Isaiah 58:1

(The beginning of Section C of Division VI (Isaiah 58-66)

As Kidner observed, "God's trumpet call to the formalists is related to the previous indictment in Isaiah 57:1-13";[1] and this indicates that the period of Isaiah's own times and reaching down to the captivity is the historical era to which the chapter evidently refers. Hailey, a very dependable scholar, agreed with this, and fixed the period after the invasion of Sennacherib (that is, in the times of Manasseh) as the times visible in this chapter, stating that, "This is the most reasonable of the theories."[2] Barnes' analysis indicated that this prophecy applied to, "the reign of Manasseh, at or near the time of one of the public fasts; and the fact that the external rites of religion were observed among the abominations of that wicked reign led to the severe reproof here."[3]

Most of the writers, however, it appears to us, missed the real reason for the denunciations here. Barnes thought that the rebuke was, "of their formality and hypocrisy";[4] and Archer supposed that it was due to the failure of the Jews to conform their lives to the moral requirements of true religion, writing that, "No religious observance has value (in the eyes of Jehovah) that is not supported by a godly law-abiding life."[5]

As they stand, such opinions are true enough, except that they do not address the principal reason for God's vehement denunciations. And what is that? It is simply this, "that God had never commanded all of those fasts the people were having!" The only fast God ever commanded the Jews to observe was that on the day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:29-31); and all the rest of their many fasts were purely of human origin with no divine authority or sanction whatever.

Of course, the critical community, hunting some excuse to date these chapters after the exile, point out that the Pharisees of Jesus' times fasted "a hundred times in the year" (twice a week, Matthew 9:14); but this habit of Israel's multiplying the number of their fasts was going on long before the times of the return from Babylon, as witnessed by Zechariah 7:7. The prevalence of that habit cannot be divorced from the times of Manasseh.

In view of these facts, therefore, we believe that the great sin of Israel was their departure from the Word of God in the multiplication of their fasts. Of course, we also admit their formality and hypocrisy in this; but even if they had been "sincere," which Rawlinson believed many of them were,[6] God would never have approved and accepted all of those man-commanded fast days. There are many people of our own times today who are perfectly sincere and faithful in following human forms and systems of worship who stand in the same jeopardy as did those whom God so severely condemned here. Men simply do not have the right, or the authority, to change what God has required of his human servants.

The continued strong evidence of Isaiah's authorship of all of Isaiah should not be overlooked here. As Cheyne noted, "Hoffman in particular uses this chapter as evidence of Isaiah's authorship."[7]

This is the beginning of Section 3 of Division VI of Isaiah, and Douglas professed to have found a three-fold division of this section, three chapters each, corresponding to admonitions connected with, "The kingly office of Christ in Isaiah 58-60, his priestly and prophetic offices in Isaiah 61-63, and with the final messages of Jehovah in Isaiah 64-66."[8] Such divisions do not appear very distinct to this writer, and they have not proved to be very helpful.

Isaiah 58:1-3

"Cry aloud, spare not, lift tip thy voice like a trumpet, and declare unto my people their transgression, and to the house of Jacob their sins. 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 righteous judgments; they delight to draw near unto God. Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find your own pleasure, and exact all your labors."

"Voice like a trumpet ..." (Isaiah 58:1). One would not warn a man that his house was on fire in a soft casual voice. Isaiah was here commanded to deliver this warning in a manner consistent with the urgency of it. We wonder if some of the soothing, casual, and conversational voices of many of our modern preachers should not be more consistent with the urgency of the Divine call to repentance.

Isaiah 58:2 states that Israel were transgressors and sinners "as a nation, etc.," "as if they were a nation" that did righteousness and had not forsaken the ordinance of their God. Note the singular "ordinance." What was it? It was that single fast that God had commanded on the day of Atonement! That is precisely the thing they had omitted in favor of all kinds of fasts proclaimed by their false leaders. God's further word in Isaiah 58:3 notes that, "In the day of your fast (not mine), ye find your own pleasure, and exact all your labors." Some have applied this to the exaction imposed upon servants by their masters; but we fail to see how "your labors" can be applied to servants, as they have not been mentioned here. We believe the reference is to all the work and bother that the hypocritical Jews were going about in order to observe their own fast days, while neglecting God's one sacred fast day on the day of Atonement. Adam Clarke thought the reference meant that, "Some disregarded the most sacred fast (the day of Atonement); but obliged their servants to work all day long (on that day), in numberless cases, having changed the fast day into feast day!" See Footnote No. 15.

Many of the things written about the situation here are in error because they are founded upon the mistake that God is not concerned with anything except social justice. It is very significant here that the very first sin God mentions is their neglecting "God's ordinance." Of course, God is also concerned with social justice; but all social justice, in the final analysis, derives from honor paid to the Word of God and the holy worship He has commanded.