Isaiah 58 - Not So Fast

Today, we complete our series on biblical fasting. For those that are just joining us today, this church over the last five weeks has been discussing reclaiming biblical fasting. And what we have seen over the course of this series is from Matthew chapter six, that Jesus phrases it as, when you fast, that Jesus expects his disciples to fast. In lesson two, what we noticed was that over the course of Scripture, there are seven reasons why people would commit themselves to a temporary fast. In lesson three, we learned how to fast. And in lesson four, we learned to couple fasting with Scripture reading. This is lesson five, and therefore today, our last one. And therefore, asking what I believe to be a very important question. And the question is, what should be a church's culture around fasting? So, if we are going to be a church that we've now had this five-week discussion about fasting, where do we go from here? What does it look like? And how is that appropriate? So, that's gonna be the question that we ask. But I have something with me today. This is a sprig of dill from my wife's garden. She's been growing it. And if you smell it, or rub it between your fingers, it really does smell like a pickle. Because this is the very flavor with which you season dill pickles. You wanna smell? She's like, I smell nothing. I know what's going through that head of hers. You gotta, you really have to take those cucumbers and steep them in this for how many weeks? At least one, I imagine, with a lot of vinegar and other things to really pull out that flavor from the dill. But I think it's pretty. But I'm gonna hang on to this. And so, I'm gonna be the weird guy here over the course of this lesson, just holding a sprig of dill. And eventually, I hope to make it clear as to why. So, today, we are, we're gonna be looking at Isaiah 58. And I just had to have some fun with this. The title of this lesson is Not So Fast. We've been talking about fasting. And this is, in a way, a critique of fasting, particularly Israel's fasting culture. I want you to open your Bible with me to Isaiah 58. If you're following along in this blue Bible, that's gonna be on page 358. 358 in which Isaiah is going to critique Israel's fasting culture. And so, here's what we're gonna be doing today. We're gonna look at what was wrong with their fasting culture. What did God really want? And what does that mean that we should expect about a fasting culture in our church today? So, that's gonna be how we go. 358 is gonna be where you find Isaiah chapter 58. So, what I want to do first is I want to ask the question, what was wrong with Israel's fasting culture? And I want you to, therefore, read with me Isaiah chapter 58 verses 1 through 5. Isaiah 58, 1 through 5. While I read that, I'm gonna walk off for just a second, but listen with me. Come aloud. Do not hold back. Lift up your voice like a trumpet. Declare to my people their transgressions, to the house of Jacob their sins. 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. For they ask of me righteous judgments and they delight to draw near to God. Why have we fasted and you see it not? Why have we humbled ourselves and you did not and you take no knowledge of it? I realize that there is a weakness in our pew Bibles. I see you squinting brother. Does that help? Alright, brother. And that is that they were not meant for struggling eyes. Alright, so here's what he says. I'm speaking to God. Why have we fasted and you've not seen it or you see it not? Why have we humbled ourselves and you take no knowledge of it? Here's the answer. Behold, in the day of your fast, you seek your own pleasure and oppress all your workers. Behold, you fast only to quarrel and fight and you hit with a wicked fist. Fasting like yours this day will not make your voice to be heard on high. 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? I want you to notice what was wrong with Israel's fasting here. I'm gonna notice three things in this text as to what was wrong. And the first thing that I want you to notice about their fasting was that it was selfish. This is where they asked. They asked God, we've been fasting. We have gone without food. We are hungry and you haven't paid us any attention. Why is that God? And here is the answer that was given. The second half of verse three, behold, in the day of your fast, you seek your own pleasure. He's like, it's not for me. Don't even pretend that it's for me. You do this for yourselves. You seek your own pleasure. Now that doesn't seem to make a lot of sense. It doesn't make a lot of sense because they're fasting. How many of you, if you've ever gone through a fast, find that pleasurable? I love Samantha's heart over this journey that I've been on because as it pertains to fasting, like actually going without food and physically, day one is rough. Day two is awful. Day three gets better. Like your body settles into it and actually you can go from day three to like day seven and be just fine and feel like you're normal. But that day two is awful. It is painful. And therefore I tell you that why, why would Israel endure something like that selfishly? Well, what it just goes to show is that you can participate in a lot of religious things, even things that are hard and do it with a bad