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The Scriptorium

No There There

These empty devotions were an offense to God.

The Way of Restoration: Isaiah 58 (2)

Pray Psalm 50.1-3.

The Mighty One, God the LORD,
Has spoken and called the earth
From the rising of the sun to its going down.
Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,
God will shine forth.
Our God shall come, and shall not keep silent;
A fire shall devour before Him,
And it shall be very tempestuous all around Him.

Read Isaiah 58.3-5.

Reflect.
1. What was wrong with the people’s fasting?

2. What was wrong with their motive for fasting?

Meditate.
In the pagan religions of the ancient near east, as well as of Greece and Rome, the gods could be placated and manipulated by going through one or another act of devotion. Think of the priests of Baal on Mt. Carmel, trying to persuade their god to perform (1 Kgs. 18.20-26). 

When Israel and Judah turned to the idols of the pagan nations, they transferred the pagan manner of worship to God as well. This is why the people of Jerusalem complained in verse 3. They had done their bit; now, why hadn’t God come through for them? They were trying to manipulate God with their fasts, at the same time they continued in their sinful and oppressive ways (vv. 3, 4).

They kept up their religious practices, but it was all a trampling of God’s holy courts in His view. In their worship and devotions, there was no there there.

This is not the kind of spiritual discipline that brings the grace and Presence of God to our lives. God deplores all outward signs of piety which are designed to impress Him or our neighbors (vv. 4, 5), or to gain some standing or favor with Him. He’s looking for something other than mere ritual. He wants to see thanksgiving and repentance in our hearts, sincere faith in and love for Him, and a determination to serve others with the grace we realize in His Presence.

All of which the people of Judah and Jerusalem were lacking.

Prepare.
1. God looks on the heart while people tend to look on outward things. There is a caution in here for us with respect to our times of worship. Explain.

2. Recall Isaiah 1.13: “I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting.” What is God looking for from our worship?

3. So, should we just give up fasting, since it seems so hard to do it right?

Through this kind of fasting and prayers, he says, you seek to delight your will and not mine, and, since you despise me, you say on high, “Why have we fasted, and you do not see it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you do not notice?” Ephrem the Syrian (306-373 AD), Commentary on Isaiah 58.4-5

Let my devotions and all my worship be pleasing to You, O Lord, and guard me against…

Pray Psalm 50.

As you pray this psalm, think of God observing your devotions and your worship, and ask Him to give you a true heart of thanksgiving and a life of worship and service to Him.

Sing to the Lord.
Psalm 50 (Austrian Hymn: Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken)
God, the Lord, the mighty Savior, summons all from east to west:
Out of Zion, rich with favor, shines He, of all things the best.
Come, O God, and keep not silence; fire devours before Your way!
He His Church, steeped in defiance, comes to judge this awful day.

“Gather now My children holy, those bound close to Me by blood.”
Let the heav’ns declare His glory, for the Lord Himself is Judge:
“Hear, My people, I will charge you; I alone am God, your God!
I will bring a solemn charge to gain you to Me for your good.

“Not for rituals I accuse you – let your worship to Me rise.
Naught to Me is any use, Who dwells in glory in the skies.
All is mine throughout creation; I your help do not require.
Offer Me no vain oblation: hear what I from you desire:

“Sacrifice of thanks now render; pay to God your solemn vows; 
Let the troubled, each offender, seek Him in the midst of woes.
In the day of strife draw near Him; He will hear, and He will save.
Honor God, rejoice, and fear Him, give to Him your grateful praise.

“All of you My Word despising, who are you to claim My grace?
Praise may from your lips be rising, but you scorn Me to My face.
You approve of all transgressions, scheme against your mother’s son! 
I will crush your vain aggressions and destroy what you have done.

“Reckon this, My sinful people, lest My wrath consume you whole:
None shall thwart Me when I seek to crush and break your sin-stiff soul.
He who thanks to Me addressing, follows after what is good, 
He shall know the way of blessing coming from the hand of God.”

T. M. Moore

How great is the salvation which is ours in Jesus Christ? Download the three installments of our free study, Such a Great Salvation, and learn for yourself (click here).

Forward today’s lesson to some friends, and challenge them to study with you through this series on Isaiah. Each week’s lessons will be available as a free PDF download at the end of the week. Get a copy for yourself and send the link for the download to your friends. Plan to meet weekly to study Isaiah’s important message.


If you value Scriptorium as a free resource for your walk with the Lord, please consider supporting our work with your gifts and offerings. You can contribute to The Fellowship by clicking the Contribute button  at the website or by sending your gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, 19 Tyler Drive, Essex Junction, VT 05452.

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing adapted from The Ailbe Psalter. All quotations from Church Fathers from Ancient Christian Commentary Series, General Editor Thomas C. Oden (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2006).All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter (available by clicking here).

T.M. Moore

T. M. Moore is principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He and his wife, Susie, make their home in the Champlain Valley of Vermont.
Books by T. M. Moore

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