What Kind of Fast?

Good Morning,

Isaiah 58:6-11 (NIV)
"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 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 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.

Uh, oh! He's going to talk about fasting again! I can almost hear the thoughts, and the groans, about what it is I might have to give up, or stop, in fasting for one particular reason or another. Well, although I feel that fasting is a good thing...not to mention Biblical...this isn't about "giving up" anything or going without something. No, this is about what God spoke through Isaiah, that would be a fast of DOING what God wants of us. And, of course, the benefits of it.

God asks of us a kind of fast that HE has chosen for us...loose the chains of injustice, untie the cords of the yoke that enslave, set free those who are oppressed, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, make a home for the homeless. Very different, isn't it, from what we normally think of as a "fast?" God is telling us that too often people fast improperly. If we take the time to read the first 5 verses of this chapter, we see that the people did as they pleased, exploited workers, ended up with quarreling and strife, and even in fist fights. Then, people whine and complain that God isn't hearing them nor is He honoring their fast. God says, "You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high." (vv 4)

So, I read the whole chapter (I ask you to do the same) to try to get my mind around the "big picture" so to speak, of what God is telling us. I think He's saying that what we do is much more important than a fast of giving up, or not doing. Does that make sense? He's telling us where we ought to be putting our priorities. As is so often found in many, many places in Scripture, God is telling us to care for the poor and persecuted. He is letting us know, pretty clearly, what He wants us to be doing in those areas of hunger, nakedness, persecution, injustice, and homelessness. We are to be, well, Christians about how we treat people...ALL people. Pretty novel idea, huh?

So, what's in it for me, some might ask. Okay, God tells us. If we will do as He asks of us then our "light will break forth like the dawn," and our "healing will quickly appear." He tells us that our "righteousness will go before" us and that He will be there for us as our "rear guard." If we're doing as He says in this chapter He tells us "Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help and He will say: Here am I." And the list of benefits from the kind of fast that God wants for us to undertake go on, of course.

This is, truly, a beautiful and insightful chapter of Scripture. In these verses we can learn so very, very much. If we will obey what it is that God wants of us in "the kind of fasting" that He has chosen; if we will simply heed His words and what it is He wants of us, then...

"The Lord will be with 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."

That, surely, is what we all desire. Isn't it?

Love, peace, and blessings,

David