58:1 “Shout loudly! Don’t be quiet! Yell as loud as a trumpet! Confront my people with their rebellious deeds; confront Jacob’s family with their sin!
Isaiah was to walk down the street and shout loudly like a trumpet. His message was that the people of Israel were terrible sinners. Isaiah was not a seeker-friendly teacher.
Very few modern pastors have the courage to teach in this way. They would rather tickle ears and draw in large congregations who will pay their salary.
58:2 They seek me day after day; they want to know my requirements, like a nation that does what is right and does not reject the law of their God. They ask me for just decrees; they want to be near God.
The people of Isaiah’s day acted like they really wanted to know God. They loved the ritual of temple worship.
58:3 They lament, ‘Why don’t you notice when we fast? Why don’t you pay attention when we humble ourselves?’ Look, at the same time you fast, you satisfy your selfish desires, you oppress your workers.
God never gave Israel fast days (except for the Day of Atonement), but He gave them feast days. However, the religious leaders created more fast days of their own. They complained when Jehovah did not notice their addition of the new fast days.
Jehovah’s answer was that while Israel was fasting, they were committing terrible sins.
58:4 Look, your fasting is accompanied by arguments, brawls, and fistfights. Do not fast as you do today, trying to make your voice heard in heaven.
Instead of adding these fast days, God wanted Israel to quit arguing, brawling, and fighting among themselves.
58:5 Is this really the kind of fasting I want? Do I want a day when people merely humble themselves, bowing their heads like a reed and stretching out on sackcloth and ashes? Is this really what you call a fast, a day that is pleasing to the Lord?
The purpose of their fasting was to make a public show. “To obey is better than sacrifice” (I Samuel 15:22, Matthew 6:15-18).
58:6 No, this is the kind of fast I want. I want you to remove the sinful chains, to tear away the ropes of the burdensome yoke, to set free the oppressed, and to break every burdensome yoke.
Instead of fasting, God wanted His chosen people to quit sinning, quit adding a religious yoke which they could not carry, to free the oppressed, and to break the burdensome yoke in which the leaders had placed upon the people.
58:7 I want you to share your food with the hungry and to provide shelter for homeless, oppressed people. When you see someone naked, clothe him! Don’t turn your back on your own flesh and blood!
Instead of fasting, Jehovah wanted Israel to take care of the poor. He wanted them to take care of their own families.
Notice that this was not a call to help the poor of pagan nations. The pagan nations were into satanism, occultism, and infant sacrifice. Israel was not to feed a beast who wanted to devour her. Israel was to feed and take care of her own.
The local church has the same commission today. They are to feed and take care of those only in their local church assembly. Otherwise, they will be feeding their enemies. They will be feeding members of the satanic world system who wish to devour them. All social programs that feed the poor are unbiblical. It is the church, not the government, who is to feed the poor. Social welfare is stealing from those who work and giving the money to those of the satanic worlds system. Many political parties will establish socialistic theft so that they can gain votes and remain in power.
58:8 Then your light will shine like the sunrise; your restoration will quickly arrive; your godly behavior will go before you, and the Lord’s splendor will be your rear guard.
If Israel would follow these stipulations, then she would be restored back into her land more quickly. She would experience a national regeneration. The Messiah would lead her into the Promised Land and the Shechinah Glory would be her rear guard.
58:9 Then you will call out, and the Lord will respond; you will cry out, and he will reply, ‘Here I am.’ You must remove the burdensome yoke from among you and stop pointing fingers and speaking sinfully.
The Jewish remnant will call for the Lord Jesus Christ to rescue her from the Antichrist on the last day of the Great Tribulation.
58:10 You must actively help the hungry and feed the oppressed. Then your light will dispel the darkness, and your darkness will be transformed into noonday.
The Jewish remnant must help the poor. If so, they would be given more spiritual light.
58:11 The Lord will continually lead you; he will feed you even in parched regions. He will give you renewed strength, and you will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring that continually produces water.
Isaiah reminded Israel of her future Millennial-Kingdom conditions. When Israel keeps these laws, then she will receive divine guidance, divine provision, divine strength, and divine agricultural conditions.
58:12 Your perpetual ruins will be rebuilt; you will reestablish the ancient foundations. You will be called, ‘The one who repairs broken walls, the one who makes the streets inhabitable again.’
During the Millennial Kingdom, the land of Israel will be rebuilt.
58:13 You must observe the Sabbath rather than doing anything you please on my holy day. You must look forward to the Sabbath and treat the Lord’s holy day with respect. You must treat it with respect by refraining from your normal activities, and by refraining from your selfish pursuits and from making business deals.
The Jews were keeping the Sabbath as a mundane ritual, not because they loved to worship God. In today's modern Jewish society, businesses are closed on the Sabbath, but the Jews are making business deals in the Jewish synagogues. There is a Jewish connection in the modern Jewish business world. Many of the Jews buy and sell only from each other. Only Jews are promoted into business leadership positions. Only Jews are referred to by other Jews. If a Gentile goes to a Jewish doctor and needs a referral, then he will most likely be referred to another Jewish doctor. Gentile doctors call this Jewish referral system "the Jewish connection".
58:14 Then you will find joy in your relationship to the Lord, and I will give you great prosperity, and cause crops to grow on the land I gave to your ancestor Jacob.” Know for certain that the Lord has spoken.
If Israel would observe and enjoy the Sabbath, then Jehovah promised to give this generation of Israel all of the promised land which was promised to Jacob. The Mosaic Law was a carrot stick which Israel ignored. She was more interested in living in sin than she was in living inside of the Millennial Kingdom.