James 1:11
For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its flower falls and its beauty is lost. So too, the rich man will fade away in the midst of his pursuits.
For the sun rises
The imagery of the sun rising is a powerful symbol in biblical literature, often representing the inevitability and constancy of God's creation. In the Greek, "ἀνέτειλεν" (aneteilen) conveys the idea of something that is certain and unstoppable. The sun's rising is a daily occurrence, reminding us of the natural order established by God. This phrase sets the stage for the transient nature of earthly wealth and beauty, contrasting the eternal nature of God's kingdom.

with scorching heat
The phrase "καύσωνι" (kausoni) refers to intense heat, often associated with trials and testing in Scripture. This heat is not just a physical phenomenon but a metaphor for the challenges and tribulations that test the faith and endurance of believers. In the historical context of the Middle East, the scorching heat would have been a familiar and vivid image, illustrating how quickly and thoroughly earthly things can be consumed and destroyed.

and withers the plant
The Greek word "ἐξήρανεν" (exēranen) means to dry up or wither, emphasizing the fragility and temporary nature of life. Plants, in biblical symbolism, often represent human life and endeavors. This imagery serves as a reminder that, just as plants are subject to the elements, so too are human achievements and possessions subject to the forces of time and circumstance.

its blossom falls
The falling of the blossom, "ἄνθος" (anthos), signifies the loss of beauty and vitality. In the biblical context, flowers are frequently used to symbolize the fleeting nature of human glory and success. This phrase underscores the message that what is beautiful and vibrant today can quickly fade away, reinforcing the theme of the impermanence of worldly wealth.

and its beauty is lost
The Greek term "εὐπρέπεια" (euprepeia) refers to outward beauty or attractiveness. This loss of beauty is a metaphor for the fading of earthly riches and status. Historically, beauty has been highly valued, yet Scripture consistently teaches that it is temporary and should not be the foundation of one's identity or security.

So too, the rich man
The "πλούσιος" (plousios) or rich man is a recurring figure in biblical teachings, often representing those who place their trust in material wealth rather than in God. This phrase serves as a cautionary note, reminding believers that wealth can be deceptive and lead one away from spiritual truths.

will fade away
The verb "μαρανθήσεται" (maranthēsetai) means to disappear or vanish, highlighting the transient nature of human life and achievements. This echoes the biblical theme that earthly treasures are temporary and can be lost in an instant, urging believers to focus on eternal values.

in the midst of his pursuits
The Greek "ἐν ταῖς πορείαις αὐτοῦ" (en tais poreiais autou) suggests the activities and endeavors of life. This phrase captures the busyness and preoccupation with worldly pursuits that can distract from spiritual growth. It serves as a warning that, in the midst of chasing after wealth and success, one can lose sight of what truly matters.

Persons / Places / Events
1. James
The author of the epistle, traditionally identified as James, the brother of Jesus. He was a leader in the early Jerusalem church and wrote to Jewish Christians scattered among the nations.

2. The Rich Man
Represents those who place their trust in wealth and material possessions rather than in God. This figure is used metaphorically to illustrate the transient nature of earthly riches.

3. The Sun
Symbolizes the trials and challenges of life that test the faith and endurance of believers. It also represents the natural order established by God.

4. The Plant
Represents human life and endeavors, which are temporary and subject to the forces of nature and time.

5. Scorching Heat
A metaphor for trials and tribulations that reveal the true nature of one's faith and priorities.
Teaching Points
The Transience of Earthly Wealth
Earthly riches are temporary and unreliable. Believers should focus on eternal values rather than material wealth.

The Testing of Faith
Trials, like the scorching sun, reveal the depth and authenticity of our faith. They are opportunities for growth and reliance on God.

True Beauty and Worth
True beauty and worth are found in a life rooted in Christ, not in external appearances or possessions.

The Danger of Materialism
Placing trust in wealth can lead to spiritual decay. Believers are called to seek first the kingdom of God.

Living with Eternal Perspective
An eternal perspective helps believers prioritize their lives according to God's will, focusing on what truly matters.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the metaphor of the sun and plant in James 1:11 help us understand the temporary nature of wealth?

2. In what ways can trials serve as a "scorching heat" in our lives, and how should we respond to them?

3. How can we practically store up treasures in heaven rather than on earth, as taught in Matthew 6:19-21?

4. What steps can we take to ensure that our faith remains strong and genuine amidst life's challenges?

5. How does understanding the transient nature of life and wealth influence our daily decisions and priorities?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Matthew 6:19-21
Jesus teaches about storing treasures in heaven rather than on earth, emphasizing the impermanence of earthly wealth.

