Isaiah 58:8

Lord God, please help me to focus on you and your word.

When trying to draw near to God I cannot simply go about doing whatever I want. I must consider each action, each word and each thought ... for each one consider, "Is this pleasing to God?".

8. Then your light will break out like the dawn, And your recovery will speedily spring forth; And your righteousness will go before you; The glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.

Recovery will spring forth...

אֲרוּכָה

arukah (ar·ü·kä): wholeness, health, perfected

צָמַח
tsamach (tsä·makh): to sprout; bud, grow, cause to spring forth or spring up

So, not only will luminous light and happiness burst into me and my life but also a wholeness in health and spirit will grow rapidly within me?

This sounds fantastic!

Righteousness will go before me and the glory of God will watch behind me.

NLT: Your godliness will lead you forward, and the glory of the LORD will protect you from behind."
 
יְהֹוָה
Yĕhovah (yeh·hō·vä): the self-Existent or Eternal; Jehovah = "the existing one"

אָסַף
acaph (ä·saf): to gather (in, together, up again)

I will walk with my face looking to God and He who is and always will be will gather me up.

I love that He gathers me up. The idea of us gathering up our children when they are hurt, scared or in danger is the picture I get of my loving Father in heaven gathering me up.

Today I can go about all the tasks I have to do with a picture of God holding me close in His arms while pouring light and happiness and wholeness into my life.

Feeling loved.

Isaiah 58:8

Brings me right back to my favorite line of scripture, "Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you."

I love the beautiful imagery of the light breaking out like the dawn.

אָז
az (äz): luminous (in every sense; lightning, happiness, etc.)

This is the same "light" referred to in Genesis 1:3, "And God said, 'Let there be light ..."

I want to be so filled with God's light that it spills out and draws people to Him. Not that I would be remembered but that I can be a conduit for God's love to reach others.

Like Rebekah gives through her melting hugs. A true, physical example of complete love if I have ever experienced one.

בָּקַע
baqa (bä·kah): ready to burst, rend, hatch

I love that the light of God is pictured explosively coming into my life.

How do I get that?

Oh, right ... look back a couple of verses. Fight injustice and help those who need help.

Over simplification?

Perhaps, but I hope and pray that when I think of my favorite scripture now this will also come into my mind as the way to draw near to God.

I love this verse so much! Clearly I'm going to have to dig into it more tomorrow. In the meantime I will be trying to treat people justly and help those that I see need help.

Here's a radical idea ... perhaps I could pray for God to open my eyes to see those who need help.

Yes, I know ... a "duh" moment if I've ever had one.

Isaiah 58:5-7

5. Is it a fast like this which I choose, a day for a man to humble himself? Is it for bowing one's head like a reed And for spreading out sackcloth and ashes as a bed? Will you call this a fast, even an acceptable day to the Lord?

Going through the motions, fasting on auto-pilot, this is not pleasing to God.

How crazy that I read verse five and start struggling over what it all means and then realize I haven't asked God to show me His truth and help me understand His word. Here am I, going through the motions on auto-pilot while reading about just that behavior.

I have prayed many times for God to speak clearly and to make things so obvious it can't be missed what He wants me to do. I have prayed for Him to "hit me over the head" because discernment does not seem to be one of my gifts.

I am so grateful that He does just that on occasions like today.

God, you are so good!

6. Is this not the fast which I choose, To loosen the bonds of wickedness, To undo the bands of the yoke, And to let the oppressed go free And break every yoke?

He wants us to fight against injustice. While I might not be able to rid the world of injustice, I can work in my own home to keep myself from being unjust to my husband and my children. Who know, there could be a ripple effect from what I teach my children through example. What do I want that ripple effect to be?

7. Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry And bring the poor into the house; When you see the naked, to cover him; And not to hide from your own flesh?

He wants us to help those who need help.

"Service to God is doing what needs to be done - right now, right in front of you."

I don't know the individual who shared this with my aunt, but I am ever so grateful that she passed it along to me.

Like the battle against injustice, I cannot myself rid the world of poverty. However, that doesn't mean I shouldn't try to do what I can to strive for a world free of poverty and injustice.

So convicting to me is the last line of verse seven:

NASB: "And not to hide yourself from your own flesh."
NIV: "And not turn away from your own flesh and blood."
NLT: "And not hide from relatives who need your help."
MSG: "Being available to your own family."

Truly convicting me today!

Isaiah 58

1. Call out with the throat! Do not spare. Lift up you voice like the trumpet! And show my people their rebellion, and their sins to the house of Jacob."

