Real fast
This week's verses are Isaiah 58:6-12:
In Christian circles we hear people talk a lot about fasting. Even in the rest of the world, we're hearing more about the health benefits, and so on. The Bible is full of verses about fasting, but in these verses God is yelling at people for fasting! If you read what he says, you can see that they were going about the whole fasting thing the wrong way.
Look at the things God talks about when he mentions the method of fasting he blesses: keeping people from being cheated and abused, rescuing people, sharing your food with people in need, providing for their material needs as well, watching your mouth and not slandering other people, even maybe spending too much in the service of others. What does that have to do with starving yourself and drinking lots of liquids?
The message God is trying to share with Israel here is that fasting at its root is about self-denial, and denying yourself food is only a small part of that. If you're going to ruin other people's lives and indulge yourself in every other way, skipping a few meals isn't going to change that. Worse, it's hypocritical because it's activity you're using to portray yourself as holy and devout, when your lifestyle is anything but that.
When we talk about fasting, we understandably focus on the food aspects of it. But isn't it a lot harder to give ourselves up than to give up a meal? We boast about how many hours or days we're able to endure the torments of a rumbling stomach but what about risking your reputation, your financial stability, even your physical well-being, in order to help some stranger get out of a bad place? That's self-denial.
God calls out their hypocrisy. They want God to give himself up to heal them, bless them, restore them, and praise them, but they don't care enough about anyone but themselves to do the same. They're selfish takers, and even their act of fasting is another desperate grab for more handouts.
The blessings God offers them if they'll take their devotion seriously are nothing short of amazing. They'll glow with light and experience healing. God's answer to their prayers will be clear. They'll have the answers they need in life. He'll provide for them even in absurdly tight circumstances. And the old glory days will come back.
How serious is your devotion? When we think of devotion, we think of going regularly to church, praying every day, reading the Bible, maybe some fasting and faith-sharing too. But what about thankless self-sacrifice for the good of others? We don't hear as much about that, but maybe we should, given the blessing God described in Isaiah.
But even if the blessing was only for Israel in those circumstances, can it hurt to treat other people nicer and be less selfish anyway? We're given so much, both materially and eternally, that it seems almost odd not to spread a little around for good measure. It wouldn't hurt a lot of us to skip a meal or two, but maybe in your devotional time you can ask "what am I unwilling to do to help others?" And then do a little of that to see what happens.
“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?
Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe them,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness will go before you,
and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
“If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.
The Lord will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.
Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins
and will raise up the age-old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,
Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.
In Christian circles we hear people talk a lot about fasting. Even in the rest of the world, we're hearing more about the health benefits, and so on. The Bible is full of verses about fasting, but in these verses God is yelling at people for fasting! If you read what he says, you can see that they were going about the whole fasting thing the wrong way.
Look at the things God talks about when he mentions the method of fasting he blesses: keeping people from being cheated and abused, rescuing people, sharing your food with people in need, providing for their material needs as well, watching your mouth and not slandering other people, even maybe spending too much in the service of others. What does that have to do with starving yourself and drinking lots of liquids?
The message God is trying to share with Israel here is that fasting at its root is about self-denial, and denying yourself food is only a small part of that. If you're going to ruin other people's lives and indulge yourself in every other way, skipping a few meals isn't going to change that. Worse, it's hypocritical because it's activity you're using to portray yourself as holy and devout, when your lifestyle is anything but that.
When we talk about fasting, we understandably focus on the food aspects of it. But isn't it a lot harder to give ourselves up than to give up a meal? We boast about how many hours or days we're able to endure the torments of a rumbling stomach but what about risking your reputation, your financial stability, even your physical well-being, in order to help some stranger get out of a bad place? That's self-denial.
God calls out their hypocrisy. They want God to give himself up to heal them, bless them, restore them, and praise them, but they don't care enough about anyone but themselves to do the same. They're selfish takers, and even their act of fasting is another desperate grab for more handouts.
The blessings God offers them if they'll take their devotion seriously are nothing short of amazing. They'll glow with light and experience healing. God's answer to their prayers will be clear. They'll have the answers they need in life. He'll provide for them even in absurdly tight circumstances. And the old glory days will come back.
How serious is your devotion? When we think of devotion, we think of going regularly to church, praying every day, reading the Bible, maybe some fasting and faith-sharing too. But what about thankless self-sacrifice for the good of others? We don't hear as much about that, but maybe we should, given the blessing God described in Isaiah.
But even if the blessing was only for Israel in those circumstances, can it hurt to treat other people nicer and be less selfish anyway? We're given so much, both materially and eternally, that it seems almost odd not to spread a little around for good measure. It wouldn't hurt a lot of us to skip a meal or two, but maybe in your devotional time you can ask "what am I unwilling to do to help others?" And then do a little of that to see what happens.
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