Patience in Suffering
We learned in our last post that the oppressors would be punished, but the oppressed have to wait on God rather than take matters violently into their own hands. This exhortation did not mean they could not speak out against injustice; it only forbade violence and personally hostile speech (5:9) as an appropriate solution to injustice. Oh, how we have forgotten this in our society today.
7 So, brothers, be patient until the Lord returns. See how the farmer waits for the precious “fruit of the earth”—he is patient over it until it receives the fall and spring rains. 8 You too, be patient; keep up your courage; for the Lord’s return is near.
Until the Lord returns, anticipates an end to all exploitation and suffering. Consequently, the oppressed should exercise self-control in their reaction to their oppressors. “Fruit of the earth” is a quotation…
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