I am struck by the original Hebrew in verse one.
גָּרוֹן
garown (gä·rōn): the throat, giving forth rough sounds (from the root word garar)
גָּרַר
garar (gä·rar'): to drag off roughly, to bring up the cud (an onomatopoeiac word)

It just strikes me that this was literally groaning aloud. The seriousness of certain situation is so intense that when we speak it is not in a calm, smooth voice but in gut-wrenching sobs or utterances.

3&4. 'Why have we fasted and You do not see? Why have we humbled ourselves and You do not notice?' Behold, on the day of your fast you find your desire, And drive hard all your workers. Behold, you fast for contention and strife and to strike with a wicked fist. You do not fast like you do today to make your voice heard on high.

If I am fasting and laying myself open to the Lord am I doing it for the right reason?

Jesus talked about the Pharisees in Matthew 23:5

But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men, for they broaden their phylactories, and lengthen the tassels of their garments.

Jesus also tells in Matthew 6:16

And when you fast, do not be as the hypocrites, darkening the face, for they disfigure their faces so that they may appear to men to be fasting. Truly I say to you that they have their reward.

Here in Isaiah, even more than the avoidance of public spectacle, our hearts need to be right. Even if nobody knows of your fasting ...

Am I fasting and laying before the Lord as a way of saying, "Hey! Look at me God. I'm putting myself in discomfort for you. Did you see me? Do I get something for my discomfort now?"

Is it a checklist item, "Okay, I did my fast. What's next?"

Am I taking pleasure in the discomfort of the fast as a form of pride?

If I am fasting it should be a truly humbling experience, done as a sacrifice of love to my Lord. A way of putting Him above all else.

In writing this I know that I have never had a pure fast.

Isaiah 58:1-2

1. Cry loudly, do not hold back; Raise your voice like a trumpet, And declare to My people their transgression And to the house of Jacob their sins.


Those of us who know God and follow Jesus are held accountable for how we live. We know that we are to read our Bibles and to be in constant prayer, for this is how we hear from God. How will we know what He has for us if we are not in communion with Him?

2. Yet the seek Me day by day and delight to know My ways, As a nation that has done righteousness And has not forsaken the ordinance of their God. They ask Me for just decisions, They delight in the nearness of God.


Two scriptures that help me to understand this:
Titus 1:16 They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient, and worthless for any good deed.

James 4:8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

We seek to know God and we ask Him for righteous judgements, we want to be close to Jesus ...  but do we really?

My favorite scripture is James 4:8. When I think of this scripture I am thinking of how much God loves me and wants to hold me in His arms. It gives me a vision of God, with me in His lap, curled up and safe .... like a little girl in her loving father's arms. Less often I think of the second half of that verse which tells us to live the way we should. It states that if we have sinned we need to get cleaned up and we need our hearts to be pure and not of two minds. The original Greek is dipsuchos (dip'-soo-khos) which means literally two-spirited.

We want to be close with God and know His truth but we want it to be comfortable.

Am I really doing what God wants and drawing near to Him?

I want so much to have alone time with God and to hear from Him through His word (the Bible).

I have a litany of reasons that I don't do it:

• I have to get my work hours in
• Laundry, dishes, mopping, cooking
• Do something fun for the girls
• Too tired to think, just want to veg and/or be entertained

These things are important, but they are not more important than drawing close to God.

God wants to bless me. I say I trust Him but then I go back to trying to do it alone. Why don't I trust Him to help me complete the lesser tasks if I first draw close to Him.

My two spirits:

1. Draw close to God
2. This world and all the responsibilities I have in it

Lord, help me to purify my heart and let the first time in my day and first thoughts throughout the day to be for you.

Deuteronomy 13

A harsh chapter indeed! If any try to lead you astray by encouraging and/or inviting you to worship other gods, either through prophecy fulfilled, or miraculous signs and wonders, they should be put to death. It does not matter if they are a stranger, your own child or the wife you love. They must be put to death by stoning or the sword. God tests us in this way not so that he can learn but so that we can learn ourselves if we truly love God with all our heart, mind and soul. God already knows. If one of the towns God gave the Israelites has wicked men in it leading people astray the entire town, everyone and everything, must be utterly destroyed.

Deuteronomy 12

This seems a pretty clear directive NOT to adopt or adapt our worship of the One True God to be like that of worship of any other god.

I have felt convicted in the past about the pagan holidays and traditions the church took over and renamed as Christian celebrations. I f like this passage tells us we should not do this.

I'm not sure what this means for me personally. Do I need to research the traditions I participate in at holidays and stop any that were adopted and/or adapted from pagan rituals?