Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 58:2
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.
2. The people indeed are zealous in the performance of their external religious duties, and imagine that this suffices to put them in a right relation to God. They are ostensibly as eager to know the divine will as if they were in reality, and not merely in profession, a people that practised righteousness. A somewhat strained interpretation has been put upon the verse by many modern commentators, who suppose that it refers to the people’s desire for a speedy manifestation of Jehovah’s righteousness in their favour. This feeling was no doubt in their minds, but it is not expressed here (see below).
they seek me ] i.e. enquire of me, the word used of consulting an oracle.
ordinances of justice ] not “righteous judgements” on the enemies and oppressors of Israel, but ordinances of righteousness, i.e. directions as to how righteousness is to be achieved.
they take delight in approaching to God ] R.V. they delight to draw near to God. Cf. ch. Isa 29:13; Psa 73:28. To render “in the approach of God (to judgement)” is arbitrary, and unsuited to the verb “delight.”
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Yet they seek me daily – The whole description here is appropriate to the character of formalists and hypocrites; and the idea is, that public worship by sacrifice was celebrated daily in the temple, and was not intermitted. It is not improbable also that they kept up the regular daily service in their dwellings.
And delight to know my ways – Probably this means, they profess to delight to know the ways of God; that is, his commands, truths, and requirements. A hypocrite has no real delight in the service of God, or in his truth, but it is true at the same time that there may be a great deal of professed interest in religion. There may be a great deal of busy and bustling solicitude about the order of religious services; the external organization of the church; the ranks of the clergy; and the claims of a liturgy. There may be much pleasure in theological discussion; in the metaphysics of theology; in the defense of what is deemed orthodoxy. There may be much pleasure in the mere music of devotion. There may be pleasure in the voice of a preacher, and in the power of his arguments. And there may be much pleasure in the advancement of the denomination to which we are attached; the conversion of people not from sin, but from a side opposite to us; and not to holiness and to God, but to our party and denomination. True delight in religion is in religion itself; in the service of God as such, and because it is holy. It is not mere pleasure in creeds, and liturgies, and theological discussions, and in the triumph of our cause, nor even in the triumph of Christianity as a mere party measure; but it is delight in God as he is, in his holy service, and in his truth.
As a nation that did righteousness – As a people would do who really loved the ways of righteousness.
They ask of me the ordinances of justice – Their priests and prophets consult about the laws and institutions of religion, as if they were really afraid of violating the divine commands. At the same time that they are full of oppression, strife, and wickedness, they are scrupulously careful about violating any of the commands pertaining to the rites of religion. The same people were subsequently so conscientious that they did not dare to enter the judgment-hall of Pilate lest they should disqualify themselves from partaking of the Passover, at the same time that they were meditating the death of their own Messiah, and were actually engaged in a plot to secure his crucifixion! Joh 19:28. It is often the case that hypocrites are most scrupulous and conscientious about forms just as they are meditating some plan of enormous guilt, and accomplishing some scheme of deep depravity.
They take delight in approaching to God – There is a pleasure which even a hypocrite has in the services of religion, and we should not conclude that because we find pleasure in prayer and praise, that therefore we are truly pious. Our pleasure may arise from a great many other sources than any just views of God or of his truth, or an evidence that we have that we are his friends.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Isa 58:2
Yet they seek Me daily
Hypocitical religion
When the prophet went about to show them their transgressions, they pleaded they could see no transgressions they were guilty of; for they were diligent in attending Gods worship, and what more would he have of them?
Now,
1. He owns the matter of fact to be true. As far as hypocrites do that which is good, they shall not be denied the praise of it; let them make their best of it. It is owned that they have the form of godliness.
(1) They go to church, and observe their hours of prayer. They seek Me daily.
(2) They love to hear good preaching. They delight to know My ways, as Herod, who heard John gladly, and the stony ground, that received the seed of the Word with joy; it is to them as a lovely song (Eze 33:32).
(3) They seem to take a great pleasure in the exercises of religion, and to be in their element when they are at their devotions. They delight in approaching to God, not for His sake to whom they approach, but for the sake of some pleasing circumstance–the company or the festival
(4) They are inquisitive concerning their duty, and seem desirous only to know it, making no question,, but that then they should do it. They ask of Me the ordinances of justice, the rules of piety in the worship of God, the rules of equity in their dealings with men, both which are ordinances of justice.
