“Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. ” (Isaiah 58:6-8)

I love this chapter. In it we see the Lord speak clearly and decisively against fasting and worship as perfunctory religious acts. He makes it known in no uncertain terms that He is not interested in our ritualistic attempts to appease ourselves by engaging in meaningless acts of false humility.

He brings the whole idea of “fasting” into a new light here by saying it wasn’t supposed to be merely a sackcloth and ashes self abasement thing. Fasting was meant to be something that honored God and blessed others. In other words “fasting” or going without something, was to be done not for the purpose of what we can gain, but so that we could better understand what we can give to God and others.

Allow me a little loose literary license to put this passage in modern language.

“Here is the fast I choose: Share the blessings I have given you with others, rather than hoarding them for yourselves. Share the freedom you have in Christ, Loose bonds, free the oppressed, let God use you to break the yoke of sins bondage in the lives of others. If someone doesn’t have a home, maybe you should share yours with them. If someone doesn’t have clothing, maybe you should see if you can help. Don’t hide yourself from who you would be without Christ, instead acknowledge it and take Christ to the others around you.”

You see, what this passage is really telling us is that God’s  chosen FAST, the one that blesses Him,  is all about a recognition of HIS provision, the WORLD’S needs, and THE ROLE WE CAN PLAY in connecting those two. God’s chosen fast is not about us retreating from the world into false piety and moral superiority; it is all about us joining the Lord in the work He is doing… breaking sins bondage and seeking to redeem and restore every part of life.

What is the result of this kind of “fast”? Again, I take a little literary license:

“Light springs out of your life like the dawn of a new day, and healing springs up and out of you like a rushing spring erupting from the earth; The rightness of your life, a life made right by God’s work and lived out in right relationship with others, goes before you, and God’s Glory comes in behind you. In every way, you become a living testimony to who God is and what He can do in our lives. You are a New Creation, and you can be a vessel through which He brings New Creation to the world around you.”

Friends: Today I want you to ask yourselves just what this “Chosen fast” might look like in your life. Ask it like this - “What blessings has God given to me that I can use to bless the hurting world around me?” “Fast” with me by thinking a little less about what you want, and a little more about what you can give… all because of what Jesus has given us!

“I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will lead him and restore comfort to him and his mourners, creating the fruit of the lips. Peace, peace, to the far and to the near,” says the Lord, “and I will heal him. But the wicked are like the tossing sea; for it cannot be quiet, and its waters toss up mire and dirt. There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.” (Isaiah 57:18-21, ESV)

Isaiah begins this chapter where he left of in the last, he is railing against the idolatry that had been adopted by his people. They looked to things fashioned by their own hands as if they were god’s that could save them or redeem them, but the fact is, they could do absolutely nothing for them when they needed help the most.

The Lord (speaking through Isaiah) rails against this idolatry because it leaves His children, who He created, without help when they need it most. It breaks His heart to see them turn to things that can do nothing for them, when they should be depending upon Him.

The issue that Israel had back then is no different than the one that we face today… Though we know that God created us and that He alone sustains us, we still look to other things to provide what only He can provide. It may not be statues we fashion out of wood, clay, or stone; but none the less, we still “worship” other things by giving them a place in our lives that only God should occupy.

The passage I quoted above comes from the back end of this chapter. Notice what it says: “I have seen His ways, but I will heal Him”. Who is this passage talking about?

It’s talking about you.

It’s talking about me.

It’s talking about anyone guilty of the kind of idolatry God is talking about in this passage.

The Lord will heal us. He is gracious and compassionate, and He offers to each and every one of us peace. “Peace, peace to the far and near, and I will heal Him.”

But for those who continue to reject Him, continue to push Him out of their lives, there is no peace. They are like a tossing sea; dirt and muck and mire are stirred up and swirling, a picture of the inner and outer turmoil that we face in this life as a result of rejecting God and the work He desires to do in and through us. The message of judgment is just as loud and clear as the message of hope: For those who reject Him, the ones termed here as “The Wicked”, there will be no lasting peace.

