Isaiah 58:1-14

Religious rituals may be impressive to men but they do not carry any weight with God.  Men place great value on the things that they do by way of “sacrifice” to try to demonstrate devotion to the Lord when, in reality, they are only promoting their own self-interests.  God looks at our hearts and is approving of our repentance, humility and our servants spirit.  We should not pat ourselves on the back when we go to church instead of watching a game when in our hearts we would rather stay home.  We often place high importance on certain Christian disciplines and tend to neglect the true heart issues.  This chapter is about fasting.  We may be impressed by our own fasting or the fasting of others, but God may see things in a far different way.

GOD REJECTS HYPOCRITICAL FASTING: God calls Israel to account for their sin and hypocritical rituals.  They would come into the temple and say their prayers on a daily basis.  They ask for God’s direction and seek His favor when they have been rejecting His instruction and rebelling against His Word.  They expect God to be impressed with their fasting and external signs of humiliation.  They would fast and tear their clothes or sit in public in ashes to demonstrate their humility but their hearts were far from God.  They were trying to impress men while all the time ignoring God.  They had hatred in their heart towards one another and they and they were oppressing their workers and their poor and then pretended to be loving and serving the Lord.  It is impossible for us to love God while we are being hateful to the people around us or ignoring the needs of others.  Having compassion on those in need is a far more valid demonstration of love for God than ritualistically attending church, having “devotions” or fasting.


GOD REJOICES IN AUTHENTIC FASTING: The kind of fasting that makes the heart of the Lord rejoice and opens the doors of His blessing on our lives is humble obedience, ending oppression and generosity towards the poor.  Instead of fasting by simply not eating we should take the food we do not consume and with rejoicing share it with someone who desperately needs the food.  God wants us to see the needs of the people around us and then sacrificially give so those needs might be met.  When we serve the Lord by serving and helping others, God’s blessings flow and He is glorified in our lives.  He will hear our prayers and meet our needs.  Religiosity tends to be condemning of others and judge those who suffer as being sinful.  However, true followers of God will not be “turned off” by the sinfulness of men.  Rather, they will recognize their own weakness and humbly help relieve that suffering out of love for the Lord and a desire to see sinners reconciled to the Lord.  Our heart should be sensitive to the needs of men and the moving of His Spirit. 

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