<p>1:10 <i>But the rich in his humiliation, because as a flower of the field he will pass away- </i>1Pet. 1:24,25 has a similar passage: &quot;All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower thereof falls away: But the word of the Lord endures for ever&quot;. The fading grass is contrasted by Peter to the enduring Word of God, and this is repeated by James. The humble brother taking the lowest seat in the ecclesia (cp. the more spiritual members being told in 2:3 &quot;sit here under my footstool... you stand there&quot; because all the chairs were taken by the rich) is connected with the one who asks the wisdom from God (v.5), who is not wavering or double minded, and who through the word is attaining to the perfect man state (v.4). Thus the poor in this world are rich in the faith that comes by hearing the word of God.</p><p>The figure of fading grass suggests reference back to Is. 40:5-8: &quot;The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together... The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: the grass withers, the flower fades... surely the people is grass... but the word of our God shall stand for ever&quot;. The &quot;glory of the Lord&quot; being revealed primarily refers to Christ's manifestation to Israel at his first coming. The preceding verses 3 and 4 describe John's preparatory work: &quot;The voice of him that cries in the wilderness...&quot;. &quot;All flesh&quot; were to see the revelation of God's glory in Christ. This &quot;all flesh&quot; can refer to the Jews, &quot;all&quot; of whom went out into the wilderness to hear John's testimony regarding the coming Christ. This is confirmed by v.7 &quot;The (Jewish) people is grass&quot;. The &quot;goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field&quot; would then be a reference to the Jewish law, which was &quot;holy, just and good&quot; but offered a fading glory, which Paul in 2 Cor. 3:7-18 said epitomized the Law. The word of the Lord (v.5) and &quot;the spirit of the Lord&quot; (v.7) were to make the grass wither and pass away, although the word would remain. This pointed forward to the ending of the Jewish system and Law through the work of Christ, &quot;the word made flesh&quot;, &quot;the Lord the Spirit&quot; (2 Cor. 3:18 R.V.), and the ministry of the word remaining. James seems to have this background in mind when he makes the allusion in 1:9-11 to Is.40. The rich Christian Jews of the first century who were not that humble to the power of the word may well also have been swayed by Judaist arguments. They are being likened to the &quot;grass&quot; of Is. 40, which represented the Jewish system which was to be replaced by a permanent, unfading system based on the word. The Messianic Ps. 102:4,11 describes our Lord as being &quot;withered like grass&quot;, showing how in his life and death on the cross he took upon himself the punishment of apostate Israel. James is neatly exhorting them to commit themselves wholly to the word, lest the demise of the Jewish system should result in their fading away too. Yet there is also the very primary application to the materialism of this group, being obsessed by their earthly riches.</p>