Isaiah 58
Isaiah chapter 58 is divided into two main parts. In the first half (verses 1–7), it criticizes the fasting and religious practices of God’s people that focus mainly on outward appearances. The people thought of themselves as devout and zealous for God, but God points out that their external religious acts do not match the true intent. The second half (verses 8–14) introduces the attitudes toward life that God delights in and the promises associated with them. The main flow is an invitation to distinguish between “faith practiced only outwardly” and “faith revealed in one’s life,” and to come into a true relationship with God.
1verse“Cry aloud! Don’t spare! Lift up your voice like a trumpet! Declare to my people their disobedience, and to the house of Jacob their sins.
2verseYet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways. As a nation that did righteousness, and didn’t forsake the ordinance of their God, they ask of me righteous judgments. They delight to draw near to God.
3verse‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and you don’t see? Why have we afflicted our soul, and you don’t notice?’ “Behold, in the day of your fast you find pleasure, and oppress all your laborers.
4verseBehold, you fast for strife and contention, and to strike with the fist of wickedness. You don’t fast today so as to make your voice to be heard on high.
5verseIs this the fast that I have chosen? A day for a man to humble his soul? Is it to bow down his head like a reed, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under himself? Will you call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD?
6verse“Isn’t this the fast that I have chosen: to release the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke?
7verseIsn’t it to distribute your bread to the hungry, and that you bring the poor who are cast out to your house? When you see the naked, that you cover him; and that you not hide yourself from your own flesh?
8verseThen your light will break out as the morning, and your healing will appear quickly; then your righteousness shall go before you, and the LORD’s glory will be your rear guard.
9verseThen you will call, and the LORD will answer. You will cry for help, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’ “If you take away from among you the yoke, finger pointing, and speaking wickedly;
10verseand if you pour out your soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul, then your light will rise in darkness, and your obscurity will be as the noonday;
11verseand the LORD will guide you continually, satisfy your soul in dry places, and make your bones strong. You will be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters don’t fail.
12verseThose who will be of you will build the old waste places. You will raise up the foundations of many generations. You will be called Repairer of the Breach, Restorer of Paths with Dwellings.
13verse“If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, and the holy of the LORD honorable, and honor it, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words,
14versethen you will delight yourself in the LORD, and I will make you to ride on the high places of the earth, and I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father;” for the LORD’s mouth has spoken it.
Key Message and the Meaning as a Whole
This chapter clearly proclaims what “true fasting” is. God says that it is not enough to simply observe rites and stay faithful to outward appearances; it pleases God when it is accompanied by freeing the oppressed, giving food to the hungry, and love that looks after hurting neighbors. When living such a life, there is also a promise of restoration and blessing: “your light will break forth like the dawn” (verse 8). Isaiah chapter 58 emphasizes that a relationship with God is proven not only by the law and religious ceremonies, but by the whole of one’s life—especially by love for one’s neighbor and righteousness.
Points for Reflection
- Do I put my relationship with God only in terms of “outward acts”?
- Is my faith shown in the place where I live—through love for my neighbor and righteousness?
- Where do the spiritual hunger and longing that I experience come from, and can I take time to reflect on my relationship with God?
Try Applying It to Yourself
- Think about what “true fasting”—that is, what sharing and service—means that I can practice today
- Before putting it into practice, check whether my heart is sincere before God
- Reflect on how the message of Isaiah 58 is reflected in my day and in the way I live for a week, and then carry it out in real action
