Isaiah 58:14

To ‘ride high in the land’ means ‘your happy life will attract favourable attention’.

• The *Lord promised to supply all that his people need (see Deuteronomy 32:13-14).

Temple ~ special building in Jerusalem where Jews praised God and offered him prayers and gifts.
Jerusalem ~ at the time of David and Solomon, the capital of the country called Israel. During the time of Isaiah, Jerusalem was the capital of the country called Judah.
Jew ~ a person who belongs to the 12 tribes of Israel.
tribe ~ group of the later family of one father.
Lord ~ God’s name in the Bible. In the original language, God’s names mean ‘head over all’ and ‘God always’.
fast ~ to choose not to eat or drink for a good reason.
sackcloth ~ dress of rough material that people wore to show that they were very sad.'self-denial ~ the opposite of self-interest. (Self-interest is the attitude of greedy people who care only about themselves.)
Babylonian ~ a person from the country called Babylon; or anything that has a relationship with the country called Babylon.
Sabbath ~ seventh (7th) day of the week, which the Jews used especially to give honour to God. So the Jews did not work on the Sabbath.
Jew ~ a person who belongs to the 12 tribes of Israel.
tribe ~ group of the later family of one father.

1. Isaiah: New *Heavens and a New Earth

God’s *Messiah Beats God’s Enemies

Isaiah Chapter s 56 to 66

Gordon Churchyard

The words in square brackets, […], are not in the *Hebrew Bible. They make the book easier to understand in English. Isaiah wrote his book in the *Hebrew language. The words in round brackets (…) are explanations.

Chapter 58

1. *Feast or *Fast?

v1 ‘Shout with [your] voice, do not hold back [the sound]! Make your voice sound like a *trumpet! Declare to my people that they have not obeyed me. Also, [tell] the house of Jacob about their *sins.

v2 [Do this] because every day they look for me. And they seem eager to know my ways. They are like a nation that does the right things. And [they are like a nation] that has not turned away from the commands of their God. They ask me to decide fairly. And they seem eager for God to come near to them.’

v3 [They say this.] ‘We have *fasted and you, [God], did not see it. We made ourselves humble and you did not notice it.’ [God answers], ‘Look! On the day when you *fast, you please yourselves. And you are cruel to all the people that work for you.

v4 Look! While you *fast, you quarrel. Then you fight. And you strike each other wickedly with your fists. You cannot *fast like that today if you want [God] to hear your voice in high [places].

v5 I did not want you to do these things when you *fast.

• A man makes himself humble [only] for a day.

• [A man] only lowers his head like a plant.

• And [a man] lies on rough cloth and ashes.

But you do these things when you *fast. [Do you think] that the *LORD will accept this? [Certainly not!]

v6-7 This is the way that I want you to *fast.

• Loose the chains that wrongly bind [people].

• And untie the strings [that hold] the *yoke.

• Let those people go free [who suffer because of your] cruelty.

• And break every *yoke.

• Share your food with hungry people.

• And provide shelter for the poor wanderer.

• When you see naked people, give them clothes.

• And do not turn away from your own family.

v8 Then your light will flood out like the dawn and you will soon appear to be healthy again. Then your *righteous (very, very good) [God] will go in front of you and the *glory of the *LORD will guard your backs.

v9a Then you will call and the *LORD will answer [you]. You will cry for help and he will immediately say, “Here I am.”

v9b-10a [You must do these things.]

• Remove the *yoke.

• Do not point the finger [at people] and say evil things.

• Use all your energy to give help to hungry people.

• Some people are suffering because of cruelty. Give to them the things that they need.

v10b Then your light will shine in the darkness and your night will be like midday.

v11 The *LORD will always guide you. He will satisfy you in a country where the sun is burning [everything]. And he will make your bodies strong. You will become like a garden which has plenty of water. [You will be] like a *spring whose waters never fail.

v12 You will rebuild the old [places that the enemy] destroyed. And you will raise up (erect) the ancient buildings. [People] will call you “The One that Repairs Broken Walls”. And [they will call you] “The One that Rebuilds Streets with Houses”.

v13-14 If you [do these things], then you will find your joy in the *LORD.

