How God wants fasting to be less about food and more about compassion for others
by Rev. Michael Medeiros—
Fasting was practiced throughout the Ancient Near East long before it was included in the Hebrew Bible or the Qur'an as rites performed individually or corporately. This is important to note because there were many different reasons why people abstained from food for a period, and many of these occurrences were as religious activities. Our focus today centers on what God expects when we fast.
The only fast commanded in the Torah (Tawrat) occurred on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:29).[1] The only other mention of a fast commanded by God is found in the book of Prophet Joel (1:14; 2:12, 15). The rest of the occurrences show fasting as either voluntary or directed by leaders, usually in moments of crisis (Tawrat, 2 Sam. 12:23; 1 Kings 21:9; 2 Chron. 20:3; Ezra 8:21; Neh. 9:1; Est. 4:3; 9:31; Ps. 35;13; 69:10; 109:24; Jer. 36:6, 9; Dan. 9:3; Zech. 7:3; 8:19). In the many instances of fasting seen in the Bible (both the Tawrat and Injeel), we see a posture of humble dependence upon God to do his will.
Prophet Isaiah 58:1-11
In the book of Prophet Isaiah chapter 58, God makes a case against his people for their mindless ritual motions of fasting as if it could gain favor with God to divert discipline coming their way. It is somewhat of a reprise of chapter 1:15-17—“When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood. Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s case.”
Prophet Isaiah proclaims God’s indictment against his people due to their rampant sin—all this while they were hiding behind their religiosity (see also Prophet Jeremiah 14:12). In chapter 58 of the book of Prophet Isaiah (v.2), God exposes their delusion that they came to worship God without really obeying God—talk about a serious disconnect from reality! They didn’t even realize the reason that God withheld his blessing from them. “Why have we fasted, and you see it not? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?” (v. 3a). Take a look at their religious actions (vv. 2-3a): seeking God, delighting to know God’s ways, asking for righteous decisions, delighting to draw near to God, and fasting & humbling themselves. Sounds good, doesn’t it? How could this be wrong?
They seemed to have the right formula. Maybe that’s the problem—there really isn’t some formula to follow. God confronts their hearts and reveals their lack of authenticity and their need for accountability. In essence, God’s people are neglecting the things God expects—the moral, ethical, and relational aspects of community living. Simply put, they were hypocrites trying to put on a show for God. God makes it clear: their fasting was a veneer to cover their pleasure-seeking, oppressive, and quarrelsome behaviors. God was not fooled nor was he pleased. Through Isaiah, the Lord God asserts, “Will you call this a fast, and a day acceptable to the Lord?” (v. 5). Herein lies the danger of fasting with ulterior motives—a display of religious fervor instead of righteous living. The irony here is that while the “religious” deny themselves food in ritualistic solemnity, they regularly deny helping those who are oppressed, hungry, or homeless. Pretending to be just in fasting while denying justice to others will not be rewarded by God, whether then or now.
Contrary to their attitude and actions, God proclaims, “Is this not the fast I choose…?” (v. 6) to highlight what he truly expects from his devout followers. He goes on to list what he wants his people to do: free people and not burden them (v. 6), feed the hungry and house the homeless (v. 7a), clothe the naked and be sympathetic (v. 7b), put away wicked contempt for others (v. 9b), and be self-sacrificial for the hungry and afflicted. Then, by doing these things, darkness will become light (vv. 8, 10b), weakness becomes strength (v. 8), and righteousness will go before you. As a result of righteous living exemplified in loving others, namely the disenfranchised, they will ultimately be guided and satisfied by the Lord God and they will flourish (v. 11). What a promise and reward for those who seek God and do his will!
Yet, instead of giving themselves fully and dependently upon God and giving of themselves to their neighbors, their religious ritual of fasting became sanctimoniously self-serving. No wonder God Almighty was displeased! They violated the great commandment of loving God fully (Tawrat, Deuteronomy 6:4) and loving their neighbor as oneself (Tawrat, Leviticus 19:18) as encapsulated in the words of Jesus Christ (Injeel, gospel of Matthew 22:37-39).
This brings us to how we can worship God today through genuine fasting. Fasting allows us to draw closer in dependence upon God for our physical needs without the show of pretentious ritual devotion. We must remember this: We are not immune to self-serving religiosity or selective compassion to the plight of the needy. Fasting has always been, and always will be, a matter of the heart rather than the stomach (or the ego). Jesus provides a fitting warning for those who fast: “And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces to be seen by others” (gospel of Matthew 6:16). He exhorts us to not let our fasting be seen by others, but solely by God the Father who sees it in secret (gospel of Matthew 6:17-18). Even still, our fasting must be done with pure motives and a demonstration of love for God and compassion for others. This is what God requires.
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[1] The Hebrew root word for fasting is not found in this verse, but the act of fasting is many times associated with humbling oneself as seen in the Hebrew Bible. Moreover, Jewish tradition was to practice fasting on this special day.