Grace, Truth, and Love

Life is a rollercoaster. In my last post, I was excited to share with you some of the ways God showed up after my time of fasting. I was going through Isaiah 58 and had made it to verse 9:

Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am’ (Is. 58:9a, ESV).¹

I shared previously how He had moved on the heart of a friend of mine to give me a little banner that said, “Hineni,” meaning “Here I am” in Hebrew, to remind me that He is with me and that He has heard me. God met me at home, right on my pillow, where my daughter had placed the banner.

Then He met me in Saudi Arabia after a fast last summer/fall. In fact, I wrote about it, but I haven’t yet published it, because life took an unexpected turn shortly after I got back, and my priorities shifted dramatically. I’m grateful to report that “God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” (Rom. 8:28, NASB95).² I’ll talk about both my exciting trip to see a candidate for Mount Sinai and the subsequent wild ride in the next couple of posts, hopefully before we all age another three months.

But what I feel I really need to focus on right now is the next section in Isaiah 58, in which God provides five conditions for eleven incredible blessings!

At this point in Isaiah 58, it could be argued that God isn’t talking about fasting anymore; He’s giving a promise to His people with conditions that need to be met. As we seek to interpret and apply this message, it’s important to understand that this “to-do list” has nothing to do with earning salvation. These actions are a window into the heart of God for those who already have a relationship with Him and want to see Him working in and through their lives. I lean toward the idea that these five missions are part of the fasting process, the focus of which is to seek the heart of God, but with or without fasting, if met with a sincere heart, I believe they can be a channel for God’s blessing in your life and mine.

Remember: God’s purpose for fasting is liberty from bondage.

I keep saying that (in previous posts and here) because it’s so easy for the practice of fasting to become just one more legalistic chain to break. That’s so not the point. Nor is it a magic button that answers all your prayers. It is faith in our loving, all-powerful God, coupled with obedience, that pierces the impossible. The more we press in to know His heart, the more we will trust Him and surrender in obedience to His will – not out of duty but because of His grace. By contrast, “If I regard wickedness in my heart, the Lord will not hear” (Ps. 66:18, NASB95).³ Sometimes I have a lot of confessing to do before I have faith to ask Him for anything.

So… Picking up from the second part of Isaiah 58:9, right after God says, “Here I am!“

9b “If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, 10  if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday. 11  And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail. 12  And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to dwell in” (Is. 58:9–12, ESV).

This is an if/then statement.

IF you…

• Take away the yoke from your midst
• [Stop] the pointing of the finger
• [Stop] speaking wickedness
• Pour yourself out for the hungry, and
• Satisfy the desire of the afflicted

THEN…

• Your light [shall] rise in the darkness
• Your gloom [shall] be as the noonday
• The Lord will guide you continually
• [He will] satisfy your desire in scorched places [prosperous]
• [He will] make your bones strong [healthy]
• You shall be like a watered garden [fruitful]
• [You shall be] like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail [an abundant source of refreshment]
• Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt
• You shall raise up the foundations of many generations
• You shall be called the repairer of the breach
• [You shall be called] the restorer of streets to dwell in

WOW! What an incredible transaction!

First, we need to recall that the context for this passage is an Israel that was honoring God with their lips and some of their outward actions, but not with their hearts. Second, we should remember that Israel had already begun to experience God’s judgment for their disobedience, so they had scorched places (v. 11), ruins, wall breaches, and broken streets (v. 12) that needed to be rebuilt. We must be very careful about taking God’s promises for those who lived in Isaiah’s day and applying them to ourselves, under a new covenant and in modern circumstances. There has to be an overarching principle with a parallel context in our own lives for us to apply these promises today. This is an important caveat highlighted in a helpful book called Grasping God’s Word, by J. Daniel Hays and J. Scott Duvall. The authors liken the theological principle to a bridge that takes us across a river of differences between life in Bible times and our modern circumstances. Identifying this principle is an important step to correctly interpret and apply the Word to ourselves.

While the specifics of a particular passage may apply only to the particular situation of the biblical audience, the theological principles revealed in that text are applicable to all of God’s people at all times. The theological principle, therefore, has meaning and application both to the ancient biblical audience and to Christians today. Constructing the principlizing bridge will be one of the critical steps in our Interpretive Journey. Because the theological principle has meaning and application to both audiences, it functions as a bridge spanning the river of differences.⁴

The theological principle common to Isaiah’s eighth-century BC/BCE world and our 21st-century Christian experience is described in the New Testament. Jesus summed up the Law and the Prophets (including Isaiah) with two commandments: Love God, and love others (Matt. 22:37-40). This happens to be the simplified theological point of Isaiah 58, and it is quite relevant to Christians today. So, if we’re claiming the promises of Isaiah 58 for ourselves, love has to be the motivation for our actions; otherwise we’re guilty of the same hypocrisy Isaiah was addressing.

