'Why have we fasted,' they say, 'and you have not seen it?
Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?'
Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please
and exploit all your workers.
Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife,
and in striking each other with wicked fists.
You cannot fast as you do today
and expect your voice to be heard on high.
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In Isaiah 58: 3-4, God's people haven't gotten the indications they expected that God heard them. From their perspective, they are doing what is right - fasting and humbling themselves. They just don't get it! Sounds painfully familiar to me. What seems to jump out from this to me is that their approach seems designed to get attention, versus seek God. I'm reminded that the previous verses told us 3 times that their apparent seeking is illusory!
Getting God's attention versus seeking Him. What a difference. Again, we see the man-centered versus God-centered approach. When we seek God's attention, we want what He can give; we want the "feeling" that comes from His presence; we want results. This is not unlike the attention-getting behavior exhibited by the prophets of Baal in the encounter on Mt. Carmel. They tried everything possible to get their god's attention to no avail. But seeking God - being willing to hear Him in a still small voice as much as a whirlwind - means we want HIM more than any answer or result. But God, in His grace, teaches them where they are wrong. Specifically, He spells out three wrongs they do even while fasting:
* Doing as they please
* Exploiting workers
* Engaging in verbal and physical conflict
Doing as they please - the NET translates this "fulfilling selfish desires". When we pursue God, we go in the direction AWAY from our selfish desires. Gal. 5 makes it clear that the Spirit and the flesh cannot go in the same direction. They are opposed to each other. This tells me that a good test for whether my motives are truly God-centered is how much selfish desire - doing what I please - is present. Of course there will always be a mixture - we are not perfect - but it is a good exercise to start learning to sort them out!
Exploiting workers - this is an interesting use of language. The word used here for "exploit" is the exact word used in Exodus 3-5 to describe the treatment of the Israelites by the Egyptians. God had warned them to allow that experience to positively affect their relations with others - Deut. 24:14-15 spells out specific ways this should impact relationships with workers:
"Do not take advantage of a hired man who is poor and needy, whether he is a brother Israelite or an alien living in one of your towns. Pay him his wages each day before sunset, because he is poor and is counting on it. Otherwise he may cry to the LORD against you, and you will be guilty of sin."
The chapter ends with an admonition to keep all the commands included, because of their understanding of the slave experience in Egypt. This makes their exploitation of workers especially repugnant from a Godward perspective.
There are a number of ways workers are exploited today. Whether through unfair wages, unrealistic expectations, or even outright abuse, the reality exists in our society as much as the sweatshops of China. This passage is a good reminder to ask ourselves in any work situation - especially if we are in any kind of supervisory or decision-making position - how we are treating employees. However, even non-supervisors have the opportunity to treat employees differently because of God's presence in us. I remember a story from the University. Custodial staff in a certain building were asked not to drink out of the fountains in the very building they cleaned! We can treat service workers with love and compassion regardless of our position at work - and likewise, we can exploit others even without formal authority.
Engaging in verbal and physical conflict - God makes clear in other passages that he hates violence against the innocent. Isa. 59:6-8 underscores this perspective by calling such violence evil. In Malachi 3:16, God places his hatred of violence on the same level as His disdain for divorce. In fact, the passage in context is an admonition to husbands who are mistreating their wives and then wanting to divorce them. Reading the Gospels, it is hard to imagine that the New Testament personal ethic is anything less than non-violence. And yet on the same day they "seek" God through fasting, they are engaging in verbal and physical conflict.
Few of us in this group are likely to engage in direct physical conflict - but what about that sharp tongue that produces quarreling and strife. The classic example for this is the person who gets irritable and snaps at a family member for interrupting her quiet time! (Ouch ... that one hurt me!!!) The possibilities for quarrel and strife are endless; the opportunities for peaceful conversation will demonstrate a difference in us that can only be due to the Holy Spirit.
God ends this passage by addressing the reality: this action will never get their prayers answered. I'm reminded of David, who said if we regard iniquity in our hearts, God won't hear us. "Regard" means to treasure it, hold on to it. It's that sin we secretly hope God never asks us to give up. That's the very one we have to lay down to get an answer, because that's the sin that is the source of our rebellion.
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