Isaiah 58:1-14
Isa 58:1
Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet,
and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.
Then Isaiah is commanded to lift up his voice like a
trumpet which means he is not to hold back anything they have done.
The trumpet was used to warn the people of impending trouble and that is
what Isaiah is to do now. His voice
is now to be the trumpet of warning to the people of Judah.
There are two groups of people in view in this verse, the first group is
called “my people” which are the true believers of God and yes it is possible
for true believers to be caught up in transgressions if they are not careful and
maybe choose to follow the crowd in ignorance.
The second group is the house of Jacob which is the rest of the Jews who
have gone after idols and false religions.
Isa 58:2
Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a
nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they
ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God.
Here is the total hypocrisy of the nation of Judah.
They seek the LORD daily and pretend to delight in the ways of God.
They act as if they have not violated the law of God by going after the
false gods. What they were doing
here is treating the true God of Israel as one of the gods in their pantheon of
gods. They ask the LORD concerning
the ways of true justice and delight in approaching him but it is all a façade
because they are pretending to be the LORD’s people while all the time they had
a double minded existence.
A double minded man
is unstable in all his ways.
(James 1:8) On one hand they
wanted to inquire of the LORD but on the other they discounted what he said and
continued on in their sin of rebellion and idolatry.
Once again many Christians do the same thing as they read the word of God
and find out what he has written on a certain subject and then do what they want
anyway. Many Christians say they
love the Bible as long as it doesn’t interfere with their plans.
Isa 58:3
Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest
not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge?
Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labours.
Then they were complaining that they had partook of
fasting which could be the Day of Atonement and individual days of fasting of a
personal choice. They had fasted
but they claim that God did not notice their efforts.
Then within that fast they had afflicted their souls.
Also on the tenth
day of this seventh month
there shall be a day of
atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your
souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD. (Leviticus 23:27)
The fast was to get them to focus on spiritual matters and not earthly
matters. Then they complained that they had done this yet God did not take
notice of their fasting. The
problem was is that they were not doing these things from the sincerity of their
heart or the complete obedience to God but was all an outward show.
Having a form of godliness, but
denying the power thereof: from such turn away. (2 Timothy 3:5)
Then the LORD tells them straightly that during the time of their fasts
they would continue in their pleasurable pursuits whether it be drinking or
forms of sensuality since they were still doing obeisance to the false gods
which endorsed sensuality. Then at
the same time they exacted all their labors from the people they were employing
and forcing them to work during the fast.
Their idea of fasting was to try and persuade God to give them what they
were asking for not realizing the LORD does not reward disobedience.
They violated the true fast and its purpose.
Isa 58:4
Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with
the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your
voice to be heard on high.
Their fast was supposed to be making them aware of their
own sins and transgressions against the LORD instead it became a time when
accusations seem to be flying in every direction.
Instead of them doing it in peace, they fasted to the point of actually
getting into a fight with each other.
Instead of them dealing with their own sins, they were dealing with
everybody else’s sins and of course, there was resistance on the part of those
being accused by the equally guilty.
They thought that exposing the sins of others instead of dealing with
their own sins would cause them to be heard by God but accusing someone of sins
and not dealing with your own is tantamount to a heart filled with pride which
means the person doing the accusing was just as guilty of sin and transgression
as the one or ones they were accusing.
These attitudes would never be accepted by God.
Isa 58:5
Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to
afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread
sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an
acceptable day to the LORD?
Then the LORD asks a series of four questions to these
people. Is what they were calling a
fast the type that the LORD had chosen or took delight in?
Is it only one day whereby man should afflict his soul or should that be
something that he does regularly to keep himself on the straight and narrow?
Is it to bow down his head as a bulrush to show everyone around him how
religious and pious he is? The Lord
Jesus Christ had something to say about that:
16 Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the
hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may
appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 17
But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; 18
That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret:
and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly. (Matthew
6:16-18)
Matthew 6:16-18 speaks about the proper way to fast which
is not telling anyone you are fasting but it is between you and God.