(5) They appear to the eyes of the world as if they made conscience of doing their duty. They are as a nation that did righteousness and forsook not the ordinances of their God. But,
2. He intimates that this was so far from being a cover or excuse for their sin, that really it was an aggravation of it. Show them their sins that they go on in, notwithstanding their knowledge of good and evil, sin and duty, and the convictions of their consciences concerning it. (M. Henry.)
Religious, but unsaved
Men may go a great way towards heaven, and yet come short; nay, may go to hell with a good reputation. (M. Henry.)
Two great problems
The prophet and the world may be considered as engaged in two opposite problems. The problem which the world is ever seeking to discover is to find out what is the least religion they may have, and yet be saved; the problem which the prophet is here endeavoring to solve, is what is the most religion you may have, and yet be lost. (D. Moore, M. A.)
Forms of religion
There are four distinct forms of Gospel service, all of which, if accompanied by right affections towards God, afford just and scriptural evidence of an accepted or reconciled state. These four forms of service are–the habit of daily prayer, a love for the preached Word, an open profession of Christ, and an apparent earnestness in inquiring after the ways and will of God. These, however, are not in themselves decisive tests of spiritual character; causes may operate to induce these outward observances, wholly distinct from the love of God in its governing and ruling power. Education may prompt a man to acts of daily worship; by local sympathies, or by the power of fashion, a man may be induced to make a religious profession; and he may with much apparent earnestness be inquiring which is the way to life eternal, when he has a secret mental reservation to keep the joys, the comforts, and the forbidden delights of the present world. (M. Henry.)
Formalism
I. WHY MEN GO SO FAR.
1. It is a sentiment of moral uneasiness which makes the formalist of every grade and character.
2. But in estimating the causes which induce men to go certain lengths in a religious life, we should not entirely omit the expectation of a considerable degree of credit in the world; a secret pride at being numbered among the people of God–an indefinite notion of outward prosperity as usually following on a bold religious profession.
II. WHY IT IS THAT THEY WILL NOT GO FURTHER, For this I shall assign two reasons.
1. Defective knowledge–an imperfect acquaintance with the way of salvation. Men know not the end of Christs work, they know not the jealousy with which He regards any interference with that work.
2. Defective obedience–they stop short of some form of Gospel requirement with which they should comply.
III. APPLY SOME TESTS OF SPIRITUAL SINCERITY. (M. Henry.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
They seek me daily; they cover all their wickedness with a profession of religion, from time to time resorting to my house, pretending to ask counsel of me, and to desire and seek my favour and blessing.
Delight to know my ways: either,
1. They seem to delight in it; for men are oft said in Scripture to be or do that which they seem or profess to be or do; as Mat 13:12, that which he hath, is thus explained in Luk 8:18, that which he seemeth to have; and Rom 7:9, I was alive, i.e. I falsely thought myself to be alive. See also Phi 3:9. Or,
2. They really delight; for this is evident, that there are many men who take some pleasure in the knowing of Gods will and word, and yet do not conform their lives to it.
As a nation that did righteousness; as if they were a righteous and godly people.
And forsook not the ordinance of their God; as if they were not guilty of any apostacy from God, or neglect of or disobedience to Gods precepts.
They ask of me the ordinances of justice; as if they desired and resolved to observe them.
