Fasting Or Feasting?

Have you ever wondered why God does not answer our prayers? It is good to ask that question. Isaiah 58 speaks about the futility of false worship and of the blessings that true worshipers will experience when they worship God’s way. In this chapter, God’s people were asking why their prayers were not being answered, even though they were fasting and humbling themselves before God, and God gives them his answer.

God’s Diagnosis

The Bible tells us that God’s blessings will come only to those who worship him acceptably. James 5:16 says, “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective,” and the psalmist says, “If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened” (Psalm 66:18). In Isaiah 58 God provides the reason why he does not always answer the prayers of his people. God, the one who searches and knows our hearts, rejects the prayers of those who do not walk in obedience to him, though outwardly they appear to be seeking him.

In Isaiah 58:1-7 the prophet diagnoses and exposes the evil motivations behind the worship of God’s people. Though they were fasting and praying, their worship was a pile of wickedness in God’s eyes. A holy God will never accept the worship of self-willed and unbelieving Cains. God, the righteous One, responds favorably only to acceptable, holy worship.

True Prophets

What is the problem of the human heart, according to God’s diagnosis? In verse 1 he commands Isaiah to proclaim it out loud: “Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet.” That is what a true preacher must do. We may want him to mumble or to speak defensively. But God commands his ministers to shout aloud at the top of their voices. In the Hebrew, God is telling Isaiah to raise his voice like ashofar, the ram’s horn trumpet that was the primary device used to gain the attention of the entire community. In Exodus 19:19 we read that when God visited his people at Sinai, “the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder. Then Moses spoke and the voice of God answered him.” The piercing blast of the shofar was a sign for everyone to stop their activities and pay total attention to God.

This idea is applicable even in the home. Fathers, do your children stop all activity and pay careful attention to you when you speak? If not, you are not functioning as God’s agent. When you speak, you must demand that those under your government stop everything and listen, because God is speaking through you.

So a prophet should not be timid and apologetic. As God’s agent, he must exercise divine authority. God does not apologize or negotiate, nor is he timid. God declares! Thus, as God’s spokesperson, the prophet is also to cry out boldly and make his appeal as powerful and stirring as possible. He is not to camouflage God’s message in pleasant, smooth words. A preacher is to please God by declaring God’s message unequivocally.

False Worshipers

Wicked people will not like such bold preaching. “They say to the seers, ‘See no more visions!’ and to the prophets, ‘Give us no more visions of what is right!'” (Isaiah 30:10). How many people today speak similarly: “Preacher, do not tell us what is right! Don’t preach to us from the Bible! Tell us pleasant things-that sexual immorality and moral relativism and divorce and lying and all other violations of God’s law are all right. Don’t we as postmodernists have the right to create our own reality? Why do you always have to speak about the objective truth of God’s word?”

Isaiah 30:10 continues: “‘Tell us pleasant things, prophesy illusions. Leave this way, get off this path, and stop confronting us with the Holy One of Israel!'” The wicked do not want God’s revelation.

False Prophets

Not only do wicked people despise the truth, but many preachers do as well. In Jeremiah 5:31 we read, “The prophets prophesy lies. . . .” There are ministers throughout the world, especially among evangelicals, who claim to believe the Scriptures, but speak only pleasant things. “The prophets prophesy lies, the priests rule by their own authority, and my people love it this way.” They love it! The church will be filled to overflowing and the people will be happy, because they are never confronted with the truth of the Holy One of Israel.

Jeremiah 6:14 says of such ministers, “They dress the wound of my people as if it were not serious. ‘Peace, peace,’ they say, when there is no peace.” The prophet is to expose the sin of God’s people so that they will realize the mortal nature of their wound, turn to the Lord, and be healed. But many preachers today are mere hirelings, held captive to their congregations because of their need for a job. Such people are spokesmen for the people, not for God. Thus, they aim to please and entertain their congregations by speaking pleasant things. They are not speaking in behalf of a holy God.

Isaiah 56:10-12 says, “Israel’s watchmen are blind, they all lack knowledge; they are all mute dogs, they cannot bark; they lie around and dream, they love to sleep. They are dogs with mighty appetites; they never have enough.” When such preachers are offered a few more dollars, they leave their churches to go somewhere else. And they say, “God told me to go.” No, God did not tell you that! You wanted the extra money because of your insatiable appetite. The passage continues, “They are shepherds who lack understanding; they all turn to their own way, each seeks his own gain. ‘Come,’ each one cries. ‘Let me get wine! Let us drink our fill of beer! And tomorrow will be like today, or even far better.'”

Just as Israel’s past watchmen were blind, mute dogs, so are many watchmen in the church today. They are supposed to bark in warning against those who would harm the flock, but they do not, for they cannot. Because they are hedonistic materialists who do not study the Bible, these lazy shepherds lack knowledge and cannot feed the flock of God.

