Sunday School Lesson 12 - Isa. 58:1-12 - WHAT GOD EXPECTS
LAST WEEK: We covered Isaiah's last Servant Song in Chapter 53, verses 1-12, in which prophet gave an incredibly detailed description of the mission and character of the "Suffering Servant." The text made it abundantly clear that neither nations nor human prophets were capable of fulfilling the role of this Servant. When we arrive at this chapter, the Servant whom Isaiah portrays is clearly an amazingly perfect individual, and the inescapable conclusion is that only Jesus Christ, the Son of God, can and does perfectly fit this description. We covered four points of personal application: (1) It's a sad truth that almost 70% of the world's population still don't believe or don't know that Jesus Christ died for their sins; (2) human beings might not need help with their physical condition, but in terms of their spiritual condition, they are doomed to damnation; (3) Many people today are guilty of misjudging who Jesus is. If they will honestly look at all the evidence on record about His life, death, and resurrection, there's a decent chance they might see the light. And (4) As God's appointed servants, it's our job to keep on sharing Isaiah's report-the gospel message-until Jesus returns. How do we do this? Save them, one life at a time.
THIS WEEK: In Isa. 58:1-12, we'll hear the prophet address the problem of false religious observance. In our modern vernacular (Baptists especially), we'd call it the problem of dealing with a backslidden church members. The two issues that Isaiah focused on were fasting and Sabbath observance. In the modern church it could pertain to faithful giving of your time, talents, and/or resources. In both scenarios the root problem-the true condition of the heart-is similar. Therefore, the root solution is devotion (commitment, dedication, etc.) to God, which is an attitude that grows naturally out of love for God. People who love God will worship and honor Him out of reverence rather than the blessings they expect to get from Him. Moreover, if we truly love and honor love God, we will also love those whom God loves-our neighbors and those who are in need (spiritual and otherwise).
Read Isa. 58:1-2 - DECLARE TO MY PEOPLE THEIR WRONGDOING
1 "Cry loudly, do not hold back; Raise your voice like a trumpet, And declare to My people their wrongdoing, And to the house of Jacob their sins. 2 Yet they seek Me day by day and delight to know My ways, As a nation that has done righteousness And has not forsaken the ordinance of their God. They ask Me for just decisions, They delight in the nearness of God.
v. 1a: "Cry loudly, do not hold back; Raise your voice like a trumpet" - This verse could be paraphrased "scream bloody murder, fire a shot in the air, and do whatever takes to get them to pay attention!" If the prophet is going to get the people's attention, then God must first get the prophet's attention. The expression, "Raise your voice like a trumpet," suggests an action having the authority and urgency of a national emergency.
v. 1b: "And declare to My people their wrongdoing, And to the house of Jacob their sins." - The purpose of getting the people's attention is to inform them that God knows about their rebellion and fully intends to enlighten them regarding the seriousness of their sins. The expressions, "My people" and the "house of Jacob" are examples of Hebrew parallelism for the same group. The irony here is that the people are essentially clueless-don't understand the scope of their sins nor how to truly correct them. This is true of backslidden Christians: they don't think they're doing anything wrong.
v. 2a: "Yet they seek Me day by day and delight to know My ways" - This verse is a good example of Biblical sarcasm, depicting them as the epitome of faithful followers when, in truth, they are not.
v. 2b: "As a nation that has done righteousness And has not forsaken the ordinance of their God." - In this phrase, the use of "As" as a preposition is like "as if they had done...," declares that the faithfulness of these people is phony-they have failed the righteousness test. And this would come as a shock to them, because they erroneously believe they have been faithful. God, however, is about to inform them that they have been keeping the lesser requirements of the Law while neglecting the important parts, parts that deal with important issues like justice, mercy, and faith.
c. 2c: "They ask Me for just decisions, They delight in the nearness of God" - The real irony here is that these unrighteous people are asking God for righteous judgments-blessings they think they deserve. What they fail to understand is that if God were to render a righteous judgment, He would condemn every one of them. The same problem exists in churches today: Most people who think themselves righteous are actually self-righteous-have judged themselves as righteous when by Scriptural standards, they fall way short. The fact of the matter is that none are righteous. As Paul said , "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23). As human sinners, we're in no position to ask God for righteous judgments; we can only appeal to Him for mercy and forgiveness.
APPLICATION 1: Insincere expressions of devotion never impress God. Because God see the heart of every person, any artificial attempt to show devotion towards Him will fail His righteousness test.
Isa. 58:3-4 - WE FAST AND YOU DO NOT SEE?