They take delight, of which see the second note upon this verse,
in approaching to God; in coming to my temple to hear my word, and to offer sacrifices.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
2. Put the stop at “ways”;and connect “as a nation that,” c. with what follows “Asa nation that did righteousness,” thus answers to, “theyask of Me just judgments” (that is, as a matter ofjustice due to them, salvation to themselves, and destructionto their enemies); and “forsook not the ordinance of their God,”answers to “they desire the drawing near of God” (that Godwould draw near to exercise those “just judgments” inbehalf of them, and against their enemies) [MAURER].So JEROME, “In theconfidence, as it were, of a good conscience, they demand a justjudgment, in the language of the saints: Judge me, O Lord, for I havewalked in mine integrity.” So in Mal2:17, they affect to be scandalized at the impunity of thewicked, and impugn God’s justice [HORSLEY].Thus, “seek Me daily, and desire (English Version not sowell, ‘delight’) to know My ways,” refers to their requiring toknow why God delayed so long in helping them. English Versiongives a good, though different sense; namely, dispelling the delusionthat God would be satisfied with outward observances, while thespirit of the law, was violated and the heart unchanged(Isa 58:3-14; Eze 33:31;Eze 33:32; compare Joh18:28), scrupulosity side by side with murder. The prophets werethe commentators on the law, as their Magna Charta, in itsinward spirit and not the mere letter.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Yet they seek me daily,…. Which may be considered as an acknowledgment of their external piety; or as a caution to the prophet not to be imposed upon by outward appearances; or as a reason why they should be rebuked sharply: they sought the Lord, either by prayer, or in the ministry of the word; they sought doctrine, as the Targum; they sought him, and that every day, or, however, every Lord’s day; and yet they did not seek him with that diligence and intenseness of spirit, with their whole hearts, cordially and sincerely, as they ought to have done; they sought themselves, and the honour of men, rather than the Lord and his glory:
and delight to know my ways; not only his ways of creation and providence, but of grace; and also the ways which he prescribes and directs his people to walk in; not that they had a real delight in them, or in the knowledge of them, or such a delight as truly gracious souls have when they have the presence of God in them; are assisted by his Spirit; have their hearts enlarged with his love; find food for their souls, and have fellowship with the saints; but this delight was only seeming, and at most only in the knowledge and theory of these ways, but not in the practice of them; see
Eze 33:31:
as a nation that did righteousness: in general appeared to be outwardly righteous; had a form of godliness, and name to live, and yet dead, and so destitute of any works of true righteousness, at best only going about to establish a righteousness of their own:
and forsook not the ordinance of their God; the ordinance of assembling together in general; any of the ordinances of God in particular; hearing, reading, singing, praying, especially the ordinance of the supper, constantly attended to by them; see Lu 13:26:
they ask of me the ordinances of justice; not of justice between man and man, but of righteousness and religion with respect to God; they ask what are the ordinances of the Gospel, and the rules of worship and discipline, and whether there are any they are ignorant of; suggesting they were desirous of being instructed in them, and of complying with them:
they take delight in approaching to God; there is no right approaching God but through Christ, and gracious souls take a real delight in this way; but the approaching here is only in an external manner, by the performance of outward duties; and the delight is not in God, and communion with him; but in the service, performed as a work of their own, in which they trust, and in what they expect as the reward of it.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
2. Yet they seek me daily. Here he intended to take away every ground of objection from hypocrites, who had their answers ready. “We fear, serve, and love God, and seek him with the whole heart. Why do you rebuke us as if we were irreligious persons; for we wish to regulate our life according to the injunctions of the Law.” To meet this objection, he affirms that they do nothing in a pure or sincere manner, that everything is pretended and hypocritical, and consequently is of no value before God, who demands the whole heart. (Gen 17:1)
It is proper to observe this order which the Prophet has followed. After having threatened war against wicked men and hypocrites, he now rebukes them severely, and takes away the pretenses and disguises under which they shrouded themselves. This is the manner in which hypocrites should be treated, and dragged, as it were, out of their lurkingplaces; for otherwise doctrine could produce no good effect upon them. And not only should godly teachers observe this order, but every person ought to apply this manner of teaching for his own use, that he may not be satisfied with himself or flatter his vices; that he may not practice hypocrisy on himself, or suffer himself to be deceived by the tricks of Satan. Let him therefore bring a pure and upright heart, if he wish to profit by the doctrine of the word, and to be acceptable to God.
And wish to know my ways. Although Isaiah admits that traitors and liars have some show of holiness, yet, on the other hand, by a bitter figure of speech, he censures them, as if he had said that in their shameful boasting there was excessive wickedness. Thus it is not simple irony, but there is likewise added a complaint, that, while they apparently labor to serve God, still, if any person examine them more closely, and inquire into their whole manner of life, he will perceive that their hearts are altogether estranged from God.
