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You have lived in pleasure (etruphesate: luxury) on the earth, and have been wanton
(espatalesate: wastefully indulgent); ye have nourished (ethrepsate: fattened) your hearts, as
in the day of slaughter.

The first analogy of living in luxury is the rich man dressed in purple and fine linen (Luke 16:19).
The rich in James’s day were living in the finest luxury while the workers were starving ‐‐ like
Lazarus outside the door, waiting for crumbs.

“Wanton” in the King James Version speaks of the wasteful indulgence of the rich like the prodigal
son who wasted his inheritance on riotous living (Luke 15:13). No regard was given to
stewardship or to using a portion of their money to help the poor of the land, as was commanded
in the law. Neither did they pay their field workers what was just, as was also commanded in the
law.

James finally views these men as being “nourished” or “fattened up” as cattle for slaughter. Just
as the cow has no knowledge of the coming day when it will be killed, so these men were enjoying
the riches of life not knowing they were going to be slaughtered in the coming days at the
invasion of Rome.
Jas 5:6 Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.

Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.
The greatest indictment against the controlling rich of Jerusalem was that they had been
condemning the believers of the city and killing them for their belief in the Lord Jesus. Since they
controlled the court system (2:6), they had not only used it for financial gain but also for religious.

Those being condemned and killed for their stand before the Lord had not resisted the judgment
because they faced death as Jesus Himself did (1 Peter 2:21‐23).

D. Exhortation to the Afflicted Brothers

Jas 5:7 Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman
waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the
early and latter rain.

Be patient (makrothumeia: long tempered) therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord.
Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for
it, until he receive the early and latter rain.

This is the breath of fresh air for the believers who are oppressed in Jerusalem. They are to be
patient and wait for the coming of the Lord Jesus to the earth, the second advent. That is the
time when all injustice will end, and recompense will be made for sin. Being patient is
commanded in the Word as an attribute of maturity and an attribute of God Himself (Matthew
18:23‐33; Romans 2:4, 9:22; 1 Thessalonians 5:14; 1 Peter 2:20; 2 Peter 3:9).