Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 58:5
Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? [is it] to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes [under him]? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD?
5. Should such be the fast that I choose? Can mere gestures and symbols of humiliation avail anything, along with such evidences of an unspiritual frame of mind?
to afflict his soul ] Both here and in Isa 58:3 the phrase expresses what is of moral value in the act of fasting, the repression of sensual impulses through abstinence, &c. It is so used also in Psa 35:13 (“I humbled my soul through fasting”), and in the laws about fasting it becomes almost a technical expression (Lev 16:29; Lev 16:31; Lev 23:27; Lev 23:32; Num 29:7). From it comes the noun ta‘anth (humiliation), the common term for fasting in late Hebrew (found Ezr 9:5). How little the true end of fasting was attained in the case of those here addressed has been shewn in Isa 58:4.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Is it such a fast that I have chosen? – Is this such a mode of fasting as I have appointed and as I approve?
A day for a man to afflict his soul? – Margin, To afflict his soul for a day. The reading in the text is the more correct; and the idea is, that the pain and inconvenience experienced by the abstinence from food was not the end in view in fasting. This seems to have been the mistake which they made, that they supposed there was something meritorious in the very pain incurred by such abstinence. Is there not danger of this now? Do we not often feel that there is something meritorious in the very inconveniences which we suffer in our acts of self denial? The important idea in the passage before us is, that the pain and inconvenience which we may endure by the most rigid fasting are not meritorious in the sight of God. They are not that at which he aims by the appointment of fasting. He aims at justice, truth, benevolence, holiness Isa 58:6-7; and he esteems the act of fasting to be of value only as it will be the means of leading us to reflect on our faults, and to amend our lives.
Is it to bow down his head – A bulrush is the large reed that grows in marshy places. It is, says Johnson, without knots or joints. In the midst of water it grows luxuriantly, yet the stalk is not solid or compact like wood, and, being unsupported by joints, it easily bends over under its own weight. it thus becomes the emblem of a man bowed down with grief. Here it refers to the sanctimoniousness of a hypocrite when fasting – a man without real feeling who puts on an air of affected solemnity, and appears to others to fast. Against that the Saviour warned his disciples, and directed them, when they fasted, to do it in their ordinary dress, and to maintain an aspect of cheerfulness Mat 6:17-18. The hypocrites in the time of Isaiah seemed to have supposed that the object was gained if they assumed this affected seriousness. How much danger is there of this now! How often do even Christians assume, on all the more solemn occasions of religious observance, a forced sanctimoniousness of manner; a demure and dejected air; nay, an appearance of melancholy – which is often understood by the worm to be misanthropy, and which easily slides into misanthropy! Against this we should guard. Nothing more injures the cause of religion than sanctimoniousness, gloom, reserve, coldness, and the conduct and deportment which, whether right or wrong, will be construed by those around us as misanthropy. Be it not forgotten that the seriousness which religion produces is always consistent with cheerfulness, and is always accompanied by benevolence; and the moment we feel that our religious acts consist in merely bowing down the head like a bulrush, that moment we may be sure we shall do injury to all with whom we come in contact.
And to spread sackcloth and ashes under him – On the meaning of the word sackcloth, see the notes at Isa 3:24. It was commonly worn around the loins in times of fasting and of any public or private calamity. It was also customary to sit on sackcloth, or to spread it under one either to lie on, or to kneel on in times of prayer, as an expression of humiliation. Thus in Est 4:3, it is said. and many lay on sackcloth and ashes: or, as it is in the margin, sackcloth and ashes were laid under many; (compare 1Ki 21:27). A passage in Josephus strongly confirms this, in which he describes the deep concern of the Jews for the danger of Herod Agrippa, after having been stricken suddenly with a violent disorder in the theater of Caesarea. Upon the news of his danger, immediately the multitude, with their wives and children, sitting upon sackcloth according to their country rites, prayed for the king; all places were filled with wailing and lamentation; while the king, who lay in an upper room, beholding the people below thus falling prostrate on the ground, could not himself refrain from tears (Antiq. xix. 8. 2). We wear crape – but for a somewhat different object. With us it is a mere sign of grief; but the wearing of sackcloth or sitting on it was not a mere sign of grief, but was regarded as tending to produce humiliation and mortification. Ashes also were a symbol of grief and sorrow. The wearing of sackcloth was usually accompanied with ashes Dan 9:3; Est 4:1, Est 4:3. Penitents, or those in affliction, either sat down on the ground in dust and ashes Job 2:8; Job 42:6; Jon 3:6; or they put ashes on their head 2Sa 13:19; Lam 3:16; or they mingled ashes with their food Psa 102:9. The Greeks and the Romans had also the same custom of strewing themselves with ashes in mourning. Thus Homer (Iliad, xviii. 22), speaking of Achilles bewailing the death of Patroclus, says:
Cast on the ground, with furious hands he spread
The scorching ashes oer his graceful head,
His purple garments, and his golden hairs;
Those he deforms, and these he tears.
