Isaiah 58
I. (1-39) Condemnation
A. Chapters 1-12 - ”Prophecies against Israel and Judah
B. Chapters 13-23 - ”Prophecies against the Nations
C. Chapters 24-27 - ”Prophecies of the Day of the Lord
D. Chapters 28-35 - ”Prophecies of Judgment and Blessing
E. Chapters 36-39 - ”Historical accounts
II. (40-66) Consolation
A. Chapters 40-48 - Israel’s God
B. Chapters 49-54 - Israel’s Messiah
C. Chapters 55-66 - Israel’s Opportunity
1. \\#Isa 55:1-56:8\\ An Invitation
2. \\#Isa 56:9-12\\ A Condemnation
3. \\#Isa 57:1-14\\ A Warning
4. \\#Isa 58:1-14\\ A Possibility - This message is obviously directed
to Israel and Judah, but more particularly, it is probably directed
at the righteous who lived in those countries.
I. \\#58:1-14\\ A Possibility
A. \\#58:1\\ Isaiah’s command
1. \\#58:1\\ "Cry aloud… lift up thy voice" - God commands Israel to
declare so that all can hear.
2. "shew my people their transgression" - God has a particular sin that
He wishes to discuss with Israel.
B. \\#58:2-3\\ Isaiah’s audience - Isaiah describes the people to whom this
message is directed. From the description, it is apparent that they are
not typical Jews of that time period.
1. \\#58:2\\ "they seek me daily… delight to know my ways… did
righteousness… forsook not the ordinance of their God" - All of
this indicates these are righteous Jews living in a sinful land.
2. "they ask of me… justice; they… delight in approaching to God"
Not only do they live righteous lives, but they pray that God
would bring justice to Israel and enjoy worshipping God.
3. \\58:3\\ "fasted’ - They have even FASTED that the Lord’s will
would be accomplished.
C. \\#58:3-4\\ Israel’s sin - Their fasting was wrong. (This is a religious
man’s sin.)
1. \\#58:3\\ "Where have we fasted… and thou seest not? - The
righteous in the land had fasted, but God had not honored their fast.
2. "wherefore have we afflicted our soul" - Not only had they fasted, but
in their own mind, they had suffered (brought their bodies into
submission) to perform their fast.
3. \\#58:4\\ "Behold, ye fast for strife and debate" - The problem was
that the fast these Jews had implemented was not a proper fast.
There should always be a remnant of righteous who are fasting to the
Lord. Yet, a religious activity practiced out-of-harmony to the
commands of God, at best, accomplishes little and may do harm.
4. "ye shall not fast as ye do this day to make your voice to be heard on
high" - If they continue to fast as they have, it will do no good.
5. While it is true that God’s people can always seek the Lord in prayer,
fasting is a special form of prayer which requires special effort if
it is to avail. Prayer may be offered at anytime, even while engaged
in other other activities; but the following verses will demonstrate
that fasting requires our full attention.
D. \\#58:5-7, 9-10\\ "Is not this the fast that I have chosen?" \\#58:6\\
God will instruct the Jews on fasting.
1. \\#58:5\\ "a day for a man to afflict his soul" - God says that a
fast day is a day to AFFLICT or HUMBLE yourself. The Jews thought
they were doing this, but God is going to teach them more perfectly
what it really means to humble and afflict themselves.
2. "to bow down his head as a bulrush" - It is a day to physically
afflict yourself by bowing down before the Lord. This is one of the
few passages in the Bible that speaks of our posture when coming
before God \\#Luke 22:41, Matt 26:38-39\\. God expects His people
to physically humble themselves in fasting.
3. "to spread sackcloth and ashes under him" - It is a day to outwardly
afflict yourself by removing your fine clothes and withdrawing from
your comfortable life. SACKCLOTH was the clothing of the poorest
man and to sit in ASHES was to say that everything you possessed was
either gone or of no value to you.
4. The phrasing of \\#Isa 58:5\\ indicates that the Jews may have been
doing these in their fast. God gives them additional instructions
beginning in \\#Isa 58:6\\.
5. \\#58:6\\ "to loose the bands of wickedness" - It is a day to
spiritually humble yourself by putting away all sins that you have
kept to yourself. TO LOOSE THE BANDS means to untie the sin, to let
it go.
6. "to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free" - It is
a day to financially humble yourselves by releasing others of their
heavy load, especially those who have been OPPRESSED or unjustly
treated.
7. \\#58:7\\ It is a day to humble yourself in mercy by feeding the
"hungry," giving shelter to the homeless, and clothing the "naked."
8. \\#58:9\\ "If thou take away… the yoke" - This seems to be a repeat
from earlier, probably to emphasize it.
9. "the putting forth of the finger" - Perhaps this is a reference to
accusing others falsely or perhaps it is just talking about people
(as some would point a person out when they are talking about them).
10. "speaking vanity" - God wants His people to have clean mouths if He
is going to heed the words that come out of them. Those who fast
must not speak nonsense or hurtful words.
11. \\#58:10\\ "if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry" - This is being
repeated.
12. "and satisfy the afflicted soul" - This is also being repeated.
E. \\#58:8-12\\ God promises to honor fasting
1. \\#58:8\\ "Then’ - After you have fasted as God has instructed.
God will bless them in several areas.
2. "thy light shall break forth" - LIGHT refers to influence. God is
speaking of the area that an individual can LIGHT up or influence.
Our influence with others will increase.
3. "thine health shall spring forth" - God will give health to those
who fast.
4. "thy righteousness shall go before thee" - Another reference to
influence, but this is specifically a reference to spiritual
influence.
5. "the glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward" - God will bless the
one who fasts with His glory, His presence and power.
6. \\#58:9\\ "Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer" - God
will answer the prayers of those who fast.
7. \\#58:10\\ "then shall thy light rise" - This appears to be a
repeated blessing.
8. \\#58:11\\ "The Lord shall guide thee continually" - This is a more
specific promise of God’s presence and glory abiding upon those who
fast. He will abide upon them to direct them in the way they should
go.
9. "and satisfy thy soul in drought" - God’s presence will satisfy and
and comfort in difficult times. Much of the remainder of the verse
continues this analogy.
a. "thou shall be like a watered garden"
b. "like a spring of water, whose waters fail not"
10. \\#58:12\\ These blessings extend to the children of those who fast.
a. "shall build the old waste places" - The children shall receive
what the previous generations has lost.
b. "thou shalt raise up the foundations… thou shalt be called , The
repairer… the restore" -Here is the great possibility of those
who fast properly before the Lord, to regain what has been lost.
F. \\#58:13-14\\ Additional opportunities for blessings
1. \\#58:13\\ The conditions
a. "turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on
my holy day" - If they will keep the Sabbath.
b. "and call the sabbath a delight" - And even more than keeping
the laws of the Sabbath, if they will enjoy worshipping on the
Sabbath.
c. "and… honor him, not doing thine own ways" - And will generally
honor God.
2. \\#58:14\\ The blessings
a. "Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord" - The notion is that
they will have something to delight themselves in from the Lord.
b. God "will cause thee to ride upon the high places" - They will
have "mountain-top" experiences.
c. "feed thee with the heritage of Jacob" - They would then enjoy the
blessings like their forefather, Jacob, had enjoyed.
3. The guarantee - "for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it."
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