A few weeks ago, I was studying the Feasts of the Lord in Leviticus 23, which prompted me to look at how the day of Atonement is celebrate in the Jewish and Christian culture today. Fasting is a major part of the Day of Atonement for the Jews, but most of the Christian congregation does not seem to keep this festival. Despite that, fasting is not only common, but expected in the Christian Community, and should be made up of the same components as the Jews because we serve the same God.
What does afflicting your soul mean in scripture? It means Fasting. Isaiah 58 gives us a clear picture of what God expected fasting to look like. It is a day of self-denying, which really is taking your mind off you, and focusing instead on the needs of others.
Fasting is not new to many of us. But we were not taught its true definition; what God requires during our Fast. Isaiah 58 gives us God’s definition, or the fast that He chose. Reading this list, I could see instantly that none of my past Fast closely resembles this list. That means in all my Fasting, God delighted in NONE. The dictionary defines self-denying as characterized by or involving the denial of one’s own interests and needs.
In Isaiah’s list, God said, “On the day of your fast you
- Seek your own pleasure.
- Exploit your workers.
- Keep on fighting and quarreling.
- Pretend to have a repentant heart (with ashes and sackcloth) while bowing down your head for show.
All of these is an indication that there is no true sorrow because wickedness was still taking place. The elephant in the room was addressed, then God proceeded to list the fast that He chose: one that has the mark of act of kindness, justice, and charity.
- To release the bonds of wickedness
- Untie the cords of yolk
- Let the oppress go free.
- Break every yolk, get rid of the yoke among you
- Share your bread with the hungry
- Bring the homeless into your house
- Cover the naked
- To not hide yourself from relatives
- To get rid of finger-pointing and badmouthing.
- Give yourself to the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted,
- To turn back your foot from Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on My holy day, and call Sabbath a delight, the holy day of Adonai honorable, honoring it, not going your own ways, not seeking your own pleasure, nor speaking your usual speech.
What will be the outcome if we Fasted God’s way? Well in the rest of the chapter there is a list of such an overflow of blessings. “You will be like a watered garden” God says, “like a spring of water whose waters never fail”. Those incentives listed here should not only inspire us but bring conviction that leads to repentance. Now that we are aware of what God requires, remember, because our next fast should mirror Isaiah 58.
Happy Fasting!!