Laertes (Odys. xxiv. 315), shows his grief in the same manner:
Deep from his soul he sighed, and sorrowing spread
A cloud of ashes on his hoary head.
So Virgil (AEn. x. 844), speaking of the father of Lausus, who was brought to him wounded, says:
Canitiem immundo deformat pulvere.
Wilt thou call this a fast? – Wilt thou suppose that these observances can be such as God will approve and bless? The truth here taught is, that no mere outward expressions of penitence can be acceptable to God.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Isa 58:5-9
Is it such a fast that I have chosen?
—
The fast which God has chosen
I. GODS PURPOSE IN COMMANDING MEN TO FAST.
1. To lead us to prayer (Isa 58:4), prayer so real that our voices are heard on high, that God will hear and answer.
2. To aid us in realizing communion with Him (Isa 58:9); that His voice be heard by us as truly as ours by Him; our voice to Him (Isa 58:8), His to us.
3. To aid in repressing self in all its forms. In Joh 3:30, we have thegeneral principle, also in Php 2:8.
II. THE NATURE OR CHARACTER OF TRUE ABSTINENCE.
1. To loose our bands (Luk 13:16), whom Satan hath bound Luk 11:21-22; Mat 5:29-30).
2. To undo our burdens (Psa 55:22; Mat 11:28-30).
3. To break every yoke, every habit that enslaves (Rom 14:21; 1Co 6:12-18). I will not be brought under the power of any.
4. To bring the flesh into subjection to the spirit (Gal 5:17).
III. THE EFFECT OF TRUE ABSTINENCE.
1. Then thy light shall break forth like morning (Php 2:15-16; Mat 5:16).
2. Thy righteousness shall go before thee as a leader to higher grace and 2Co 3:18).
3. Thy prayer shall be heard (verse 9).
4. There shall be light from on high, and His guidance for ever (verse 10; Psa 32:8; Exo 33:14).
Conclusion: To keep this season properly, we must be ourselves free as now creatures in Him. We must act habitually in the spirit of freedom Gal 5:1). We must do what in us lies to make others free Num 10:29). (H. Linton, M. A.)
Philanthropic piety
In these verses you have the religious instinct working, not through selfishness, but through love, not in formal religious devotions, but in earnest philanthropic services.
I. ITS RITUAL IS PHILANTHROPIC SERVICE. Pure religion and undefiled is this, to visit the widow and fatherless, etc.
II. ITS INFLUENCE IS GLORIOUSLY BENEFICENT. What is it? Light. Then shall thy light break forth as the morning. Prosperity will come on them as the genial dawning of a long and blessed day. Health. Thine health shall spring forth speedily. All weakness and disease will depart, and healthful vigour will come into the soul. Righteousness. Thy righteousness shall go before thee. The eternal law of rectitude–not expediency, not caprice, not passion, not morbid sentiment, will guide the footsteps as a leader through the winding path of life. Glory. The glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward (margin, shall gather thee up, that ye shall bring up the rear).
III. ITS SPIRIT IS ACCEPTABLE TO GOD. Then shalt thou call and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and He shall say, Here I am. The idea is that if men would only be real in their religion, show their love to Him by labouring earnestly for the good of suffering humanity, then He would respond to their prayers, and grant them their request. (Homilist.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
That I have chosen; approve of, accept, or delight in, by a metonymy, because we delight in what we freely choose.
A day for a man to afflict his soul; or, to afflict his soul for a day. It is an hypallage, and so it may be understood either for a man to take a certain time to afflict his soul in, and that either from even to even, Lev 23:32, or from morning to evening, Jdg 20:26; 2Sa 3:35; or else to afflict his soul for a little time. To afflict, or keep himself low, or chastise the body for want of food, viz. outwardly, without any inward sorrow, or compunction for sin, working a true humiliation in the sight of God.