They ask of me the judgments of righteousness. (118) Those who think that in these words hypocrites blame God, and rise up against him, as if they would enter into controversy with him, have not understood the Prophet’s meaning. I acknowledge that he does this soon afterwards; but before coming down to it, he tears off their mask of pretended godliness. After having said that they “seek God daily,” as if there were nothing that occupied their thoughts more earnestly than religion, he proceeds in the same strain, and says, that they “ask judgments,” that they may serve God, and observe the rule of a holy life, that is, by pretending to burn with zeal for religion. And indeed the Prophet here enumerates the most important exercises of believers, which sometimes are ostentatiously imitated by the wicked. Now, the chief point of religion is, to inquire into the will of God, that we may regulate our life by the rule which he has laid down for us, and to depend on his mouth. But the children of God, in this respect, are falsely copied by hypocrites, so that they appear to practice all that relates to the true worship of God, and sometimes to exceed the very best of men.
(118) “They consult the priests and prophets as to those laws and statutes about which there is any uncertainty, as if they were afraid of breaking the commandments of God through ignorance. Rosenmuller.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
FORMALISM
Isa. 58:2. Yet they seek Me daily, and delight to know My ways, &c.
One of the most wicked things that Machiavel ever said was this: Religion itself should not be cared for, but only the appearance of it; the credit of it is a help; the reality and use is a cumber. Such notions are from beneath; they smell of the pit; for if there is anything about which the Scripture speaks expressly, it is the sin and uselessness of mere formalism. The Jews were especially liable to this evil. They so rested in the outward observances of the law as to lose its spirit. They were indifferent to the practical forms of godliness, without which religion is but a name and a form. In this chapter we read that they sought God, &c.; and all the time there were grievous sins which they were living in the daily practice of, and of which they were content to be ignorant. As a consequence, they were without the special manifestation of the Divine favour, and were ever ready to upbraid God for unfaithfulness. But God requires truth in the inward parts. The passage suggests
I. THE RATIONALE OF FORMALISM.
A form of religion includes
1. Theoretical religious knowledge. Attach high importance to a well-digested system of truth, but remember you may subscribe to every article of the Christian faith with a sincere and hearty ascent, and yet be destitute of spiritual religion, &c. A creed however scriptural is not vital religion.
2. The practice of moral duties. These are not to be disparaged, but morality is not the love of God.
3. Frequent attendance on religious ordinances. Very devout and regular, earnest in self-sacrifices, fastings, and self-mortifications (Isa. 58:1-7). It is the very essence of formalism to set the outward institution above the inward truths, to be punctilious in going the round of ceremonial observances while neglectful of those spiritual sacrifices with which God is well pleasedto substitute means in the room of ends [1734] It is much easier to observe the forms of religion, than it is to bring the heart under its all-controlling influence (Isa. 1:10-15; Eze. 33:30-33; Mat. 15:8).
[1734] The tendency to turn Christianity into a religion of ceremonial is running with an unusually powerful current to-day. We are all more interested in art, and think that we know more about it than our fathers did. The eye and the ear are more educated than they used to be, and a society as sthetic and musical, as much English society is becoming, will like an ornate ritual. So, apart altogether from doctrinal grounds, much in the condition of to-day works towards ritual and religion. Nonconformist services are less plain; some go from their ranks because they dislike the bald worship in the chapel, and prefer the more elaborate forms of the Anglican Church, which in its turn is for the same reason left by others who find their tastes gratified by the complete thing, as it is to be enjoyed full-blown in the Roman Catholic communion. We freely admit that the Puritan reaction was possibly too severe, and that a little more colour and form might with advantage have been retained. But enlisting the senses as the allies of the spirit in worship it risky work. They are very apt to fight for their own hand when they once begin, and the history of all symbolic and ceremonial worship shows that the experiment is much more likely to end in sensualising religion than in spiritualising sense. The theory that such aids make a ladder by which the soul may ascend to God is perilously apt to be confuted by experience, which finds that the soul never gets above the steps of the ladder. The gratification of taste, and the excitation of sthetic sensibility, which is the result of such aids to worship, is not worship, however it may be mistaken as such. All ceremonial is in danger of becoming opaque instead of becoming transparent, as it was meant to be, and of detaining mind and eye instead of letting them pass on and up to God. Stained glass is lovely, and white windows are barn-like, and starved, and bare; but perhaps, if the object is to get light and to see the sun, these solemn purples and glowing yellows are rather in the way. I, for my part, believe that of the two extremes a Quakers meeting is nearer the ideal of Christian worship than High Mass; and so far as my feeble voice can reach, I would urge as eminently a lesson for the day Pauls great principle, that a Christianity making much of forms and ceremonies is a distinct retrogression and a distinct descent. You are men in Christ; do not go back to the picture-book A B C of symbol and ceremony, which was fit for babes. You have been brought into the inner sanctuary of worship in spirit; do not decline to the beggarly elements of outward forms.Dr. Maclaren, in Expositor.
