'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free,
Tis the gift to come down where I ought to be;
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.
When true simplicity is gained,
To bow and to bend we shan't be ashamed;
to turn, turn, will be my delight.
Till by turning, turning we come round right.
This is an old Shaker folk song that is also a picture of repentance. This study will take us through Isaiah 58, which also calls us to turn away from everything else, and to turn to the Lord.
Sometimes the most basic truths are easily overlooked. Let us not be so sophisticated or trained by the world to think of the Christian life in more terms than simplicity.
(A) Prophetic confrontation with false faith (Isa 58:1-4)
We open the chapter with the prophet being called to do something. The prophet is called to cry loudly, directly and freely (Isa 58:1a). God calls the prophet to proclaim and speak. Isn’t it odd that God would call a man to speak when God Himself is perfectly capable of speaking? Yes, God can speak through dreams and visions. He can also choose to reveal through angelic visitations. Isaiah 58:1 is an example of God using a prophetic exhortation.
Now, the prophet is not speaking out of his own will, but is bringing a word from God. Therefore, he should not hold back!
He is to “lift up your voice like a trumpet”. The trumpet was used to warn of war or to assemble the people. It is to declare something urgent, important and of God. Therefore, he is to get ready to speak the words of God.
But what is the content he is to cry aloud? He is not going to speak about their potential but is there to talk about what they don’t want to talk about — their sins and transgressions. He is to declare their sins to the people of God.
What kind of God is this? He insists that above everything else, they need to know that God wants to talk about their sins? How much does this God love, that He is willing to wound, hurt and terrify because it is good.
God also depicts His contention with His people. The people’s actions and heart were mismatched. God exposes the delusional view of this people in Isaiah 58:2. They thought they sought God daily and delighted to know His ways.
God discerns their heart and is calling them out now. In doing so, He smashes their view of self. What is wrong with our heart? How do we live? We too, are entirely capable of constructing, projecting, defending views of ourselves that we would like that may or may not correspond to reality. If you have good Christian community or good biblical teaching, you will constantly be confronted with the fact that you do not live up to your ideals. This means that if you are a Christian today, the person whose opinion you ought to value the least, should be your own. Our natural instinct is to defend our view of ourselves and we don’t want to be told about who we really are.
Thus, it is God’s mercy through the prophet to show the people who they are.
They also expected something of God in Isaiah 58:3. Their question is not an innocent question but is a loaded one. They claimed to be good and obedient, and God did not do right by them. They did their part and expected God to keep His side of the bargain. Our hearts too, are very much like this.
Yet, God holds their actions in derision. He knew that they did not fast for Him, but for their pleasure (Isa 58:3b). They continue to oppress their workers, quarrel, fight and hit with a wicked fist (Isa 58:3c-4a). This could also be taken to mean that they fasted to get away with such actions. Regardless, God declares that this kind of fasting will not make their voice be heard (Isa 58:4b). They had turn an act of spiritual discipline intended to say no to self and to direct their attention towards God, and made it all about themselves.
From the law in Leviticus 16:29, the principle behind fasting is self-denial in order to seek the Lord. In Isaiah, God is saying that they used fasting as a way of justification and seeking their profit and pleasure. Their fasting was a smokescreen for their selfishness and how they really want to live. Fasting is an excuse to feel good about themselves so that they can live for themselves. This is false religion.
God confronts false faith. Where do we stand on this score? Do we pray, fast and give because we love God? Or do we do so to be seen, craving the affirmation and approval of others to say that we love God? Our hearts are so prone to seek the praise of man that we would neglect the praise of God.
(B) Calls to return to true faith (Isa 58:5-7)
God asks His people three rhetorical questions, and each spotlights something different. Firstly, God asks, “Is such the fast that I choose, a day for a person to humble himself? Is it to bow down his head like a reed, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? Will you call this a fast, and a day acceptable to the LORD?” (Isa 58:5). It speaks of those that make a show of their piety. Are we really about God? Are we God-centred? Are we worshipping God?