Friends, choose peace.

Choose Jesus.

Don’t reject the work He desires to do in your life.

“Thus says the Lord: “Keep justice, and do righteousness, for soon my salvation will come, and my deliverance be revealed. Blessed is the man who does this, and the son of man who holds it fast, who keeps the Sabbath, not profaning it, and keeps his hand from doing any evil.” ” (Isaiah 56:1-2, ESV)

This chapter marks another transition in the book of Isaiah. We move from PROPHETIC POETRY that spoke almost exclusively of the coming Messiah, to a series of EXHORTATIONS that describe what life should look like as we prepare for the return of Christ.

In these first 2 verses we see an exhortation to KEEP JUSTICE and DO RIGHTEOUSNESS in light of the Lord’s coming.

In the second verse this primary exhortation is expanded on with a call for each one of us to HOLD FAST, KEEP THE SABBATH and KEEP OUR HANDS FROM EVIL.

As believer’s in Christ we tend to talk a lot about HAVING righteousness because of what Christ has done… here we are called to DO righteousness because Christ is coming. Because of the relationship we have with Jesus, a relationship that has brought us into a place of right standing with God, we have the resources necessary to go out into the world and LIVE RIGHTEOUSLY. As we do so, we can make it a point to KEEP JUSTICE - in other words, we make sure that as those who have been justified, we live justly, act justly and promote justice in ALL areas of our lives.

We do this by:

HOLDING FAST - We stay on the path God has set us upon - the straight and narrow. We don’t run off to the left or the right, but we remain faithful to Him and the calling He has placed on us. What is that calling? To be set apart from the world, for Him; and to be sent out as His witnesses. We are witnesses FOR God, TO the world, OF the things we have seen and heard.

HONORING THE LORD - We have a Sabbath in Jesus Christ; according to the New Testament He is our rest. However, there is a place for setting aside time, at least one day in seven, for the purposes of worshiping the Lord and remembering who he is, what he has done, and what he has called us to do.

KEEPING FROM EVIL - As we walk and work in a fallen world, we can become sidelined by being drawn into the evil that is all around us. As we follow the exhortations already outlined, we need to make sure that we are careful to keep our hands from being involved in the work of the enemy. Notice, Isaiah doesn’t say to remove ourselves from the presence of evil, but to be sure that OUR HANDS are not the ones doing the evil.

Don’t forget, we do these things by God’s power… a power made available to us by Jesus death and resurrection. Also, a reason for using that power that has given to us is anticipation of His return. Salvation will soon come, God’s deliverance will soon be revealed… in light of that, we need to allow Him to work in and through us for His purposes, preparing us for His kingdom and using us to help prepare others to receive it!

Isaiah 55:6-9 (ESV)

⁶ “Seek the Lord while he may be found;

call upon him while he is near;

⁷ let the wicked forsake his way,

and the unrighteous man his thoughts;

let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him,

and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

⁸ For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.

⁹ For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

so are my ways higher than your ways

and my thoughts than your thoughts.

God’s thoughts and God’s ways - they are SO DIFFERENT than our thoughts and our ways. Often times we can’t make sense of what’s going on around us, we try and find an answer to WHY things happen, and it often eludes us.

At our darker more cynical moments, we begin to question whether or not God is really in control, whether or not He really has a plan…

But then we have passages like this, and we are reminded of something so simple but SO PROFOUND.  The chapter opens with a call that goes out to all people, of all walks of life; and it say, “Come, drink, be filled, it’s free”. And on the heels of that call the Lord says, “Call on me while I am near, turn to me, give yourself to me… I AM THE ANSWER”.

