Daily Devotions
Isaiah
"Is this not the fast that I have chosen?"
Text: Isaiah 58:6
THE TRUE FAST
The LORD distinguished the fast that was pleasing to Him. The fast that Israel practised had no merit at all!
“Is it a fast that I have chosen,
A day for a man to afflict his soul?
Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush,
And to spread out sackcloth and ashes?
Would you call this a fast,
And an acceptable day to the LORD?
Is this not the fast that I have chosen:
To loose the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the heavy burdens,
To let the oppressed go free,
And that you break every yoke?
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out;
When you see the naked, that you cover him,
And not hide yourself from your own flesh?”
Isaiah 58:5-7
1. The ritualistic fast of Israel.
a) Afflicting of the soul.
b) Bowing of the head.
c) Using sackcloth and ashes to display sorrow.
d) Israel thought that this was the fast that God desired.
e) Israel erred grievously in understanding.
2. The true fast that God desired.
a) It is not physical.
b) It is deeply spiritual and it involves the deeds of the penitent.
3. The things that God desired Israel to practice.
a) To loose the bonds of wickedness.
To stop being wicked!
b) To undo heavy burdens.
c) To free the oppressed.
d) To break the yoke laid on the vulnerable.
e) To share bread with the hungry.
f) To care for those who are cast out.
g) To cover those who did not have clothes.
h) To not hide themselves from relatives and friends in need.
The performance of these things would constitute the fast that God would acknowledge and honour!