ISAIAH 58

ISAIAH 58


I BELIEVE ISAIAH IS HERE PROPHESYING ABOUT THE VOICE OF THE SPIRIT TO THE REFORMERS.

When the Spirit of God utters His Voice, something HAS TO RESPOND.

Ø Psa 29:3 The voice of the LORD is upon the waters: the God of glory thundereth: the LORD is upon many waters.
Ø Psa 29:4 The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty.
Ø Psa 29:5 The voice of the LORD breaketh the cedars; yea, the LORD breaketh the cedars of Lebanon.
Ø Psa 29:6 He maketh them also to skip like a calf; Lebanon and Sirion like a young unicorn.
Ø Psa 29:7 The voice of the LORD divideth the flames of fire.
Ø Psa 29:8 The voice of the LORD shaketh the wilderness; the LORD shaketh the wilderness of Kadesh.
Ø Psa 29:9 The voice of the LORD maketh the hinds to calve, and discovereth the forests: and in his temple doth every one speak of his glory.
Ø Psa 29:10 The LORD sitteth upon the flood; yea, the LORD sitteth King forever.
Ø Psa 29:11 The LORD will give strength unto his people; the LORD will bless his people with peace.

ISA 58:1 CRY ALOUD, SPARE NOT, LIFT UP THY VOICE LIKE A TRUMPET, and show my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.

When the “Devil’s Millennium” was drawing to a close, the SPIRIT OF GOD began to empower different individuals to speak out what they believed to be wrong with the Papal System that had dominated the Church (actually, the whole world) for so many centuries.

In the early 1400’s, a man named Huss was raised up in protest to the Papal domination. He was silenced in death. At his execution, he said, “You can kill the Goose (Huss), but in a hundred years there will come a Swan (Luther) whose song you can not silence.” In just a hundred years, Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses on the door of the Wittenburg Church.

Ø Mat 16:16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
Ø Mat 16:17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
Ø Mat 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I WILL BUILD MY CHURCH; AND THE GATES OF HELL SHALL NOT PREVAIL AGAINST IT.

Isa 58:2 Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God.

God does not give credit for ordinances and ceremonies that are NOT accompanied by a spirit of OBEDIENCE to His Voice. Ceremonies are often used to gloss over a wickedness of heart. The Papal system had fostered such a condition.

Isa 58:3 Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? BEHOLD, IN THE DAY OF YOUR FAST YE FIND PLEASURE, AND EXACT ALL YOUR LABORS.

“GO TO THE HOUSE OF WORSHIP ON SUNDAY, THEN FORECLOSE THE PROPERTY OF A WIDOW ON MONDAY”

Isa 58:4 Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high.

“LORD, HELP US PROVE THAT OUR DOCTRINE IS RIGHT.”

When the Church was in the agonies of establishing the doctrine of the trinity, (it took about 75 years) many church buildings were burned, characters were assassinated, men were murdered and reputations were ruined. Bribes were commonplace, and honesty fell by the wayside.

Isa 58:5 Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD?

“Pomp and Ceremony” does not “cut it” with the Lord. An OUTWARD show of piety creates a bad smell in the nostrils of God.

In the days of Reformation, God was ready for the Church to discard ceremony and pretense, and get back to the basics of Christianity. An outward show of piety “doesn’t cut it” with the Lord. He is concerned about the heart.

ISA 58:6 IS NOT THIS THE FAST THAT I HAVE CHOSEN? TO LOOSE THE BANDS OF WICKEDNESS, TO UNDO THE HEAVY BURDENS, AND TO LET THE OPPRESSED GO FREE, AND THAT YE BREAK EVERY YOKE?

Ø Job 29:11 When the ear heard me, then it blessed me; and when the eye saw me, it gave witness to me:
Ø Job 29:12 Because I delivered the poor that cried, and the fatherless, and him that had none to help him.
Ø Job 29:13 The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me: and I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy.
Ø Job 29:14 I put on righteousness, and it clothed me: my judgment was as a robe and a diadem.
Ø Job 29:15 I was eyes to the blind, and feet was I to the lame.
Ø Job 29:16 I was a father to the poor: and the cause which I knew not I searched out.
Ø Job 29:17 And I broke the jaws of the wicked, and plucked the spoil out of his teeth.

Isa 58:7 Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?

Ø Job 31:16 If I have withheld the poor from their desire, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail;
Ø Job 31:17 Or have eaten my morsel myself alone, and the fatherless hath not eaten thereof;
Ø Job 31:18 (For from my youth he was brought up with me, as with a father, and I have guided her from my mother's womb;)
Ø Job 31:19 If I have seen any perish for want of clothing, or any poor without covering;
Ø Job 31:20 If his loins have not blessed me, and if he were not warmed with the fleece of my sheep;
Ø Job 31:21 If I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless, when I saw my help in the gate:
Ø Job 31:22 Then let mine arm fall from my shoulder blade, and mine arm be broken from the bone.