He then reminds us of a truth that helps make sense of why we can’t always see how things will work out for the best. He is in heaven. We are on earth. His thoughts are higher than ours, His ways extend far beyond and above ours. Our vision, our understanding often terminates with the here and now. But the Lord’s, His vision and understanding extend far beyond that. He sees the end from the beginning. He knows where this is all going. And everything we do, everything that happens, is a part of His plan and purpose to “restore all things”.

So, next time you start to question, remember this thought… God’s ways are far above your ways!

““Sing, O barren one, who did not bear; break forth into singing and cry aloud, you who have not been in labor! For the children of the desolate one will be more than the children of her who is married,” says the Lord. “Enlarge the place of your tent, and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out; do not hold back; lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes. For you will spread abroad to the right and to the left, and your offspring will possess the nations and will people the desolate cities. ” (Isaiah 54:1-3, ESV)

This chapter can almost seem like a parenthesis between chapter 53 and the description of Jesus death, and chapter 55 with its offer of Salvation. But, if we take a closer look, it is totally connected to both of those thoughts.

In these first three verses of the chapter, Israel is depicted as a barren woman. In that culture, barrenness was one of the worst things that could befall a woman. So here, the whole nation is depicted as “barren”.

Why?

Why would God use the language of barrenness to describe this people that in many ways had been anything but barren? Obviously, there is some sense in which Israel was barren, some “offspring” that had been promised and anticipated, but never come.

If we trace this back, the most logical conclusion takes us all the way back to Exodus 19. Building on the covenant promises to Abraham (who was told that he and his descendants would be blessed to be a blessing), Israel is declared by God to be a Kingdom of Priests. Their function as priests; representing God to the nations and the nations to God; was contingent on their ability to obey the commands of the covenant.

We know their story. Israel never fully functioned in this role. They had ups and downs, but they were never the people God wanted them to be in the truest sense. The closest they ever came was during the building and commissioning of the temple at the close of David’s rule and the beginning of Solomon’s. It was during that time, when Solomon declared that the temple had significance not just for the Jew, but for ALL PEOPLE. Why? Significant simply because God is not just the God of Israel, but He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

So back to our text… this barrenness was coming to an end, and it was coming to an end BECAUSE of what Jesus did on the cross. What had been impossible for Israel was now made possible. Because of Jesus, the “borders” were about to be blown wide open, and salvation was going to come to all the world through the Jewish people.

So for us, the implication is clear: Jesus Christ changed EVERYTHING! Because of Him, we can now be the people of God!

This is one of the most powerful passages in all of scripture. Rather than pick a verse and try and explain it, I want you guys to read the chapter in it’s entirety in a translation that reads more like a story. Listen to these words voiced by God about His only Son, and rejoice in all that has taken place so that you can be a child of God.

“Who believes what we’ve heard and seen?

Who would have thought God’s saving power

would look like this?

The servant grew up before God-

a scrawny seedling, a scrubby plant in a parched field.

There was nothing attractive about him,

nothing to cause us to take a second look.

He was looked down on and passed over,

a man who suffered, who knew pain firsthand.

One look at him and people turned away.

We looked down on him, thought he was scum.

But the fact is, it was our pains he carried-

our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us.

We thought he brought it on himself,

that God was punishing him for his own failures.

But it was our sins that did that to him,

that ripped and tore and crushed him-our sins!

He took the punishment, and that made us whole.

Through his bruises we get healed.

We’re all like sheep who’ve wandered off and gotten lost.

We’ve all done our own thing, gone our own way.

And God has piled all our sins,

everything we’ve done wrong,

on him, on him.

He was beaten,

he was tortured,

but he didn’t say a word.

Like a lamb taken to be slaughtered

and like a sheep being sheared,

he took it all in silence.

Justice miscarried, and he was led off-

and did anyone really know what was happening?

He died without a thought for his own welfare,

beaten bloody for the sins of my people.

They buried him with the wicked,

threw him in a grave with a rich man,

Even though he’d never hurt a soul

or said one word that wasn’t true.

Still, it’s what God had in mind all along,

to crush him with pain.