God, in effect, was saying to Isaiah, “Tell these people their worship and their fasting are unacceptable to me. Yes, I see that they deny themselves a little food and bow down their heads to the ground. They put on sackcloth and ashes. They get an ‘A’ for their externalism. They are very assiduous, very devoted, very committed as they seek me. Yet their fasting, prayer, and worship are sheer paganism.”

Paganism

The pagans of Isaiah’s time worshiped their idols through orgiastic rituals, through sacrificing of their children, and through cutting themselves with swords and spears until blood flowed. Through these ritual acts they were, in essence, pressuring their gods to bless them with the temporal blessing of fertility of their land, animals, and families.

In the same way, the Israelites were trying to put pressure on God with their ritual fasting. They were treating God like a Coke machine-you put your coins in the slot, and the machine must deliver a can of Coke. If it doesn’t, you kick the machine for its failure to produce. Using an outward show of piety to force God to bless us is an ever-present problem in churches. We may even say to God, “I fasted, I came to church, I put money in the offering plate. Now it’s your turn to pay up!”

But the truth is, the eternal, almighty, true and living God cannot and will not be pressured and manipulated by human beings. In Isaiah 57:15 we read, “For this is what the high and lofty One says-he who lives forever, whose name is holy: ‘I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.'” God does not judge by outward appearance; instead, he searches our hearts and examines our motivations. And he sees much of our “righteousness” and “piety” as mere filthy rags.

But these people felt God owed them something. They complained, “Why have we fasted, and you have not seen it?” meaning, “You have not given me gold, power, or health. Come on, now! You owe it to me.” They asked God, “Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?” (Isaiah 58:3).

We see a similar attitude in Malachi 3:14. The people said, “It is futile to serve God. What did we gain by carrying out his requirements and going about like mourners before the Lord Almighty?” The people were saying, “It’s useless. God hasn’t noticed all the things we have done for him. Why hasn’t he blessed us in return?”

False Worship

Why didn’t God hear his people’s prayers? Why hasn’t he answered us sometimes, in spite of all our religious expression? The answer is found in Isaiah 59:1: “Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear.” You see, God is perfectly able to hear our prayers and bless us. The problem does not lie with him. God clearly diagnoses the source of the problem in verse 2: “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.”

Through Isaiah, God declares that these people were not worshiping him acceptably. In fact, because their hearts were not right, they were actually sinning when they came into God’s presence to worship. Paul speaks of this in 1 Corinthians 11:17: “Your meetings do more harm than good.” The text tells us they came together to do what they pleased, rather than pleasing God.

The truth is, God rejects all hypocrisy. For example, God required fasting only once a year, on Yom Kippur. The people were to humble themselves on that day. They were to be repentant, broken-hearted, and lowly in spirit. They were to weep over their sins, and turn to God and his atonement for forgiveness. Yet these people were fasting without truly humbling themselves before God or forsaking their sins.

Jesus Christ himself condemned such hypocrisy in Matthew 23. Seven times in that chapter, in verses 13, 15, 23, 25, 27, 28 and 29, he calls the Pharisees hypocrites. The self-righteous Pharisee in Luke 18:12 said proudly, “I fast twice a week.” He had a pile of self-righteousness to impress God. But God hates external, heartless worship for the purpose of divine manipulation.

In Isaiah 29:13 the Lord says, “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men.” And in Amos 5:21-23 God says, “I hate, I despise your religious feasts; I cannot stand your assemblies. Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Though you bring choice fellowship offerings, I will have no regard for them. Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps.” God detests any show of religion that is not accompanied by a humble, believing heart.

True Worship

What type of worship, then, does God desire? The answer is given in Amos 5:24: “But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!” and in Isaiah 55:7: “Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.” God accepts our worship and pardons our sins on the basis of the conditions stated in these verses.

Through Isaiah, God reveals the folly of their formal religion. Although the people claimed to be worshiping, they were in fact committing great sins, which are listed in verses 3-4. First, they were materialists-they were still carrying on business, trying to ensure that they made money on the day of their fast. Second, they were exploiting and oppressing their workers. Third, they quarreled among themselves and spoke maliciously of each other. Finally, they started fighting and hitting each other with their fists-right after they left the worship service!

These people professed to love God, yet they hated their brothers. They put heavy yokes on them, like Pharaoh had done in Egypt, thus treating their fellow Israelites like animals. Their only purpose was to figure out how to acquire more money through exploiting their brothers.

But no one can love God and at the same time oppress God’s people. True love of God always reveals itself in love and care for the community. We cannot say that we love God when we don’t love others. Jesus said, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:37-40). To love God is to love our brothers and our neighbors.

