test sermon

One

the thought of material blessing in this world) upon the person who endures a test of faith.

While the form is similar to the Psalms (and a host of other literature), Schrage correctly sees the background of this blessing in apocalyptic Judaism (thus it is most frequent in Revelation). Cantinat cannot have taken the context into account when he calls this sapiential. The ὑπομονή of 1:2–4 is present in verbal form, and the same comments which were made there are pertinent. The Christian is enduring an external test, which in Jewish tradition could be caused by God (as in the canonical Gn. 22:1) but is usually charged to the demonic figure (Mastema in Jubilees and Beliar in Test. Ben. 3:3). The goal is to pass the test (i.e. keep genuine faith) and become approved, δόκιμος, which is a favorite term of Paul’s for human or divine approval (5 times in Romans and Corinthians; cf. 2 Tim. 2:15 for an interesting parallel). Dibelius misses the point when he states that endurance is not a condition for receiving the blessing, but is simply assumed for the pious, for in the parallels cited only those who endure are counted pious. Similarly Dan. 12:12 Theod. (μακάριος ὁ ὑπομένων …) has the idea of enduring until the end (of the Seleucid persecution) as being the sign of the pious character which will receive the reward. It is possible that James is thinking of this passage (so Windisch), but the idea may have been widespread. (Cf. Ex. Rab. 31:3: “Happy is the man who can withstand the test, for there is none whom God does not prove.” This passage describes testing through wealth and poverty in terms similar to Ec. 5:13 and Pss. Sol. 16:13–15; cf. also Korn, 72.)

After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.

Blessed is he who waits and arrives at the 1,335 days.

There is a grievous evil that I have seen under the sun: riches were kept by their owner to his hurt,