Is not this the fast which I have chosen to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the thongs of the yoke, and to send forth free the crushed, and that ye break every yoke?
God's people fasted and denied themselves, and God refused it. Here He asks what fast He does choose: not a posture, but bonds loosed and yokes broken off other people.
The people in this chapter were not neglecting worship. They came to the temple. They fasted and denied themselves. God refused all of it, because the way they behaved on the fast day gave them away.
None of this could be acceptable to Jehovah. He requires truth in the inward parts, and things fair and good in the sight of all men. Hollow, empty religion is disgusting in His eyes. If He cannot approve their sin, He must judge them.
This verse asks the question. The next verse answers it. Together they show what God weighs — and who failed that test when the Lord Jesus was on earth.
Is this the fast that God had chosen? is what verse 6 asks. And verse 7 goes on to show the fast that would be acceptable to God. Before Him what counts is what is moral rather than what is ceremonial. By Hosea God said, "I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice"; and the Lord quoted this twice. So here the hypocrisy stands exposed. It came into full display and reached its peak in the Pharisees when our Lord was on earth.
We expect a fast to mean giving something up. God defines it by what a person gives.
Then comes the remarkable part of the address. After being told what fasting is not, they are told what it is. Strange to say, it is not negative, as we should expect. It is positive. In other words, it is true love for people.
That same writer refuses to let the idea stay negative even at the close of the argument:
May God raise up those who truly fast in this manner, for fasting is not a negative thing, but love in activity.
Some quote this verse as if God were ordering a nation to free the oppressed. One writer answers that the verse does the opposite.
God tells His people this is just what they were not doing. It is not a command to do it, as Mr. Harris misquotes it, but a reproach that they were not doing it. On the contrary, Jehovah tells His people plainly: "Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight and to hit with a wicked fist" (v. 4).
Read that way, the chapter is a call to repent. One writer sets that call in a longer view:
Once more the prophet is commissioned to cry, and this time to call the people to repentance. Such will be the case during the time of the end.
The language of loosing bonds and breaking yokes reappears in the New Testament. When Jesus read from Isaiah in the synagogue, one commentator notes: "The quotation is made up of Isaiah 61 and 58:6" (William Kelly). His whole life matched those words:
He gave His all. He was the last of all, and the servant of all. Who was so rich as He? And He lavished it all on others. Who was so poor as He?… He was anointed to preach glad tidings to the poor, to set the captive free, to break every yoke. He was true to God first, and He spent Himself for man.
One writer asks: "Because this is in the Old Testament, is it any the less true today?" (Various). Another spells out what obeying it would cost — and what it would pay.
In short, fasting includes self-denial, so that the needy of all sorts around may be helped and blessed. If Isaiah 58 were carried out faithfully, it would mean constant self-denial. That would be a most acceptable form of fasting, and a very practical one… And yet the one who fasts this way gets a feast: the joy of seeing others blessed, and being watered while watering others.
- Exposed — The people kept every outward form, and God still refused it. Empty religion offends Him. He judges what He cannot approve.
- Redefined — What counts before Him is moral, not ceremonial. The fast He chooses is not what you give up, but what you set loose for others.
- Reversed — Where we expect a negative, God gives a positive: fasting here is love in action.
- Reproved — The verse is not a badge for any nation's good deeds. It is God's charge that His people were doing the opposite, and His call to repent.
- Fulfilled — Only Christ has lived it. He was anointed to set the captive free and break every yoke, and He spent Himself for others.
Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring to thy house the needy wanderers; when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?
God's people complained that their fasting went unnoticed. He answers by redefining fasting itself. Here the definition hits the ground: bread, a house, a garment, a relative. The question raised is whether religion that costs nothing at the dinner table can be real at all.
The people in this chapter were not neglecting worship. That is exactly what makes the rebuke so sharp.
It was not that they stayed away from His temple. They claimed to delight in the worship He commanded. They even fasted and afflicted their souls. All in vain! ... Nothing of the kind could please the Lord. He wants truth deep inside, and conduct that is fair and good in the sight of all people. Hollow, fruitless religion is detestable in His eyes. It forces Him to judge them, if He cannot approve their sin.
We expect a fast to be a list of things withheld. God's answer runs the other way.
Then comes the remarkable part of the message. God first tells them what fasting is not. Then He tells them what it is. Strangely, it is not negative, as we would expect. It is positive. In other words, it is true love toward people.