4. Membership in the Church. In the Church, but not in Christ. The day is coming when union with the Church will not be worth the paper on which it is written, if there is no real spiritual union with Christ.
5. Party zeal and external philanthropy. The piety of Israel at this time seems to have been anything but inactive: it was very busy. Indeed it would seem that they were divided into religious parties or factions, some professing to be more orthodox than others. There was a rivalry, therefore, in their devotion; one tried to excel the other, and the competition ran so high that they began to smite each other with the fist. Formalism is ever full of denominational zeal. Much is said, and done, and given for man in this age of philanthropy, in the spirit of partisanship.
6. Sanctimonious solemnity (Isa. 58:5). If men are in deep sorrow it is natural for them to droop their heads. In the east men wore sackcloth, as we do crape, to indicate their grief. But with the formalist all this is pretencetheatrical sadness and gloom. True religion is joy inspiring, and ever manifests itself in cheerfulness and sunshine. But the mere formalist cannot be happy, hence he robes himself in garbs of sadness, and produces the impression that religion is characteristically grave, &c. Such sanctimoniousness has done untold damage.
What is the character of your religion? Is it formal or spiritual, conventional or Christlyform or heart?
II. THE DEFICIENCIES OF FORMALISM.
1. It tends to form and foster intolerance. The people of the Lord, the people of the Lord are we. In the name of religion men have committed and still commit some of the greatest enormities on which the sun ever shone.
2. It fails to yield the solid happiness found in spiritual religion. It is impossible in the nature of things. True religion is an inward principle (1Sa. 16:7; Rom. 2:28; 1Co. 7:19; Gal. 5:6; Gal. 6:15). A painted fire cannot warm, a painted banquet cannot satisfy hunger, and a formal religion cannot bring peace to the soul.
3. It is directly opposed to the spirit and precepts of the Gospel.
4. It is injurious to its possessor and to others (Isa. 58:1). It warps the judgment, it deadens the conscience, it hardens the heart, it awakens false hopes, and it will put to shame at the last day. Its influence upon others is most pernicious and destructive. It misrepresents religion, &c. Let every minister cry aloud, spare not, lift up his voice like a trumpet against this common foe, this bane of Christendom.
5. It is an insult to Almighty God. If this formalism were so odious to God under the lawa religion full of ceremonies, certainly it will be much more odious under the Gospela religion of much more simplicity, and requiring so much the greater sincerity (Eze. 33:21; Mat. 15:8, and others). He peers into the heart, He sees the sham, and abhors the sacrifice, where the heart is not found.A. Tucker.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
(2) Yet they seek me daily . . .The seeking is that of those who come, like the elders in Eze. 20:1, to enquire of Jehovah, and looking for an oracle from Him. The words point to the incongruous union, possible in the reign of Manasseh, but hardly possible after the exile, of this formal recognition of Jehovah with an apostate life. Every phrase rings in the tone of an incisive irony,, describing each element of a true devotion which the people did not possess.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
The Failing Response of the People ( Isa 58:2-3 a)
Isa 58:2-3
“Yet it is me they seek daily,
And delight to know my ways.
As a nation which did righteousness,
And did not forsake the judgment of their God.
They ask of me the judgments of righteousness,
They delight to draw near to God.