Are these things what God calls an acceptable fast?
Then God goes on in the next two verses and tells them what the real fast
is all about and it also has a great gospel meaning.
Isa 58:6
Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose
the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go
free, and that ye break every yoke?
Then the LORD gives them another question that he himself
will answer giving them the true reason for the fast.
I will approach it from the time of Isaiah first and then the gospel
meaning. First, they were to loosen
the bands of wickedness which was the cruel obligations they placed upon the
poor people such as usury which would add up to taking so much in interest they
would lose their lands to the lenders.
Then they were to undo the heavy burdens which were placed upon the
people which was mortgages or loans which caused them to work incessantly just
to make interest payments. Then
they are to let the oppressed go free and they are to release them from the
heavy burdens that they bear in debt to the landowners.
Then just as two oxen are yoked together to do work, the borrower is
servant to the lender and are yoked together until they have paid all their
debts which normally does not happen because interest will keep the debt high.
The rich ruleth over the poor, and
the borrower is servant to the
lender. (Proverbs 22:7)
Then this passage has a true gospel meaning.
To loose the bands of wickedness which has every person in the world
banded, the true gospel releases the soul from wickedness and gives it eternal
life in Christ thus cleansing the soul and removing all sin from the soul.
To undo the heavy burdens is to release a person from the heavy burden of
false religion in trying to appease God or thinking they are on the path to
eternal life when false religion leads to eternal damnation.
The world has oppressed people which is the beast system of Satan but the
true gospel frees a person from the oppression of the world system and brings
them out of it. No longer are they
subject to the whims of the kingdom of Satan but are now transferred to the
kingdom of God. Then the yoke of
false religion must be broken by the true gospel.
And ye shall know the truth, and
the truth shall make you free. (John 8:32)
The true gospel frees up a person’s soul and makes them free in Christ as
the only truth on earth as all false religions and world systems keep people in
spiritual bondage.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me;
for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
(Matthew 11:29)
There is another aspect of fasting and that is when you
are engaging in ministry, you are fasting to the things you normally do.
You have exchanged your time from doing your desires to doing the
ministry work of the LORD.
Isa 58:7
Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and
that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the
naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?
Then the people of Israel were to show compassion to
those they have oppressed. They
were to share the food which they took from the oppressed people and were to
help feed them. Those who lost
their homes to the evil creditors were to be taken in by other people so they
would not live their lives on the streets.
Then those who were very destitute and could not even afford any decent
clothing were to have clothes bought for them so they could be dressed and not
have to hide themselves in shame.
Then those who were affluent were not to hide themselves from those who needed
their help whether they be family members or those who are in the same
neighborhood.
Then there is also a gospel meaning to this verse.
The bread we are to give out is the bread of the gospel who is the Lord
Jesus Christ himself.
And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread
of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me
shall never thirst. (John 6:35)
Then those who are cast out of the house should be brought into the house of God
by means of salvation.
That at that time ye were without Christ,
being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants
of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: (Ephesians 2:12)
Then those who are spiritually naked, that is, those without a Savior
need to be clothed with the true gospel and it is our responsibility to cover
him or her with the truth after God saves them.
44 Then shall they also
answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a
stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as
ye did it not to one of the
least of these, ye did it not
to me. (Matthew 25:44-45) Then
the true Christian is to be involved in the Great Commission as there is none
who is exempted from the Lord’s command which means no is to be sitting on their
couches waiting for the rapture.
Can any hide himself in secret places
that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith
the LORD. (Jeremiah 23:24) You
cannot hide from the LORD on your couch or anywhere so you need to get busy and
get out there.
Isa 58:8
Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and
thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before
thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy rereward.
Once the people of Judah begin to follow the ways of the
LORD and to reject the way they have been behaving especially in the manner of
their fasting, then they will experience the blessing of God once again.
It will be a new day for them just as a new day breaks forth in the dawn
with a sunrise. Then they shall
experience a new health which would be spiritual health because they are in
obedience to the LORD. Then their
righteousness will be from the heart and not just an external show because it
will have substance. The LORD
promises that he will be their rear guard so nobody will be able to come at them
without being noticed. God will
protect their vulnerabilities.
