Raise your voice like a shofar!
Proclaim to my people what rebels they are,
to the house of Ya‘akov their sins.
2 “Oh yes, they seek me day after day
and [claim to] delight in knowing my ways.
As if they were an upright nation
that had not abandoned the rulings of their God,
they ask me for just rulings
and [claim] to take pleasure in closeness to God,
3 [asking,] ‘Why should we fast, if you don’t see?
Why mortify ourselves, if you don’t notice?’
“Here is my answer: when you fast,
you go about doing whatever you like,
while keeping your laborers hard at work.
4 Your fasts lead to quarreling and fighting,
to lashing out with violent blows.
On a day like today, fasting like yours
will not make your voice heard on high.
5 “Is this the sort of fast I want,
a day when a person mortifies himself?
Is the object to hang your head like a reed
and spread sackcloth and ashes under yourself?
Is this what you call a fast,
a day that pleases Adonai?
6 “Here is the sort of fast I want —
releasing those unjustly bound,
untying the thongs of the yoke,
letting the oppressed go free,
breaking every yoke,
7 sharing your food with the hungry,
taking the homeless poor into your house,
clothing the naked when you see them,
fulfilling your duty to your kinsmen!”
8 Then your light will burst forth like the morning,
your new skin will quickly grow over your wound;
your righteousness will precede you,
and Adonai’s glory will follow you.
9 Then you will call, and Adonai will answer;
you will cry, and he will say, “Here I am.”
If you will remove the yoke from among you,
stop false accusation and slander,
10 generously offer food to the hungry
and meet the needs of the person in trouble;
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your gloom become like noon.
11 Adonai will always guide you;
he will satisfy your needs in the desert,
he will renew the strength in your limbs;
so that you will be like a watered garden,
like a spring whose water never fails.
12 You will rebuild the ancient ruins,
raise foundations from ages past,
and be called “Repairer of broken walls,
Restorer of streets to live in.”
13 “If you hold back your foot on Shabbat
from pursuing your own interests on my holy day;
if you call Shabbat a delight,
Adonai’s holy day, worth honoring;
then honor it by not doing your usual things
or pursuing your interests or speaking about them.
14 If you do, you will find delight in Adonai —
I will make you ride on the heights of the land
and feed you with the heritage of your ancestor Ya‘akov,
for the mouth of Adonai has spoken.”
RG AUDIO 051315"Where Is Your Heart?" by Author: Juanita Weir Nobles
Our yard has a few flowers and a lot of crabgrass, while our neighbor’s yard is filled with well-planned gardens and beautiful flowers. What is the difference? Her compelling desire is gardening, but my interests lie elsewhere. My husband and I just don’t care about our yard as much as Mary Lou does about hers. We keep the grass mowed and plant a few flowers, but that is not our main focus. Her beautifully sculpted yard is filled with many varieties of flowers where birds and hummingbirds can be seen all summer and into autumn while flowers and fountains invite the admiration of those passing by.
I have been about as interested in flowers as the people in Isaiah were in their fasts and in making a show of following God. I’d rather be writing or making a quilt, while my neighbor loves to be on her knees with her hands in the dirt, bringing new life to seeds and plants.
What is your compelling desire when it comes to honoring God? Is it something for others to see and comment on? Or could it be a deep desire to serve him, whether others notice or not?
Hymn for Today: "Where Your Treasure Is" Music by Ed Bogas; Words from The Bible (Matthew 6:19-21, Psalms 37:4-5)
1. Where your treasure is, there will your heart be
Lay not up treasures for yourself upon the earth
Where moth and rust doth corrupt
And where thieves break in and steal
2. But lay up for yourself treasures in heaven
Where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt
For where your treasure is
There will be your heart forever
3. Delight yourself in the Lord
And He shall give you the desires of your heart
Commit your way unto the Lord
And He shall bring it to pass
4. So lay up for yourself treasures in heaven
Where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt
For where your treasure is
There will be your heart forever.
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