1 Peter 1:24-25
Peter echoes the theme of the fleeting nature of human life and glory, contrasting it with the enduring word of God.

Proverbs 11:28
Highlights the downfall of those who trust in riches, contrasting them with the righteous who flourish.
Chastening and RewardThe Christian World PulpitJames 1:9-11
Christian BrotherhoodU. R. Thomas.James 1:9-11
Delusive Nature of RichesJames 1:9-11
Discipline of ChangeW. Fox.James 1:9-11
Dying RichJames 1:9-11
Exaltation and HumiliationA. Plummer, D. D.James 1:9-11
Fading SplendourT. Manton.James 1:9-11
Grave Reverses a Decisive Test of CharacterS. Cox, D. D.James 1:9-11
How to be RichBp. Phillips Brooks.James 1:9-11
Human Exaltation and HumiliationJ. Briggs.James 1:9-11
Humiliation and ExaltationR. Wardlaw, D. D.James 1:9-11
Improved by AdversityJames 1:9-11
Poor and Rich BelieversJohn Adam.James 1:9-11
Rejoicing in GodR. Turnbull.James 1:9-11
RichesT. Manton.James 1:9-11
The Blade of GrassS. Cox, D. D.James 1:9-11
The Glory of Manhood in ChristT.F. Lockyer James 1:9-11
The Gospel Exalting the Humble Christian and Abasing the RichW. Hancock, B. D.James 1:9-11
The Metaphors of St. JamesA. Plummer, D. D.James 1:9-11
The Poor and the Rich BrotherC. Jerdan James 1:9-11
The Rich BrotherA. S. Patterson, D. D.James 1:9-11
The True Christian TemperT. Manrope.James 1:9-11
People
James
Places
Dispersion
Topics
Appearance, Arises, Ariseth, Beauty, Blossom, Burning, Business, Comeliness, Destroyed, Dries, Drop, Dry, Fade, Fallen, Falleth, Falling, Falls, Fashion, Fell, Flower, Flowers, Form, Gets, Goes, Goings, Grace, Grass, Heat, Herbage, Midst, Nothing, Perish, Perished, Perishes, Perisheth, Plant, Prosperity, Pursuits, Rich, Rise, Risen, Rises, Scorching, Sooner, Thereof, Thus, Wealth, Wind, Wither, Withered, Withereth, Withers
Dictionary of Bible Themes
James 1:11

     4284   sun
     4402   plants
     4829   heat
     4855   weather, God's judgment
     5413   money, attitudes
     5864   futility
     5956   strength, human

James 1:9-11

     4446   flowers
     8780   materialism, and sin

James 1:10-11

     5503   rich, the
     8811   riches, attitudes to

Library
February 28. "Count it all Joy" (James i. 2).
"Count it all joy" (James i. 2). We do not always feel joyful, but we are to count it all joy. The word "reckon" is one of the key-words of Scripture. It is the same word used about our being dead. We do not feel dead. We are painfully conscious of something that would gladly return to life. But we are to treat ourselves as dead, and neither fear nor obey the old nature. So we are to reckon the thing that comes as a blessing. We are determined to rejoice, to say, "My heart is fixed, O God, I will
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

Fourth Sunday after Easter Second Sermon.
Text: James 1, 16-21. 16 Be not deceived, my beloved brethren. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom can be no variation, neither shadow that is cast by turning. 18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. 19 Ye know this, my beloved brethren. But let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: 20 for the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. II

George Buchanan, Scholar
The scholar, in the sixteenth century, was a far more important personage than now. The supply of learned men was very small, the demand for them very great. During the whole of the fifteenth, and a great part of the sixteenth century, the human mind turned more and more from the scholastic philosophy of the Middle Ages to that of the Romans and the Greeks; and found more and more in old Pagan Art an element which Monastic Art had not, and which was yet necessary for the full satisfaction of their
Charles Kingsley—Historical Lectures and Essays

October the Eighteenth Unanimity in the Soul
"A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways." --JAMES i. 1-8. If two men are at the wheel with opposing notions of direction and destiny, how will it fare with the boat? If an orchestra have two conductors both wielding their batons at the same time and with conflicting conceptions of the score, what will become of the band? And a man whose mind is like that of two men flirting with contrary ideals at the same time will live a life "all sixes and sevens," and nothing will move to purposeful
John Henry Jowett—My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year

