Sharper Iron — The Fifth Evangelist - Isaiah 58:1-14: The LORD’s Chosen Fast

The people of Israel were guilty of hypocritical worship. Although they went through the motions of fasting and praying, they did so without faith in the LORD’s Word. When they complained to Him that He wasn’t listening, the LORD called them to task for abstaining from food only to quarrel with each other. Rather, the LORD desired His people to fast from wickedness and evil and to fill themselves with the fruit of faith toward their neighbor. With such true worship of Him, the people would see that the LORD is true to His promises, as He showers them with His gracious love in Christ.

Rev. Nate Hill, pastor at St. Michael’s Lutheran Church in Winchester, TX, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Isaiah 58:1-14.

“The Fifth Evangelist” is a series on Sharper Iron that goes through Isaiah 40-66. Though Isaiah lived one hundred years beforehand, he writes to the people of God in exile in Babylon to assure them that their God reigns and will rescue them through the work of His servant. These promises are fulfilled in Jesus Christ, whose work Isaiah proclaims vividly seven hundred years beforehand.

Sharper Iron, hosted by Rev. Timothy Appel, looks at the text of Holy Scripture both in its broad context and its narrow detail, all for the sake of proclaiming Christ crucified and risen for sinners. Two pastors engage with God’s Word to sharpen not only their own faith and knowledge, but the faith and knowledge of all who listen.

Sharper Iron is underwritten by Lutheran Church Extension Fund, where your investments help support the work of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Visit lcef.org.

Isaiah 58:1-14

True and False Fasting

58 “Cry aloud; do not hold back;
    lift up your voice like a trumpet;
declare to my people their transgression,
    to the house of Jacob their sins.
²Yet they seek me daily
    and delight to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that did righteousness
    and did not forsake the judgment of their God;
they ask of me righteous judgments;
    they delight to draw near to God.
³‘Why have we fasted, and you see it not?
    Why have we humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?’
Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure,^[a]
    and oppress all your workers.
⁴Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight
    and to hit with a wicked fist.
Fasting like yours this day
    will not make your voice to be heard on high.
⁵Is such the fast that I choose,
    a day for a person to humble himself?
Is it to bow down his head like a reed,
    and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him?
Will you call this a fast,
    and a day acceptable to the Lord?

⁶“Is not this the fast that I choose:
    to loose the bonds of wickedness,
    to undo the straps of the yoke,
to let the oppressed^[b] go free,
    and to break every yoke?
⁷Is it not to share your bread with the hungry
    and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover him,
    and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
⁸Then shall your light break forth like the dawn,
    and your healing shall spring up speedily;
your righteousness shall go before you;
    the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
⁹Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
    you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’
If you take away the yoke from your midst,
    the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,
¹⁰if you pour yourself out for the hungry
    and satisfy the desire of the afflicted,
then shall your light rise in the darkness
    and your gloom be as the noonday.
¹¹And the Lord will guide you continually
    and satisfy your desire in scorched places
    and make your bones strong;
and you shall be like a watered garden,
    like a spring of water,
    whose waters do not fail.
¹²And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt;
    you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
you shall be called the repairer of the breach,
    the restorer of streets to dwell in.

¹³“If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath,
    from doing your pleasure^[c] on my holy day,
and call the Sabbath a delight
    and the holy day of the Lord honorable;
if you honor it, not going your own ways,
    or seeking your own pleasure,^[d] or talking idly;^[e]
¹⁴then you shall take delight in the Lord,
    and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth;^[f]
I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father,
    for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

Footnotes

Isaiah 58:3 Or pursue your own business
Isaiah 58:6 Or bruised
Isaiah 58:13 Or business
Isaiah 58:13 Or pursuing your own business
Isaiah 58:13 Hebrew or speaking a word
Isaiah 58:14 Or of the land

Rev. Timothy Appel

Although a mathematics degree may not be incredibly helpful to (proudly born-and-raised Texan) Rev. Timothy Appel while hosting Sharper Iron, his love of CFW Walther and the season of Easter will come in handy. His Call is shepherding the flock at Faith Lutheran Church in Godfrey, Illinois, and he’s also husband to wife Kristin and dad to their growing basketball team of children. When he’s not carrying out pastoral duties, you may find him reading “The Lord of the Rings,” snacking on Reese’s peanut butter cups, playing dominoes with his boys, or studying up on Texas history (including Sam Houston, of course).