Fasting and giving are not two separate duties here. What you deny yourself is what reaches the needy.
In short, fasting includes self-denial, so that all kinds of needy people around us may be helped and blessed. Carrying out Isaiah 58 faithfully would mean constant self-denial. That would prove a most acceptable form of fasting, and a very practical one. If Christians, young or old, practised Isaiah 58, they would learn in detail what fasting means.
The wording of the verse is precise. God does not ask for bread in general. He asks for yours.
We must give that which is our own (Isa. 58:7). "To share your bread with the hungry," it must be bread of your own, "For I the Lord love justice, I hate robbery for burnt offering."
Another writer shows where such bread comes from. Make the old coat last, and give away what you save.
There may be nothing wrong with buying another coat or dress. But suppose you make the old ones last twice as long, and give the money saved to feed the hungry and clothe the naked. Is that not good? If self-denial has no place, why does Scripture so often tell us to give, and promise a reward?
The verse moves from bread to a house to clothing, then comes back to your own family. One writer presses that last point hard.
Many people think little of letting their parents and close relatives become a charge on the church. That is true even of those who profess to be real Christians. They live in comfort themselves, and make the shallow excuse that they cannot afford to support them. That excuse may not stand at the judgment seat. Nothing excuses it. If parents are in need, the plainest duty of their children is to take them in and share alike. Even more distant relatives in need must not be ignored, though people ignore them so often.
That same writer asks the obvious question about the verse itself: "Because this is in the Old Testament, is it any the less true today?"
A fast like this looks like pure loss. The writer who urges it promises the opposite.
And yet, what a feast the one who fasts this way would enjoy — the joy of seeing others blessed, and being watered while watering others. Try it. It will open a path before you: fasting from luxury, ease and self-indulgence, but feasting on the reward that follows.
- Real, not staged. They came to the temple and afflicted their souls. God called it "hollow, fruitless religion." He wants truth deep inside.
- Real means positive. God tells them what fasting is not, then what it is: true love toward people, not a list of things withheld.
- Real costs you. Bread shared must be "bread of your own"; the coat worn twice as long is what funds the coat given away.
- Real starts nearest. The verse ends with your own flesh. The plainest duty is the parent or relative in need, not the distant cause.
- Real feeds you back. Water others and you are watered yourself. Fasting from ease turns into feasting on the joy of seeing others blessed.
Then shall thy light break forth as the dawn, and thy health shall spring forth speedily; and thy righteousness shall go before thee, the glory of Jehovah shall be thy rearguard.
Isaiah 58 exposes a people who fasted and bowed their heads while they crushed the poor. Verse 8 is the great "then" that answers them, holding out dawn, healing, righteousness that leads the way, and God's glory guarding from behind.
The chapter draws a line between outward religion and the kind God accepts. One writer explains why God turned this religion down:
None of this could be acceptable to the LORD, who wants truth deep inside a person, along with things fair and good in the sight of all men. Hollow, empty religion is disgusting in His eyes, and it forces Him to judge them if He cannot approve their sin.
The blessing of verse 8 is not offered to people who fast harder. It is offered to people whose religion reaches the needy around them.
One commentator takes the promises in order — light, health, a clear road ahead, and cover behind:
The light would be like the dawning of a new day. Their health would spring forth speedily. Their righteousness would open the way before them, and the glory of the Lord would protect their rear. Is Israel ever going to achieve this desirable state as the result of their law-keeping? The answer is, No. The New Testament makes this very plain.
Notice the question at the end. The promise is real, but law-keeping is not the road to it. Where the ESV says "healing," older translations read "health," as this writer does.
The last phrase pictures an army on the move, with God bringing up the rear. One writer uses it to explain the wall around the New Jerusalem:
The symbolic meaning of the wall will be security. The city is clothed with the divine glory, and that same glory protects her. As Isaiah says, "the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard." All that God is, and all that God is in display, is the wall around the New Jerusalem.
So righteousness opens the road ahead and God's glory closes it behind. Security is what the picture means.
Israel never met the condition. One commentator sets the promise of light beside their confession two chapters later:
This urgent call is for a right moral and practical state. "Then," we read, "shall your light break forth like the dawn," then shall "your light rise in the darkness, and your gloom be as the noonday" (Isa. 58:8-10). But like the rest of men, they had all sinned; and away from God, "their feet ran to evil" (Isa. 59:7), and the way of peace they did not know. But they are brought to realize their state and to confess, "we wait for light, but behold darkness; for brightness, but we walk in gloom. We are in desolate places like dead men" (Isa. 59:9-10). They were at their wits' end.