With that in mind, let’s look again at the five things God requires for us in order to claim these eleven promises, and consider how we might live them out.

Take away the yoke from your midst. As defined in a previous post, a yoke was used to bind oxen to a plow or cart for labor. This word picture is often used as an analogy for oppression, which can involve taking advantage of others for our own gain, or, if we are the proverbial ox, being in bondage, such as a habitual sin or addiction.

Fasting and praying for God to break a yoke involves acknowledging that we need God’s power to overcome our sin or situation. An attitude of humility, repentance, and faith should accompany such a request, because our love for God inspires us to honor Him. If we are taking unfair advantage of others, or being cruel or harsh with them, we must change our behavior in order to claim these promises, because loving others means we don’t oppress them.

[Stop] the pointing of the finger. “Adam started it; it’s all his fault.” “No, it was Eve.” “Oh, but the serpent…” (Gen. Ch. 3). Sure, but our sins are a result of our own choices, so let’s own up to them instead of blaming others. Own up to your part in the sinful behavior, even if someone else led you astray.

“The devil made me do it.” No, you wanted to do it, so you did.

Now, if you have been the victim of someone else’s sin or oppression, their sin isn’t your sin. Let go of false guilt. Ask God to help you forgive the people who have hurt, used, or betrayed you. Forgiveness isn’t saying, “It’s okay;” it’s saying, “I want God’s mercy for you as much as I want it for myself.”

In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus told us to ask the Father to “forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” (Matt. 6:12). In Mark 11:25, he said, “And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.” Consider praying for God to have mercy on those who have been the source of temptation and oppression in your life; they will have to stand before Him to give an account for what they have done (see Matt. 18:6-7), and “it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Heb. 10:31). Even if the people who have hurt you aren’t in your life anymore, you can tell God that you forgive them and trust Him to heal the wounds they caused.

Love forgives others for their sins against us, because God has offered His forgiveness to us through the death of Jesus on our behalf.

“But God put me in this situation.”

Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire (Jas. 1:13–14).

Love doesn’t blame others (especially not God) for our own sins. Sin is disobedience to the will of God, whether committed outwardly or in our hearts and minds. Jesus said,

You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart (Matt. 5:27–28).

[Stop] speaking wickedness. Speaking wickedness can take many forms: lies, insults, cursing, gossip, course jesting, even telling stories or singing songs that glorify an evil lifestyle… All wickedness is displeasing to God.

Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving (Eph. 5:4).

It’s easy to justify inappropriate jokes and innuendo for the sake of humor, or to grumble and complain when life seems unjust, but this is not what Jesus would do. As ambassadors of Christ we should represent Him fairly to those around us, and this means our speech should be pure and filled with gratitude.

Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ (Eph. 4:15).

“Speaking the truth in love” is such a simple concept, but it’s so profound. Speaking the truth without love can be very hurtful. Speaking lies so as not to hurt someone’s feelings isn’t right either. We must find a gentle, loving way to point out errors or problems, which is edifying to others, rather than tearing them down.

24 And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, 25 correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth (2 Tim. 2:24–25).

Pour yourself out for the hungry. Generously feeding the hungry, as an act of love for God and those made in His image, is another prerequisite for claiming the promises listed in this passage. Meeting this most basic need opens our account to receive God’s blessings.

Whoever gives to the poor will not want, but he who hides his eyes will get many a curse (Prov. 28:27).

Who do you know whom you can help in this way? Might it be more feasible to donate food or money to a church or other organization that is actively meeting this need in your community? Pray about this if you need guidance.

Satisfy the desire of the afflicted. This could be an extension of feeding the hungry, but people often have needs beyond food. Ask God how He wants you to live this out. Watch for divine appointments!

Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me’ (Matt. 25:37-40).

And the rewards for doing these five things with a right attitude? Look again at Isaiah 58:10b-12:

Then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday. And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail. And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to dwell in.

Meditate on that. That’s a lot of blessings! Some may not apply to you (such as rebuilding ancient ruins; remember the historical context). Do I have the faith to ask God to bless me in these ways, even though I’m living in a different context than those to whom these promises were given? If the conditions of the promises apply to me according to the overarching theological principle, then the promises that align with that principle are for me to humbly claim as well. I’m going to commit to my part. I’ll let you know how it goes.

1. Isaiah 58 (ESV) – Then you shall call, and. Retrieved from https://www.blueletterbible.org/esv/isa/58/9/t_conc_737009. All Scriptures are from the ESV unless otherwise indicated.
2. Romans 8 (NASB95) – And we know that *God. Retrieved from https://www.blueletterbible.org/nasb95/rom/8/28/t_conc_1054028.
3. Psalm 66 (NASB95) – If I *regard wickedness in. Retrieved from https://www.blueletterbible.org/nasb95/psa/66/18/t_conc_544018.
4. J. Scott Duvall and J. Daniel Hays, Grasping God’s Word (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2020), p. 26.