3 'Why have we fasted and You do not see? Why have we humbled ourselves and You do not notice?' Behold, on the day of your fast you find your desire, And oppress all your workers. 4 Behold, you fast for contention and strife, and to strike with a wicked fist. You do not fast like you have done today to make your voice heard on high!
v. 3a: "Why have we fasted and You do not see? Why have we humbled ourselves and You do not notice?" - This is the people's complaint: they have fasted (poor things) but God has failed to reward their devotion. According to them it should be a quid pro quo transaction-they give something and get something (from God) in return. Does this sound like manipulation? They pull strings in order to get God to jump? In terms of power, this reverses the relationship between the Creator and the created. The people's views have at least two flaws: (1) No one has the right to impose obligations
on God-it is by His grace that we even have fellowship with Him; and (2) fasting, required only on the Day of Atonement by the Torah, is in reality only a minor part of a Jew's spiritual obligations to God. The quid pro quo mindset continues to afflict churches today, e.g., preachers can be tempted to tell people that God will bless them if they tithe, or give more of their time to this or that, etc.
v. 3b: "Behold, on the day of your fast you find your desire" - Now God replies with His complaint: Their fasting is a hoax-meaningless. Their reasons for fasting were not to honor God but to satisfy their own selfish "desire," and their attitude wasn't humble but puffed-up with pride (look at me!).
v. 3c: "And oppress all your workers" - While performing their special "holy days" (fasting), they required their workers to keep up the pace of work. The idea here is that, out of goodwill, they should have allowed their workers a day of rest and given them the food they didn't plan to eat.
v. 4a: "Behold, you fast for contention and strife, and to strike with a wicked fist." - It seems that some of these fasters were belligerent people (look at me, I'm fasting like a good Jew, so what's wrong with you?) They were also prone to violence against those who didn't see things their way. We need to carefully guard against this same type of self-righteous, "holier than thou" attitude in the modern church. There's a big difference between expressing our views and judging others. Peter said, "always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, but with gentleness and respect" (1 Pet. 3:15).
v. 4b: "You do not fast like you have done today to make your voice heard on high!" - The plain meaning here is that since their devotion was dishonest, God did not hear their prayers.
APPLICATION 2: Humans cannot impose obligations upon God. Modern commentators call this a "quid pro quo" mindset-giving something to get something in return. This, like insincere devotion, falls short of God's righteousness test. People who approach God with this attitude are attempting to reverse the roles between the Creator and the created-they are trying to manipulate God.
Read Isa. 58:5-9a - FAST LIKE THIS
5 Is it a fast like this that I choose, a day for a person to humble himself? Is it for bowing one's head like a reed And for spreading out sackcloth and ashes as a bed? Will you call this a fast, even an acceptable day to the LORD? 6 Is this not the fast that I choose: To release the bonds of wickedness, To undo the ropes of the yoke, And to let the oppressed go free, And break every yoke? 7 Is it not to break your bread with the hungry And bring the homeless poor into the house; When you see the naked, to cover him; And not to hide yourself from your own flesh? 8 Then your light will break out like the dawn, And your recovery will spring up quickly; And your righteousness will go before you; The glory of the LORD will be your rear guard. 9a Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; You will cry for help, and He will say, 'Here I am.'
v. 5: "Is it a fast like this that I choose, a day for a person to humble himself? Is it for bowing one's head like a reed And for spreading out sackcloth and ashes as a bed? Will you call this a fast, even an acceptable day to the LORD?" - The term "fast," as used here, could really be applied to any form of worship. God's implied answer to all three questions here is NO! Mere external actions-bowing your head and sleeping on sackcloth-performed entirely for self-serving motives-are categorically not acceptable to God. In fact, they are the opposite: they actually repell and anger Him.
v. 6a: "Is this not the fast that I choose:" - In vv. 2-5, through questions and answers, God rebuked the people's self-serving-i.e., quid pro quo-views of faithful devotion, and now He turns to telling them, His people (includes us)favor, what He, their LORD GOD, expects from them, in several parts.
v. 6b: "To release the bonds of wickedness, To undo the ropes of the yoke, And to let the oppressed go free, And break every yoke?" - For starters, God advocates a radical call to justice: freeing slaves or indentured servants, forgiving debts, and returning pledged property. Doing this against your own financial best interests demonstrates true mercy and undeserved grace.
