Focus Chapters:
- Isaiah 58-62
- Isaiah 63:1-14
Standout Verse(s):
Isaiah 58:3-5 NLT
‘We have fasted before you!’ they say. ‘Why aren’t you impressed? We have been very hard on ourselves, and you don’t even notice it!’ “I will tell you why!” I respond. “It’s because you are fasting to please yourselves. Even while you fast, you keep oppressing your workers. What good is fasting when you keep on fighting and quarreling? This kind of fasting will never get you anywhere with me. You humble yourselves by going through the motions of penance, bowing your heads like reeds bending in the wind. You dress in burlap and cover yourselves with ashes. Is this what you call fasting? Do you really think this will please the Lord?
Observation (s):
- The Israelites invested a lot of time and effort into seeming spiritual.
You humble yourselves by going through the motions of penance, bowing your heads like reeds bending in the wind. You dress in burlap and cover yourselves with ashes.
- Despite their efforts, God was not impressed or pleased.
“I will tell you why!” I respond. “It’s because you are fasting to please yourselves.
- God called out the Israelites on their deceptive spirituality.
Even while you fast, you keep oppressing your workers. What good is fasting when you keep on fighting and quarreling? This kind of fasting will never get you anywhere with me.
Application:
We place a lot of emphasis on appearances. It’s curious the amount of effort we will put into creating the appearance that we are doing something rather than actually doing it. Our efforts amounts to nothing but time wasted that is not impactful and that can never be regained.
Isaiah highlights the importance of shunning this habit, especially on a spiritual level. The Israelites invested a lot of effort into “going through the motions of penance”. They perfected the appearance of looking repentant while their non-spiritual actions pinpointed otherwise. They only fooled themselves because God was not impressed or pleased.
What good is fasting when you continue to oppress, fight and quarrel with others? What good is fasting when you embrace all appearances of evil? Maintaining a spiritual facade is all for naught. The only person you are fooling is yourself. Your spiritual devotion should guide your non-spiritual actions.
