Isaiah 58 begins with a strong rebuke from the Lord about the way Israel was observing the Fast, and goes on to reveal the design God really had in mind when He instituted both the Fast and the Sabbath. Regretfully, much of the present-day church is in the same condition as that of Israel when this rebuke was first issued — their love of the world and unbelief has kept them enslaved to a carnal mindset wherein they are unable to grasp the spiritual intent of God’s ordinances. Therefore, this rebuke from the Lord is still applicable today! However, those who have truly repented and believed the gospel are now partakers of the divine nature, have spiritual discernment, and are being conformed to the image of Jesus (2 Peter 1:4, Romans 8:5-8, 1 Corinthians 2:10-16, Romans 8:29). The purpose of this teaching is to provide these individuals with encouragement and confirmation in the power of the gospel by showing the true intent and holy manner of observing the Fast.

Let’s first look at the Lord’s reprimand to see how the Israelites were, and how much of the contemporary church is, in error concerning the Fast. More often than not, it’s easier to grasp what is right after first understanding what is wrong — “(1) Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins. (2) 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. (3) 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. (4) 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. (5) 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?” (Isaiah 58:1-5). God begins by saying, “Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice”. This shows that He is very serious about the matter and expects a proper response to His words. Going on, He points out that Israel is in sin while having a form of godliness — seeking Him daily, delighting to know His ways, etc. Then, at the beginning of verse 3, we see the people are wondering why their fasting had failed to please God. He makes it very clear that Israel was observing the fast in an attempt to secure their personal interests and to establish their own righteousness. Today, many believe that abstaining from a few meals or some activity for a period of time will cause their voices to be “heard on high” and presume God is obligated to regard their grievous efforts. Read Luke 18:9-14. By fasting and practicing other religious activities as they do, such individuals get puffed up in their fleshly minds and feel as though they maintain a higher spiritual status than others. This is the same pride, contempt for God, and self-righteousness for which Israel was being rebuked! The Fast is not about a temporary abstinence from something or causing our bodies to suffer discomfort by selfish acts of false humility in order to elevate our standing or to manipulate God. Such a Fast was unacceptable to God then, and is unacceptable to Him now. See verse 5 of our text.

The Lord proceeds to describe the Fast that does please Him in verses 6 & 7 saying, “(6) 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? (7) 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?”. The Biblical definition of “Fast” is “to close the mouth”. A carnal mind only associates with those things which are physical, and subsequently perceives that “to close the mouth” must simply mean to deny the physical body in some form or fashion. But, we see from these verses that God’s intention goes far beyond abstaining from a few meals or physical activities. By instituting the Fast, God was showing man that self-denial is the way to holiness and victory over the powers of darkness. The intent of the Fast is to deny the flesh nature, not the body. It is to deny one’s self of the worldly pleasure and satisfaction of the fleshly passions such as pride, lust, envy, wrath, bitterness, greed, vengeance, and selfish ambition. Man may well abstain from numerous meals and activities while continuing to feed these fleshly passions. This was the case with the Israelites of the Old Testament, the Pharisees of the New Testament, and is still so with many professing Christians today. They seem to believe that going without some meals, observing their idea of the Sabbath, and participating in some religious activities gives them justification to harbor bitterness and unforgiveness, to be full of wrath, envy and strife, to strike back and take their own vengeance, to gossip, to slander others, and to spend their time, energy, and money solely upon their own interests. This is not overcoming the powers of darkness; it is participating with them!

Look at the words of apostle Paul as he speaks of the Christian life in 2 Corinthians 4 — “(10) Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. (11) For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh”. The children of God bear in our bodies “the dying of the Lord Jesus” when we deny ourselves the worldly passions and satisfaction of the fleshly passions — those ungodly traits of the carnal nature. Then, through faith and by the Holy Spirit, the life of Jesus can be manifested both in and through us. His life is one of selfless love which promotes the greatest good of God’s kingdom and our fellow man. When the life of Jesus is manifested in and through us, the bands of wickedness are broken, burdens are relieved, the oppressed go free, and yokes are broken; not only in our lives, but also in the lives of others.

Verse 7 from this text speaks of sharing our bread with the hungry, bringing the poor into our house, and providing a cover for the naked. The flesh (carnal nature) is all about serving self and doing it well. The true Fast is about denying any place for the fleshly passions and caring for the needs of others as much as we do our own. This verse does, of course, speak of physical things such as food, shelter, and clothing, but even more significantly, it speaks with regard to the spiritual needs of others. The Word of God is the bread of life (Matthew 4:4, John 6:32-35); the poor are those who are without Jesus and need to be brought into God’s kingdom(Ephesians 2:11-13); the naked are those who are not clothed in His righteousness (1 John 3:7, Revelation 3:18-19; 19:5-8). Our carnal thoughts and methods can produce a form of godliness, but they can not produce the provision man so desperately needs. A person only becomes a vessel for God’s provision to flow through when he denies himself of the worldly pleasure and satisfaction of the fleshly passions. This is the fast that God has chosen and it’s not something we should randomly do from time to time; it’s what we should be living day by day! — “And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?” (Luke 9:23-25).

In verses 8-12 back in Isaiah 58, we see the results of truly denying self and believing the gospel to walk in the love of God — “(8) 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 rereward. (9) 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; (10) 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 noonday: (11) 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. (12) 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”. I will not elaborate much upon these verses except to say that they describe a people who have truly repented as a result of godly sorrow, and received the power of God to be freed from the sin nature and regenerated with the divine nature. They have a vital relationship with the Heavenly Father and He hears their prayers. The Holy Spirit enlightens them and shows them the way in the midst of darkness, and He is a perpetual source of life, light, and strength. As there was a holy remnant in the Old Testament, there is a holy remnant today. They are the righteous ones who will rebuild what has been laid waste, re-establish the spiritual foundations of God’s kingdom, and repair the breach that has occurred through the deception of false ministers. They will be used of God to restore the way of holiness.

Isaiah 58 goes on to reveal the intent and meaning of the Sabbath. This is covered in the teaching titled, “The Sabbath — Saturday, Sunday, or Everyday?”