heart. I love the way Paul phrases it in first Corinthians chapter 13, as he's describing the use of spiritual gifts. And he says, you know, if I gave away all that I had and deliver up my body to be burned but didn't have love, I am nothing. It's because you can do a lot of religious things with a bad heart and it not be pleasing to God. And here what their first indictment is for their fasting culture is that they were doing so selfishly. I want you to notice a few things real quick. So, I'm actually going to show you, this is the Jewish fasting calendar for 2025. There's, there's not very many, but there are a few days in which they are set aside to fast. There's the fast of Tevet 10, which happens on first on January 10th. That actually repeats at the end of the year because their calendar doesn't exactly align with ours. In which they fast for the purpose of remembering Nebuchadnezzar destroying Jerusalem. Okay? Then there's the fast of three weeks in which they fast at the beginning of the three weeks and they fast at the end of the three weeks and they fast over the destruction of the temple. Then there's the fast of Gedaliah, which happens on September 25th, in which they remember the assassination of Gedaliah. By the way, it happens in 2 Kings and you can read that story if you want to. Then there's the Day of Atonement, or what they call Yom Kippur. And that is October 1st and 2nd, in which they fast for the Day of Atonement. Now, then there's the second fast of Tevet 10. Well, let me ask you, having given you this, how many of those do you think that God told them to do? Like, they're specifically commanded to do? Some of you are just shaking your head. The answer is not none of them. Day of Atonement was absolutely commanded as a fast. But that's one. Singular. Let me ask you this, where does the rest come from? Well, it comes from the fact that some leader thought it was a good idea. And here is the indictment that Zechariah gives. This is Zechariah 7, verses 5 and 6. Say to all the people of the land and the priests, when you fasted and mourned in the fifth month and the seventh month, by the way, both of those were just listed, for these 70 years, was it for me that you fasted? And when you eat and when you drink, do you not eat for yourselves and drink for yourselves? They weren't doing this as a matter of reverence to God and a desire for Him. They were for very selfish purposes. And so that was wrong. That was wrong of their culture around fasting, is that they were doing this for themselves. They were doing this selfishly. But here's the second. They were majoring in minors. Have you ever heard the phrase, majoring in minors, where you take something small and you make it really important? You make a mountain out of a molehill? Well, that's what they were doing. I want you to notice verse 4 with me. So actually, I'm going to read the end of verse 3, which says, behold, the day that you fast, you seek your own pleasure and oppress all your workers. Then he says, behold, you fast only to quarrel and fight and to hit with a wicked fist. Stop. I want you to imagine that God is going to offer them a choice here. He says, which do you think God would rather them do? Fast or not oppress their neighbor? Not strike with a wicked fist? Not act unrighteously and unjustly? Which do you think God would choose? Aha. The answer is pretty obvious. He says, I would rather that you simply not oppress your neighbor than to focus as much as you have on fasting. You have majored in minors. This reminds me of a few times in which the New Testament reflects on the Pharisees particularly. One of which, there was a Pharisee who went to the temple to pray in Luke chapter 18, verses 11 and 12. Here's what it says. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus, God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners and just adulterers, or even like this tax collector. And here's how he begins his moral defense. I fast twice a week and I give tithes of all that I get. All right. Jesus is going to tell this story to communicate that this man who is paying so much attention to his fasting and his tithing has completely missed the bigger picture and walks away from the temple unjustified because he has majored in minors. And now I want to turn to an indictment that Jesus had of the Pharisees in Matthew chapter 23. Here's what he says of them. Woe to you, great way to begin by the way, woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites. For you tithe, that is give a tenth of, mint and dill and cumin and have neglected the weightier matters of the law, justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done without neglecting the others. You blind guides straining out a gnat to swallow a camel. I love that last line by the way. Can you imagine like you're preparing a dish and all of a sudden you look and there's a gnat that fell into it and you're like, oh man, what do you do? Immediately, get out. You just take that gnat and get it away. But you get the gnat out, but I want you to imagine therefore that as you pick up your spoon, there's a camel on it and you try to take a bite. They're straining out gnats and they're gagging on camels here. They're missing the bigger picture. They have majored in minors. Now here is why I'm holding