The prophet is basically saying let's make every day a Day of Atonement. For us in the modern church, what can we do about all the injustice and oppression we see in the world today? We obviously can't solve all of it, but with God's help, we might make a mighty dent in the problem.
v. 7: "Is it not to break your bread with the hungry And bring the homeless poor into the house; When you see the naked, to cover him; And not to hide yourself from your own flesh?" - Second, besides freeing the oppressed from their "yokes," God pushes them a step further to share their food with those who are hungry, to give shelter to the homeless, and to clothe those who are naked. And note this goodwill isn't limited to their fellow Jews but also includes the needy pagans in their midst. The expression, "not to hide yourself," means you can't turn a blind eye towards anyone in need, which is suggestive of the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke. 10:25-37).
v. 8: "Then your light will break out like the dawn, And your recovery will spring up quickly; And your righteousness will go before you; The glory of the LORD will be your rear guard." - So far, in His righteousness test, God has revealed what He considers to be unacceptable in vv. 2-5 and what He considers as acceptable in vv. 6-7. Now God outlines what the people can expect from Him if, in fact, they agree with Him by taking active steps against the many injustices He has addressed:
• "your light will break out like the dawn" - This is spiritual revelation: they will see the truth about their relationship with God and feel compassion for those around them who are suffering.
• "And your recovery will spring up quickly" - This is healing of broken relationships with God and people. It might even promote physical healing.
• "And your righteousness will go before you" - They can look forward to a prosperous future.
• "The glory of the LORD will be your rear guard" - While they are moving forward, God will be guarding their backs.
v. 9a: "Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; You will cry for help, and He will say, 'Here I am.'" - This is the restoration of Covenant: So, finally, if His people will establish justice to set the oppressed free and feed the hungry, then God will hear and answer their prayers for help. In short, if they help others, God will help them.
APPLICATION 3: Passing God's righteousness test involves making a radical personal commitment to justice. To do this means that we, as God's people, must share God's sense of urgency about injustices in the world like sharing our food with those who are hungry, giving shelter to the homeless, and clothing those who are naked. As Christians and churches, we obviously can't solve all of the injustice in this world, but with God's help, we might be able to make a mighty dent in it.
Read Isa. 58:9b-12 - IF YOU OFFER YOURSELF TO...THEN
9b If you remove the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness, 10 And if you offer yourself to the hungry And satisfy the need of the afflicted, Then your light will rise in darkness, And your gloom will become like midday. 11 And the LORD will continually guide you, And satisfy your desire in scorched places, And give strength to your bones; And you will be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail. 12 Those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins; You will raise up the age-old foundations; And you will be called the repairer of the breach, The restorer of the streets in which to dwell.
v. 9b: "If you remove the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness" - This verse and the next reiterate and further clarify the conditions of God's blessing.
The first of two "if" statements repeat the conditions of v. 6 with the command to "remove the yoke," which means releasing people from any kind of oppression, such as slavery, servitude, and indebtedness, and it also extends to the "pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness," which are idioms for hateful speech and malicious gossip. James termed it as "a tongue of fire...that defiles the whole body" (James 3:6.)
v. 10a: "And if you offer yourself to the hungry And satisfy the need of the afflicted" - This is the second "if" statement. Again, as in v. 7, reaching out to feed the hungry, giving shelter to the homeless, clothing those who are naked, and ministering to those who are sick. God expects His people to show a genuine heart of compassion for those in need. The phrase, "offer yourself," tells us that God expects affirmative action, to be actively seeking out opportunities to help people.
v. 10b: "Then your light will rise in darkness, And your gloom will become like midday." - This is the "then" statement, God's promises. This "light" would permeate all of Israelite society and shine all around them like the "midday" sun. Instead of trying to show devotion to God through meaningless fasting, they would demonstrate their faithfulness by alleviating the suffering of others around them.
v. 11: "And the LORD will continually guide you, And satisfy your desire in scorched places, And give strength to your bones; And you will be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail." God continues the list of promises to the faithful: It includes God's guidance and includes help in "scorched places," a metaphor for any difficult place in life; and "strength to your bones" pertains to good health and "a watered garden" and "a spring of water whose waters do not fail," both relate to promises of prosperity.
v. 12: "Those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins; You will raise up the age-old foundations; And you will be called the repairer of the breach, The restorer of the streets in which to dwell." - This set of blessings has to do with those who will returns to Jerusalem with the job of rebuilding the city. Although they have an incredibly difficult task in front of them, God's confident "You will raise up..." assures them that they will be equal to the task. It's another whole story.
APPLICATION 4: God will bless us when we actively (a) share His concerns and (b) join Him in His work. Verses 9 and 10 illustrate God's concerns: (1) the "oppressed"-people who are being subjugated to any form of exploitation; (2) any form of hateful speech, (3) people in need-food, clothing, shelter, medical care, etc.) As His people, God expects affirmative action from us in terms of using our time, money, and talents to alleviate the suffering of those around us. When we do this, our "light will rise in the darkness" and shine like the "midday sun."
