Isaiah 58

CHAPTER 58THEME: Exposure of Israel’s wicked ways; explanation from God for rejecting religious acts; God’s concern for their welfareThis chapter brings us to the final division of the prophecy of Isaiah"The glory of Jehovah which comes through the suffering Servant." We move on in this section to the glory of the Kingdom. Inward wicked ways and outward religious forms delay the grace and glory of God and hurt the cause of Christ as much as anything. Men who are religious and are church members and yet curse like pagans, men who are dishonest in business, immoral in their social lives, yet talk about being good enough to meet God’s standards, actually block the grace and glory of God. The explanation is given here as to why the glory was withheld. The people were supercilious and cynical about their relationship to God. They were observing forms and dared to question the actions of God toward them. They sat in judgment upon God and His methods. A lot of people still do this today. In spite of their outward observance of religion they indulge in their own wicked ways. This same spirit was manifested after the Babylonian captivity, which reveals that the captivity did not cure them. In Mal_3:13-14 we read, “Your words have been stout against me, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, What have we spoken so much against thee? Ye have said, It is vain to serve God: and what profit is it that we have kept his ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before the LORD of hosts?” They were criticizing God for not blessing themyet look how religious they were! They went to the temple and they made sacrifices. It was brazen effrontery and audacity to question God!

This is the spirit of the natural man with his outward show of religion. His heart is far from God, and his way is wicked. The veneer of godliness is nauseating to the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord said to the Laodicean church, “So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth” (Rev_3:16). This is the attitude of the Lord Jesus to a lot of churchianity in our day.

Isaiah 58:1

EXPOSURE OF ISRAEL’S WICKED WAYSThe prophet is commanded to cry aloud a message that is always unpopular, which is to point out the transgressions and sins of a people who think they are very religious. This will bring down the bitter displeasure and caustic invective upon one’s head. Only a very brave man will do it. I would say that the basic weakness of liberalism in the pulpit is its aim to please the natural man without telling him the real truth about his fatal disease. The medical profession today would be guilty of gross negligence if they followed the same procedure with the physical part of man that religion plays with the spiritual part of man. When the doctor told me I had cancer, I tried my best to get him to say that it was something else.

He said, “I am going to tell you exactly what is wrong with you. I will tell it exactly like it is. If I don’t, you won’t have any confidence in me.” God is telling it exactly like it is. And He wants His servants to tell mankind that they are suffering from the fatal disease of sin, which is going to eventuate in eternal death, eternal separation from almighty God.

Isaiah 58:2

I think there is an element of God’s biting satire in this statement. These people were attending the temple worship regularly. They were going through the ordinances punctiliously. They were meticulous in following the forms of worship. They actually enjoyed going to the temple; yet their lives bore no resemblance to those of believers. What was true in that day is also true today.

Isaiah 58:3

These people are petulantly complaining. They ask the reason for fasting and self-infliction if God doesn’t take note of it and pat them on the back for the ritual. Yet their hearts are far from God. They evidently had made fasting an important part of their religion. God never gave them fast days; He gave them feast days. It is true that they were to afflict their souls in connection with the great Day of Atonement, and in times of sin they were to fast.

Fasting was the outward expression of the soul, but they had made it a form which ministered to their ego and pride. They boasted of the fact that they fasted. Fasting was to be a private matter between the soul and Godnot a public show. Our Lord condemned them for abusing the fast. When He was here He said, “Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward [which was to be seen of men]” (Mat_6:16).

They needn’t expect anything from God, for they didn’t do it because of their relationship with Him. The Lord Jesus said to those who are His own: “But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; that thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly” (Mat_6:17-18). Real religion is a personal relationship with Christ, and it is as secret and private as anything can possibly be. Do you go around and tell others about your intimate relationship with your wife or your husband? Of course you don’t. My friend, if you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, it is a precious secret between the two of you.

You witness for Him, but you don’t reveal your intimate moments with Him. My friend, are you boasting about your religion, or about going through a certain ceremony or ritual? Shame on you! They are nothing in the sight of Godunless they reveal what is within your heart. Oh, how we need reality rather than ritual! I am of the opinion that many folk in that day questioned Isaiah’s message. They probably said, “Isaiah, what in the world are you talking about? You criticize these people who are very religious, who go regularly to the temple and make their sacrifices!” But, you see, God knows the heart. Their religion was only superficial. They had no real relationship with God.

Isaiah 58:4

EXPLANATION FROM GOD FOR REJECTING RELIGIOUS ACTSIn this next section God explains His reason for rejecting their show of religion. God explains why He cannot accept their fasting. They thought it gave them special acceptance with Him.

Isaiah 58:5

God had not commanded their fasting, and their acts of worship were entirely outward and did not reveal the condition of the heart. This is largely the condition of the contemporary church. I don’t say it is the condition of your churchthere are many wonderful churches. But, by and large, the organized church has only a form of godliness.