a sprig of dill. It's because it says that they tithe mint and dill and cumin. It's like they looked at this and said, this is what it means to be a follower of God, to make sure that of this I give 10%. Now, would that be an accurate picture of what it means to be a follower of God? To take this and say, that's what it means. Richard, prepare to roll your eyes again. All right, you ready? You ready for this? It wasn't a big deal. He's ready to go. They thought this is what it means, but he's like, no, this isn't a big deal. This isn't the important part. They took a minor and made it a big deal. And so he indicts Israel for their fasting culture. First, for being selfish and second, for majoring in minors. And then lastly, because they were trying to manipulate God in doing it. So here's what Isaiah 58 verse four says. It says, behold, you fast only to fight and to hit with a wicked fist. Fasting like yours this day will not make your voice to be heard on high. Now that's a rather interesting thing to say, except what their motivation was, was they were trying to make sure that God hears and answers their prayers. I'm sure that there have been many prayers over the course of your life that you have just begged and wanted God to answer. But what they were doing was they're like, okay, I'll make a deal. I'll do the fasting, God, as long as you do what I want. As long as you make sure that you hear my voice and you do the things that I want you to do, I'll do the fasting. Do you think that is how God works? If it was, he wouldn't be indicting them for trying to manipulate God in this process. So overall, what you've seen in the indictment of Israel's fasting culture was that they were selfish, they majored in minors, and they were trying to manipulate God. If that were any church's fasting culture, do you think that God would be pleased with it? Answer is no. So let's ask the question then, and we're going to read the rest of beginning in verse 56, okay? Isaiah 58, verse 6. Is not this the fast that I choose? Basically, he's saying, this is what I'd rather you do. This is what I want from you. He says, to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke. Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house when you see the naked and cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily, and your righteousness shall go before you. The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer. You will cry, and he will say, here I am. If you take away the yoke from your midst, and the pointing of your finger, and speaking wickedness, if you pour yourself out for the hungry, and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness, and your gloom be as the noon day. And the Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your desire in the scorched places, and make your bones strong. And you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fall, or do not fail, and your ancient ruins will be rebuilt. And you shall raise up the foundations of many generations. You shall be called the repairer of the breach, and the restorer of the streets to dwell in. If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, and the holy day of the Lord honorable, if you honor it, not going your own ways, and seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly, then you shall take delight in the Lord. And I will make you ride on the heights of the earth. I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken. This is what he wanted instead. So let's look a little bit more closely. What did God want from Israel in their fasting culture? First, if the first problem was that they were selfish, what do you think the first answer is? He wants them to be selfless. Read with me verse 10. Read with me verse 10, which says, If you pour out yourself for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday. In our last class, we talked about contentment. And we talked about contentment as an important path towards being able to be generous. Here, the picture that he gives of their fasting is, okay, great. If you're withholding a meal, take that meal and give it to somebody else who really needs it. He says, be generous, be kind, be selfless in the work that you're doing. That's what I want from you. He says, I'd rather that you have selfless service. And then, majoring in majors. Do the things that are important. Read verses six and seven with me. It says, Is not this the fast that I choose to loose the bonds of wickedness and to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free and break every yoke? 