His soul, put here synecdochically for the body or person, as is usual in Scripture, Gen 46:18,22,25; Le 5:2,4; 7:20,21,27; 22:11.
To bow down his head as a bulrush: here the prophet sets down those external gestures and postures in particular which they did join with their hypocritical fasts, as he had mentioned it before in general.
To bow down; bowing is the posture of mourners, Psa 35:14; and here it is either, as if through weakness of body their heads did hang down; or counterfeitly, to represent the posture of true penitents, moving sometimes their heads this way, and that way, as the word signifieth, not unlike the balance of a clock, as the bulrush moved by the wind boweth itself down, waving to and fro, in a kind of circular or semicircular motion; the contrary motion of lifting up the head being an indication of pride, Isa 3:16. It is the guise of hypocrites to put on affected countenances, Mt 6 16.
To spread sackcloth and ashes under him. The Jews, to express their sorrow, made use of sackcloth and ashes two ways.
1. Sometimes by putting on sackcloth upon their bodies, as 1Ki 21:27; Psa 69:11, and casting ashes upon their heads, 2Sa 13:19. And,
2. Sometimes by spreading sackcloth under them, and lying down upon ashes, Est 4:3; Job 2:8. The intent of
sackcloth was to afflict the body by its unpleasing harshness, and of
ashes to represent their own vileness, as being but dust and ashes; their putting of them on might note their uneasiness under sin, and laying on them their self-abhorrency, shaming themselves for it.
Quest. Are such rites now convenient on a day of humiliation to help us in our afflicting of ourselves?
Answ. Gospel services neither require them nor need them, respecting more the inward afflicting of the soul with godly sorrow and deep contrition; yet may they carry this instruction along with them, that our ornaments, our best and gaudy apparel, ought to be laid aside, as not suiting either the ground and cause, or the end and design, of days of humiliation.
Wilt thou call this a fast? i.e. canst thou upon a rational account as a mere man call it so? canst thou think, suppose, or believe it to be so? it being such a one as has nothing in it but the lifeless skeleton and dumb signs of a fast, nothing of deep humiliation appearing in it, or real reformation proceeding from it. Not that the prophet blames them for these external rites in this outward way of afflicting themselves; for, this he commands, Lev 23:27,31-32, and appoints certain rites to be used, Lev 16:19,21. And these particular rites were frequent in their solemn humiliations, 1Ki 21:27; Est 4:3; Dan 9:3; used also by the heathen, Jon 3:5,6. See Mat 11:21. But that which he condemns is their hypocrisy in separating true humiliation from them, for bodily exercise profiteth little, 1Ti 4:8.
An acceptable day to the Lord; a day that God will approve of, as before. Heb. a day of acceptance, or that will turn to a good account on your behalf.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
5. for a man to afflict his soulThepain felt by abstinence is not the end to be sought, asif it were meritorious; it is of value only in so far as it leads usto amend our ways (Isa 58:6;Isa 58:7).
bow . . . head . . .sackclothto affect the outward tokens, so as to “appearto men to fast” (Mat 6:17;Mat 6:18; 1Ki 21:27;Est 4:3).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Is it such a fast that I have chosen?…. That is, can this be thought to be a fast approved of by me, and acceptable to me, before described, and is as follows:
a day for a man to afflict his soul? only to appoint a certain day, and keep that, by abstaining from bodily food, and so for a short time afflict himself; or only after this manner to afflict himself, and not humble himself for his sins, and abstain from them, and do the duties of justice and charity incumbent on him:
is it to bow down his head as a bulrush; when it is moved with the wind, or bruised, or withered; as if he was greatly depressed and humbled, and very penitent and sorrowful. The Syriac version renders it, “as a hook”; like a fish hook, which is very much bent; so Jarchi interprets the word:
and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? which were ceremonies used in times of mourning and fasting; sometimes sackcloth was put on their loins, and ashes on their heads; and sometimes these were strewed under them, and they laid down upon their sackcloth, which, being coarse, was uneasy to them, and rolled themselves in ashes, as expressive of their meanness and vileness:
wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord? does this deserve the name of a fast? or can it be imagined that such a day so spent, can be agreeable to God? that such persons and services will be accepted of by him? or that hereby sin is atoned for, and God is well pleased, and will show his favour and good will, and have respect to such worshippers of him? no, surely.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Whilst the people on the fast-day are carrying on their worldly, selfish, everyday business, the fasting is perverted from a means of divine worship and absorption in the spiritual character of the day to the most thoroughly selfish purposes: it is supposed to be of some worth and to merit some reward. This work-holy delusion, behind which self-righteousness and unrighteousness were concealed, is met thus by Jehovah through His prophet: “Can such things as these pass for a fast that I have pleasure in, as a day for a man to afflict his soul? To bow down his head like a bulrush, and spread sackcloth and ashes under him – dost thou call this a fast and an acceptable day for Jehovah? Is not this a fast that I have pleasure in: To loose coils of wickedness, to untie the bands of the yoke, and for sending away the oppressed as free, and that ye break every kind of yoke? Is it not this, to break thy bread to the hungry, and to take the poor and houseless to thy home; when thou seest a naked man that thou clothest him, and dost not deny thyself before thine own flesh?” The true worship, which consists in works of merciful love to one’s brethren, and its great promises are here placed in contrast with the false worship just described. points backwards: is such a fast as this a fast after Jehovah’s mind, a day on which it can be said in truth that a man afflicts his soul (Lev 16:29)? The of is resumed in ; the second is the object to expressed as a dative. The first answers to our preposition “to” with the infinitive, which stands here at the beginning like a casus absol. (to hang down; for which the inf. abs. might also be used), and as in most other cases passes over into the finite ( et quod saccum et cinerem substernit , viz., sibi : Ges. 132, Anm. 2). To hang down the head and sit in sackcloth and ashes – this does not in itself deserve the name of fasting and of a day of gracious reception (Isa 56:7; Isa 61:2) on the part of Jehovah ( for a subjective genitive).
Isa 58:6 and Isa 58:7 affirm that the fasting which is pleasant to Jehovah consists in something very different from this, namely, in releasing the oppressed, and in kindness to the helpless; not in abstinence form eating as such, but in sympathetic acts of that self-denying love, which gives up bread or any other possession for the sake of doing good to the needy.
(Note: The ancient church connected fasting with almsgiving by law. Dressel, Patr. Ap. p. 493.)
There is a bitter irony in these words, just as when the ancients said, “not eating is a natural fast, but abstaining form sin is a spiritual fast.” During the siege of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans a general emancipation of the slaves of Israelitish descent (who were to be set free, according to the law, every three years) was resolved upon and carried out; but as soon as the Chaldeans were gone, the masters fetched their liberated slaves back into servitude again (Jer 34:8-22). And as Isa 58:6 shows, they carried the same selfish and despotic disposition with them into captivity. The which points forwards is expanded into infin. absolutes, which are carried on quite regularly in the finite tense. Motah , which is repeated palindromically, signifies in both cases a yoke, lit., vectis , the cross wood which formed the most important part of the yoke, and which was fastened to the animal’s head, and so connected with the plough by means of a cord or strap (Sir. 30:13; 33:27).
(Note: I have already observed at Isa 47:6, in vindication of what was stated at Isa 10:27, that the yoke was not in the form of a collar. I brought the subject under the notice of Prof. Schegg, who wrote to me immediately after his return from his journey to Palestine to the following effect: “I saw many oxen ploughing in Egypt, Palestine, Syria, and the neighbourhood of Ephesus; and in every case the yoke was a cross piece of wood laid upon the neck of the animal, and fastened to the pole of the plough by a cord which passed under the neck of the animal.”)
