The True Fast

“Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins. 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. 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. 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. 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? 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? 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 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 reward. 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; 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 noon day: 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. 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. 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 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” (Isaiah ch. 58). This is truly one seriously powerful chapter in the Bible my friend. Most of it should be self explanatory, but there are a few things here that may not be totally apparent that I would like to point out; and a couple of tweaks I would make because we are now under the new covenant.

The first thing is this: “thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh.” That means that it is not good to neglect one’s family, which would apply more so to our brethren in Christ now, meaning those who are baptized with God’s Spirit (I Cor. 12:13). Israel was a carnal nation and everyone was in covenant with God, so one’s natural family was their family. In Christ we have a spiritual family made up of those who have been baptized with the holy Ghost into Christ. Members of the family of God are closer than members of one’s natural family, and those who love Christ deal with that issue accordingly. This is not to say that we should neglect our natural family, just that it is the natural thing in Christ to prefer those who are like minded about Christ. My next comment is on this verse: “If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, [and] the putting forth of the finger.” Taking away the yoke means that we don’t try to impose our will on those around us, to make them like ourselves. God honors the free will that he has given to man, and we should do the same. That ‘yoke’ not only applies to imposing personal things about ourselves onto others, but also to actual righteousness in God. The best we can do is to be an example of the holiness and love that is in God’s Spirit. We cannot force anyone to be righteous, and we should still feel love for them even if they choose to remain in sin. That doesn’t mean however that we should compromise with someone’s ways in order to 'get along,’ just that we can’t be angry with them because they choose not to be blessed. “Putting forth of the finger” simply means to have a condemning spirit, and always be focusing on the bad things about others, rather than the reality that Jesus laid down his life for them to be redeemed. Along with not “hiding thyself from thine own flesh,” the only other element of this divine 'fast’ that has changed due to the change of the covenants, is the part about keeping and honoring the sabbath. The sabbath under the old covenant was a DAY of rest, but the sabbath of the new covenant is a rest for the soul that is to be kept at all times. They did not have this rest for the soul under that covenant because there was no complete removal of the burden of sin from the heart and soul under that covenant ((Heb. 10:1-4). In Jesus Christ we have a true, complete remission and literal washing away of sin from our inner man, which results in glorious rest and refreshing for the soul (I Cor. 6:11; Tit. 3:5; Mat. 11:28; Acts 3:19; Isa. 28:11,12). The new testament scriptures also bear witness that the old testament sabbath is fulfilled in Christ, as are all of the holy days and carnal ordinances of the old covenant (Col. 2:16,17; Gal. 4:9-11). One would do well to frequently study this 'fast’ that God has ordained, and strive to live within its guidelines. The blessings and benefits stated therein are more than worth it, and beside that it’s just the natural way to live for those who are led by God’s Spirit (Rom. 8:14; Jn. 16:13). Amen.