Isaiah 58:6-12

2. HOLINESS

TEXT: Isaiah 58:6-12

6

Is not this the fast that I have chosen: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?

7

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?

8

Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thy healing shall spring forth speedily; and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of Jehovah shall be thy rearward.

9

Then shalt thou call, and Jehovah will answer; thou shalt cry, and he will say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking wickedly;

10

and if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul: then shall thy light rise in darkness, and thine obscurity be as the noon-day;

11

and Jehovah will guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in dry places, and make strong thy bones; and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.

12

And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places; thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.

QUERIES

a.

Why exhort them not to hide from their own flesh?

b.

What is putting forth of the finger?

c.

How would they raise up foundations of many generations?

PARAPHRASE

To the contrary, I do have standards for the kind of fasting that is acceptable to Me. If you will afflict your souls and truly repent, you will cease to oppress your fellow man and make every effort to free the oppressed from any unfair exploitation they may be under. If you will feed those who are hungry, give shelter to the outcast and the needy stranger, clothe those in need of something to wear and remember to minister to the needs of your own family, then you will be repenting as I wish you to do. When you do these things, the glory of God's goodness will burst on your nation like the suddenness and brilliance of the morning sun. Your land will be cured of its chaos and wickedness rapidly. The glory of the Lord will completely surround you, protecting and sustaining you as in the days of old. Then you will be able to call upon the Lord and He will be able to answer. No longer will you be rebelling against Him and running from Him, but you will find Him and He will come to you.
Let Me repeat for emphasis, If you put an end to all the oppression, stop making contemptuous gestures and slanderous words toward peopleand if you turn in sympathy to the hungry and feed them and help all who are in need, then the darkness around you now will turn to goodness and truth as bright as the noon-day sun. The Lord will guide such a people every day and will bring life and health to them. Such a people will blossom with righteousness and produce the fruit of justice and give life to all about them like an ever flowing spring in an oasis. If you people will do this you will produce offspring that will build back the messianic nation that was once founded and is now in ruins. What you build, as a result of such repentance, will lay a foundation upon which many generations of the future may be able to build the messianic kingdom. You will be known as the people who repaired the ruined walls of God's redemptive city and as the people who restored the way that leads to man's salvation.

COMMENTS

Isaiah 58:6-9 a REPENTANCE: God promises wholeness to those who will keep His covenant. But Judah needs to repent before it can meet God's standards of holiness. That is, the nation must change its direction theologically (repenting of idolatry) and morally (repenting of social transgressions). This has to be done individually, of course. If Judah will keep her covenant with the Lord as He wishes her to she will loose the bonds of wickedness, unto the. yoke., feed the hungry, clothe the naked, etc. The word fast in verse six may be used generically to mean the total relationship of man toward God which would be covenant relationship. Micah's prophecy gives an excellent parallel to Isaiah; they were, after all, contemporaries. Micah, Chapter s 1-3, document the atrocious sins of the powerful against the weak; Chapter s 4-5 promise the messianic destiny of the Jews; Chapter s 6-7 announce to the people of Micah's day what they must do to cooperate with Jehovah in that destiny. The essence of covenant-keeping, according to Micah, is not spectacular religious ritual or sacrifice but simply being Godlike in the everyday, mundane relationships with both God and man. Micah puts it this way, He has showed you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God (Micah 6:8).

It should not be strange to the people of Judah that one of their prophets would exhort them to care for the poor. The Law of Moses was very clear on caring for the poor (cf. Deuteronomy 14:28 to Deuteronomy 15:18). The Law of Moses was also explicit as to responsibilities toward one's own flesh and blood (family relationships). In such areas as training and discipline of children, levirate law of provision for in-laws, divorce, inheritance laws, etc., the Law is plain. It seems almost incredible that people should have to be reminded to take care of their families, yet even in the New covenant scriptures Christians are admonished, if any one does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his own family, he has disowned the faith and is worse than an unbeliever (1 Timothy 5:8). The Pharisees, rather than honoring their fathers and mothers by financial support in their old age, declared their assets Corban (devoted to God and unavailable for social security support). And the Pharisees were very religious people who were certain that they, above every one else, were covenant people of Jehovah!

If the people will repent (change) and turn back to the instructions of God in the Law of Moses, God promises three distinct changes will take place in their society: (a) Healing of the wounds and sicknesses of society will take place suddenly and brilliantly like the morning sun. In the land of Palestine, the sun seems to come up instantaneously, not gradually, as in lands with an abundance of trees and other things to block the horizon. (b) The righteousness they practice will be a source of safety and security for life and at the same time Jehovah will give His glorious providential safety and security. Judah will be surrounded by a security of righteousness. (c) Repentance will also bring renewed access to God. Jehovah cannot countenance a kingdom in rebellion. Man is created with a free will and the freedom to choose his spiritual Sovereign. If man wishes God to be his Sovereign, man must conform to the Sovereign's rule. As long as man rebels against the sovereignty of God, he cannot (because he does not want) have access to God. Jehovah will answer all who surrender to His sovereignty and call upon Him.

Isaiah 58:9 b - Isaiah 58:12 RESULTS: There are grander and more gratifying results to add to the nation if it repents. The qualification is restated, but still the same: repentance. Evidently the putting forth of the finger was a kind of derisive, contemptuous pointing of the finger (cf. Proverbs 6:13). It is listed here in connection with speaking wickedly and must have reference to slander or unjust accusations. God says men must repent of that. It is graphic evidence of a hateful heartone that would despise the hungry and have no compassion on the afflicted.

But look at the promised results of repentance: (a) continual guidance of Jehovah who is absolute truth, absolute justice, absolute righteousness. To the individual who repents will come a personal satisfaction of the soul like the desert nomad's thirst is satisfied when he finds a cool, shady, bubbling spring of water. There will come personal wholeness and spiritual integration like a man feels physically when he is young and strong and in the prime of health. (b) The man who repents and keeps God's covenant will also produce something for the benefit of others. He will become like a watered garden and a spring of water, whose waters fail not. Jesus said His disciples would become rivers of living water (cf. John 7:37-39). The disciples of Jesus are to become salt of the earth and light of the world (cf. Matthew 5:13-16). (c) The man who repents will build the kingdom of God. Obviously, the rebuilding work of those who repent here is the rebuilding of the people's covenant relationship to Jehovah in order that they may fulfill their messianic destiny and form the kingdom of God on earth (the church). Repairing literal walls and building literal foundations can in no way be the goal of this prophecy. Its only goal is to encourage the people of Isaiah's day to be instruments of Jehovah as He reaches toward the establishment of New Israel. And the church was founded on a generation of covenant-keeping Hebrews in the first century A.D. when the gospel was obeyed first in Jerusalem, then in Judea, then in Samaria and then in the uttermost parts of the earth.

QUIZ

1.

What is the word fast used for generically in verse six?

2.

What does the Law of Moses have to say about treatment of the poor?

3.

What does God promise to do for the nation and the individual who repents?

4.

How does covenant-keeping enter into this section?

5.

What may the individual enjoy personally as a result of his repentance?

6.

What may the individual produce for the benefit of others by repentance?