The plan was that he give himself as an offering for sin

so that he’d see life come from it-

life, life, and more life.

And God’s plan will deeply prosper through him.

Out of that terrible travail of soul,

he’ll see that it’s worth it and be glad he did it.

Through what he experienced,

my righteous one, my servant,

will make many “righteous ones,”

as he himself carries the burden of their sins.

Therefore I’ll reward him extravagantly-

the best of everything, the highest honors-

Because he looked death in the face and didn’t flinch,

because he embraced the company of the lowest.

He took on his own shoulders the sin of the many,

he took up the cause of all the black sheep.

(Isaiah 53)

“How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.” The voice of your watchmen-they lift up their voice; together they sing for joy; for eye to eye they see the return of the Lord to Zion. Break forth together into singing, you waste places of Jerusalem, for the Lord has comforted his people; he has redeemed Jerusalem. The Lord has bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God. ” (Isaiah 52:7-10, ESV)

Beautiful Feet - It’s an interesting concept… here Isaiah tells us that a messenger, coming on the mountains has “beautiful” or “desirous” feet. Why? Because of the amazing message of hope… the glorious good news of the gospel.

What exactly do these beautiful feet bring?

Good news, more specifically good news of happiness! Not only that, but these feet publish or make known PEACE and SALVATION - Notice, this isn’t an exhortation to peace and salvation, but an announcement.

The watchmen sing for joy as they see the Lord coming. They sing for joy not about what He WILL do, but prophetically, about what IS ALREADY DONE. He has saved and redeemed, comforting His people and letting the whole earth see the reality of His salvation.

In the New Testament Paul quotes this verse when talking to us about the need for people to go and announce the good news. Sometimes when we go to carry this beautiful news to others, we get it all wrong. Instead of announcing beautiful news of what Jesus has done, we tell them all the ways they need to change and all the things they need to do. The world doesn’t need a pep talk… it needs the good news about what God has done to repair our brokenness.

Do you want beautiful feet? Then make sure what you carry is GOOD NEWS not a plan or a road map for a better life. No one can change themselves… it can’t be done. The Good News is we don’t have to, because of what Jesus has done! Shout it from the roof tops!

“Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look at the earth beneath; for the heavens vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment, and they who dwell in it will die in like manner; but my salvation will be forever, and my righteousness will never be dismayed. “Listen to me, you who know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear not the reproach of man, nor be dismayed at their revilings. For the moth will eat them up like a garment, and the worm will eat them like wool; but my righteousness will be forever, and my salvation to all generations.” ” (Isaiah 51:6-8, ESV)

In this passage we see Isaiah speaking on behalf of the Lord, and in his prophecy he compares things that will pass away with things that will last FOREVER.

Look at what we are told will pass away:

The Heavens as we currently know them to be, will vanish like smoke

The earth as we know it will wear out like a garment

The life that dwells on the earth will die in a similar manner

Man, with all of his reproaches and revilings, will become like a moth eaten garment or a piece of worm eaten wool

All of these statements have one thing in common; they turn our attention to the TEMPORALNESS of much that is in this world. It is passing away…

In contrast, the Lord’s RIGHTEOUSNESS and His SALVATION are things that will never pass away. We are told here that they will:

Be forever

Never be dismayed

Be to all generations

The idea is permanence. Isaiah wants us to realize that there is a difference between the Temporal things of this world and the permanent things that belong exclusively to Him.

What are you living for? Does your life consist of the fallen elements of this world that will vanish and be eaten away, or is it focused on bringing about the eternal realities of God and His Kingdom? We should live In Christ and live for Christ. We should allow RIGHTEOUSNESS and SALVATION to be the things that are of utmost importance in our lives.

