Isaiah 58

Isaiah 58:1

Isaiah: God controls the nations God’s promises to his special people An EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary (2800 word vocabulary) on Isaiah chapters 58 to 66 www.easyenglish.info Norman Hillyer This commentary has been through Advanced Checking.

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Chapter 58 Wrong practice of religion v1 (This is what God says.) ‘Shout loudly with all your strength! Sound the alarm! Tell my people about the wrong things that they have done. Tell them how they have neglected to obey my commands. v2 They are so proud of the way that they practise their religion. They come to the *Temple every day. They are glad to hear the words of my laws that somebody reads. (Although they do not think that they should bother to obey them.) In fact, they consider my commands to be of no importance. But how eager they are to give me honour in the proper manner! How they love all that happens in the *Temple!’

v3 (The people complain to the *Lord.) ‘Why do you not notice when we *fast to give you honour? Why do you give no attention when we make ourselves humble?’

(But God is ready with his answers.) ‘When you *fast, you are only doing it for your own selfish reasons. That is clear from the way that you deal with your workers. You continuously urge them to work harder for you. v4 When you *fast, you get in a bad temper. Then you quarrel. You fight each other with your fists. To *fast like that does not encourage God to listen to your prayers! v5 That is not the kind of *fast that I expect. You make a show of your humble actions. You bend your heads in front of me like long grass bends in the wind. You dress yourselves in *sackcloth. And you cover yourselves with ashes. That is not what I would call a *fast! That is not the sort of holy day that the *Lord approves of.’

Verse 1

Isaiah is passing on God’s message to God’s people. Their religion has become a mere series of ceremonies, for example, *fasts. But true religion should also affect how believers live their lives. Especially, they should behave in a manner that helps weaker people.

Verses 3-5

God uses ‘*fast’ as a picture word, to mean ‘not to do things only for oneself’.

 Although the law of Moses required only one *fast a year (see Leviticus 23:27-32), the *fast was important (see 2 Samuel 12:13-23; Zechariah 7:5). Right practice of religion v6 ‘This is how I want you to *fast. Free those who are in prison falsely. Stop making those who work for you into slaves. Deal with them fairly. And pay what is due to them. v7 Share your food with those who are hungry. Give shelter to poor people who have no homes.

If you see someone without clothing, give him some clothes. And do not refuse to help your own relatives. v8 Then you will know my kindness. It will be like the early morning sun, which shines brightly. Your health will quickly return. Your generous deeds will be like a smooth path in front of you. And I myself will be your guard on every side. v9 When you pray, I, your *Lord, will answer you.

When you are in trouble, I will be there. All that you have to do is to end cruel practices against other people. Do not accuse people falsely. Do not continue to gossip in an evil manner. v10 Give willingly to hungry people. Satisfy the needs of poor people. Then light will shine for you in the darkness.

And your darkest hour will be as bright as midday. v11 The *Lord will guide you continuously. He will satisfy you with good things. And you will be healthy and strong. You will become like a lovely garden that always has plenty of water. Like a source of fresh water that never fails. v12 Your families will rebuild the ancient properties that enemies ruined. You will use again the old foundations (bases).

People will call you “repairers of city walls”. And “those who rebuilt streets and houses”.’

Verses 6-10

To take care of poor and weak people in society is to practise *self-denial. This what the *Lord calls a true *fast.

 The *Lord approves of those who take care of other people in this way. They will find that the *Lord takes care of them (see Luke 6:38).

 Among his other benefits, the *Lord will protect and guide. This is what he did in ancient times, by cloud and fire in the desert (see Exodus 13:21; see also Isaiah 9:2 and 60:1-3).

Verse 10

Light is at its brightest at midday.

Verse 11

In a dry land like Israel, water is essential for life. It is not just essential for people. It is essential for everything that is alive. Without water, all die.

 Here ‘water’ is also a picture word for the *Lord’s free gifts. He provides all that is good and necessary for human life (see John 4:14).

 ‘Plenty of water’ means a supply that never ends.

Verse 12

The ‘ancient properties’ were buildings that the *Babylonians had knocked down a century earlier. The people had never repaired them, although Cyrus had given the order to do so (see Isaiah 45:13).

 To erect a building, people did not clear the ground first, as today. They simply knocked down the old property. Then they built the new building on top of the piles of rocks and stones of the old building. Because people did this, today great mounds (huge piles) mark the position of ancient towns. We call them ‘tells’. It would take many centuries to dig up the ‘tells’ of a large city like Babylon! Respect God’s holy days v13 ‘Give honour to God on the *Sabbath as his holy day. It is not a day on which to carry on business. It is not a day to do as you like. It is a special day on which to enjoy the *Lord himself. Speak of the *Sabbath with joy as the *Lord’s holy day. Give honour to the *Lord in what you do on the *Sabbath. Do not look for pleasure in your own interests. And do not use the day to gossip. v14 Then I, the *Lord, will truly be your delight. And I will see to it that you ride high in the land. And you will get your proper share of the good things that I promised to your early relative Jacob.’ That is what the *Lord says.

Verse 14

To ‘ride high in the land’ means ‘your happy life will attract favourable attention’.

 The *Lord promised to supply all that his people need (see Deuteronomy 32:13-14).

© 2007, Wycliffe Associates (UK)

This publication is written in EasyEnglish Level B (2800 words).

October 2007

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