Commentary on part of Isaiah 57-58

3
‘Why have we fasted and You do not see?

Why have we humbled ourselves and You do not [w]notice?’
Behold, on the day of your fast you find your desire,
And oppress all your workers.
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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!
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Is it a fast like this that I choose, a day for a person to humble himself?

Is it for bowing [x]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?
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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?
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Is it not to break your bread [y]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?
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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.
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Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;

You will cry for help, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’
If you remove the yoke from your midst,
The [z]pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness,
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And if you offer yourself to the hungry

And satisfy the [aa]need of the afflicted,
Then your light will rise in darkness,
And your gloom will become like midday.
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And the Lord will continually guide you,

And satisfy your [ab]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 [ac]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 [ad]streets in which to dwell.

- Isaiah 58:3-12

For those who don't want to read all the way, Israel cries out to God to know why He isn't responding to their acts of piety; His answer is that Israel is doing these acts hypocritically. The point of a fast is to deny oneself things one would normally enjoy (food, entertainment, etc.), and yet Israel does what she wants even during a fast ("Behold, on the day of your fast you find your desire"), and they also oppress those who work for them. God calls upon Israel to end their evils, to stop oppressing people, to share food with the needy and help the homeless and clothe those without clothing. Then, He says, He will respond to them and bless them.

To be careful, this is not a call for social justice that attempts to supersede God's Word; rather, God calls for Israel to fulfill His commands regarding the needy, to fulfill His Law. Helping the needy is the command here, but loving God is even more important, as it ought to be why one obeys this and every other command of God. It also is not a prosperity gospel message; love of God and love of one's neighbor as oneself should again be the reason one obeys God's commands, not the desire for material wealth.

Isaiah 57, the chapter before this one goes even farther on the ideas I want to convey in this blog;

And it will be said,
“Build up, build up, prepare the way,
Remove every obstacle from the way of My people.”
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For this is what the high and exalted One

Who [u]lives forever, whose name is Holy, says:
“I dwell in a high and holy place,
And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit
In order to revive the spirit of the lowly
And to revive the heart of the contrite.
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For I will not contend forever,

Nor will I always be angry;
For the spirit would grow faint before Me,
And the breath of those whom I have made.
17
Because of the wrongful act of his unjust gain I was angry and struck him;

I hid My face and was angry,
And he went on turning away, in the way of his heart.
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I have seen his ways, but I will heal him;

I will lead him and restore comfort to him and to his mourners,
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Creating the [v]praise of the lips.

Peace, peace to him who is far away and to him who is near,”
Says the Lord, “and I will heal him.”
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But the wicked are like the tossing sea,

For it cannot be quiet,
And its waters toss up refuse and mud.
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“There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”

- Isaiah 57:14-21

God has rightly been angry with His people for their sins, for doing evil. For a while he punished them in order that they might recognize their wrongs, repent of (turn away from) these things, and return to Him. God promises not to be angry forever, and to graciously (grace mean unmerited/unearned favor) heal His people. There is a final warning (for this chapter) about those who are wicked and persist in wickedness; there is no peace for them. We must all repent and turn from our sins to God, or we will perish, if not in this life then in the next.

God is gracious towards His people. When we turn to Him in true faith, He will restore us, if not in this life then in the next. We should recognize our evils and do our best (having prayed to God) to stop doing them. God shows unmerited favor toward humanity, and will have compassion on those contrite of heart.

I'm not claiming perfection here. I must apologize for not issuing this blog sooner; I had the inspiration to do this (or something like it) yesterday, and did not do so. Please forgive me and pray that I might do better in the future in immediate godly obedience

Thank you for taking the time to read this. May the Lord Jesus Christ save us all, and then may He light our paths in which we ought to go.