‘Why have we fasted, and you see not?
Why have we afflicted our soul, and you do not notice it?’ ”
This is recognising the people’s response. It was their outward view of themselves. They cannot understand what the problem is, for they saw themselves as behaving satisfactorily, because they had no discernment. This was their claim:
1) They seek Him daily through the daily sacrifices and ministrations.
2) They are concerned to carry out all proper religious practises.
3) They make a great demonstration of maintaining justice by utilising the God-appointed means.
4) They fast and indulge in self-affliction at crucial times.
This being so, how can Yahweh be disappointed with them? We must analyse the claims in more depth.
‘Yet it is Me that they seek daily.’ They see themselves as those who seek Yahweh, and Him especially (the ‘Me’ is stressed), and do it daily. After all they assiduously offer the daily sacrifices and go through the daily ministrations. They offer the morning and evening sacrifices. Compare Isa 1:12-15.
‘And delight to know my ways.’ They considered that because they utilised God-appointed means of establishing justice and listened to the priests and prophets attached to the temple, this was all that could be required of them. Did it not demonstrate that they delighted in His ways? They want all to recognise that it is their great joy to seek to know Yahweh’s will, especially in matters of justice.
‘As (if they were) a nation which did righteousness, and did not forsake the judgment of their God. They ask of me judgments of righteousness, they delight to draw near to God.’ They behaved as though they were a truly righteous nation, one that wanted to know Yahweh’s will. But all the time it was nothing but outward show. No one could criticise their careful attention to religious detail. They did everything the cult required. They followed the means. All that was true, but their hearts were not in it. It was not a genuine seeking of Yahweh.
‘They ask of me judgments of righteousness.’ They were even assiduous in seeking His judgment on things, possibly by use of the Urim and the Thummim, or by use of the lot (both of which could be manipulated). Indeed they give the appearance of delighting to draw near to God for this purpose to discover His ways. They sought to give the impression that they were a righteous nation, that they ‘did righteousness’, and that they were assiduous in seeking justice by God-appointed means, and they made a great outward show of it.
An outsider would surely have been impressed by their cultic observance and their concern to seek God’s judgment on things and their apparently careful attention to finding His will. But the problem was that as far as He was concerned it was all a pretence. In His eyes it was an outward show of religious activity and justice that was not true at heart. For along with what they claimed the worship in the high places continued, people were still not treated fairly in the courts, and their behaviour to each other, both in business and private matters, continued to be abysmal. They drew near to Him with their mouths but their hearts were far from Him.
‘Why have we fasted, and you see not? Why have we afflicted our soul, and you do not notice it?’ The people were surprised and offended at the suggestion that they were anything but righteous. Did they not do everything that was required of them? (Compare Isa 1:11-15). As well as daily ordinances, and a proper seeking of justice, they also keep their fasts and indulge in self-abasement. What more did God want?
But this was in fact the problem. They saw God as Someone to be manipulated by their religious endeavours, by their outward show. They considered that if they engaged in the right rituals God would be forced to respond. What they overlooked was that God was concerned about the fact that they were failing to live rightly and were not observing the details of the covenant in their daily lives, and especially about how they were behaving in their personal relationships with each other. They were not loving their neighbour as they loved themselves.
The basic sinfulness of man comes out in this attitude to religion. In his blindness He sees God as Someone Who has certain requirements, and as long as he fulfils those he considers that God should therefore gratefully respond. When they wanted Baal to bring about the fruitfulness of their crops, or Asherah to ensure fertility, they indulged in free and unrestrained sex before their images. That was what inspired such gods to act. But they knew that Yahweh was a severe God. So their approach was different. Before Him they fasted, went without food and afflicted themselves (compare Jdg 20:26; 2Ch 20:3 ; 2Sa 12:16; 2Sa 12:22-23; 1Ki 21:27). Molech was a tough god and was called on when things were hard, and they then passed their children through his fires, assuming that the sacrifice would persuade him to act also on their behalf. Each was to be persuaded to act by different approaches. They considered that they had a well rounded religious viewpoint.