It is to this that , knots, refers. We cannot connect it with m utteh , a state of perverted right (Eze 9:9), as Hitzig does. are persons unjustly and forcibly oppressed even with cruelty; is a stronger synonym to (e.g., Amo 4:1). In Isa 58:7 we have the same spirit of general humanity as in Job 31:13-23; Eze 18:7-8 (compare what James describes in Jam 1:27 as “pure religion and undefiled”). ( ) is the usual phrase for ( ) . is the adjective to , and apparently therefore must be derived from : miserable men who have shown themselves refractory towards despotic rulers. But the participle m arud cannot be found elsewhere; and the recommendation to receive political fugitives has a modern look. The parallels in Lam 1:7 and Lam 3:19 are conclusive evidence, that the word is intended as a derivative of , to wander about, and it is so rendered in the lxx, Targ., and Jerome ( vagos ). But , pl. , is no adjective; and there is nothing to recommend the opinion, that by “wanderers” we are to understand Israelitish men. Ewald supposes that may be taken as a part. hoph. for , hunted away, like in 2Ki 11:2 ( Keri ); but it cannot be shown that the language allowed of this shifting of a vowel-sound. We prefer to assume that (persecuted) is regarded as part. pass., even if only per metaplasmum , from , a secondary form of (cf., , , , m akuna ). Isa 58:7 is still the virtual subject to . The apodosis to the hypothetical commences with a perf. consec., which then passes into the pausal future . In hsilgnE:egaugnaL\ (from thine own flesh) it is presupposed that all men form one united whole as being of the same flesh and blood, and that they form one family, owing to one another mutual love.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
5. Is it such a fast as I have chosen? He confirms the preceding statement, and shows that fasting is neither desired nor approved by God in itself, but so far as it is directed to its true end. He did not wish that it should be altogether abolished, but the improper use of it; that is, because they believed the worship of God to consist in it, and by neglecting or even despising true godliness, thought that bodily exercise was enough; just as hypocrites always put forward external ceremonies, as if they were satisfactions to appease God.
Again, because men, through their rashness, define what is the worship of God, he expressly refers us to his own will, that we may not suppose that he approves of everything which our own judgment pronounces to be right. Although men are well pleased with themselves, and swell with astonishing haughtiness, and indulge in insolent boasting, the Lord rejects and abhors them, because he claims for himself alone the right to “choose.” Now, “to choose” a thing is of the same import as “to take pleasure in it.”
And hanging his head like a bulrush. He says that he is not delighted if a man passes a day in hunger, and then walks with a sad and downcast look. The Prophet employs all appropriate metaphor; because the bulrush, though it is straight, is easily bent. So hypocrites bend themselves, and bow down the head, as if under the influence of oppressive leanness, or display some empty appearance of humility. The Prophet therefore intended to censure superstitious attitudes, in which hypocrites imagine that there is some holiness.
And spread sackcloth and ashes. These things also were added to fasting, especially when they made solemn professions of repentance; for they clothed themselves with “sackcloth,” and threw “ashes” on their head. (Joe 1:13) Now, such an exercise was holy and approved by God; and we see that the prophets, while they exhort the people to repentance, cry aloud for “sackcloth and ashes.” But as we have said that fasting is not here condemned on its own account, so Isaiah does not condemn those outward ceremonies, but reproves hypocrites for separating them from reality.
If it be asked, Are “sackcloth” and “ashes” suitable to our time? I reply, they are indifferent matters, which may be used for edification; but in the light of the Gospel, which has brought liberty to us, we have no need of such figures. At the same time, we should attend to the difference between Eastern nations, which make use of a great abundance and variety of ceremonies, and Western nations, whose habits are far more simple. If we wished to imitate the former, it would be nothing else than to enact the part of apes, or of stageplayers. Yet there is nothing to hinder those who intend to confess their guilt, from wearing soiled and faltered garments, after the manner used by suppliants. (121)
A day acceptable to Jehovah. Hence it is evident that to solemn prayer, when a holy assembly was held, there was added fasting; for fasting, as we have already said, is an appendage to prayer; as we see that it was added to prayer by Christ himself. (Mat 17:21) It is not appointed, therefore, for its own sake, but is directed to a different end.
(121) “ Selon la coustume des criminels qui demandent misericorde.” “According to the custom of criminals who implore mercy.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(5) A day for a man to afflict his soul.The phrase comes from Lev. 16:29, and describes the soul-sorrow which was the true ideal of fasting. In contrast with this we have the picture, reminding us of Mat. 6:16, of the mechanical prostrations, which are as the waving of a bulrush in the breeze. The image suggests a new aspect of our Lords statement, that the Baptist was not as a reed shaken by the wind (Mat. 11:7), scil., that his fasting was not outward and ceremonial, like that of the Pharisees.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
5-7. Is it such a fast That is, the one chosen fast which I have appointed through my servant Moses? Only the fast connected with the day of atonement had been thus duly appointed. With this annual great day of atonement were prescribed many and various ceremonial duties, all having symbolic importance, not needful to be here defined. At various times in the history of Israel other fasts were established, especially from the time of the exile onward. With classes of Jews who affected much religiousness, fasting became merely an outward asceticism, and this is what is here condemned. The moral intent of a fast is expressed by the deepest humiliation, penitence, a whole self-surrender to God, heart-felt love for others, and a round of sincerely compassionate acts such as the wants of our fellow men call for. For the lack of these the prophet characterizes the fasting of his times, and of times foreseen far into the future, as dumb show and hypocrisy. The kind of pretended humiliation he condemns does not tend to radical reformation of life. This demands that they should loose the bands of wickedness, and undo heavy burdens: or, in other words, should cease to be unjust to debtors and others. Break every yoke, etc. That is, the manumission of slaves, (Leviticus 25,) and the cessation of every sort of oppressiveness, etc. See Jer 34:8-22. The kind of character required before God embraces, moreover, forgiveness of enemies, unfeigned sympathy with sufferers, and pure, general beneficence.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
“Is it such a fast that I have chosen?
