Fasting and Sabbaths

by Tommy Peeler

Isaiah 58 stresses God’s commandments about fasting (Isaiah 58:1-12) and the Sabbath day (Isaiah 58:13-14). Israel was called to humble themselves when fasting (Isaiah 58:3, 5) and to refrain from their pleasures on the Sabbath to do what is pleasing to the Lord (Isaiah 58:13-14). Israel was not listening to God’s commandments in these matters. God rebuked them and called them to use their fast days to clothe the naked and feed the hungry (Isaiah 58:6-7).

Was God saying that fasting and the Sabbath themselves were no big deal? The instructions God gave about fasting and the Sabbath were indeed important. They could not be ignored. Capital punishment was the penalty for violation of either of these commands (Exodus 31:12-18; Numbers 15:32-36; Leviticus 23:29-30). Some argue “that the prophetic author is radically calling into question all ritual piety as essentially misdirected and has replaced it with an altogether new definition of right behavior before God, consisting of care for the poor and homeless” [ B.S. Childs, Isaiah, 476-477]. However, Isaiah is not erasing everything Moses said in the law regarding the Sabbath and fasting.

However, the purpose of these commandments regarding the Sabbath and fasting was greater than simply keeping these instructions outwardly. The purpose of these commandments was also to shape and conform the people into God’s image and likeness. God sought through these commandments to humble the people and to teach them dependence upon Him (Isaiah 58:3, 5, 10). God sought to turn the people from those who sought their own desires and ways to people who fully surrender to His desires (Isaiah 58:2-3, 13-14). He wanted His people to find their ultimate delight in Him (Isaiah 58:14). On the Sabbath, they reflected on the magnitude of God’s creation (Exodus 20:8-11) and His deliverance of them from Egyptian bondage (Deut. 5:12-15). The fasting on the day of atonement was “for the purpose of meditation on the seriousness of one’s sins and the greatness of God in making a way of atonement for them” [John N. Oswalt, Isaiah 40-66, 497].

God wanted the people to obey His words, guidance, and instructions. God was also using His commandments on these subjects (and all others) to shape Israel into a people who loved Him and loved one another. We must listen to God, submit our will to His, and let His words shape us into who He would have us be.