”“Shout with the voice of a trumpet blast. Shout aloud! Don’t be timid. Tell my people Israel of their sins! Yet they act so pious! They come to the Temple every day and seem delighted to learn all about me. They act like a righteous nation that would never abandon the laws of its God. They ask me to take action on their behalf, pretending they want to be near me. ‘We have fasted before you!’ they say. ‘Why aren’t you impressed? We have been very hard on ourselves, and you don’t even notice it!’ “I will tell you why!” I respond. “It’s because you are fasting to please yourselves. Even while you fast, you keep oppressing your workers. What good is fasting when you keep on fighting and quarreling? This kind of fasting will never get you anywhere with me. You humble yourselves by going through the motions of penance, bowing your heads like reeds bending in the wind. You dress in burlap and cover yourselves with ashes. Is this what you call fasting? Do you really think this will please the Lord? “No, this is the kind of fasting I want: Free those who are wrongly imprisoned; lighten the burden of those who work for you. Let the oppressed go free, and remove the chains that bind people. Share your food with the hungry, and give shelter to the homeless. Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help. “Then your salvation will come like the dawn, and your wounds will quickly heal. Your godliness will lead you forward, and the glory of the Lord will protect you from behind. Then when you call, the Lord will answer. ‘Yes, I am here,’ he will quickly reply. “Remove the heavy yoke of oppression. Stop pointing your finger and spreading vicious rumors! Feed the hungry, and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon. The Lord will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength. You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring. Some of you will rebuild the deserted ruins of your cities. Then you will be known as a rebuilder of walls and a restorer of homes. “Keep the Sabbath day holy. Don’t pursue your own interests on that day, but enjoy the Sabbath and speak of it with delight as the Lord’s holy day. Honor the Sabbath in everything you do on that day, and don’t follow your own desires or talk idly. Then the Lord will be your delight. I will give you great honor and satisfy you with the inheritance I promised to your ancestor Jacob. I, the Lord, have spoken!”“
Isaiah 58:1-14 NLT
This passage pays a great deal of attention to the concept of fasting and Sabbath. In truth, these concepts are closely related to each other. Fasting was a practice meant to bring us closer to God by the purposeful removal of a daily element needed for sustenance. In most cases, it was food. The person who chose to fast did so out of reverence, and their purpose was to use the time gained from not eating, and the bodily differences it caused, to manufacture a way where thinking in him was easier. The Sabbath did a similar thing. It happened weakly, but instead of removing food, work would be removed. These things made it obvious that people relied on God and that he provided. The product of these practices actually produced numerous health benefits. Yet they were difficult and required effort, commitment and forethought. Not surprisingly, the Jews had figured out how to do them without giving the practices their just credit. Instead, they began to resent the practices and viewed these disciplines in their life as unwelcome evils that God had prescribed. They were flaws of being God’s people and not features. At the heart of it was a lack of affection for God and he viewed this as worthy of condemnation. It turns out that our hearts for worship matter, in worship. Following him is more than the motions. To be in a good relationship with him means loving that we are in that relationship in the first place. All of our good works and discipline must come from that heart, or God disqualifies them as being genuine. Praise God for the Holy Spirit who refreshes that aspect of our being. Without him, our wicked heart would surely destroy us, no matter how disciplined we are.
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