Then the gospel meaning to this verse.
A person who is unsaved will walk in darkness until the time they have
become regenerated and then when they become saved, it will be a new day for
them which will never end. Then
whereas before they walked in spiritual death, they now have spiritual life for
eternity and they will exude a spiritual health.
Before salvation, man has his own idea of righteousness resulting in
self-righteousness which only deceives him but once they become saved they will
have the imputed righteousness of Christ which will manifest itself in many ways
in their walk, when they deal with people or are involved in worship because it
will be true worship. Then the LORD
will be the protector of his people especially in the area of spiritual
protection and give discernment to recognize false gospels.
I experienced this personally.
When I was a very young Christian back in 1981, a man walked up to me at
the annual Family Radio Bible Conference and tried to convince me that the
Urantia Book was just as much truth as the Bible.
The Urantia Book is a New Age book around since the 1920’s because of
that incident I took to study comparative religions as Luther did when he
compared the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church to that of the Bible.
So what Satan meant for evil, God turned it around for good.
Isa 58:9
Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou
shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst
of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity;
Then once the people are walking in obedience to the
LORD, they will call upon the name of the LORD and he will answer them.
Previously they thought that God did not see them or take note of their
religious attempts to appease him.
The problem was that they were doing it from a pretentious heart and not in
sincerity.
Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and
shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not. (Jeremiah 33:3)
Once they walk in the truth, God states that he will answer them not
maybe but keep in mind that no is also an answer.
The LORD will make himself known to them by intervening for them.
They were first to show their desire to walk with the LORD by removing
the yoke which was the yoke of oppression which the wealthy put on the poor
people. The putting forth of the
finger would be a sign of accusation which could be false or a sign of scorn or
revenge. They were not to take any
kind of personal vengeance on anyone.
They were also to cease speaking vanity which could be false accusations
with the tongue or just speech which is condemnatory or false stories about
people to build a consensus against them for some evil purpose.
Remember what Jezebel did to Naboth?
She hired false witnesses against him for the purpose of having him
killed so Ahab could take his vineyard.
(1 Kings 21)
Isa 58:10
And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and
satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy
darkness be as the noonday:
If the people were to make their goods available to those
in need and to help those who are afflicted whether it be in hunger, sickness or
in extreme poverty then shall thy light rise in obscurity which is in the
darkest part of the needs of these people.
In their extreme poverty and needs, a person who comes beside them will
help them in the most darkest time in their lives and because of their
willingness to help, their darkness would be as the noon day when the sun is at
its height.
Unto the upright there ariseth light in
the darkness: he is gracious,
and full of compassion, and righteous. (Psalm 112:4)
Then there is a verse in the New Testament which deals with this type of
situation.
But whoso hath this world's good, and
seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels
of compassion from him, how
dwelleth the love of God in him? (1 John 3:17)
The people helping them means they have come from a point of self-serving
to the point where they are obedient to the LORD and willing to help others in
genuineness.
Isa 58:11
And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy
thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered
garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.
Those whom the LORD has granted salvation to and is
evidenced by their change of habits and their walk, the LORD guarantees that he
will be their guide continually which means no break in the guidance.
For this God
is our God for ever and ever:
he will be our guide even unto
death. (Psalm 48:14) He will
continue to pour the water of life and the water of the true gospel in their
soul even at times when there are no places of worship or they are surrounded by
false gods as in the case of the Babylonian captivity.
He promises to strengthen the soul with the making fat or the great
abundance of the gospel which would be poured upon the person who has become
redeemed. Then those eternal waters
of the gospel will be a never ending source always blessing and watering the
redeemed person. The well-watered
garden is place where many things grow in abundantly and the person who is
watered with the wisdom of God through the true gospel will grow abundantly in
their walk. The false gods will
always fail people but the truth of the gospel will never fail anyone that it is
implanted in.