The day for a man to afflict his person?
Is it to bow down his head as a rush?
And to spread sackcloth and ashes under him?
Will you call this a fast?
And an acceptable day to Yahweh?”
Yahweh denounces the kind of fasting they were engaging in. (It bears all the marks of the way the worst of the Pharisees fasted (Mat 6:16)). They afflicted their persons, they bowed their heads in false humility like a rush bows before the wind, they spread sackcloth and ashes underneath them, they wanted all to see that they were fasting. And they meanwhile engaged in their unjust and sinful behaviour. But such a day of fasting is not acceptable to Yahweh. It is a travesty of the ‘acceptable year’ of God’s deliverance (Isa 61:2).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
DISCOURSE: 993
THE SERVICES WHICH GOD REQUIRES
Isa 58:5-11. Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? Wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord? Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burthens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily; and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward. Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; and if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noon-day: and the Lord shall guide this continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters fail not.
IT is not uncommon for persons who are hypocrites at heart, to make a great profession of religion, and even to complain of God himself, as not recompensing sufficiently their zeal in his cause. The Pharisee who boasted of his fastings and his alms-deeds, is a just representation of this character. But against inch persons it is the duty of a minister to bear the most decided testimony. The injunction given to the prophet was, Cry aloud, spare not; lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins. And what were the transgressions that were to be so severely censured? Was it an entire neglect of ordinances? No: it is acknowledged that the people abounded in the externals of religion: They seek me early, says God, and delight to know my ways as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinances of justice: they take delight in approaching to God. But in the midst of all this pretended zeal for godliness, they were insincere at heart. Their observance of duties proceeded from a principle of pride, and was intended as a cloak for their hidden abominations. Their very fasts were nothing but a display of the vilest hypocrisy, which God abhorred. The prophet, being commanded to reprobate such odious conduct, states to them what their fasts should be, in order to be accepted and approved by God.
In considering this statement we shall shew,
I.
What, in their seasons of humiliation, was required of Gods people of old
They were called to express their contrition by fasting [Note: Joe 2:15-17.]. But the outward service, however humble in appearance, was not acceptable to God, unless attended with suitable dispositions of mind, and amendment of life. Hence the prophet appealed to the people themselves, that, to evince the sincerity of their devotions, there must be a change in their whole conduct, and an habitual practice of the long-neglected duties of justice and charity.
[The Jews, both before and after the Babylonish captivity, were much addicted to extortion and oppression [Note: Jer 34:9-11. with Neh 5:5.]. To make restitution to those whom they had defrauded, and reduced to bondage; to refrain from putting forth the finger in a way of scorn and menace against those whom they had injured, or from deceiving them by vain promises of compensation; and to break entirely every yoke, whereby they had galled and oppressed their brethrenthese were the very first acts required to evince the sincerity of their repentance; since with the commission of such cruelties not the smallest measure of real penitence could consist.
But to the reformation of these habits God required them to add the exercise of mercy. They must feed the hungry and clothe the naked, and consider every child of man as a brother whom they should regard as their own flesh: they were to take the most destitute of the human race, and bring him, if occasion so required, to their own house, for the purpose of affording him more effectual relief: they were to feel such sympathy with him, as to draw out, not merely their purse, but even their very souls, for his relief; and so to apportion their benevolence, as to aim at not merely comforting, but satisfying, his afflicted soul. This is the spirit which God loves; this he approves infinitely beyond all outward services of whatever kind; and this he required of his people, as the best proof of a regenerate heart, and as the surest evidence of their love to him.]
