True Fasts and Sabbaths
“Cry aloud, do not hold back! Raise your voice like a ram’s horn. Declare to My people their transgression and to the house of Jacob their sins. For day after day they seek Me and delight to know My ways, like a nation that does what is right and does not forsake the justice of their God. They ask Me for righteous judgments; they delight in the nearness of God.” “Why have we fasted, and You have not seen? Why have we humbled ourselves, and You have not noticed?”
“Behold, on the day of your fast, you do as you please, and you oppress all your workers. You fast with contention and strife to strike viciously with your fist. You cannot fast as you do today and have your voice be heard on high. Is this the fast I have chosen, a day for a man to deny himself, to bow his head like a reed, and to spread out sackcloth and ashes?
Will you call this a fast and a day acceptable to the LORD? Isn’t this the fast that I have chosen: to break the chains of wickedness, to untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and tear off every yoke? Isn’t it to share your bread with the hungry, to bring the poor and homeless into your home, to clothe the naked when you see him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will come quickly. 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 out, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’ If you remove the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger and malicious talk, and if you give yourself to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul, then your light will go forth in the darkness, and your night will be like noonday.
The LORD will always guide you; He will satisfy you in a sun-scorched land and 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; you will restore the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of the Breach, Restorer of the Streets of Dwelling.
If you turn your foot from breaking the Sabbath, from doing as you please on My holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight, and the LORD’s holy day honorable, if you honor it by not going your own way or seeking your own pleasure or speaking idle words, then you will delight yourself in the LORD, and I will make you ride on the heights of the land and feed you with the heritage of your father Jacob.” For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
Ah, Jerusalem! Home of Solomon’s temple, center of worship of the God of Israel, site of religious celebrations, including fasting and prayers! Watch as religious leaders parade into the temple and prostrate themselves where everyone can admire them and praise their piety. The temple fills with incense and the scent of burning sacrifices while common people watch and say to themselves, “Now this is REALLY worship!” Too bad God doesn’t share their opinion.
“Behold, on the day of your fast, you do as you please, and you oppress all your workers. You fast with contention and strife to strike viciously with your fist…Isn’t this the fast that I have chosen: to break the chains of wickedness, to untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and tear off every yoke? Isn’t it to share your bread with the hungry, to bring the poor and homeless into your home, to clothe the naked when you see him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?” By this point, form has become far more important than substance to most of the religious leaders as well as the community leaders. These people are mean as snakes. Not only are they oppressing their poor workers and neglecting the poor and the hungry but they are even neglecting their own family members in complete disregard of God’s commands.
“If you remove the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger and malicious talk, and if you give yourself to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul, then your light will go forth in the darkness, and your night will be like noonday.” One of the fundamental laws of God’s kingdom is that actions have consequences. God is warning these hypocrites that if they will repent and become merciful, then He will bless them.
“If you turn your foot from breaking the Sabbath, from doing as you please on My holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight, and the LORD’s holy day honorable, if you honor it by not going your own way or seeking your own pleasure or speaking idle words, then you will delight yourself in the LORD, and I will make you ride on the heights of the land and feed you with the heritage of your father Jacob.” For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” Hmm. Evidently, these same supercilious individuals are not even honoring the Sabbath in defiance of God’s commands. All God wants is obedience, so that He can bring all the blessings He has promised to Jacob and his descendants. All these individuals want to give is lip service. And all the time, the Assyrians are coming closer and closer, bringing doom and destruction with them.
APPLICATION: It has been said that one definition of stupidity is doing the same thing repeatedly while expecting different results. That saying really describes the people of Judah and Jerusalem. God wants to bless these people; however, they think they can get away with going through the religious motions while refusing to obey God. Somehow, these individuals have conveniently forgotten the prophet Samuel’s rebuke of King Saul: “obedience is better than sacrifice.”
Once more, God is trying to correct His people while there is yet time. Listen to God’s admonitions:
- “Behold, on the day of your fast, you do as you please, and you oppress all your workers. You fast with contention and strife to strike viciously with your fist. You cannot fast as you do today and have your voice be heard on high.”´ God desires righteousness, not meaningless rituals. How you treat the vulnerable, particularly your workers, is far more important than how many meals you have chosen to forgo. When you are physically or verbally abusive, God can’t hear you!
- “Isn’t this the fast that I have chosen: to break the chains of wickedness, to untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and tear off every yoke? Isn’t it to share your bread with the hungry, to bring the poor and homeless into your home, to clothe the naked when you see him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? God wants us to break chains of wickedness wherever they exist. There are all kinds of chains of wickedness, including sexual trafficking and abuse of immigrants. Forget posting photos of your latest lavish meal on Facebook; how many homeless and starving could you feed with that money? Does your closet hold more clothes than you are ever likely to wear? Why not simplify your wardrobe while you help clothe others? Share your professional wardrobe with those who need outfits so that they can interview for jobs and lift themselves out of poverty. How do you treat your elderly parents? Are you patient and do you try to make sure they are properly cared for, or are you perpetually hitting them up for money?
- When we turn our hearts toward God, He promises wonderful blessings. “The LORD will always guide you; He will satisfy you in a sun-scorched land and 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; you will restore the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of the Breach, Restorer of the Streets of Dwelling.” Whose good opinion do you want? God’s approval or man’s? God’s approval is eternal while men’s opinions vary with how they are feeling, whether or not they got a good night’s sleep, etc.
Sadly, the people of Jerusalem and Judah failed to heed God’s warnings and disaster overtook them. But we have the opportunity to make different decisions. God’s righteousness or our selfishness – which will we choose?
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to behave righteously and mercifully. Thank You that You will give us the power to do this when we ask You. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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