Isa 58:12
And they that shall be of thee shall build the old
waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou
shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.
Then the promise is given of future generations of the
godly who have followed the ways of the LORD.
In that day will I raise up the
tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I
will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old: (Amos 9:11)
God had promised that one of his descendants
would sit on the throne. The
LORD hath sworn in truth unto David; he will not turn from it; Of the fruit of
thy body will I set upon thy throne. (Psalm 132:11) After
Judah goes into captivity for 70 years, then after they return God will send
prophets to get them to build the walls and restore Jerusalem the way it was in
the time of David. They
must rebuild the city because the Lord Jesus Christ is going to be born in
Bethlehem and with him coming to Judah, when he brings in the gospel of grace,
then there is going to be a state of spiritual joy like there was in the time of
David. For
the LORD will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in
their own land: and the strangers shall be joined with them, and they shall
cleave to the house of Jacob. (Isaiah 14:1) The
rebuilding of physical Jerusalem is a type of the building of spiritual
Jerusalem, the body of believers when it goes out to the world.
16 After this I will return, and will build
again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the
ruins thereof, and I will set it up: 17 That the residue of men might
seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith
the Lord, who doeth all these things. (Acts 15:16-17)
James quotes from the prophet Amos 9:11 as God states that He will once again
become involved with His people. The day which is being spoken of here, is the
day the Lord went to the cross. The nation of Israel was without a word from the
Lord for over four hundred years and they had sunk into rank apostasy and had no
testimony to the world, which is what is meant by being “fallen down.” Then when
the Lord Jesus Christ came to earth, He died for His people, the Elect of God,
and out of the ruins of the spiritual fall of Israel, began to rise a new nation
and that nation was built by God Himself. He would set it up and that would be
the body of Christ.
For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is
God. The city of David was built by man’s hands but the city which Abraham
looked for and only saw in faith, was the body of believers otherwise called a
city. (Hebrews 11:10) And I John saw the
holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a
bride adorned for her husband. (Revelation 21:2)
Isa 58:13
If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from
doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of
the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor
finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:
Then when Isaiah penned this verse the ceremonial Sabbath
was still in power as being part of the ceremonial law.
God viewed the Old Testament sabbath as holy and as a result a man was
put to death for violating it.
And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness,
they found a man that gathered sticks upon the sabbath day. (Numbers 15:32)
And all the congregation brought him without the camp,
and stoned him with stones, and he died; as the LORD commanded Moses. (Numbers
15:36)
The penalty for violating the Sabbath day was death as in
the case of the man who was just picking up sticks.
That teaches us the even just a slight work for the purpose of gaining
salvation will yield eternal death.
Once a person is saved in Christ, they need not do any work since the entire
price of their salvation has been paid for.
The problem was that the people were violating the sabbath in that they
were continuing to do what they wanted to in violation of the law of God.
In the time of Nehemiah, the nobles were allowing business to be
conducted on the sabbath but Nehemiah stepped in and put a stop to it by closing
the gates until the sabbath was over.
16 There dwelt men of Tyre also therein, which
brought fish, and all manner of ware, and sold on the sabbath unto the children
of Judah, and in Jerusalem. 17 Then I contended with the nobles of
Judah, and said unto them, What evil thing is this that ye do, and
profane the sabbath day? 18 Did not your fathers thus, and did not
our God bring all this evil upon us, and upon this city? yet ye bring more wrath
upon Israel by profaning the sabbath. 19 And it came to pass, that
when the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark before the sabbath, I commanded
that the gates should be shut, and charged that they should not be opened till
after the sabbath: and some of my servants set I at the gates, that
there should no burden be brought in on the sabbath day. (Nehemiah 13:16-19)
The sabbath day was to be a day of spiritual activity
when people could sit around and rest and speak of the things the LORD had done
for them. If there is not time to
recollect the things the LORD did for them, then there will become a forgetting
of those things and future generations would be trained to know and understand
them.
Isa 58:14
Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will
cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the
heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.