Such a change as this, he assured them, should bring down upon their souls the richest blessings.
[They might have seasons of darkness and distress, even as others; or they might be calumniated by evil men, yea, and be harassed by cruel persecutions: but, if they abounded in the heavenly dispositions before specified, their light should break forth as the morning, and their darkness be as the noonday; yea, their health should spring forth speedily; and they should experience in their own souls far richer consolations than they ever did, or could, administer to their afflicted brethren: their righteousness, which had been impeached, should go before them, to testify their real character; and the glory of the Lord should be their rereward, interposing between them and their persecutors, like the cloud and pillar of fire, for their effectual preservation and protection. Whatever they might want, they should have liberty of access to God for it; and upon their crying to him for it, he would present himself before them, saying, Here I am; here I am; and whatever thou wantest I will give thee. Should they be in doubt how to act, the Lord would guide them continually: should they be in any particular necessity or distress, he would satisfy their souls in drought, and even make fat their bones, insomuch that their graces should flourish like a well-watered garden, and their consolations abound like a spring of water whose waters fail not.]
Now this leads me to shew,
II.
What God requires of us at this time
There is a special call, both from God in his providence, and from the highest authorities in the realm, to humble ourselves at this time in fasting and prayer. But we must be careful not to think that a mere outward service will be of any avail, if we add not to it that reformation of heart and life which God calls for at our hands: I say then that,
1.
He requires of us the same duties as of his people of old
[We must put away from us every thing that is contrary to love, and live in the habitual exercise of love in all its branches. There are many things, the offspring of pride and selfishness, sanctioned by the habits of the world, which yet we should be careful not to practise
When addressing you on a day of national humiliation, I may well advert to that great national sin of holding thousands of our fellow-creatures in bondage, and treating them as though they had neither the rights nor feelings of humanity Whilst this continues, God cannot but have a controversy with us; nor can we expect any thing at his hands but to be visited with his heaviest displeasure But there are manifold instances of oppression which obtain amongst ourselves in our daily intercourse with mankind, which, though not of the same flagrant nature with the slave-trade, are most offensive in the sight of God: and against these we should, all of us individually, be on our guard; for God is the avenger of the injured party, whosoever he may be, and will call us to account for all the evils that we inflict upon him.
But this is a small, a very small, part of the duty which we owe to our brethren of mankind. We should regard our fellow-creature, how poor and destitute soever he may be, as our own flesh, and be as anxious for the relief of his necessities, as we should for the ease and welfare of a member of our own body. The extent to which our charity should be carried, should know no other bounds than the necessities of our brother, and our own ability to relieve him. And such should be our delight in these exercises of love, that they should call forth all the finest feelings of our souls, and administer to ourselves a more exquisite joy than the communication of any benefits can confer on the receiver of them.
This is the proper employment of a season like this; and, without it, our external sacrifices will be no better than the cutting off a dogs neck, or the offering of swines blood [Note: Isa 1:10-17; Isa 66:3.].]
2.
He extends to us the same encouragements
[There is in the minds of many religious people a very undue jealousy on the subject of charity, as entailing on those who abound in it a rich reward. But the Scriptures are full of declarations to this effect; and God even declares that he would esteem himself unrighteous [Note: Heb 6:10.], if he omitted to recompense to us the benefits which for his sake we confer on others. True, our works of charity shall not go before us, to obtain the favour of God for the remission of our sins. Nothing but the blood of Christ can avail for that; nor can any thing but his perfect righteousness imputed to us, form a justifying righteousness for us, even though we gave all our goods to feed the poor, or our bodies to be burned. But our deeds of charity, if springing from faith in Christ, and love to his name, will follow us [Note: Rev 14:13.], as evidences of the divine principle within us, and as memorials of our desire to serve and honour God in his appointed way.
But we need go no further than to the passage before us, to see what testimonies of his approbation God will vouchsafe to all who live in the exercise of love. Our acts may have been so private, that our right hand has not known what our left hand has done: but God himself will bear witness to us, and bring forth our works, not only as objects of his approbation, but as grounds on which he will proceed in apportioning the glory that shall be awarded to us [Note: Mat 25:34-36.]. At this present time also he will bestow such blessings as can scarcely be conceived. Take the different expressions in my text: analyse them: apply them to the soul in all their extent and amplitude: view them as suited to all the necessities that can possibly arise: and see God himself as pledged to carry them all into effect: and then regard them all but as a prelude to the glory that shall be accorded to us at the instant of our departure hence: in a word, only enter fully into the promises here made to Gods ancient people, and you will need nothing more to evince the excellence of love, and the blessedness of those who lay themselves out for God in the discharge of its high duties.]