But what they overlooked with Yahweh was that He was not that kind of God. He was not a God among others. He was not a God Who had to be persuaded to act. He was not a God easily impressed by outward show. He was Yahweh, the only God, ‘the God Who is there’. He was the God Who was always active. He was the God Who wanted to respond with love to those who loved Him (like Abraham did – Isa 41:8). He was the God Who required from them genuineness of heart. And because of that He was continually concerned with every aspect of their lives, and took account of their everyday behaviour. He looked behind the religious facade. He was the covenant God, and true daily righteousness in every aspect of life resulting from their love for Him and for righteousness was expressedly an important part of the covenant (Exo 20:1-17; Deu 6:5). (This was in contrast, for example, to Baal who was not seen as concerned with their behaviour. How could he be? It was pretty much like his own purported behaviour anyway).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Isa 58:2. Yet theythat did righteousness, and forsook not But theyas a nation that doeth righteousness, and forsaketh not.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Observe how possible it is to have a fondness for ordinances, but to be void of a spirit of grace in them. Outward observances are easily followed; but heart-renewing, heart-felt sorrow for sin, consists in somewhat more than these. A squalid face and sable garments, yea, abstinence from ordinary food, are no real marks of true fasting. How divinely hath the Lord Jesus dwelt upon this subject, Mat 6:16-18 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Isa 58:2 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.
Ver. 2. Yet they seek me daily. ] In pretence at least; and this, their dissembled sanctity, double iniquity, is one of those great transgressions of theirs, against which thou must declaim, yea, proclaim hell fire, in case they amend it not.
And delight to know my ways.
As a nation that did righteousness.
They ask of me the ordinances of justice.
And take delight in approaching to God.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
forsook. See note on Isa 1:4.
God. Hebrew. Elohim.
justice = righteousness. Compare Ex. 21-23.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
they seek: Isa 1:11-15, Isa 29:13, Isa 48:1, Isa 48:2, Deu 5:28, Deu 5:29, 1Sa 15:21-25, Pro 15:8, Eze 33:30-33, Mat 15:7-9, Mar 4:16, Mar 4:17, Mar 6:20, Joh 5:35, Tit 1:16, Heb 6:4-6
they ask: Jer 42:2, Jer 42:20, Mar 12:14, Jam 1:21, Jam 1:22, 1Pe 2:1, 1Pe 2:2
Reciprocal: 1Sa 14:36 – Then said the priest Psa 80:4 – how long Son 5:6 – I sought Isa 1:12 – When Isa 42:20 – opening Isa 57:12 – General Jer 7:10 – come Jer 26:2 – all the words Jer 34:15 – ye Jer 42:1 – came Eze 14:7 – and cometh Eze 20:1 – that certain Mat 13:20 – anon Mat 20:12 – borne Mat 23:27 – like Mat 25:3 – foolish Mar 10:20 – General Luk 8:13 – receive Luk 11:42 – and pass Luk 13:24 – for Luk 13:26 – We Luk 15:29 – Lo Luk 18:11 – God Luk 18:12 – fast Joh 4:23 – true Act 4:11 – you Rom 13:2 – ordinance
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Isa 58:2. Yet they seek me daily They cover all their wickedness with a profession of religion, from time to time resorting to my house, pretending to ask counsel of me, and to desire and seek my favour and blessing. And delight to know my ways That is, either, 1st, They seem to delight to know them, men being often said in Scripture to be or do that which they seem or profess to be or do: or, 2d, They really delight; for there are many men who take some pleasure in knowing Gods will and word, and yet do not conform their lives to them. As a nation that did righteousness As if they really were a righteous people; and forsook not the ordinance, &c. As if they were not guilty of any apostacy from God, or neglect of, or disobedience to, his precepts. They ask of me the ordinances of justice As if they desired and resolved to observe them. They delight In appearance or reality; in approaching unto God In coming to my temple to pray to me, receive instruction, or offer sacrifices.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
58:2 Yet they {b} 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.
(b) They will seem to worship me and have outward holiness.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Even though the Israelites sinned, they sought the Lord constantly and inquired concerning His ways. They claimed to be a righteous people who had observed the Mosaic Law carefully. They asked God for justice, and they delighted in the thought that He was near them.