In John 13:34-35 Jesus said, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” The biggest hindrance for true evangelism is the false practice of Christianity by those who call themselves Christians. So true piety must have social consequences. We cannot love God and hate our spouse or our parents or our fellow believers. We cannot love God and hate even our enemies. And then our love for God must manifest itself in loving service to others. Today the slogan of many so-called Christians is “Jesus and me.” But that idea does not come from the Bible. Such pretended spirituality is seen by God for what it is: sin.

God’s Demands

In Isaiah 58 God sets forth his requirements for true worship: “Loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke . . . set the oppressed free” (v. 6). God’s plan always results in freedom for his people-freedom from Pharaoh, freedom from Satan, freedom from sin, and freedom from guilt. “Let my people go!” God declares-not that we are free to go our own way, but we are set free to go and follow God.

Additionally, as the people of God, we are to “break every yoke.” Yokes are for animals, not people. Christians must therefore strive for the elimination of all forms of oppression. We must do everything to oppose slavery, racism, oppression of the poor, and the killing of the unborn. We must protest oppressive interest rates and oppressive taxation, especially for the poor, and the unjust taking of people’s homes under the law of eminent domain. We must oppose the molesting of children, the neglect of the weak and elderly, and the neglect of children by parents who are pleasure-loving. No society will ever be free from racism and discrimination. (PGM) But we must work for the elimination of all structural social injustice, because God desires freedom for his people, who are created in his image and likeness.

Beyond opposing social injustice, we are also commanded to feed the hungry, house the homeless, clothe the naked (v. 7), and we are to do so with our own resources. In addition, we are told to provide for our own flesh and blood (v. 7). We read about this responsibility also in Matthew 15:3-9 and 1 Timothy 5:8.

Next, we are told to devote one day out of seven to do God’s pleasure (v. 13). Sabbath-keeping is a mark of covenant faithfulness. On that day we stop our regular work to remind ourselves that God is our Creator, Redeemer, and King, and that he alone will supply our every need. We refrain from our normal labors so that we can have time to hear his word, pray, and worship wholeheartedly. The Sabbath reminds us of what really matters.

Sabbath-keeping symbolizes a life devoted to God. For a true Christian, keeping the Sabbath results in exquisite, inexpressible, ultimate joy. Thus, if the Sabbath is boring or gives us a headache, we must ask if we love God as we ought. The righteous will relish the Sabbath day.

God demands that we practice justice and love in all of our social relationships before coming to worship. In Matthew 5:23 we are told, “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.”

We are to spend ourselves in behalf of others, particularly those in the family of God. Job 31 describes such a life of concern for other people. And in Acts 2:44 we read what happened after God’s Spirit was poured out on the early church: “All the believers were together and had everything in common.” And Acts 4:32 says, “All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had.” When God’s Holy Spirit comes upon us, we care for others.

God does not have to accept our worship, but he does accept certain worship. James, the brother of our Lord Jesus, says, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world” (James 1:27). God will not answer the prayers of those who are not socially involved in meeting the needs of his people.

God’s Delights

God delights in blessing his people, but first we must fulfill his demands. The promise is always stated thus: “If . . . then.” If we accept God’s diagnosis, if we embrace his demands, then these blessings will follow:

1.Our light will break forth. Isaiah 58:8 says, “Your light will break forth like the dawn.” In Isaiah 60 we read, “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you” (v. 1); “Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn” (v. 3). These verses are speaking about the light of salvation, health, and deliverance erupting and breaking forth suddenly in our lives. When we experience delay, the delay is not with God; it is because of our sin. But when we love God and obey his word, we will experience a sudden and speedy coming of the brightness of his light, like the dawn.

