Isaiah 7.3, 57

Prayer Requests:

Patti—prayers for Presbytery,

Miguel—Candace struggling in chemo

Gordon—Suzanne

Joann—continued recovery

Gordon, Linda, back issue

Jeanne—Jeanne, invasive breast cancer

Arlene, Christy is doing better, in the hospital

Sandy—Faye, praise for recovery

Judy—Bob, back

Patti—traveling next two weeks

Cathy—Matthew

We ended the section at v. 13: But he who takes refuge in me shall possess the land and shall inherit my holy mountain.

Isaiah 57 ESV

14 And it shall be said, “Build up, build up, prepare the way, remove every obstruction from my people’s way.” 15 For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite. 16 For I will not contend forever, nor will I always be angry; for the spirit would grow faint before me, and the breath of life that I made. 17 Because of the iniquity of his unjust gain I was angry, I struck him; I hid my face and was angry, but he went on backsliding in the way of his own heart. 18 I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will lead him and restore comfort to him and his mourners, 19 creating the fruit of the lips. Peace, peace, to the far and to the near,” says the Lord, “and I will heal him. 20 But the wicked are like the tossing sea; for it cannot be quiet, and its waters toss up mire and dirt. 21 There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”

Again, 14-21 continue on in these same themes of God’s dwelling place being that of the righteous and the way of the wicked is destruction and death.

I want to point out though v. 15, “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.

It makes me think of Psalm 51:9-12

Psalm 51:9–12 ESV

9 Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. 11 Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.

But there is a difference, right? In the Psalm, it’s one who is repentant, humble because of their sin and their need for forgiveness. And in Isaiah, what we’ve seen are those who see no need for God and refuses his path.

In the Psalm we see someone who recognizes that it is God who creates the clean heart and right spirit, not something we manufacture ourselves. The Spirit of the Lord does that work in us, we need him to. We need simply to trust that he will, we need to repent, to turn away from the ways of the wicked, and instead toward the way of Jesus and His spirit will begin is transforming work in us.

Now God here makes certain sins his target—look at v. 17: because of the iniquity of his unjust gain I was angry, I struck him; I hid my face and was angry, but he went on backsliding in the way of his own heart…

Unjust gain, this a theme through Isaiah—sin that leads to the exploitation and oppression of others for the sake of personal gain. And sin has consequences, but for the faithful, those who trust int he Lord, he will heal and restore, redeem and lead them to righteousness.

And again: not so with the wicked.

Look at the proclamation of Peace, Peace, this is directed to who? to the far and to the near—to those who find refuge in the Lord. But not so with the wicked. God’s love and grace and slavation are wide and far-reaching, but those who reject Him will experience the desire of their heart: life apart from God. And with that comes no peace.

Now let’s turn to Isaiah 58, another high point for Isaiah and His prophetic ministry, so telling are these verses about the character and heart of God—

Isaiah 58:1–5 ESV

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. 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. 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?

Ok, God is addressing his people, Israel, the house of Jacob. Declare to my people their transgression! What is the sin that the Lord is identifying here?

It’s their hypocrisy. What is their hypocrisy?

“They seek me daily and delight to know my ways...as if they were a righteous nation and were obedient…”

They are claiming that they delight in God’s ways, they claim that they seek Him, that they are righteous. And in this, they ask God for righteous judgements it says, be good to us! Declare us as righteous!

But you also see the people’s angst, their frustration with God: “Why have we fasted, and you see it not? We have humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?”

This is what they’re saying: C’mon God, where are you? We’ve been fasting, we’ve been making al the right sacrifices, we’ve been doing all the right religious things. I’m reading my Bible, I’m praying, our going to church, what more do you want? Where are you and why won’t you save us?!

Well the answer is in the middle of v. 3: Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure, and oppress all your workers. you fast only to quarrel and to fight and to hit with a wicked fist.

This kind of fasting will not get you heard.

God is saying that their religious observance, their worship, their fasting is all empty ritual. They’re going through the motions expecting it to get them close to God, or blessing from God, or favor with God. Meanwhile, what are they doing? They fast but seak only their own pleasure. They fast, which is about restriction, it’s about denying oneself in order to focus and orient yourself to God, self-denial and pleasure seaking do not go together.

Not only were they seeking pleasure for themselves, but they were oppressing others. What this meant in practice for an ancient Israelite was this: wealthy Israelites would hire wage-workers and then deny them their payment at the end of the day. Money that a wage-laborer would have depended on for that day’s food and provision. So while the wealthy were fasting publicly to show off their piety before God, they were at the very same moment withholding payment to those who were vulnerable among them, denying them food and survival.