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 hide yourself from your own flesh? Jesus said, as they were making a big deal, remember, that the weightier matters of the law were righteousness and justice and mercy. Isn't that the picture here of what he wants from them? Major and majors, do the things that are important. Don't forget the weightier matters of the law. That's what he wanted from them. Selfless service, majoring in majors. And then finally, waiting for God's answer. Now, I closed my book. Hold on. So, Isaiah 58 verses eight and nine says this, Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily. Your righteousness shall go before you, and the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer, and you should cry, and he will say, Here I am. Now, the picture that you first get of them trying to manipulate God is God, therefore, not answering. But here, you get God's answer. He says, you know, when you serve selflessly and you major in majors, that's when God's going to answer, not by trying to manipulate him. So, this is what he wanted from them. He wanted them to be selfless, to major on the things that are most important, and then just wait for God's answer. All right, so now we bring to the last question, the most important question of our day. What should be a church's culture around fasting? We have talked now for, this is the fifth week on the subject. And it's important to ask the question, okay, what comes next? What should this church's position on fasting be? And here's what I want to share with you. The very same three things that were important to Israel. The first, we be selfless. There are a lot of selfish reasons for fasting. By the way, if you look at fasting, again, if you just typed in fasting to Google, the first 100 results that you're going to get back are how to lose weight in doing so. There are all kinds of motivations for going without food. And that's just on one physical level. Another is, okay, I'm becoming this pious person like Israel, fain to be, so that God would hear my prayer and everything else. If we're going to do this, we have to do so out of a sense of selflessness. I love the phrase that's associated with fasting, even in this text twice. It's humbling yourself. This is a practice in selflessness. This is a practice in humility. And let that be the end result. But then, by the way, I think a great picture of that comes from the early saints in Acts 4, where it says, there was not a needy person among them. For as many were owners of lands or houses, sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid at the apostles feet, and each was distributed according to any has need. There was a beautiful picture of the early church being selfless towards each other, and therefore doing the very things that God wanted them to do, including majoring in majors. I shared with you this slide already. They are the fasting calendar for 2025, the Jewish fasting calendar for 2025. And I asked the question, how many of those were required? How many do you remember? How many were required? One, right? One, the Day of Atonement. That's what God asked. But now I want to share with you a different calendar. This is, and by the way, you have to ask the question, where did the rest of these come from? Man's idea, right? Now what I'm going to share with you is the 2025 Orthodox fasting calendar. You ready? In case you're squinting, it's because I had to put all 12 months of the year up in full calendars because there's almost something every week. In fact, multiple things every week. And it's color-coded by the way. On some days you just shouldn't eat meat. On some days you should not eat at all. Some days, like there's all kinds of levels to this. In which if you actually did the math, the Orthodox calendar is fasting almost half the year. I've got a question for you. Where do you think those came from? Oh, first question is how many of those are commanded? Christians? None. So where did they come from? I think this is a great illustration of majoring in minors. Richard, you ready? Don't make it a big deal. And I think that's important. I think that's important that we have had a conversation about fasting. And I think it has been an important conversation to have because before that, how much conversation were we having about fasting? None. It is a biblical topic and it is therefore important to have a conversation about it, but it's not something of which we should make a big deal. To major in minors. We should be majoring in majors. There are obviously things that are far more important to be talking about, but I'm really grateful that we've had this conversation to begin that conversation so that we can incorporate it into our culture and have things about it. In fact, I want to just share with you this from Acts. So this is Acts chapter 14 verse 23, in which at the time that they're appointing elders, here's what it says. And when they had appointed elders for them in every church with prayer and fasting, they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed. There are pictures in the New Testament of the whole church being encouraged to fast together. That's not a wrong thing to do. That's not a bad thing to do. And it might be a thing that we would encourage even here at this church, but that doesn't mean that we should make it a big deal. That is something that we should police or impose or in any way threaten, if you will. Let it be what it is, an important part of the Christian life, an important part of the church culture, but not always a big deal. All right. So major in majors. And then finally, they waited for God's answer. They waited for God's blessing simply by acting in faithfulness, and selflessness, and majoring in the majors, and doing what God wanted them to do. And you know what? If God, therefore, chooses to bless it, wonderful. If God, therefore, sees it as something that is honorable to him, most especially great. But let the lessons from Israel be lessons for this church on how to shape a culture around.