• Do not do wrong things on the *Sabbath.

• Do not do what pleases you on my *holy day.

• Call the *Sabbath a delight.

• Call the *LORD’s *holy day honourable.

• Respect [the *Sabbath] and do not go your own way.

• [On the *Sabbath], do not do things that please you. And do not speak foolish words [then].

[If you do these things,] I will also cause you to ride on the high places in the country. And you will *feast on what your father Jacob gave to you.’

[This is so] because the mouth of the *LORD has said [these things].

2. Notes

Verse 1 Verse 14 tells us that the voice here is the voice of God. He spoke his words through Isaiah. A ‘trumpet’ is a musical instrument that people blow into. It can play very loud music. The loud voice tells God’s people that they have not obeyed him. The ‘house of Jacob’ is another name for God’s people, the *Jews. ‘*Sins’ are thoughts and acts that do not obey God’s laws.

Verses 2-4 The word ‘because’ at the start is important. It explains why God calls them *sinners in verse 1. They seemed to do everything that they should do for their religion. But two things were wrong:

• They did not behave themselves as their religion told them to behave. They fought among themselves. They forced their workers to work too hard. They did not pay their workers properly. They pleased themselves; they did not please God.

• They copied some wrong things that other people did for their false religions. An example is in verse 4. They *fasted to make God listen to them. ‘In high (places)’ means where God is. It is either in heaven or in his house in Jerusalem. In many false religions, people thought that they could force their false gods to listen to them. But it is very wrong to behave in that manner towards the real God. We must respect God. We cannot force him to do the things that we want him to do. Look again at the notes on the end of chapter 57.

This chapter says a lot about the right and the wrong way to *fast. ‘To *fast’ means ‘not to eat food for a period of time’. It is a way to be humble in front of God. In many religions, people *fast often. But God only asked his people to *fast for one day every year, Leviticus 23:26-32. Isaiah chapter 58 seems to show that they *fasted more often than this.

Verse 5 The plant is probably one that grows near water. The tops of these plants bend over. The rough cloth was what people made sacks from. They wore that same kind of cloth when they were very sad. They also put ashes on their heads. God would accept the people if they really were humble. But God did not accept the people because they were not sincere!

Verses 6-7 Here is a list of what God wants his people to do. There are really just two things:

• Verse 6. ‘Chains’, ‘*yoke’ and ‘cruelty’ mean one thing. They mean that the masters deal with the people in a cruel manner. They behave as if their workers are prisoners or animals. A ‘*yoke’ is a piece of wood. It binds two animals together as they pull a plough. Here the *yoke binds people together. They become slaves to their masters. Their masters are cruel to them. If the masters are really *fasting, then they must prove it. They must break the *yokes and they must let the prisoners go free. That would prove that the masters were really *fasting.

• Verse 7. People need food, clothes and shelter. Some poor people did not have these things. If people were really *fasting, they would give food, clothes and shelter to poor people. This was especially true for people in their own families. Where we have ‘families’ in this verse, the *Hebrew Bible has ‘flesh and blood’. That is a *Hebrew way to say ‘family’. ‘Flesh’ is the meaty part of our bodies.

Notice the structure of verses 6-12:

Verses 6-7	Verses 8-9a	Verses 9b-10a	Verses 10b-12
What God’s people must do to *fast properly.	What will happen when they do this.	What God’s people must do to *fast properly.	What will happen when they do this.

‘a’ means the first part of a verse; ‘b’ means the last part.

Verses 8-9a If they obey God, God will listen to them. God will now do good things to them, or *bless them. God promises four good things, or *blessings:

• Their lives will begin again. This is what ‘your light will flood out like the dawn’ means. The dawn is the beginning of the day. They will make a new start.

• God will cure their injuries. That includes injuries both to their bodies and to their homes and families.
• Their *righteous (very, very good) God would go ahead of them. Only God is really very, very good. But he calls his people ‘*righteous’ (good), too, if they obey him. The fact that they are *righteous (good) protects them.
• The *glory of God is what makes him so great. It is as if he shines more brightly than the sun!

Verse 9b-10a Compare these verses with verses 6-7. We ‘point the finger’ when we blame somebody.

