Isaiah 58:6 “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?”
Isaiah 58:3 has the people saying, basically, “Hey, God, we’re fasting and humbling ourselves over here. Why aren’t You noticing and blessing us?” It brought to mind Matthew 6:1. These people seem to already have their blessing—it’s their pride of having fasted and humbled themselves. Their intentions were to be seen as holy for their actions. It seems the only One who didn’t see their actions as holy was the only One who matters: God.
Isaiah 58:7 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 them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
In a recent study of Matthew 6, we discussed the role of intention in seeking and serving God. We talked about the fact that truly only two people know our real intentions—us and God—that it doesn’t matter eternally what others think, that good works can come from selfish motives, that God knows our hearts.
Isaiah 58:8 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.
Lord, It is so easy to get caught up in this world, to “play the game” so that we appear righteous to the world, even if our cores are rotten. I do not want to play the world’s game, Lord. Help me, always, to have a pure heart and eternal motives. Draw me closer to You, always, no matter what the world thinks. Amen.
Isaiah 58:9 Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
Have a blessed day.