See now,
1.
How to turn to a good account the services of this day [Note: By a slight alteration of these words the subject may be adapted to a fast approaching, or present, or past.]
[Though the outward tokens of humiliation should not be neglected, the inward rectification of the soul should be our chief aim. We should break off our sins by righteousness, and our iniquities by shewing mercy to the poor [Note: Dan 4:27.]. To do justly and to love mercy are the chief things which God requires of us as proofs and evidences of our sincerity in humbling ourselves before him. If then we would spend an acceptable day unto the Lord, let us set ourselves earnestly to the work marked out for us by God himself, rectifying whatever we know to have been amiss in our conduct, and fulfilling to the uttermost every office of compassion and love. We must distinguish indeed between what we do in order to obtain acceptance with God, and what we do to please and honour him. To obtain mercy at his hands, we must simply believe in Christ: but to glorify his name we must search out all possible occasions of doing good, and promote to the utmost of our ability the edification and happiness of all around us.]
2.
How to obtain a very heaven upon earth
[Religious professors, when they enjoy but little comfort in their own souls, are apt to ascribe it to a sense of their own unworthiness, and to regard it rather as a proof of their humility. But in most instances, I believe, it must be traced to an habitual neglect, or a very partial performance, of the offices of love. The generality are too selfish in their habits, and too regardless of the necessities of their fellow-creatures, and the honour of their God. We have seen in the passage before us what God would do for us, if we laid ourselves out for him in the duties and offices of love. He has told us that, to water others is the way to be ourselves watered, and to mete out liberally to others is the way to have good measure poured into our own bosom. Let us then abound more and more in every good work; and we shall surely find, that the work of righteousness is peace, and the effect of righteousness is quietness and assurance for ever [Note: Isa 32:17.].]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
Isa 58:5 Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? [is it] to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes [under him]? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD?
Ver. 5. Is it such a fast that I have chosen? ] No; for God hates that mar-good formality; and displeasing service is double dishonour.
A day for a man to afflict his soul,
Is it to bow down the head as a bulrush?
And to spread sackcloth and ashes under him?
Wilt thou call this a fast?
And an acceptable day to the Lord.
a Rous’s Archaeol. Attica.
b Turkish History, 777; Voyage into the Levant.
chosen. See note on Isa 1:29.
a man. Hebrew. adam. App-14.
soul. Hebrew. nephesh. App-13.
bulrush. See note on Isa 9:14.
the Lord. Hebrew. Jehovah. App-4.
it such: 2Ch 20:3, Ezr 10:6, Neh 9:1, Neh 9:2, Est 4:3, Est 4:16, Dan 9:3-19, Zec 7:5
a day for a man to afflict his soul: or, to afflict his soul for a day, Isa 58:3, Lev 16:29
to spread: 1Ki 21:27-29, 2Ki 6:30, Job 2:8, Jon 3:5-8
an acceptable: Isa 49:8, Isa 61:2, Psa 69:13, Luk 4:19, Rom 12:2, 1Pe 2:5
Reciprocal: Lev 23:27 – afflict Num 30:13 – to afflict Ezr 8:21 – afflict ourselves Job 42:6 – repent Psa 35:13 – humbled Dan 4:27 – by showing Joe 2:13 – your garments Mar 12:33 – is more Rom 14:6 – regardeth it Eph 5:10 – acceptable Col 4:1 – give
This was not the type of fasting God approved (cf. Isa 1:11; Psa 51:16-17; Luk 18:9-14). It consisted only in His people bowing their heads, not their hearts. Bowing the head like a reed expresses formal worship, like a reed automatically bending in response to wind. The people sat in sackcloth and ashes, but they did not really mourn over their disobedience to the Lord. They thought their outward fasting, bowing, dressing, and adorning were more important than their attitudes and behavior, though they probably did not realize it and certainly did not admit it (cf. Jas 1:27; Jas 4:8).
"When we worship because it is the popular thing to do, not because it is the right thing to do, then our worship becomes hypocritical." [Note: Wiersbe, p. 66.]
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)