Isaiah 58:1-14 Going Through the Motions of Fasting

Going Through the Motions of Fasting

Isaiah 58:1-14                                The Book of Isaiah [in Smaller Chunks]

Cry [out loudly,] & [don't hold back.] Lift up your voice like a trumpet, & [declare] their [transgressions to] My people, & their sins to the house of Jacob, [a.k.a. Israel.] [Still,] they seek Me daily, & delight to know My ways, [like] a [righteous] nation, & [didn't abandon] the [rules] of their God.

They ask Me the [rules] of justice, & they take delight in [coming closer] to God. They say, [For what reason] have we fasted, & You [don't see?] [Why] have we afflicted our [souls,] & You [are unaware?] [Look, on] the day of your fast, you find pleasure, & [insist] on [doing] all your [labors.]

[Exodus 20:8-11 Remember the Sabbath Day, to keep it holy. You [shall] labor 6 days, & do all your work: but the 7th day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. You [shall] not do any work [on] it: you, your son, your daughter, your [male servant,] your [female servant,] your cattle, nor your stranger that is within your gates.

For in 6 days, the Lord made heaven & earth, the sea, & and all that is in them, & rested the 7th day. [For this reason,] the Lord blessed the Sabbath Day, & hallowed it.]

[Look,] you fast for [arguments] & [debates,] & to [wickedly strike] with the fist. You shall not fast [like] you do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high.  [1 Kings 21:11-15 And the men of his city, even the elders & the nobles who were the [residents] in his city, did [like] Jezebel had written in the letters [that] she had sent to them.

They proclaimed a fast, & [put] Naboth on high among the people. And there came in 2 [wicked] men, & sat [in front of Naboth,] & the [wicked] men witnessed against him, even Naboth, in the presence of the people saying, Naboth [blasphemed] God & the king. Then, they carried him out of the city, & stoned him with [rocks, so] that he died.

Then, they sent to Jezebel, saying Naboth is stoned, & is dead. And it [happened,] when Jezebel heard that Naboth was stoned, & was dead, that Jezebel said to [king] Ahab, Arise, & take possession of vineyard of Naboth, the Jezreelite, [that] he refused to give you for money: for Naboth is not alive, but dead.]

Is it a fast such [as this,] that I have chosen? A day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head [like] a [reed] [bends over,] & to spread sackcloth & ashes under him? [Will] you call this a fast, & an acceptable day to the Lord?

Isn't this the fast that I have chosen? To [loosen] the [bonds] of wickedness, to [lighten] the heavy burdens, & to let the oppressed go free, [so] that you break every yoke [of oppression?]

Isn't  it to [distribute] your bread to the hungry, & [so] that you bring the poor, [who] are cast out [into] your house? When you [see] the naked, that you cover him, & that you [don't] hide yourself from your own flesh, [a.k.a. family?]

[Ezekiel 18:5-9 but if a man [is] just, [a.k.a. honest,] & does what is lawful & right, & [hasn't] eaten upon the mountains, & [has] neither lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel. Neither [has] [he] defiled his [neighbor's] wife, & neither [has] [he been intimate with] a woman [during her monthly cycle.] And [he] [hasn't] oppressed any, but [has] restored to the debtor his pledge, & [hasn't plundered any] by violence, & [has] given his bread to the hungry, & [has] covered the naked with a garment.

He [who hasn't] given, [a.k.a. lent, with] usury, [a.k.a. loans with excessive interest,] neither [has] [he] taken any [excessive] [profit,] & [he] [has] withdrawn his hand from [sinfulness,] & [has carried out] true judgment between [2 men,] & [has] walked, [a.k.a. followed,] in My [mandates,] & [has] kept My judgments, to [act fairly.] He is just, & he shall surely live, [says] the Lord God.]

Then, shall your light break [out, like] the morning, & your health shall speedily [sprout up,] & your righteousness shall go before you. The glory of the Lord shall be your [rear guard.] Then, you [shall] call, & the Lord shall answer. You [shall] cry [out,] & He shall say, Here I Am.

If you take the yoke, [a.k.a. burden,] the [pointing] finger, & speaking [what is] vanity, away from the midst of you, & if you [pull] out your [hand] to [give to] the hungry, & satisfy the afflicted soul; then, your light shall rise in [the blurriness,] & your darkness shall be [like noon.]

And the Lord shall guide you continually, & satisfy your soul in drought, & make your bones [plump,] & you [shall] be like a watered garden, & like a spring of water, whose waters [never] fail.

And [those, who are from] you, [a.k.a. your descendants,] shall [rebuild] the old waste [lands,] & you [shall] raise up the foundations [for] many generations. And you [shall] be called, The Repairer of the Breach, [a.k.a. Cracks,] & The Restorer of the [Streets] to dwell in.

If you turn your foot away from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on My Holy Day, & [again] call the Sabbath;]: a delight, & the Holy of the Lord: & [honorable,] & shall [honor] Him, not doing your own [things,] & [not looking to] [find] your own pleasure, & not speaking your own words. [John 12:49-50 For I haven't spoken of Myself; but the Father [Who] sent Me, He gave Me a commandment, what I should say, & what I should speak. And I know that His commandment is [what leads to:] Everlasting Life. Therefore, [whatever] I speak, I even speak [like] the Father said to Me.]

Then, you [shall] delight yourself in the Lord; & I will cause you to ride upon the high places of the earth, & [will] feed you [along] with the heritage of Jacob, [a.k.a. Israel,] your [forefather.] For the mouth of the Lord [has] spoken it.

[Deuteronomy 32:12-13 So, the Lord Alone [led] him, & there was no strange god with Him. He made [Jacob] ride on the high places of the earth, [so] that he might eat the increase of the fields; & He made him suck honey out of the rock, & oil out of the flinty rock.]