Is it such a fast that I have chosen , etc.? Do you suppose that such can be the fast commanded by me in the Law—a fast which is expressly called "a day for a man to afflict his soul"? Is afflicting one's soul simply bowing down one's head as a bulrush, and making one's couch on sackcloth and ashes? Surely it is much more than this. (On the employment of "sackcloth and ashes" in fasting, see Esther 4:3 ; Daniel 9:3 ; Jonah 3:6 .) read more
Is not this the fast that I have chosen? This passage, as Dr. Kay observes, "stands like a homily for the Day of Atonement." Such homilies are found in the uninspired Jewish writings, and are conceived very much in the same spirit. The Jews call the true fast "the fasting of the heart." To loose the bands of wickedness. To set free those whom wicked persons have wrongfully imprisoned or entangled. To undo the heavy burdens ; literally, to untie the thongs of the yoke. The liberation of a... read more
A religious fast. "Is not this the fast that I have chosen?" Which? The contrast is seen in the inclusive words from the fourth to the ninth verses. God does not delight in outwardness. The mere mannerism of religion, or the head bowed as a bulrush, with sackcloth and ashes beneath, is hateful to the Most High. I. FASTING IS TO BE REALLY RELIGIOUS . It is to "loose the bands of wickedness"—to free one's own soul from the last shackles of lust and selfishness, and to aid in... read more
God's idea of fasting. It should be noticed, as giving special point to this reference to fasting, that, besides the regular fasts of the Jewish religion, there were, during the Captivity in Babylon, special fasts appointed as days of repentance and prayer for Israel. God complains that these fasts did not say to him exactly what those who fasted intended them to say, because he looked at the whole conduct of the men to see if it was in harmony with the fasting. The important principle is... read more
Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry? In the early Christian Church almsgiving was connected with fasting by law . It was also accepted as a moral axiom that "fasting and alms were the wings of prayer." Cast out; or, homeless ἀστέγους LXX .). That thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh. Their "flesh" were not merely their near kindred, but their countrymen generally (see Nehemiah 5:5 ). read more
Then . When thou hast taken this advice to heart, and adopted it, and made it the rule of thy conduct. Upon such a change in thee, all good things shall follow. Thou shalt have no more to complain of unanswered prayers or covenant promises left in abeyance (see the comment on Isaiah 58:2 and Isaiah 58:3 ). Shall thy lightbreak forth ; i.e. thy glorious, time shall begin (comp Isaiah 50:1 ). Thine health—rather, thine healing; the "healing of thy bruise," or thy recovery from the... read more
The break of day. "Then shall thy light break forth as the morning." The hindrances to progress in God's Church are not in Divine limitations, but in human perversions. I. THE LIGHT IS THERE . We hide it under the bushel of our formalism and worldliness. Divine revelation gives it—yea, keeps it alive; and it' we remove the obstacles to its glory, it will burst forth. Many blame religion for the faults and formalities of nominally religious men. II. THE REVELATION OF ... read more
If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke (comp. Isaiah 58:6 ). The putting forth of the finger. The pointing of the finger at any one in scorn. And speaking vanity; rather, speaking evil , or plotting evil, against others. read more
Conditions of answer to prayer. Were these men, whose lives were spent for self, but who made a show of seeming to want God, proper persons to receive answers to their prayers? Let the Apostle James answer. "Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts" ( James 4:3 ). God wants signs of right character in those whose petitions he grants; for such character is the only guarantee that what he gives is rightly accepted and rightly used. Here with... read more
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The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 58:4
Ye fast for strife and debate . Delitzsch explains, "When fasting, they are doubly irritable and ill tempered; and this leads to quarrelling and strife, even to striking with angry fists." This is quite a possible explanation. Or there may have been two parties, one for, the other against, fasting; and those who practised fasting may have done it, as some preached Christ, "of envy and strife" ( Philippians 1:15 )—to provoke the opposite side. Ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make... read more