Thursday, March 7, 2024
Then your light will appear like dawn, and your recovery will come quickly. Your righteousness will go before you, and the Lord’s glory will be your rear guard. At that time, when you call, the Lord will answer; when you cry out, he will say, ‘Here I am.’ If you get rid of the yoke among you, the finger-pointing and malicious speaking, and if you offer yourself to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted one, then your light will shine in the darkness, and your night will be like noonday. The Lord will always lead you, satisfy you in a parched land, and strengthen your bones. You will be like a watered garden and like a spring whose water never runs dry. Some of you will rebuild the ancient ruins; you will restore the foundations laid long ago; you will be called the repairer of broken walls, the restorer of streets where people live. Isaiah 58:8-12
True Devotion
Jerusalem was destroyed. The people were fasting and crying out to God, asking “Why has He not answered our prayers?” They were fasting for their prayers to be answered and they were seeking justice for what had happened to them.
God knows there is no devotion in their hearts for Him and He addresses the Israelites and how they have been fasting and following other religious rituals simply as duties to perform. As we have been going through the Sermon on the Mount in The Jesus Way sermon series, we have heard lots about how Jesus felt about religious rituals performed without the devotion of a heart given to Him and a life lived for Him.
In verses 1-7, God commands Isaiah to tell the Israelites that they are in sin because they are fasting and doing other religious things with no sincerity. They do seek after God and seem to long to know His ways and follow Him, but when they fast, it is for themselves and there is no true devotion to God. They were performing religious acts, but they were not walking the Jesus Way. They were not showing signs of a relationship with Him in other areas of their lives.
God first asks them to stop doing three things: stop oppressing others, stop judging by pointing the finger and stop gossiping and speaking maliciously about others. Then He asks them to feed the hungry, and not just with food. God wanted them to minister to people’s hearts and afflicted souls.
The Lord will always lead you, satisfy you in a parched land, and strengthen your bones. You will be like a watered garden and like a spring whose water never runs dry. Some of you will rebuild the ancient ruins; you will restore the foundations laid long ago; you will be called the repairer of broken walls, the restorer of streets where people live.
If they would live out this true fast, He promised them blessings and restoration. He would protect them, their prayer would be answered, and He would guide them. When we walk the Jesus Way, we live lives full of righteousness and the glory of the Lord.
Next God addressed what good would come to them if they fasted with a heart of true devotion and lived a lifestyle that glorifies God and points others to Him. He wanted them to love others and show justice, feed the hunger, shelter the homeless, etc. He wanted them to show God’s love to others and act like they had a relationship with Him. He outlines the good that would come to them if they were truly fasting in devotion to God and living the Jesus Way.
Are we living the Jesus Way and are we caring for others in the Jesus way?
Here are some great examples of what happens in our lives when we walk the Jesus Way:
You will have an enlightened life: your light will shine in the darkness, and your night will be like noonday.
You will have a guided life: The Lord will always lead you
It is a satisfied life: …satisfy you in a parched land
It is a fragrant life: You will be like a watered garden.
It is a freshly sustained life: you will be like a spring whose water never runs dry.
It is a productive, healing life: You will rebuild the ancient ruins; you will restore the foundations laid long ago; you will be called the repairer of broken walls, the restorer of streets where people live.
It’s not enough to go through the motions of religious rituals; God wants us to have a heart that seeks justice, cares for the oppressed, and honors Him through a life of obedience. It is never a matter of what we do or don’t do. It is a matter of our heart.
Are you devoted to Him in the “things” you do?
Are you performing these religious tasks with a devoted heart, pointing others to Jesus?
God always wants a relationship with His children over us doing religious things for His kingdom.
