Ya’akov (James) 5

GO to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. 2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. 4 Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, cries: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of YAHUAH TSEVA’OT. 5 Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. 6 Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he does not resist you. 7 Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of YAHUAH. Behold, the husbandman waits for the precious fruit of the earth, and has long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. 8 Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of ADONAI draws nigh. 9 Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge stands before the door. 10 Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of YAHUAH, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience. 11 Behold, we count them happy which endure. [Here, we see Ya’akov’s discussion of the meaning of the word netzach (enduring victory).] Ye have heard of the patience of Iyov, and have seen the result of YAHUAH in the life of Iyov; that YAHUAH is very pitiful, and of tender mercy. 12 But above all things, my brethren, swear not falsely, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation. 13 Is any among you afflicted? Let him pray. Is any merry? Let him sing psalms. 14 Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the called out assembly; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of YAHUSHA: 15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and our ADONAI shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. 16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a holy man avails much. 17 Eliyahu was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. 18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit. 19 Brethren, if any of you do err from the Truth, and one convert him; 20 Let him know, that he which converts the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.

Here, Ya’akov is telling us that the road to healing begins with a confession from one trusted friend to another trusted friend, but that the prescription is prayer – and not just prayer, but fervent prayer – and not just fervent prayer, but effectual fervent prayer.

Kepha Rishon (I Peter) 3:10-22

For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile: 11 Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it. 12 For the eyes of YAHUAH are over the holy, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of YAHUAH is against them that do evil. 13 And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? 14 But and if ye suffer for holiness' sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled; 15 But sanctify את (eth)-YAHUAH the MASHIACH in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asks you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: 16 Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in MASHIACH. 17 For it is better, if the will of ELOHIYM be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing. 18 For HAMASHIACH also has once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to ELOHIYM, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the RUACH: 19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; 20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of ELOHIYM waited in the days of Noach, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. 21 The like figure whereunto even immersion does also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward ELOHIYM,) by the resurrection of YAHUSHA HAMASHIACH: 22 Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of ELOHIYM; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.

Consider in particular this verse: 15 But sanctify את (eth)-YAHUAH the MASHIACH in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asks you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:

Kepha uses this word that is translated as sanctify, but the underlying Greek is the word αγιαζω hagiazo (Strong’s G37), a derivative of the word αγιος hagios (Strong’s G40).  Hagiazo means to make holy, to purify or consecrate, i.e., to sanctify.  Hagios means that which is sacred, pure, morally blameless, or consecrated), i.e most holy.

Kepha is telling us to purify the spirit of ETH YAHUAH HAMASHIACH in the heart.  Here, we have something of great interest, don’t we?  YAHUAH HAMASHIACH?  We have discussed this previously – that YAHUSHA HA’NATZERI V’MALEK HA’YAHUDIYM (Yahusha of Nazareth, and King of the Jews) was revealed as YAHUAH on the cross in 30 A.D.  Who is our MASHIACH? The ALEPH (א); the ALEPH TAV (את) – the beginning and the end, the beginning from the end.  . . . All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. Yahuchanon (John) 1:3

Yet many of us do not sanctify, but vulgarize the spirit of ETH YAHUAH HAMASHIACH in our hearts, using the grace of YAH as a license to engage the flesh, using the mercy of YAH to engage in repetitive sin (chatta’ah) and rebellion (pesha), using the strength of YAH to impute harm to other living and non-living things, using the beauty of YAH to cover the ugliness of our own souls (nefesh), and hiding behind the works of the Torah to find righteousness, without ever seeking the pursuit of holiness – which is the greater affirmative duty.