Isaiah 58

I've always loved Isaiah 58, a section of scripture that explains fasting and what it ought to be in God's sight. This morning I was reading Isaiah 53 (all prophecy regarding Jesus Christ as Messiah) and saw some notes in the margin of my bible from the end of February hugging Isaiah 58.

In this section of scripture I noted two things:

1. My responsibility to obey God's Word (what that looks like according to this scripture)
2. Results of my obedience to God's Word (specifically in this scripture)

Isaiah 58: 9, 10, 13
My Responsibility: Selflessness and self-denial

• Remove the yoke from my midst-- that which keeps me bound and burdened unnecessarily
• Remove the pointing and blaming finger-- stop blaming others and looking at their faults
• Remove the speaking of wickedness-- stop talking about things that aren't encouraging
• Give myself to the hungry-- serve others who have needs to help get eyes off self
• Satisfy the desire of the afflicted-- look for ways to bless those who are hurting
• Turn from doing my own pleasure-- get away from selfishness
• Desist from my own ways-- stop my own ways
• Desist from seeking my own pleasure-- stop finding ways to please myself

Isaiah 58: 10-12, 14
Results of Obedience: True joy and fulfillment

• Light will rise in darkness and gloom will be like midday-- the heavy and burdensome things in life will be lighter
• God will continually guide me
• God will continually satisfy my desire in scorched places-- in places of hopelessness, places that seem dead God will keep satisfying me with Himself
• God will give strength to my bones-- a deep inner strength from God Himself
• I will be like a watered garden bearing fruit-- my life will be refreshing to others and I will have something to offer/bless people with
• I will take delight in the Lord-- the true source of satisfaction and joy
• I will ride on new heights of the earth and be fed with the heritage of Jacob--the heritage of Jacob is noted in Jeremiah 10:16 the portion of Jacob is not like these (idols-false gods); for the Maker of all is He, and Israel is the tribe of His inheritance; the Lord of hosts is His name. The heritage of Jacob is God Himself. When I obey God's Word, I am blessed with a deeper relationship with my God. Jesus said something similar about abiding or remaining in Him in John 15. It's like getting to know your best friend better just by spending time with them and growing with them.