Yet they act so pious! They come to the Temple every day and seem delighted to learn all about me. They act like a righteous nation that would never abandon the laws of its God. They ask me to take action on their behalf, pretending they want to be near me.
Isaiah 58:3
“How can any nation pretend to fast or worship God at all, or dare to profess that they believe in the existence of such a Being, while they carry on the slave trade, and traffic in the souls, blood, and bodies of men! O ye most [criminal] of knaves, and worst of hypocrites, cast off at once the mask of your religion; and deepen not your endless perdition by professing the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, while ye continue in this traffic!” - Adam Clarke (writing in 1823)
Fake fasting:
Selfish motives; cloaked in empty ritual and desired to be noticed by others.
Real fasting:
Selfless motives; filled with repentance, and desired to be noticed only by God
The Lord is not against fasting, in fact it is talked about in multiple places in scripture. What the Lord is against, however, is any empty religious ritual.
He wanted them to “fast rightly.” In other words, do the things that really matter to Him, and to do it with the right heart and motive, not out of obligation or ritual.
He outlines what pleases Him in Isaiah 58:6-7. Rather than putting on a heartless display fasting, work on your heart and:Â
Work toÂ
All these are great points to digest and implement, but the main application is not fasting, but motive. For what reason do I participate in the things of the Lord and of the church?
When we act righteous without pretending:Â
Do I act righteousness?
Do I pretend at being committed to Christ?
Don’t act or pretend. Work diligently to represent the Lord rightly, through humbleness and maintaining a right relationship with Him.
Join the discussion
0 comments