If law-keeping cannot produce this, something else must. The answer offered is a Person, and a timing:
Will Israel ever reach this state? Only through their Messiah, whom they rejected. When He first came, it was as "the Dayspring from on high" (Luke 1:78); it was the dawning of a new day in which Israel's light was to break forth. But they would have none of Him. What is predicted here is therefore put off until He appears again in His glory. They will then be a born-again people, with the Spirit poured out on them as objects of divine mercy. Then, and not till then, will the glory of the Lord be a guard to their rear.
One writer reads the chapter as a pattern for daily life, not just a prophecy:
In short, fasting includes self-denial, so that the needy of all sorts around may be helped and blessed. Carrying out Isaiah 58 in full would mean constant self-denial. That would be a most acceptable form of fasting, and a very practical one. If Christians, young or old, practised Isaiah 58, they would realize in detail what fasting means.
- Cause. The "then" of verse 8 hangs on a fast God accepts — self-denial that feeds the needy, not a hollow show. He wants truth deep inside.
- Gift. Four things arrive at once. Light like daybreak, healing that comes fast, righteousness opening the road ahead, and God's glory closing it behind.
- Guard. "Rear guard" means security. Clothed with the divine glory, His people are also protected by it — front and back.
- Gap. Law-keeping could not reach this. Two chapters later Israel confess they still wait for light and walk in gloom.
- Result. The dawn comes only through the Messiah. He came first as the Dayspring; the full promise waits for His return in glory, to a people born again.
Then shalt thou call, and Jehovah will answer; thou shalt cry, and he will say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger and the unjust speech,
God has just pulled the mask off a people who fasted and kept the outward forms while crushing the poor. Verse 9 turns from rebuke to promise. But the answer to their prayers hangs on what they do with the yoke, the pointing finger and the cruel word.
These words close God's charge against their fasting. It was busy religion with a rotten root.
Nothing of the kind could be acceptable to Jehovah. He will have truth in the inward parts, and things fair and good in the sight of all men. Hollow, barren religion is detestable in His eyes. He must judge them, since He cannot approve their sin.
Another writer names what God values instead, and where this pretence led:
Before Him what counts is what is moral rather than what is ceremonial. By Hosea God said, "I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice" (Hosea 6:6); and the Lord quoted this twice (Matthew 9:13; Matthew 12:7). So we see here exposed the hypocrisy that came into full display and reached its height in the Pharisees when our Lord was on earth.
Dropping the yoke, the pointing finger and the cruel word is not a random test. God is asking them to pass on to the oppressed the goodness He has shown them.
Suppose they responded to His own goodness. Suppose they showed the mercy that suits the people of Jehovah toward the oppressed and destitute. How could He not bless them!
The promise of "Here I am" is not unconditional. Verse 9 turns on one small word. It is the same word God used when He gave the law.
But in Isaiah's day God was still dealing with the people as men in the flesh, on the ground of their responsibility under the law. So the blessing He offers rests on their obedience. That is why we find that fatal "If…" in verse 9. When God gave the law it was, "If you will indeed obey…" (Exodus 19:5). It is the same here, and it must be so as long as the law is in force. All through Israel's national history there has never been the taking away of the things mentioned in verse 9.
Israel never met that condition. That does not cancel the promise. God will keep it on another basis than their own effort.
Will they ever reach this state? The answer is, only through their Messiah, whom they have rejected. When He first came, it was as "the sunrise from on high" (Luke 1:78); it was the dawning of a new day in which Israel's light was to break out. But they would have none of Him. So what He predicts here waits until He appears again in His glory. They will then be a born-again people, with the Spirit poured out on them as objects of divine mercy.
The verse ties God's answer to how a person lives. God hears two kinds of prayer, and one attitude only presumes on Him.
There are two distinct conditions in which we may call upon God. We may call on Him in deep sorrow for our sin, and He hears us. Or we may call on Him with a good conscience and a heart that does not condemn us, and He hears us. But the two are very different from each other. And both stand in sharp contrast with that indifference and hardness of heart which would presume to count on God while openly disobeying Him and living unrighteously. This is what is so dreadful in the sight of the Lord. Practical righteousness He owns and approves. Confessed sin He can freely and fully pardon. But to think we can trust in God while our feet walk the path of sin is shocking irreverence.
