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James 4:1-8
James 4:1-8
Pray
Genesis 35:23-29
Speaks of the decendents of Israel.
Names should sound familiar, they are the patriarchs of the 12 tribes of Israel.
Death of Issac, who is the father of Jacob and Esau.
Reason I briefly highlighted these verses is because we know the heritage of this people.
Israel the nation was eventually brought forth through the Lord’s provision.
Genesis 36 goes on to name the decendants of Esau.
The last time we spoke of Esau, the relationship with Jacob was at least civil.
They were able to communicate and function together.
Chapter 36 gives a long list of Esau’s decedants.
The descendaetns of Esau eventually came to be known as the nation of Edom.
The nation of Edom was believed to be located to the southeast of Israel in the region of modern day country Jordan.
Edom and Israel have a difficult history.
Starting with Esau.
Esau took Ishmaelite wives even though it was against his father Isaac’c wishes.
Remember Ishmael is the son of Abraham and Hagar.
He is the son that was born out of Abraham’s desires to help God bring about the promise.
God describes Ishmael as a wild donkey of a man.
His hand will be against everyone.
Esau introduced the influence of the Ishmaelites into his family.
The nation of Edom became an adversary of Israel.
Psalm 83 names Edom as an enemy.
O God, do not remain silent; do not turn a deaf ear, do not stand aloof, O God. See how your enemies growl, how your foes rear their heads. With cunning they conspire against your people; they plot against those you cherish. “Come,” they say, “let us destroy them as a nation, so that Israel’s name is remembered no more.” With one mind they plot together; they form an alliance against you— the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, of Moab and the Hagrites, Byblos, Ammon and Amalek, Philistia, with the people of Tyre. Even Assyria has joined them to reinforce Lot’s descendants.
These verses sound familiar to our ears especially given the conflict in Israel.
The Psalmist names enemies of God.
Edom and the Ishmaelites.
The descendants of Esau.
Amalek, a continual foe against Israel.
Philistia.
They came to be known as Palestine under Roman rule.
They currently age war against the people of God under the names of Hamas, Palestine Liberation Organization, Hezbollah.
All terror groups motivated by hate.
They are not motivated by national sovereignty.
They are not motivated by provisin for people living within the supposed borders of their care.
They are motivated by hate.
Hate against God.
Hate against the nation of Israel.
hate against the people of God.
Brothers and sisters, we are in that group of people who they hate.
All of the protests in favor of Palestine in our country are alarming.
There is fighting in our own country in support of a people group that wants nothing but destruction.
They want nothing but destruction for Israel and the Jewish people.
Not only for those in the Land but across the world.
If Israel would cease to be a country, but it it would the enemies of God would not rest.
They would continue to fight because the hatred is not human, it is demonic.
They will not stop at the destruction of Israel, they seek to destroy the people of God.
Anyone that proclaims faith in the Lord of the Bible is an enemy.
The Psalmist tells us this:
See how your enemies growl, how your foes rear their heads. With cunning they conspire against your people; they plot against those you cherish. “Come,” they say, “let us destroy them as a nation, so that Israel’s name is remembered no more.”
Edom was a group of people that hated the people of God.
Edom aligned themselves with other nations that conspired to destroy the people of God.
Nations such as Assyria and Babylon.
hey sought alliances with these violent nations.
Nations that openly practiced idolatry and evil.
Because Edom allowed themselves to be influenced by these negative influences, they too became pagan.
Idolatrous and violent.
They allowed the cultural influences around them to draw them further away from God.
And they began to conform to the world surrounding them.
They grew to become even less like Esau and more like the idols of Babylon.
They rebelled against God and their own heritage
They rebellion caused further division.
They looked to nations outside of God’s provision for support.
Application of what we can glean from Esau and the Edomites.
Turn to James
What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
James is very direct.
Remember he is writing to the church.
This letter was written to the early church as God was causing the Gospel to be preached.
Te purpose of the letter of James is to correct.
He is writing to people who should know better.
James asks, Why are you quarreling?
What causes fights within you?
He is not addressing a situation with the corporate church.
James is addressing the personal struggle with sin.
This personal struggle with sin can lead to quarrels or arguments on a larger scale.
James is addressing the individual.
He is offering correction to our individual walk with the Lord.
If our walk with the Lord is right within us, we will be right with others.
Pastor Chris uses the picture of the cross to illustrate this point.
James gives us an answer as to why we fight, quarrel and desire.
V. 2 You covent but you cannot get what YOU want so you fight and quarrel.
You are motivated by your own desires and you covet so that you can get what you want.
Application for us.
personal
corporate
You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.
Connect back to Edom
The source of conflict with Edom was that they rejected their heritage.
There were some things in the life of Esau that were unfortunate.
Esau allowed the UNFAIR things of his past to inform the now.
He allowed the struggles he endured to influence his now and then his family.
It did not take long for the descendents of Esau to become Edom.
To turn against their heritage.
Edom was a people group that fought and quarreled against those who should have been considered relatives even brother and sisters.
Yet the heritage was not a blessing, it was a curse.
It fueled the hatred that is still being played out today.
Hoe does this relate to us?
Remember James is writing to the church.
Like Esau, we must be careful to not allow ourselves to reject our heritage.
To forget who Redeemed us.
We have to be careful not to turn to the world for support.
Like Edom.
They relied on the pagan world around them.
And because they looked to the world, they became the world.
Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose: “He jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us”? But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.