1. We will be healed. Isaiah 58:8 says, “Your healing will quickly appear.” Quickly! Here again we see an emphasis on speed. The Bible also says, “By his wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5), and “I am the Lord, who heals you” (Exodus 15:26). The Hebrew word for healing speaks about new skin growing over and covering the old wound. This verse is speaking about full restoration-spiritual, physical, psychological, mental, relational healing-all kinds of healing and restoration.Jeremiah 8:22 asks, “Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there?” These are rhetorical questions. The answer is, yes, there is balm and there is a physician, but are we seeking them? There is a Lord of medicine in Gilead. There is a cross from which the blood of Christ flows as a never-ending stream, sufficient and efficient for our complete healing. The Lord Jesus Christ is the balm and the physician for the whole world. He tells us, “But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds” (Jeremiah 30:17).
2. We will be safe. In Isaiah 58:8 we are told, “Your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.” As a result of God’s coming to us and dwelling with us, we experience complete security. It is just as in the exodus from Egypt, when the pillar of fire and the pillar of cloud went before and behind the people of God. Thus enveloped by the presence of God, the Israelites experienced complete security. When we practice righteousness, then God’s righteousness will be our vanguard and his glorious presence will be our rear guard.We find the same idea in Isaiah 52:12: “But you will not leave in haste or go in flight; for the Lord will go before you, the God of Israel will be your rear guard.” As pilgrims to the Celestial City, we can move on daily in total confidence. God himself is with us, and he will bring us safely to our heavenly home.
3. Our prayers will be answered. Isaiah 58:9 says, “You will call, and the Lord will answer. You will cry for help, and he will say: Here I am.” When we meet God’s righteous demands, he will not be slow to answer our prayers. The moment we call, God replies, “Here I am. What can I do for you?” God becomes our divine servant. He delights in answering our prayers, serving us, and coming to our aid. What do you do when your child is crying? You run to help him! If this is the case, how much more will our heavenly Father rush to our aid, saying, “Here I am.”In Isaiah 65:24 God says, “Before they call I will answer; while they are speaking I will hear.” Before we call, while we are calling, and after we call, God is hearing us and answering us. Isaiah 30:19 says, “O people of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you.” Let us praise the Lord for this tremendous blessing of answering our prayers!
4. Our problems will be solved. Isaiah 58:10 tells us, “Your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.” When we are puzzled and overwhelmed by the problems of life, or even as we go through the valley of the shadow of death, suddenly there arises a light. There is an answer to our problems and fears.
5. We will experience continuous guidance. Isaiah 58:11 says, “The Lord will guide you always.” The Lord does not guide us intermittently, but always! This continuous guidance is evidence of the exceedingly abundant grace of God poured out in behalf of his righteous people. Jesus himself commanded his disciples to follow him, and he promises to guide us each step of the way if we follow him strictly. We fail to receive guidance only when we turn the right or to the left in rebellion.Psalm 23:3 says the good shepherd “guides [us] in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.” And Romans 8:14 says, “Those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.” The sons of God receive continuous guidance from their God.
6. God will feed us. In Isaiah 58:11 we read, “He will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land.” Not only does God lead us, he also feeds us. Just as he gave his people manna in the wilderness and water from the flinty rock, even now God faithfully provides for his people. He feeds us spiritually with his word and physically with our daily bread.Just look at how God provided for Elijah’s needs. First, God fed Elijah through ravens who brought him meat and bread every morning and evening (1 Kings 17:6). Then a widow gave him bread and water (1 Kings 17:9-16). Next, an angel came to Elijah in the wilderness with freshly baked bread and fresh, cool water (1 Kings 19:6). Jesus Christ said that the bread is for God’s children. And after his resurrection, Jesus invited his disciples to eat, and gave them fresh fish cooked on live coals, and freshly baked bread that he had supernaturally produced (John 21:9). So God feeds his children, even in the wasteland. He opens the very windows of heaven in our behalf.
7. God will strengthen us. Isaiah 58:11 says, “The Lord . . . will strengthen your frame.” In the Hebrew it is, “He will strengthen your bones.” Whenever we sin, our whole being is affected. Psalm 32:3-4 says, “When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.” David’s health deteriorated because of his sin.Sin always saps our strength. But righteousness rejuvenates, refreshes, and invigorates us. God told Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). Thus Paul’s motto became, “I can do everything through him who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13).
8. God will cause us to flourish. Isaiah 58:11 says, “You will be like a well-watered garden.” Every garden needs a water supply. Genesis 2:10 tells us, “A river watering the garden flowed from Eden.” This is the water of the Spirit of God. It flows into us to energize us and give us joy. Psalm 46:4 says, “There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God.”This flow of water can be dammed through rebellion and unbelief. This is what happened to the Israelites. Because of their disobedience, they came under God’s covenant curse: “You will be like an oak with fading leaves, like a garden without water” (Isaiah 1:30). The rebellious are like an ugly, barren wasteland. They are self-centered, demanding, and never satisfied. Their philosophy of life is, “Take care of me.”

   But when we confess our sins, repent, and turn to God, he changes our curse into a blessing. Then we no longer live for our own selfish ends; instead, we find our delight in serving and helping others. As we do so, we will thrive and flourish; our garden will become beautiful, fruitful, and useful to others.

Conclusion

Isaiah 58 begins with a description of the wrong way to fast, and ends with a glorious promise of great joy and feasting to those who fast God’s way: “‘Then you will find your joy in the Lord, and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.’ The mouth of the Lord has spoken.” Notice the signature at the end of this verse. We find such a signature only three times in the prophecy of Isaiah. “The mouth of the Lord has spoken.” It means this is not empty, idle talk. We can count on these things, for God himself, who cannot lie, has spoken. If we worship God in the way he demands, we shall be blessed.