Chapter 1:1 – to the twelve tribes, which are scattered abroad, greetings.
Chapter 1:1. to the twelve tribes, which are scattered abroad, greetings. -
1:1 – to the twelve tribes- The letter of James was a general letter, not specified to one particular local church, but for the church universal at that time.
Twelve is the number of divine government. Old Testament Israel consisited of twelve tribes names after the twelve sons of Jacob (Gen 49:1-28). There were twelve oxen in the temple of Solomon, and there were twelve lions aroundr Solomon’s Throne (2 Chron 4:4, 15; 9:17-19). There were twelve disciples and there were twelve baskets of food left over after feeding the 5000. The book of Revelation is full of twelves – twelve thrones, twelve gates of the city and twelve messengers at the gates.
1:1 – which are scattered abroad - The reference here is to the twelve tribes of Israel, who as prophesied in Ezekiel were ‘scattered abroad’ (Ezek 12:15-16; 11:16). However God cares for those who are scattered and outcast, and He preserved a remnant of each tribe to hear not only the message of the gospel, but also to be encouraged in their new walk as followers of Christ.
When we consider the times, the tribes had been forced to scatter due to their acceptance of Christ as the Messiah. Persecution was rising with a greater intensity at the time, and the increasing power of Rome and the rejection of Christianity by orthodox Jews forced many Messianic Jews to move away and start a new life elsewhere.
1:1 – Greetings - This was a letter of encouragement from the leader of the church in Jerusalem, intending to correct attitudes and problems that he saw arising in the church admist volatile circumstances. James addresses the likelihood that there was fighting, favouring and a loss of brotherly love among the people. Despite all this persecution James wished his readers a cheerful hello, for literally the word greeting is translated ‘hail, joy, rejoice, to be cheerful.’
Wow. A blog dedicated only to the Epistle of James. Very interesting.
When I first got saved, James was my favorite book of all the NT.
I loved how he castigated the merchant-mentality and railed at the rich exploiting classes. [I was a Leftist before being born-again]
Later, as I found out how impossible it was to be justified by my works, I began to side with Luther and neglected or ignored this book.
I find it impossible to put the words of James into practice.
Out of my mouth flow both blessing and cursing – I don’t foresee that ever changing…
I am still intrigued by the opening lines. To the 12 tribes…Greetings.
It is mystical to me – the diaspora; who are the 12 tribes? It sounds very Rastafarian.
drew
October 13, 2011 at 12:45 am
PS – I have a blog on the Book of Psalms at Tumblr: http://psalm151.tumblr.com/
drew
October 13, 2011 at 12:50 am
[...] fallen pillars of judgment / justified before the Ancient of Days / vibes from the tribes of the JAM[E]S / to the 12 tribes scattered throughout the world, greetings / the priests ARE the bovine cult [...]
Vibes from the Tribes of the Jams « CONNECT / HOOK
October 13, 2011 at 1:01 am
The twelve tribes could not refer to the church universal; however, it is not a major issue. Acts 26:4-10 refer to the twelve tibes and the saints (which would be closer to the church universal) while paul was before Aquippa defending his actions and faith.As many books of the Bible were written different peoples ( i.e. Revelation to seven churches), this book was for the Jewish 12 tribes.
realtking9
April 20, 2012 at 11:47 am