Corinthians 5:1-13. Shaul “judged” (v.3) the man and he told the congregation at Corinth that they were to “judge.”

Liberals rip Matthew 7:1 out of context, “Judge not, that you be not judged” This isn’t saying you can’t make a judgement, It’s talking about not making a hypocritical judgement.

“Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment ” (John 7:24). “judge righteous judgment, ” which is judgment based upon the Word of יהוה .

James 4:13 Come now, you that say, Today, or tomorrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and prosper:
James 4:14 You do not know what shall be tomorrow. For what is your chayim? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time, and then vanishes away.
James 4:15 For what you should say is, The Master vuvh willing,we shall have chayim, and do this, or that.

V.13 speaks of Jewish merchants who have their whole calendar planned out.

Mark 14:3 And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster jar of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the jar, and poured it on his head.

Aramaic: LEPER= GARABBA with the vowel pointing. But remove the vowel pointing and you get גרבא GA’RAVA = jar, . Simon the jar merchant.

Nicodemus means “innocent of blood” however Simon means ‘the one who hears Elohim’. History informs us that Nicodemus was a jar merchant and a trader of grains. Nicodemus is a mentioned in Rabbinic literature (Taan. 19b, 20h, 21c) as Nakdimon Ben Bonai. Nicodemus is the Greek rendering of the name. According historical documents he was one of three wealthy Jews of Jerusalem who helped accumulate stores for the siege by the Romans in 70 C.E. How would you store grain for a siege in 70CE?(Git. 56a). We know by this information by four basic things about him.

1. He was one of the wealthier men in Jerusalem.
2. His real name was not Nicodemus, but Bonai.
3. After he became a believer in Yahusha he and his family somehow lost their wealth. Rabbinic source Sanhedrin 43:1, using an altered name the Rabbis gave him, says Bonai was a disciple of Yahusha.
4. He made his living as a jar merchant selling grain and digging wells around Jerusalem.

Simon the jar maker is none other than…….Nicodemus, the ruler and teacher of the Temple Pharisees.

James 4:16 But now you gilah in your boastings: all such pride is evil.
James 4:17 Therefore to him that knows to do tov, and does it not, to him it is sin.