It’s all wrapped up in the irony of the whole thing: an occasion and a practice of their fast. Isaiah 58 is talking about Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. The Day of Atonement is the only legally required fast in the Jewish calendar, but it is also the day that is meant to be a day of solemn reflection before God to think about the truth that God is forgiving, but that their sins are in need of forgiveness. They shouldn’t have even had workers on the Day of Atonement, one of the holiest days of the year, yet they pressed on in their economic pursuit (giving these poor workers no rest) and then withheld their wage!

The irony is that they’re claiming to honor God, earnestly seeking his forgiveness and the atonement of sin, while they’re forcing others into work and harming them in the process.

What else did they do during their fast? They’re quarreling and fighting with each other, striking and brawling! It’s like getting into a knock-down, drag out fight on Saturday night and showing up to church on Sunday with a black eye.

The whole section here reads like this: someone who comes to church on Sundays, sits in the front rows, posts Bible verses on their facebook, maybe records videos of them having a great “quiet time” and reading their Bible. Meanwhile, they’re stealing, cheating, fighting with everyone around them.

How does v. 5 end? Will you call this a fast, and a day acceptable to the Lord?

By no means. This is hypocrisy. This is like the parable Jesus tells of those who are like the dirty cups that only wash the outside. Not clean on the inside. This kind of “fasting” is evidence of someone that does not have a true faith. True faith is one that transforms the heart of a person by the work of the Holy Spirit.

Let’s read the next section, the kind of fasting that the Lord desires:

Isaiah 58:6–12 ESV

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? 8 Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. 9 Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’ If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, 10 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 noonday. 11 And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail. 12 And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to dwell in.

Isaiah: An Introduction and Commentary c. The Sabbath People (58:1–14)

Verses 6–12, describing how a fast day should be used, fall into two parts, each specifying activities (6–7, 9c–10b) and promising blessings (8–9b, 10c–12). First, a fast day is for the creation of a caring society (6), meeting needs (7a–c) and family welfare (7c), and it brings consequent personal blessings: new beginnings (8a), personal restoration (8b), security (8cd) and a free-flowing relationship with the Lord (9ab).

Loose the bonds of wickedness, stop oppressing others, share your food with the hungry and give homes to the homeless, clothe the naked.

And v. 8: THEN your light will break forth, you will be healed quickly, your righteousness will go before you and the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. Do you see the imagery? It’s that of Exodus, the burning pillar of fire going ahead of them. The promise is of God’s very presence with His people again. He longs for them to be the people he created them to be! And He longs to be with them: look at v. 9: you will call and I will answer.

In the first section they complain: God we’ve fasted, where are you?

Here he’s saying: fast like this and I will answer every cry and prayer for I will be very near you.

Isaiah: An Introduction and Commentary c. The Sabbath People (58:1–14)

Secondly, a true fast is for correction of inhuman conditions (9c), banishing mischief-making (9d) and meeting needs (10ab), and it results in clear guidance in life’s perplexities (10cd–11a), renewal (11b), durability (11c), ever-fresh resources (11de), restoration and continuance (12). What seems like deprivation—fasting—is actually enrichment when used according to God.

Then there is a second set of commands: take away the pointing of the finger, speaking wickedness: instead meet needs, pour yourself out for others, satisfy those who are hurting and in pain. .

What then? THEN your light will rise in darkness and your gloom will be like nothing. The Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire. Do you see the movement: Spend yourselves for the sake of others, satisfy the hungry and the hurting and the Lord will satisfy you (John 4, Jesus, my food…)

And not only will you be satisfied, but you will be renewed, you will be made strong, and you will be like a well-watered garden, whose waters do not fail. Friends, what is this? What does this remind you of?

Psalm 1!

And so sturdy and restored and strengthened will be this people that the ancient ruins of their city long lost and exiled will be raised up by the foundations, God will build them back, and so effective will their restoration, for they are doing the work: they will be called the restorer of broken streets. What a glorious image! What a glorious picture of what we are called to be and the promise of God as we are obedient to Him.

Now, this is still Isaiah so we ought to be asking the question: But how can we do this? How can we fulfill this and aciveve this? I thought the Gospel wasn’t about achieving. It’s not!

and please don’t let this be an excuse to not pursue this kind of radical obedience. But look at the language here: satisfy the desire of the afflicted, pour yourself out for the hungry—we can’t do this perfectly. But do you know who did? Who poured himself out for the despairing and destitute? Who gave himself up? Who satisfies the hungry and the thirsty?

Jesus! Who rightly holds the title of repairer of broken dreams? It’s Jesus Christ! The one who raises up the foundatins of the broken ruins to new life.

And now, IN Christ we are invited to participate int his restoring and redeeming work. This is our work too!

Isaiah 58:13–14 ESV

13 “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, or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly; 14 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.”