THE POINT: God calls
us to stand up for those who suffer from injustice.
THE
PASSAGE: Isaiah 58:3-11
THE BIBLE
MEETS LIFE
Some of the
most popular stories in books or movies revolve around great injustices or
crimes. Everybody loves the story where all the wrongs are made right and those
who were powerless come out on top in the end.
Sadly, real
life is not always that way. A friend was serving at a church event for foster
kids and recognized a particular teenager. She knew he had been adopted from
Russia as a child, so what was he doing at a party for foster kids? To her
dismay, she discovered his
adoptive parents surrendered him to foster care because they considered him
“too much to handle.”
Our friend
seeks to minister to this young man, but it is a challenge because of the young
man’s traumatic childhood. You can imagine the lasting scars of someone whose
birth parents abandoned him and then his adoptive parents as well. But she
still wants to help.
God cares
how we treat those who face injustice. Our faith is clearly on display when it
comes to how we respond to injustice we see right in front of us.
WHAT DOES
THE BIBLE SAY?
Isaiah
58:3-5
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 labours. 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. 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?
KEY
WORDS: Your fast (v. 3)—The people did practice the religious
ritual of fasting, but without the attitude and lifestyle adjustment God
expected.
Sackcloth
and ashes (v. 5)—Sackcloth was a rough material made from animal hair. When
combined with ashes, it marked deep humility or intense mourning (Esth. 4:1-3;
Dan. 9:3; Jonah 3:6-8; Luke 10:13).
Injustice
rears its ugly head in racism, sexism, abuse in all its forms, religious
persecution, and bullying, just to name a few. Any time the right to life is
denied to an individual—whether in aborting an unborn child, an act of assisted
suicide committed against one who is critically ill, or euthanasia performed on
the elderly—that is also a reprehensible act of injustice. God not
only calls believers to act justly toward others, but to stand up for those
treated unjustly by others. Even those outside the faith understand the
inherent evil in injustice. “Which shew the work of the law written in their
hearts, their conscience also bearing
witness” (Rom. 2:15).
For
example, the ancient Greek writer Cicero in his classic work On Duties described
two types of injustice.
“But with
respect to injustice there are two types: men may inflict injury; or else, when
it is being inflicted upon others, they may fail to deflect it, even though they
could. Anyone who makes an unjust attack upon a fellow human being, whether
driven by anger or by some other agitation, seems to be laying hands, so to
speak, upon
another human being. But also, the man who does not defend someone, or obstruct
the injustice when he can, he is at fault just as if he had abandoned his parents
or his friends or his country.” 1
Even though
we are sinful, broken people, we still have a sense of what is right and
honorable. Unfortunately, we often give lip service to God’s standard, but we
fail to live up to it. This is hypocrisy, and it’s nothing new.
In Isaiah 58,
God spoke through the prophet Isaiah about the Israelites’ fast. They gave the
pretense of seeking God by fasting (Isa. 58:2), but God was not giving them the
positive response they wanted. “Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest
not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge?”
God was not
responding to their fast—their outward act of selfdenial—because how they
treated others was inconsistent with lives truly committed to seeking God.
“Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labours.
Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of
wickedness.” Jesus showed us the two greatest commands centered on love: love
for God and love for others.
“Thou
shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with
all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like
unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Matt.
22:37-39).
The apostle
John wrote that we cannot love God without also loving others.
“If a man
say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not
his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this
commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also” (1
John 4:20-21).
Fasting is
good; it is a great spiritual discipline if done for the right reason. Many
people will fast for a period of time to improve their health or to lose
weight. The reality is that fasting as a spiritual discipline is not about
taking on a challenge to give us physical benefits; it is about seeking the
face of God. It is not about piety or about doing something demanding so that God
will respond more favorably to our requests; it is about being reminded in our
hunger that He is the Bread of life.
Fasting is
all about seeking God, but spiritual disciplines and acts of devotion are
meaningless if our actions toward others do not reflect that same devotion.
What’s the point of fasting to get closer to God if we are unwilling to obey
and do what He calls us to do?
One thing
God calls us to do is to act justly and lovingly toward others. We may not have
workers under us we can oppress, but God is concerned about how we treat other
people in our workplace, home, school, community, and sports events; and as we communicate
on social media. Both our words and actions should reflect Christ in how we
respond to those experiencing injustice.
Question
2: What are the benefits and dangers of religious activity in our
lives?
Isaiah
58:6-7
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? 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?
God desires
that we seek Him, not through meaningless rituals, but through an authentic relationship.