Verse 10b-12 Here is another list of the good things that God will do. A ‘spring’ is a place in the ground from which water flows out. In verse 12, ‘you’ probably means their children, when they have grown up. ‘Raise up’ is another word for ‘rebuild’.

Verses 13-14 The word ‘*feast’ near the end of verse 14 is important. In most of chapter 58, God has told his people how they should *fast. A ‘*fast’ is not to eat food, often because of your religion. A ‘*feast’ is the opposite of that! A *feast was a happy occasion when people ate plenty of food. We could call this chapter ‘*Feast or *Fast?’ Verses 13-14 are about the *Sabbath. The ‘*Sabbath’ was the 7^th day of the week. It was God’s ‘*holy day’. Christians have their *Sabbath on Sunday instead. On that day, Christians remember these two things:

1) God raised Jesus up from death on the day after the *Jewish *Sabbath.

2) God said that it was good to rest (not to work) on one day of the week.

The *Hebrew words for ‘do not do wrong things’ are these. ‘Do not let your foot break the *Sabbath’. Here is what they mean:

• ‘Do not let your foot’ means ‘do not go’;

• ‘break the *Sabbath’ means ‘where you will not obey the rules of the *Sabbath’.

So, ‘do not go where you will not obey the rules of the *Sabbath.’ In English, we say, ‘Do not put a foot wrong.’ This means, ‘Do not make a mistake.’ So, the *Jews must have said something that was similar! They must not do whatever pleased them. To do that was to go their own way.

Notice the link with Jacob in verse 1. ‘What Jacob gave you’ were God’s promises to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. The people should enjoy those promises as if they were enjoying a meal. What God promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, their people would now enjoy. But they would only enjoy the benefit of those promises if they obeyed God. ‘Ride on high places’ probably means ‘rule your own country’.

8. heavens ~ another word for ‘skies’. It can also mean the place where God lives and the skies above us.
   messiah ~ a leader such as a king. With a capital M (that is, ‘Messiah’), it means Jesus for Christians.
   Hebrew ~ the language that Isaiah spoke.
   feast ~ a period of time when people eat plenty of food. Especially, the occasions when people do this because of their religion. Or, to enjoy plentiful food and drink.
   fast ~ a period of time when people do not eat, usually because of their religion. Or, to refuse food for a period of time.
   trumpet ~ a musical instrument that people sound when they blow into it. It is very loud.
   sin ~ not to obey God. Or, what you do when you do not obey God.
   fast ~ a period of time when people do not eat, usually because of their religion. Or, to refuse food for a period of time.
   LORD ~ LORD is a special name of God. In the Hebrew language, it is YHWH. It may mean ‘always alive’. So LORD is a sign that the Hebrew word is YHWH.
   lord ~ master. When it has a capital L (that is, ‘Lord’), it is a name for God.
   Hebrew ~ the language that Isaiah spoke.
   yoke ~ this went across the shoulders, with loads which hung on each end.
   righteous ~ very, very good. Only God is really righteous (always right) but he calls his people righteous too.
   glory ~ something that shines and is wonderful. Especially, it is God’s splendid beauty.
   spring ~ a place where water comes from the ground.
   Sabbath ~ the 7^th day of the week (Saturday), when the Jews worshipped God. It was a day for rest and prayer.
   Jews ~ the people that lived in Judah (which sounds like ‘Jew-dah’) and Israel.
   worship ~ to tell God (or a false god) that he is wonderful; and also, to tell him that you love him.
   holy ~ very, very good. Only God is really holy. He is so holy that he is separate from everybody else.
   feast ~ a period of time when people eat plenty of food. Especially, the occasions when people do this because of their religion. Or, to enjoy plentiful food and drink.
   Jews ~ the people that lived in Judah (which sounds like ‘Jew-dah’) and Israel.
   sin ~ not to obey God. Or, what you do when you do not obey God.
   bless ~ to declare good things for someone; to show that person special kindness.
   blessing ~ the good things that God does for someone.
   Jewish ~ a description of something that has a relationship to the Jews.
   Jews ~ the people that lived in Judah (which sounds like ‘Jew-dah’) and Israel.