Isaiah 58:1-9 was written to the people of Israel.
It could have just as easily been written to the church of today.
This convicting passage carries:
- an accusation of sin
- an expose of hypocrisy
- a prescription for righteousness
58:1 “Cry aloud; do not hold back;
lift up your voice like a trumpet;
declare to my people their transgression,
to the house of Jacob their sins.
God's message to Isaiah is to loudly proclaim to Israel that they are guilty of sin. Much of Isaiah's book is spent pointing out the sins of God's people, but apparently they still didn't completely "get it". In fact, upon hearing the accusations, their first response is to point out how righteous they think they are.
2 Yet they seek me daily
and delight to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that did righteousness
and did not forsake the judgment of their God;
they ask of me righteous judgments;
they delight to draw near to God.
3 ‘Why have we fasted, and you see it not?
Why have we humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?’
Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure,
and oppress all your workers.
The key phrase in verse 2 is "as if". Isaiah is pointing out that Israel's external actions appear to be those of a righteous nation, but their hearts indicate that they are indeed a people who have forsaken the judgment of God.
Although they are very impressed with themselves for their fasting and their humility (it is a bit odd for people to be proud of their humility), God is decidedly unimpressed.
In fact, he takes great issue with them, pointing out that all their religious activity has been for themselves. So that they could feel good about how "righteous" they were.
In verses 4-5, God exposes their hypocrisy by pointing to their true heart:
4 Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight
and to hit with a wicked fist.
Fasting like yours this day
will not make your voice to be heard on high.
5 Is such the fast that I choose,
a day for a person to humble himself?
Is it to bow down his head like a reed,
and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him?
Will you call this a fast,
and a day acceptable to the Lord?
Worshiping, fasting, mourning, and sacrificing are of no value for those who mistreat their fellow man.
Giving up what one doesn't need, only to take away what someone else does need is not a true fast. (vs.3)
A fast followed by a fight has no meaning to God.
Being proud of oneself for going through the motions of humility is unacceptable to the LORD.
Instead, God demands a different kind of fasting:
6 “Is not this the fast that I choose:
to loose the bonds of wickedness,
to undo the straps of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry
and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover him,
and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
To summarize:
- Free those who are being held unjustly
- Lighten the burden of those who are overworked
- Share your food with the hungry
- Share your house with the homeless
- Share your clothes with the poor
- Take care of your need family members
For Israel, and likely for us, these are words that we can acknowledge and even enact at a surface level. But to truly adopt this as our lifestyle is not easy. In fact, to make this our default approach to life would be far to radical for most (I wonder if it is for me?)
But I fear, if we can't come to grips with these concepts, we will be just like Israel. Pretending to worship God by putting on a good show, and by doing the "right things" on the outside, while having hearts that are rejected by Him.