Secondly, God asks, “Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?” (Isa 58:6). To oppose wickedness when it binds people, remove the yoke and setting prisoners free, and to free those who are hurting under the weight of injustice, not letting any oppression persist.
If they knew His heart, they would oppose evil and fight for those that are made in His image. Righteousness also involves us standing up for what is right. Are we opposing evil?
Finally, God asks, “Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?” (Isa 58:7).
It is a call to neighbour love, to love fellow man. It is to be shown to all who are made in God’s image and there is no distinction between those that are God’s and not. Are we acting in neighbourly love?
What are the true motives of our hearts?
(C) Faith that is satisfied in and glorifies God (Isa 58:8-14)
Isaiah 58:8-10 has three “then” statements which reveal the results of returning to true faith.
The first statement gives us a picture of spiritual flourishing (Isa 58:8). His people no longer dwell in great darkness and they will radiate with the light of God’s righteous character. This is a people that have been in exile but if they would repent, they would glow and grow again. They can heal and their lives can be full again. This is a picture of God’s people having His righteousness before them and His glory behind them as they are on the moving, bringing the knowledge of Him to the world. They have His favour.
The next statement promises that God will respond to their cry (Isa 58:9a). This is a contrast to Isaiah 58:3. If they repent, they will enjoy a restored relationship to God. He will hear their prayers.
The third “then” statement also comes with two “ifs”. These conditions parallel what was said in Isaiah 58:6-7. If they put aside their evil and display neighbourly love, there is a promise that their light will rise in the darkness and their gloom will be as the noonday. As it is written in Daniel 12:3, "And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.”
Similarly, Philippians 2:14–17 calls the people of God to live in a way that’s different from the world, “Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all.”
These two sets of verses give us a picture of missional brightness such that others can see the character of God, the righteousness of Christ in His people.
These three statements are also true of us if we repent. We have spiritual standing with Him and He hears our prayers. He will restore us and glorify us, with Christ’s grace shining through us.
On the other hand, God promises to deliver and save them if they return (Isa 58:11-12). God promises to guide and soothe the ache of our hearts, with all our longings satisfied in scorched places (Isa 58:11). He mixes metaphor with a picture of health, prosperous garden and an ever-flowing source of water (Isa 58:11b).
God will also help them restore others (Isa 58:12). These are words of enormous comfort to a people in exile.
The closing verses of the chapter lay out another “if…then…” statement (Isa 58:13-14). God is calling them to bring back the Sabbath, not just about the letter of the law, but more about the intention of the Sabbath. They are to cease doing their pleasure and to call the Sabbath a delight, not seeing His commands as burdensome and choosing to honour Him. Today, the Sabbath has been fulfilled in Christ, who is our true and great Sabbath. But the principle at play here is whether God will be God to His people or whether our pleasure will be God to us.
What is the contrast here? Either we love God, honour His laws and his good design for rest, or we are elevating our pleasure and comfort above the true and living God. This is not about legalistic rule-keeping. The real question we are confronted with is: Who is God to you? What kind of God do you have? Do you love Him? Do you honour Him? Or do you just live in terror of His rules?
See the promise in Isaiah 58:14. This section shows us all the promises that God desires and delights to share with us if we return to Him. Isaiah and the people did not know how and were waiting for the Servant to make this way possible. But today, we do.
Only in and through Jesus can repenting sinners find a way back to God. There is no other way for us to be righteous — not even fasting truly. Therefore, our entire heart posture is oriented away from ourselves and towards Jesus.
And this is not just a one-time event. As Martin Luther put it, “All of life is repentance.” The Christian life is fleeing from both our sins and righteousness daily. We turn from false and true fasting and turning to the righteousness that is in Jesus. Apart from Him, there is no health in us. Only then, can we begin to truly fast.