“Let him who walks in darkness and has no light trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God. ” (Isaiah 50:10b, ESV)

We know that God is Light, and that in Him there is no darkness at all (James 1:17). Yet for each one of us, we recognize that there are often times when we feel like we are totally “in the dark”. Sometimes, circumstances just don’t make sense, and it begins to seem like there is no logical explanation for what is going on. When you try to make sense of it, you feel like your stumbling blindly, waiting for someone to shed light on the situation.

This is where this verse comes in. When we walk in the dark, and we have no light of our own, we need not fear. We can rely upon the Lord and trust in His name!

This reminds me of what David said in Psalm 23 - “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil” - Why? - Because the Lord, His Shepherd was WITH HIM.

So today, maybe you feel like you’re in the dark. Be not afraid or dismayed, a light will come! Trust in the Lord, for even in the darkness, He is with you!

“Listen to me, O coastlands, and give attention, you peoples from afar. The Lord called me from the womb, from the body of my mother he named my name. He made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me a polished arrow; in his quiver he hid me away. And he said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.” But I said, “I have labored in vain; I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity; yet surely my right is with the Lord, and my recompense with my God.” And now the Lord says, he who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him; and that Israel might be gathered to him- for I am honored in the eyes of the Lord, and my God has become my strength- he says: “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” ” (Isaiah 49:1-6, ESV)

In this passage we have the Servant, a name used here to describe Jesus in His role as the messiah. As he starts this message he calls out for the people of the coastlands and those far off to turn their ear to what He has to say. In other words, what Jesus tells us here in this passage, is something that wasn’t for Jewish ears alone, it was something the whole world needed to hear.

Jesus talks about how He was chosen while still in the womb, set apart for a specific work that only He could accomplish. In preparation for this task, the LORD is said to make Jesus become like a polished arrow, ready to be shot out to accomplish the work He was intended for.

Listen to what the LORD says to Jesus; “You are my Servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified”. What’s up with that? Talking all about Jesus and all the sudden the name of an entire nation is dropped on us? Obviously, the LORD isn’t talking to Israel proper, whoever He is talking to is sent out to draw Israel back to the LORD and to be a light for the nations. So why is Jesus referred to as Israel?

The name Israel literally means “Governed by God”. The nation had been brought into a covenant relationship with God for specific reasons. Exodus 19 tells us what those reasons are:

“The Lord called to Moses out of the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel: You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.” ” (Exodus 19:3-6, ESV)

Who were they? They were intended to be God’s treasured possession, a set apart nation, those he has called to be a kingdom of priests. A KINGDOM OF PRIESTS! What a concept! A whole nation existing to serve as representatives of God to the rest of the world; carrying God’s word to the nations and carrying the needs of the nations back to God. Literally, Israel was intended to be a nation that existed as a vehicle through which God could bless all other nations. Sadly, Israel never really lived up to their high calling. This position as kingdom of priests was contingent on Israel’s obedience to God and faithfulness in keeping the covenant… something they could not and did not ever accomplish.

That brings us back to Isaiah’s prophecy here. Jesus, the “Servant” being described here, was going to be the ideal Israel, fulfilling the role they had always meant to play!

You see, Jesus was able to accomplish what the nation of Israel never could. He successfully called the wayward nation back into fellowship with God, and then went on to be a light to all nations, making salvation available to the ends of the earth.

Jesus is the only Savior that will ever exist. He alone could fully fulfill the Exodus 19 mandate.  However, we have a chance to be that same “kingdom of priests” that Israel was called to be.

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. ” (1 Peter 2:9-10, ESV)

As the Family of God and the Body of Christ we have the blessed privilege of carrying the good news of Jesus to those around us. In other words Israel and the Church were and are not “ends”, they are not the goal of what God is doing in the world. Instead, they are His chosen “means” through which He is working to accomplish His ultimate goal: The knowledge of His glory covering the earth like the waters cover the seas! In light of this, we need to realize that we weren’t saved to just sit around and have a happier better life. The blessings of salvation were given to us so that we in turn can shine as lights! We have been blessed so that we can be a blessing to the nations, to all that God has created.