May the Fifth Healthy Listening
"Be ye doers of the word and not hearers only." --JAMES i. 21-27. When we hear the word, but do not do it, there has been a defect in our hearing. We may listen to the word for mere entertainment. Or we may attach a virtue to the mere act of listening to the word. We may assume that some magical efficacy belongs to the mere reading of the word. And all this is perverse and delusive. No listening is healthy which is not mentally referred to obedience. We are to listen with a view to obedience,
John Henry Jowett—My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year

An Address to the Regenerate, Founded on the Preceding Discourses.
James I. 18. James I. 18. Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures. I INTEND the words which I have now been reading, only as an introduction to that address to the sons and daughters of the Lord Almighty, with which I am now to conclude these lectures; and therefore shall not enter into any critical discussion, either of them, or of the context. I hope God has made the series of these discourses, in some measure, useful to those
Philip Doddridge—Practical Discourses on Regeneration

On Patience
"Let patience have its perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing." James 1:4. 1. "My brethren," says the Apostle in the preceding verse, "count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations." At first view, this may appear a strange direction; seeing most temptations are, "for the present, not joyous, but grievous." Nevertheless ye know by your own experience, that "the trial of your faith worketh patience:" And if "patience have its perfect work, ye shall be perfect and
John Wesley—Sermons on Several Occasions

On Charity
"Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing." 1 Cor. 13:1-3. We know, "All Scripture is given by inspiration
John Wesley—Sermons on Several Occasions

Loving Advice for Anxious Seekers
However, the promise is not to be limited to any one particular application, for the word, "If any of you," is so wide, so extensive, that whatever may be our necessity, whatever the dilemma which perplexes us, this text consoles us with the counsel, "If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God." This text might be peculiarly comforting to some of you who are working for God. You cannot work long for your heavenly Lord without perceiving that you need a greater wisdom than you own. Why, even in directing
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 13: 1867

All Joy in all Trials
Beginning with this word "brethren," James shows a true brotherly sympathy with believers in their trials, and this is a main part of Christian fellowship. "Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ." If we are not tempted ourselves at this moment, others are: let us remember them in our prayers; for in due time our turn will come, and we shall be put into the crucible. As we would desire to receive sympathy and help in our hour of need, let us render it freely to those who are
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 29: 1883

The Days of the Week
JAMES i. 17. Every good gift, and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is neither variableness, nor shadow of turning. It seems an easy thing for us here to say, 'I believe in God.' We have learnt from our childhood that there is but one God. It seems to us strange and ridiculous that people anywhere should believe in more gods than one. We never heard of any other doctrine, except in books about the heathen; and there are perhaps not three people
Charles Kingsley—The Good News of God

Sermon on a Martyr's Day
Of three sorts of spiritual temptation by which holy men are secretly assailed; to wit: spiritual unchastity, covetousness, and pride. James i. 12.--"Blessed is the man that endureth temptation; for when he is tried he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love Him. ALL our life (says Job), so long as we are upon earth, is full of struggle and temptation, insomuch that this life is not called a life by the Saints, but a temptation. When one temptation is over,
Susannah Winkworth—The History and Life of the Reverend Doctor John Tauler

The Sixth Petition Corresponds as we have Observed to the Promise of Writing the Law...
The sixth petition corresponds (as we have observed) to the promise [26] of writing the law upon our hearts; but because we do not obey God without a continual warfare, without sharp and arduous contests, we here pray that he would furnish us with armour, and defend us by his protection, that we may be able to obtain the victory. By this we are reminded that we not only have need of the gift of the Spirit inwardly to soften our hearts, and turn and direct them to the obedience of God, but also of
John Calvin—Of Prayer--A Perpetual Exercise of Faith

The Deepest Need of the Church Today is not for any Material or External Thing...
The deepest need of the Church today is not for any material or external thing, but the deepest need is spiritual. Prayerless work will never bring in the kingdom. We neglect to pray in the prescribed way. We seldom enter the closet and shut the door for a season of prayer. Kingdom interests are pressing on us thick and fast and we must pray. Prayerless giving will never evangelise the world.--Dr. A. J. Gordon The great subject of prayer, that comprehensive need of the Christian's life, is intimately
E.M. Bounds—Purpose in Prayer

Biographical Preface.
"The Church! Am I asked again, What is the Church? The ploughman at his daily toil--the workman who plies the shuttle--the merchant in his counting-house--the scholar in his study--the lawyer in the courts of justice--the senator in the hall of legislature--the monarch on his throne--these, as well as the clergymen in the works of the material building which is consecrated to the honour of God--these constitute the Church. The Church is the whole congregation of faithful men, in which the pure word
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

