God's Fast

Introduction

Is there anything going on in your life that you want to see changed? You have prayed and prayed about it, but to no avail. You have tried everything you know how to do, Fasting included, yet you are still without result. You may even be at the point where you are feeling out of options and ready to concede to defeat.

Is that you? Do you desire divine deliverance? It is available to you if you know

how to access it?

Throughout the history of humanity, individuals and groups have experienced divine deliverances through the practice of fasting. Fasting is The practice of abstaining from food (and probably drink). This could be done as an expression of remorse for wrongdoing, as an expression of mourning for a loss, or as a spiritual discipline meant to help one focus on spiritual matters. This sounds like just the right activity for us today because a few of us are sincerely trying to focus on spiritual matters, some of us are seeking to express grief of a loss, but we all need to fast sometimes to show remorse for wrongdoing.

The text was written by the Prophet Isaiah whose career spanned from approximately 742-701 BC. It should be noted that it is generally believed that the book may have been written by at least two authors with chapters 1-39 designated as “First Isaiah” and chapters 40-66 called “Second Isaiah.” While “First Isaiah” (1–39) deals primarily with Isaiah’s generation during the Assyrian rule, “Second Isaiah” (40–66) deals with the future of Israel under the rule of Babylon and Persia.

What we have before us in the text is a group of people who were reaping the rewards of what they had sown. The Northern Kingdom of Israel had already been exiled into Assyria and now the Southern Kingdom of Judah, being religious, thought that their fasting would automatically move the Lord to respond favorably on their behalf. But the Lord had something to say to them through the prophet:

See Isa 58:1-3

Isaiah 58:1–3 NASB95

1 “Cry loudly, do not hold back; Raise your voice like a trumpet, And declare to My people their transgression And to the house of Jacob their sins. 2 “Yet they seek Me day by day and delight to know My ways, As a nation that has done righteousness And has not forsaken the ordinance of their God. They ask Me for just decisions, They delight in the nearness of God. 3 ‘Why have we fasted and You do not see? Why have we humbled ourselves and You do not notice?’ Behold, on the day of your fast you find your desire, And drive hard all your workers.

Central Idea of Text

God's people today must learn that fasting is more than shape, form, and fashion but has power to transform lives into the image of Jesus.

The season of Lent brings with it the challenge to reflect on whether or not we are sincere in our profession of faith. One of the ways to gauge this profession is by practicing the spiritual discipline of fasting. Fasting has had a long history and still has a place in the life of the faithful today. What I mean to say is that fasting is a good thing to do when it is done properly.

Your Fast

It’s not a fast just because you call it one.

The Bible Knowledge Commentary (58:6–7)

Fasting was to encourage a person to respond positively to God’s commands. In the Old Testament only one fast was commanded-the annual Day of Atonement (Lev. 16:29, 31). Only after the fall of Jerusalem were fast days instituted (Zech. 7:3, 5; 8:19). Ironically on the other hand many specific commands were not being followed.

Leviticus 16:29 NASB95

29 “This shall be a permanent statute for you: in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall humble your souls and not do any work, whether the native, or the alien who sojourns among you;

Leviticus 16:31 NASB95

31 “It is to be a sabbath of solemn rest for you, that you may humble your souls; it is a permanent statute.

Zechariah 7:3 NASB95

3 speaking to the priests who belong to the house of the Lord of hosts, and to the prophets, saying, “Shall I weep in the fifth month and abstain, as I have done these many years?”

Zechariah 8:19 NASB95

19 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘The fast of the fourth, the fast of the fifth, the fast of the seventh and the fast of the tenth months will become joy, gladness, and cheerful feasts for the house of Judah; so love truth and peace.’

The people had a problem of doing religious stuff to get God’s attention when what he was looking for was for them to be obedient to Him. In other words they were fasting for themselves with intention of stopping the discomfort they were in. They cried “We have fasted”(Is 58:3) the Lord replied “Was it actually for me (Zech 7:5)?” That’s the wrong way to do fasting, that is what you could call: Your Fast.

Isaiah 58:3 NASB95

3 ‘Why have we fasted and You do not see? Why have we humbled ourselves and You do not notice?’ Behold, on the day of your fast you find your desire, And drive hard all your workers.

Zechariah 7:5 NASB95

5 “Say to all the people of the land and to the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months these seventy years, was it actually for Me that you fasted?

God's Fast

The Difference:Transformation

The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Revised Fast

In the law the tenth day of the seventh month was reserved for “afflicting one’s soul” (Lev. 16:29), an activity that was entirely appropriate for the Day of Atonement.

“If” you are willing to choose God’s Fast.

Then

people of God