Isaiah 58:6

This is tremendousit gets right down to the nitty-gritty, right down where the rubber meets the road. God says in effect, “If you really want to fast, let Me tell you what to do: Instead of fasting and going around with a pious look, stop your sinning. Stop your gossiping. Stop the things that reveal the wickedness and the evil in your hearts. Demonstrate your faith in Me by your conduct. Start being honest in your dealings. Be truthful in what you say. Instead of seeing you in sackcloth and covered with ashes, I’d like to see you clean on the inside.” My friend, I am of the opinion that the Lord could stop many church services today and say, “Listen, let’s cut this out. Why are you going through this form? You are not getting close to me. You are not pleasing Me. When you leave this service, you gossip, you have bitterness in your heart, you are not moral in your conduct, and you are living loose lives. You think you are pleasing Me by your religious form. I want you to know that you are not pleasing Me. That is the reason I am rejecting you.”

Isaiah 58:7

They were turning their backs on the poor and needy. They even refused to show kindness and love to their own flesh and blood. Their religion was as cold as the north side of a tombstone in January! They didn’t have a heart for God. When you have a heart for God, my friend, you will also have a heart for other folk. You will want to be helpful to them and be a blessing to them. You cannot be hateful and fundamental in your theology at the same time. All of the criticism and unloveliness today is harmful to the cause of Christ. Isaiah has a tremendous message for us! God told His people that He didn’t want their so-called worshipthey were just going through a form. They were just “playing church.” He told them that they might think they were having fun, but it was going to become a burden to them because they would become weary trying to keep up a front before the world. God said to them, “Come clean. Demonstrate in your lives that you have reality.” Do you see why Isaiah is not popular? You will never find liberalism dealing with this part of the Bible. They like to turn to the Sermon on the Mount and pick out a few verses, such as: “Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy” (Mat_5:7). That is great, but the important thing is to confess your sin to God and allow Christ to live His life through you. Religion is a great cover-up today. Oh, how we need a personal relationship with Christ!

Isaiah 58:8

GOD’S CONCERN FOR THEIR WELFAREGod wants His people to turn to Him in a real way. God could not manifest His blessing and glory to a people who practiced their religion so badly. This is one of the reasons the world today is not convinced that God is in His holy temple. The world is passing by the church. Why? They don’t believe God is there. And I suspect they might be right.

God says here, “I can’t manifest myself because of your lives.” How many of us are blocking the way! The story is told that when Alexander the Great returned from one of his campaigns, he rushed to find his old teacher, Aristotle, the great Greek philosopher. It so happened that Aristotle was taking a bath when his visitor arrived. Alexander told him about his campaign and then said, “Now what can I do for you?” The old philosopher was not at all impressed with this young upstart and continued his bathing. Alexander repeated the question, “Now what can I do for you?” Finally old Aristotle replied, “Well, you can get out of my light!” Perhaps we are saying to God, “What can I do for You?” I think God would answer, “You can get out of my light!” Let’s allow His light to shine through us. That’s the important thing.

Isaiah 58:9

God wanted to hear their prayers and He wanted to bless. He wanted to open the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing upon them, but their hearts weren’t open to receive it. We say, “Our prayers are not answered.” Why? Is it because God does not want to answer them? No! The problem is that our hearts are not open to receive the blessing God really wants to give us. God says, “The minute you cry to Me, here I am.” When I was a boy, I had typhoid fever and double pneumonia at the same time. I lived in a little country town, and one night the country doctor thought I was going to die. My mother sat by my bed all night. I was delirious most of the time, but I can still remember coming out of it and calling her name, “Mama?” She would say, “Here I am.” What a comfort that was for a little boy. And today what a comfort to know that when we go to God in prayer, He is there. He says, “Here I am.” In effect, God says, “It’s up to you from now on. If you come in the name of My Son, make a request that is in My will, and your heart is right, I’m going to move right along with you.” When we have prayers which are not being answered, the problem is with us.

Isaiah 58:10

God asked them to practice one specific thing that He might bless them. He only picked out one thing. He could have picked out a dozen things, but He chose only one. God promised to bless them if they would show reality in their religion.

Isaiah 58:11

God wanted to bless them, you see.

Isaiah 58:13

God gave the Sabbath to the nation Israel. God said, “It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever …” (Exo_31:17). For something interesting, read the entire passage of Exo_31:12-18. Now God turns to this specific thing that He commanded them as a people. For us today it is a little different. We are told: “Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it” (Heb_4:1). The word for “rest” is sabbathwe should not come short of entering into His rest. “For he that is entered into his rest [that is, the sabbath], he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his” (Heb_4:10). Now have you entered into His sabbath, which is the rest of redemption? Have you come to the place where you completely, fully trust Christthat He has done everything necessary for your salvation and you are resting in His finished work? Or do you feel compelled to do something in order to earn or not lose your salvation?

My friend, He wants us to fully trust Christ. To enter into His rest will mean not only great blessing for us, but it will open up an avenue of service for us. The thing that brought the apostle Paul to a life of missionary activity was to enter into the rest of redemption.

Isaiah 58:14

The horizon here is extended, and the vista of the future opens before us. They may delay the approaching glory, but they cannot destroy God’s plan for the coming manifestation of His glory.