A Different Kind of Fasting

When I think of fasting, I think of going without food for a day or more. But as I discussed in my entries about Lent almost 3 years ago, fasting can mean different things, ranging from simply missing one or two meals to going without food for many days.

But when God spoke through Isaiah the prophet in Isaiah chapter 58, God wanted fasting of a different kind.

Isaiah prophesied during the eighth and early seventh centuries, B.C. This was a time when the northern kingdom of Israel had completely forsaken God and fallen deeply into evil and idolatry. They would be conquered and taken into permanent exile by the Assyrians in 722 B.C. The southern kingdom of Judah wasn’t much better, despite their occasional revivals of religious fervor when they had a “good” king.

In Isaiah 58, God addresses those who sought to demonstrate their devotion through fasting. In Isaiah 58:3 the prophet quotes them as saying:

Why have we fasted and You do not see?
Why have we humbled ourselves and You do not notice?

God’s response exposes their hypocrisy, for their deeds did not match their rhetoric:

Behold, on the day of your fast you find your desire,
And oppress all your workers.
Behold, you fast for contention and strife, and to strike with a wicked fist.
You do not fast like you have done today to make your voice heard on high![1]

They were like the religious leaders in Jesus’ time, who carefully tithed—even to the point of tithing a portion of their garden spices—but did not truly care about God or justice.[2]

In Isaiah 58, God goes on to explain “the fast that I choose”:[3] free the oppressed, take care of the poor, clothe the naked, and practice righteousness instead of wickedness.[4] This is reminiscent of what Jesus said in Matthew 25:34-46, where he contrasts the fate of those who were kind to those in need—the poor, the sick, strangers, and prisoners—with the fate of those who ignored them.

There are lessons here for us.

Does our devotion to God extend beyond attending a weekly church service? Do we show love and kindness to our “neighbors,” like the good Samaritan did?

Or do we merely pay lip service to God?

If we are truly loving God with all of our mind, heart, soul, and strength—which is the #1 commandment[5]—then our devotion should change our attitudes and eventually our behavior.

[1]. Isaiah 58:2-3

[2]. Luke 11:42; and see Matthew 23:23

[3]. Isaiah 58:6

[4]. Isaiah 58:6-7

[5]. Matthew 22:36-38, Mark 12:28-30