Isaiah 58 on Fasting

This chapter is often thought of only in the context of Sabbath-keeping, but in fact, it addresses many other spiritual disciplines, particularly fasting.

Verses 1-3—“Declare to My people their transgression … their sins. They seek Me day by day and delight to know My ways … They delight in the nearness of God. They say, ‘Why have we fasted and You do not see? Why have we humbled ourselves and You do not notice?’”

Why is God not listening to their prayers?

What is God disappointed about here?

Do the people really delight in God’s nearness or want just decisions?

How can you tell?

Verses 3-5—“Behold, on the day of your fast you find your selfish desire, And drive hard all your workers. Behold, you fast for contention and strife and to strike with a wicked fist. … Is it a fast like this which I choose, a day for a man to bow down? Is it for bowing one’s head like a reed and for spreading out sackcloth and ashes as a bed? Will you call this a fast, even an acceptable day to the Lord?”

Have you ever felt God was ignoring your prayers?

Is it possible for a person to attend church and still harbor sin and selfishness?

What about prayer meeting?

Verses 6-7, 9-10—”Is this not the fast which I choose, To loosen the bonds of wickedness, To undo the bands of the yoke, And to let the oppressed go free, And break every yoke? Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry And bring the homeless poor into a house, When you see the naked, to cover him; And not to hide yourself from your own flesh? … If you remove the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness, And if you give yourself to the hungry, And satisfy the desire of the afflicted, Then …”

What do these things have to do with fasting?

What kind of fasting and prayer does God want?

Verses 8-11—”Then your light will break out like the dawn … Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; You will cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’ Then your light will rise in darkness, And your gloom will become like midday. And the Lord will continually guide you, And satisfy your desire in scorched places, And give strength to your bones; And you will be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water that does not fail.”

What is the promised result of true fasting?

Why does God insisted on social justice and practical compassion?

Is God asking us to “fast” (cease) from our prejudices against the poor and oppressed?