One widow, left alone when her husband died, found that God met each complaint with a word of Scripture. Here was His answer to the loneliest one:
Have I said, I have no one to open my mind to? He has led me to, "Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; you shall cry, and He will say, Here I am." … Or has it been: I have no support to lean on in this dark howling wilderness? He has shown me the church pictured as "coming up from the wilderness leaning on her Beloved." And He is the same now.
- Mask — The promise follows an exposure. God will have truth in the inward parts, and hollow religion is detestable to Him.
- Mercy — He asks them to drop the yoke, the pointing finger and the cruel word, and to show the poor the goodness He has shown them.
- "If" — Verse 9 hangs on a condition, on the same ground as "If you will indeed obey." Commentators note Israel never met it.
- Messiah — What law could not produce, Christ will, when He appears in glory to a born-again people.
- "Here I am" — God hears a broken heart and a clean conscience. To pray while walking in known sin presumes on Him. To the honest heart, however lonely, His answer is His own presence.
and thou proffer thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul then shall thy light rise in the darkness, and thine obscurity be as midday;
Isaiah 58 exposes people who fast and afflict themselves, yet get no answer from heaven. Verse 10 is the turning point. It names what God wants — a life poured out for the hungry — and ties a promise to it: light where there was only gloom.
Verse 10 follows a long exposure of religion that looks right but is empty. One writer shows how their fast days ran alongside quarrelling and violence:
Jehovah then deals with the extreme hypocrisy of this people in their holy things. It was not that they failed to come to His temple, not only professing delight in His ordinances, but fasting and afflicting their souls. In vain! "Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure, and oppress all your workers. Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight, and to hit with a wicked fist." Jehovah could accept nothing of the kind. He wants truth deep inside, and things fair and good in the sight of everyone. Hollow and barren religiousness is disgusting in His eyes.
The verse asks for the giver himself, not just his food. One writer spells out what that costs:
In short, fasting includes self-denial, so that the needy of all sorts around may be helped and blessed. If people carried out Isaiah 58, it would mean constant self-denial. That would be a most acceptable form of fasting, and a very practical one. If Christians, young or old, practised Isaiah 58 they would realize in detail what fasting means.
The promise answers God's own goodness showing again in His people:
If there were a response to His own goodness, in the practice of mercy that suited the people of Jehovah toward the oppressed and destitute, how would He not bless them! … "Then shall your light rise in darkness, and your obscurity be as the noonday. And Jehovah will guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in drought, and make your bones strong. You shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters do not deceive."
(This is an older translation; the ESV reads "your gloom be as the noonday.")
One writer sets this promise beside Jesus' words in John, where the condition changes:
Two things follow on a certain condition. The condition is ministering to the hungry and to the afflicted soul. What follows is satisfaction of soul in times of drought, and a state resembling a watered garden and a never-failing spring. Turning now to our Lord's words in John, we shall see the same two results flowing from a certain condition. In the day of grace, which our blessed Lord had begun, the condition must change. Here it is not works of mercy, but "coming" to Him and "believing" on Him.
Could Israel ever earn what verse 10 promises? One writer answers plainly:
This evil was plain to see in Isaiah's day. Having exposed it, the prophet was led to show that if the people accepted his rebuke and repented, there was still blessing in store for them. Then, of course, they would walk in righteousness, and as a result there would be for them light and health and glory. … Is Israel ever going to reach this desirable state by their law-keeping? The answer is, No. Will they ever reach it? Only through their Messiah, whom they have rejected.
The verse promises the giver more than the receiver gains. That reversal is the surprise built into it:
And yet, in practising it, what feasting the one who fasts would enjoy! There is the joy of seeing others blessed, and being watered in the very act of watering others. Try it. It will open a path before you: fasting from luxury, ease and self-gratification, but feasting in the reward of doing so.
- Empty fast — Temple worship alongside quarrels and blows is not devotion. God finds hollow religion disgusting, because He wants truth deep inside.
- Real fast — He chooses self-denial that turns outward and feeds the needy. Lived out, it is constant, not occasional.
- Light given — When mercy answers God's own goodness, He gives light in the dark and gloom turned to noonday.
- Springs opened — One condition brings two results: a soul satisfied in drought, and a life like a watered garden and an unfailing spring. Jesus promises the same two, on the condition of coming to Him.
- Grace, not merit — Law-keeping never brought Israel this blessing; only their Messiah will. And the one who waters others ends up watered himself.