We can see how authentic that relationship is by how we approach other
relationships. Every relationship must be rooted and growing in Him, but that
must extend to the way we treat others and in the way we work for those facing
injustice.
“The fast”
God chooses includes specific actions that draw us close to His heart in the
way we show love for others. We are to take an active role in breaking the
chains of wickedness and untying the ropes that bind the oppressed. We must
make ourselves aware of the needs of others and find a way to meet those needs whenever
possible.
God went
beyond just warning us not to mistreat people by committing injustice; He calls
us to do something to correct the ways others have mistreated them and
committed injustice to them. In other words, don’t just avoid the negative; do something
positive.
1. Seek out what is right and just. To truly be
walking with God we must seek out what is right and just for others. It is not possible
to love God and not love those whom He loves.
2. Fight for those we know who are being
mistreated and abused. This could be someone in our workplace,
community, or in our own church. As Martin Luther King said, “In the end, we
will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”
Those who are being oppressed will remember when Christians fail to help them
in the midst of their oppression.
3. Stand up for those outside our sphere of
control. Take up the fight of justice for those we don’t know. Some
injustice is outside our ability to make right, but this should not stop us from
being their advocates and prayer warriors.
Sometimes
things really are black or white. Right or wrong. Godly or godless. Consider
even a few of the questions that surround a key sanctity of life issue:
abortion. For example: “When is a baby really a baby?” or “How many weeks into
a pregnancy is it still acceptable to still have an abortion?” So often we
muddy the water when the answer is right there in God’s Word. Abortion is not
God’s plan. God created us, loves us, and has a plan for us—every one of
us (Ps. 139:13-16). God loves every baby regardless of the circumstances of his
or her conception or birth. He was, quite frankly, expecting all of them! No
children were ever “accidents.”
In college,
I met a woman who was a product of a rape. Her mother chose life over abortion,
and now here she was, my pastor’s wife, serving alongside him and living out
her faith as a wife and mother.
Question
3: Where do you see injustice and oppression operating in today’s
culture?
Question
4: Where do you see God’s people effectively addressing these
concerns?
Isaiah
58:8-11
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 reward. 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; 10 And if thou
draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy
light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noon day: 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 not.
What
happens when God’s people turn their fast into actions that seek to feed,
rescue, and serve those in need and suffering injustice? God will bring
blessings into our lives.
1. God’s presence. “Then shall
thy light break forth as the morning.” Scripture frequently equates light with
the presence of God. Earlier in Isaiah 9:2, the Messiah to come was described
as “a great light”; centuries later, Jesus would identify Himself as “the light
of the world” (John 8:12).
2. God’s healing. “Thine
health shall spring forth speedily.” When we come to God, He forgives,
restores, and heals us. The Messiah, Jesus Christ, would be the One to give us
this healing recovery. “With his stripes we are healed” (Isa. 53:5).
3. God’s protection. “Thy
righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy reward.”
“Jerusalem shall dwell safely: and this is the name wherewith she shall be called,
The Lord our righteousness” (Jer. 33:16). When we live in Him, He surrounds us
and protects us. How much more do we need than to know God has our front and
our back!
4. God’s care. “Then shalt thou call, and
the Lord shall answer.” Answer means more than just hearing; He responds
and says, “Here I am.” Is there anything better than knowing that the God of
the universe hears and responds when we cry out to Him?
5. God’s provision. “Thou shalt
be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.”
We serve a God who is aware of our needs and will provide. “But seek ye first the
kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto
you” (Matt. 6:33).
People
won’t always view stepping in to help those suffering injustices as the “smart”
choice. However, the blessings that come from obeying God are worth it. God’s
blessings are tied to a fulfilled purpose and the joy that comes from intimacy
with Christ.
Question
5: What’s the connection between the gospel and the ways we meet the
physical needs of others?
ENGAGE
Consider
your community—where do you see examples of injustice?
How could your
church help meet the needs you listed?
How could your
group help meet the needs you listed?
How could you
help meet the needs you listed?
LIVE IT
OUT
How can you
practice God’s way of serving those who are treated unjustly?
- Check your heart. Pray about your attitude toward others facing injustice. Confess any apathy, indifference, or prejudice.
- Check your surroundings. Ask God to reveal injustice right in front of you. Ask for courage and the direction to follow His lead.
- Check your opportunity. Work with others to help those facing injustice. For example, volunteer with a crisis pregnancy center or a ministry focused on elderly adults.
We are
called to do our part. If you have no idea what that may be, just ask God.
Don’t miss the blessing
of serving!
In His Love,
David & Susan
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