Antecedents of Permanent Christian Colonization --The Disintegration of Christendom --Controversies --Persecutions.
WE have briefly reviewed the history of two magnificent schemes of secular and spiritual empire, which, conceived in the minds of great statesmen and churchmen, sustained by the resources of the mightiest kingdoms of that age, inaugurated by soldiers of admirable prowess, explorers of unsurpassed boldness and persistence, and missionaries whose heroic faith has canonized them in the veneration of Christendom, have nevertheless come to naught. We turn now to observe the beginnings, coinciding in time
Leonard Woolsey Bacon—A History of American Christianity

The Puritan Beginnings of the Church in virginia ---Its Decline Almost to Extinction.
THERE is sufficient evidence that the three little vessels which on the 13th of May, 1607, were moored to the trees on the bank of the James River brought to the soil of America the germ of a Christian church. We may feel constrained to accept only at a large discount the pious official professions of King James I., and critically to scrutinize many of the statements of that brilliant and fascinating adventurer, Captain John Smith, whether concerning his friends or concerning his enemies or concerning
Leonard Woolsey Bacon—A History of American Christianity

The Neighbor Colonies to virginia-Maryland and the Carolinas.
THE chronological order would require us at this point to turn to the Dutch settlements on the Hudson River; but the close relations of Virginia with its neighbor colonies of Maryland and the Carolinas are a reason for taking up the brief history of these settlements in advance of their turn. The occupation of Maryland dates from the year 1634. The period of bold and half-desperate adventure in making plantations along the coast was past. To men of sanguine temper and sufficient fortune and influence
Leonard Woolsey Bacon—A History of American Christianity

Directions to Church-Wardens, &C.
CHURCH-WARDENS are officers of the parish in ecclesiastical affairs, as the constables are in civil, and the main branches of their duty are to present what is presentable by the ecclesiastical Jaws of this realm, and repair the Church [1] . For the better information of Church-wardens as to those particulars, which they are to present, [2] articles are to be given them extracted out of the laws of the Church, according to which they are to make their presentments, Can. 119. They are obliged twice
Humphrey Prideaux—Directions to Church-Wardens

Theological Controversies and Studies
(a) Baianism. Schwane, /Dogmengeschichte der neuren zeit/, 1890. Turmel, /Histoire de la theologie positive du concile de Trente au concile du Vatican/, 1906. Denzinger-Bannwart, /Enchiridion Symbolorum/, 11th edition, 1911. Duchesne, /Histoire du Baianisme/, 1731. Linsenmann, /Michael Baius/, 1863. The Catholic doctrine on Grace, round which such fierce controversies had been waged in the fifth and sixth centuries, loomed again into special prominence during the days of the Reformation. The views
Rev. James MacCaffrey—History of the Catholic Church, Renaissance to French Revolution

The Downfall, 1616-1621.
The dream of bliss became a nightmare. As the tide of Protestantism ebbed and flowed in various parts of the Holy Roman Empire, so the fortunes of the Brethren ebbed and flowed in the old home of their fathers. We have seen how the Brethren rose to prosperity and power. We have now to see what brought about their ruin. It was nothing in the moral character of the Brethren themselves. It was purely and simply their geographical position. If Bohemia had only been an island, as Shakespeare seems
J. E. Hutton—History of the Moravian Church

Knox and the Book of Discipline
This Book of Discipline, containing the model of the Kirk, had been seen by Randolph in August 1560, and he observed that its framers would not come into ecclesiastical conformity with England. They were "severe in that they profess, and loth to remit anything of that they have received." As the difference between the Genevan and Anglican models contributed so greatly to the Civil War under Charles I., the results may be regretted; Anglicans, by 1643, were looked on as "Baal worshippers" by the
Andrew Lang—John Knox and the Reformation

Whether Sacred Doctrine is a Practical Science
Whether Sacred Doctrine is a Practical Science We proceed to the fourth article thus: 1. It seems that sacred doctrine is a practical science. For "the end of practical knowledge is action," according to the philosopher (2 Metaph., Text 3), and sacred doctrine is concerned with action, according to James 1:22: "Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only." Sacred doctrine is therefore a practical science. 2. Again, sacred doctrine is divided into the Old and the New Law, and the Law has to do with
Aquinas—Nature and Grace

Wherefore Let this be the First Thought for the Putting on of Humility...
42. Wherefore let this be the first thought for the putting on of humility, that God's virgin think not that it is of herself that she is such, and not rather that this best "gift cometh down from above from the Father of Lights, with Whom is no change nor shadow of motion." [2172] For thus she will not think that little hath been forgiven her, so as for her to love little, and, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and wishing to establish her own, not to be made subject to the righteousness
St. Augustine—Of Holy Virginity.

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