Isaiah 58:1-14

Isaiah 58:1-14 NIV

“Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet. Declare to my people their rebellion and to the descendants of Jacob their sins. For day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God. They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them.

‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?’ “Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers. Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high. Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for people to humble themselves? Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed and for lying in sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord?

“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.

“If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.

Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings. “If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the Lord ’s holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words, then you will find your joy in the Lord, and I will cause you to ride in triumph on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.” The mouth of the Lord has spoken.

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Isaiah 58 reminds us what is the purpose of religious practices like worship, fasting and other acts of abstinence. The purpose is to draw us closer to God and know His heart. When we know His heart then we who profess to love God will follow His heart, doing as God would do.

When we congregate in houses of worship we hear the word of the Lord. Our understanding of God's heart is reinforced. It's not like God has kept His will and intentions secrete. The scriptures make known who God is. There we learn what pleases God and what does not. We learn of His mercy when we fail. We learn of His amazing grace given to empower us to pursue the excellent love of Jesus Christ. Weekly worship gives us this opportunity to draw closer to God's heart and deepen our understanding.

But we can go to worship and get nothing. It's not just the failure of the preacher or the musicians if your experience is empty. What you give in worship often is revealed in what you receive. What you do during the week shows if your heart is worshiping and serving the Lord.

Take Israel for example here in Isaiah 58. The Sabbath is a day for rest and communion with God. It is a day to delight in the Lord and His good works. It's a day of thanksgiving and reflection. It's a day spent with God's people in the Spirit of the Lord. Yet the prophet is told to shout aloud the nature of Israel's failure.

On the Sabbath they do as they please. They go their own way, doing what they feel like doing, ignoring the observances of the day. They have the outward appearance of true worshipers, seeking the Lord and His counsel, but the way they live betrays them. Are we not guilty of the same? Those who attend worship on Sundays, but then live as if they are no different than those who do not worship, reveal that their hearts are far from God's.

The Israelites participate in holy fasts as they are called upon by the law or by the priesthood, yet they don't see any benefit. Why? The prophet tells them why. They exploit the laborer, they quarrel and fight with their neighbors. Fasting is meant to transform hearts, because the practice is meant to tune our hearts in harmony with God's. Transformed hearts transform relationships and society. How are your religious observances leading you to the transforming touch of the Savior? What are you doing to negate your efforts and stifle your prayers?

God calls His people to bring justice to the land. When they loose the chains of oppression and care for the poor and homeless, then their prayers will find an eager audience in heaven's courts. Such a people will find renewal in themselves and in their society. God promises strength and protection to people who practice justice. They will be builders of broken cities and broken lives.

Let the promise of God encourage you to pursue your religious practices with renewed vigor and all sincerity. For when you delight in the Lord and His right ways, when you keep a disciplined life that draws you ever closer to the heart of God, you will find the fullest joy and feast on the good things of God.