Ø Mat 25:35 For I was hungry, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
Ø Mat 25:36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

Ø Mat 9:13 But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.


Isa 58:8 Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy rearward.

I BELIEVE THE LORD IS STILL WAITING FOR THIS PHASE OF THE OPERATION. BUT, IT WILL COME.

Isa 58:9 Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; (iniquity, wickedness)

Ø Mat 23:3 All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.
Ø Mat 23:4 For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.
Ø Mat 23:5 But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments,
Ø Mat 23:6 And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues,
Ø Mat 23:7 And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi.

Isa 58:10 And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity (like the sun at midnight), and thy darkness be as the noonday:

Ø Isa 59:9 Therefore is judgment far from us, neither doth justice overtake us: we wait for light, but behold obscurity; for brightness, but we walk in darkness.
Ø 1Jo 1:6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:

Ø Psa 51:6 Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.

Isa 58:11 And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail (mg. deceive, lie) not.

Ø Isa 40:29 He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.
Ø Isa 40:30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:
Ø Isa 40:31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

Isa 58:12 And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations (1200 years); and thou shalt be called, THE REPAIRER OF THE BREACH, THE RESTORER OF PATHS TO DWELL IN.

Ø Isa 61:4 And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations.

Ø Amo 9:11 In that day will I raise up the tabernacle (the dynasty--Jesus) of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins (of the dark ages), and I will build it as in the days of old:
Ø Amo 9:12 That they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen, which are called by my name, saith the LORD that doeth this.

Ø Act 15:16 After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle (Dynasty—Jesus) of David, which is fallen down; (Truth had been cast to the ground—Dan 8:12) and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up:
Ø Act 15:17 That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things.


Isa 58:13 If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, (the REST of FAITH) from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honorable; and shalt honor him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:

The “Sabbath” was one of the “icons” of the Law of Moses, and the term is used here, I believe, to denote a SINCERE DEVOTION to the rules of the Lord.

It was very easy for the Old Testament believers to grow weary of the Sabbaths, New Moons, and all the other ceremonies of the Law of Moses, even though they all pointed to the work of Jesus Christ in the future. The Prophet is here calling for a return to sincerity in observance of these rituals UNTIL the arrival of the Messiah.

There are no ethnic or physical requirements or restrictions in the Church of Jesus Christ.

There is, however, a PROMISE of future REST (lit. KEEPING OF SABBATH) promised to faithful followers of the SPIRIT OF GOD.

Heb 4:9 There remaineth therefore A REST (Sabbatismos—KEEPING OF SABBATH) to the people of God.

Paul used two words in the Greek, and they have different meanings in the Greek, but they are both translated “rest” in the English. Sabbatismos is used only once, but Katapausis is used several times in the letter to Hebrews. See Heb_3:11, Heb_3:18, Heb_4:1, Heb_4:3 (2), Heb_4:5, Heb_4:10-11 (2)

The Spirit is admonishing men to return to sincere worship of Jesus Christ, and to turn away from idolatrous rituals and ceremonies of bygone years.

There has not been a turning back to God on a world wide scale as yet, but I believe it is coming.

Gods People need to get serious about living the life that is pleasing to Him.

ISA 58:14 THEN SHALT THOU DELIGHT THYSELF IN THE LORD; AND I WILL CAUSE THEE TO RIDE UPON THE HIGH PLACES OF THE EARTH, AND FEED THEE WITH THE HERITAGE OF JACOB THY FATHER: FOR THE MOUTH OF THE LORD HATH SPOKEN IT.

Ø Deu 32:8 (New King James) When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when He separated the sons of Adam, He set the bounds of the people according to the number of the sons of Israel.
Ø Deu 32:9 For Jehovah's portion is His people. Jacob is the lot of His inheritance.
Ø Deu 32:10 He found him in a desert land, and in the deserted, howling wilderness. He led him about, He cared for him, He kept him as the pupil of His eye.
Ø Deu 32:11 As an eagle stirs up her nest, flutters over her young, spreads abroad her wings, takes them and bears them on her wing,
Ø Deu 32:12 Jehovah alone led him, and there was no strange god with him.
Ø Deu 32:13 He made him ride on the high places of the earth, so that he might eat the increase of the fields. And He made him suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock,
Ø Deu 32:14 butter from cows, and milk from sheep, with fat of lambs, and rams of the sons of Bashan, and goats, with the fat of kidneys of wheat. And you drank the blood of the grape.

Ø Mat 24:35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.