A Commentary on Isaiah, Part 61: Repairers of the Breach

A Commentary on Isaiah, Part 61: Repairers of the Breach

In the closing verses of Isaiah chapter 57, in verse 16, we saw a promise that Yahweh God would not contend with His people forever, nor would He be angry with them forever, “… for the spirit should fail before me, and the souls which I have made.” On account of their sins, a breach had been created between Yahweh God and His people, and now in this chapter, there is a message of encouragement and instruction which explains to the people how that breach should be repaired. Yahweh God is also our wall, our protection, as He had said, for example, in Isaiah chapter 26:

1 In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah; We have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks.

Then, speaking of a prophetic Jerusalem, in Zechariah chapter 2:

4 And said unto him, Run, speak to this young man, saying, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls for the multitude of men and cattle therein: 5 For I, saith the LORD, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her.

Therefore if Yahweh is the true wall of protection for the children of Israel, then if they disobey Him and He does not hear their prayers, as we shall see here in Isaiah chapter 58, there is a breach in the walls and the people have no protection. Yet, as we had seen in Isaiah chapter 45, Yahweh has promised salvation to all of the children of Israel, without exception, but that at the same time, He had said in that same chapter that

23 I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.

So repairing the breach between Yahweh God and the children of Israel, one must be obedient to God, since it is evident that obedience is a necessary prerequisite for anyone who would follow in this path, and the only alternative is to wander in darkness. This is also the path of Yahshua Christ, the Teacher and Guide of all who may aspire to be Repairers of the Breach. 

But first, referring back to that verse in Isaiah chapter 57, the Septuagint, as it is translated by Brenton, has the same clause to read rather strangely, which Brenton had translated to read:

16 I will not take vengeance on you for ever, neither will I be always angry with you: for my Spirit shall go forth from me, and I have created all breath.

So first, I must state that since Yahweh God is a Spirit, as Christ Himself had declared in John chapter 4 (4:24), it is rather odd that God himself would say “my Spirit shall go forth from me” as a result of His Own wrath. But there is no basis in Hebrew or in the Greek of the Septuagint for the word “my”, as Brenton has it, and therefore he must have added it himself. Neither do we agree with his translation where he wrote “and I have created all breath”.

Rather, we would assert that the Greek clause πνεῦμα γὰρ παρ᾽ ἐμοῦ ἐξελεύσεται καὶ πνοὴν πᾶσαν ἐγὼ ἐποίησα should be translated as follows: “for a spirit from me shall go forth, and every soul I have made.” Yet even this is problematical, because it confuses the overall context of the passage. While the surviving fragments of the Hexapla of Origen describe several differences in the understanding of this verse among the various ancient Greek translators, they do not discuss these particular differences, so it is not helpful in this instance. But one difference which is evident is in the word ἐξελεύσεται, which Brenton had translated as shall go forth. This is from the Hebrew word עטף or atap [# 5848] which is defined by Brown, Driver and Briggs in their Hebrew lexicon as to be feeble or faint [1]. In the other Greek translations of the Hexapla [2], this word is translated as παρέρχομαι, which is to pass on (Aquila) or with περιβάλλω, a word which may metaphorically mean to be made faint-hearted [3], among other things (Symmachus and Theodotion). This, in my opinion, reflects an imperfect understanding of Greek among the Septuagint translators, however the later translators did better. 

When we first encountered this verse in our commentary for chapter 57, we purposely ignored this difference in the Septuagint, leaving it for discussion here. But we did cite the Dead Sea Scrolls Bible, which translates this verse to read: 

For I will not accuse forever, nor will I always be angry; for then the spirit would grow faint before me – the souls that I have created.

While there is not much difference from the King James Version, there is no explanation given for the missing conjunction preceding the final clause. However we prefer contend rather than accuse here as a translation of the Hebrew word ריב or rib (# 7378). It is quite clear in the Hebrew text, that the reference to the spirit describes the spirit within the people as growing faint, explaining that prolonged punishment would unnecessarily vex those souls which Yahweh had created. The Septuagint translators may not have understood this, and neither did Brenton, who added a pronoun that is not found in the Greek. It is difficult to accurately translate a text which is not properly understood. 

Here there are other Hebrew words which we should discuss, as they are often poorly understood. The first is רוח or ruach (# 7307), which is defined by Brown, Driver, Briggs as breath, wind or spirit, and also as animation, vivacity or vigor, among other things. [4] The second word is נשׁמת or neshamah (# 5397), which is also defined as both breath and as spirit [5]. Then there is a third word, which does not appear in this verse, which is נפשׁ or nephesh (# 5315), a soul, living being, or life, either of people or of animals, and in reference to humans, even a person, as it is sometimes translated in the King James Bible [6]. SPIRIT/SOUL

Here I cannot speak for every occurrence of these words in the King James Version of the Bible, or in any other version, because ruach appears 363 times in the Old Testament, and nephesh appears 686 times, although neshamah appears only about two dozen times. But at least for the most part, in reference to people ruach should usually be translated as spirit and nephesh or neshamah as soul, living being, life, self, or person, among other things, unless the context demands that either ruach or neshamah refers explicitly to a breath or wind. 

It is my own opinion, that these words meaning breath, especially ruach, had been used to describe the spirit of a man, the part of an Adamic man which comes exclusively from God, which is separate from the dust of the earth from which his body was made, simply for want of a better term, because it is the spirit, or breath, which represents the presence of the animating force and the conscience which is within a man. When a living creature dies, its breath departs and its soul or life departs with it. But if it had no spirit from God, which is the image of His eternity, according to chapter 2 of the Wisdom of Solomon (2:23), then it never had any expectation of a continued existence after death. 

So in this passage in Isaiah, Yahweh God describes His relationship with the children of Israel at this time in history, a time when they are alienated from Him, and He attests that if He punishes them too harshly for too long, then the spirit which He had instilled within them would faint, from a Hebrew word which means to grow feeble or weak. Then in reference to this spirit He also described them as the souls which He had made, or created. Therefore the spirit is a common possession of those souls of the people which He had created, and this is not spoken in reference to the wicked. Only the souls of the man which Yahweh had made have a spirit which is from Him, in addition to their carnal life. 

While Yahweh is speaking collectively of the children of Israel in this chapter, He is also speaking to them as individuals, where in verse 15 He said “I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” So later in the chapter He is also speaking to them as individuals, where it seems that He refers back to “him … that is of a contrite and humble spirit” and promises to heal him and lead him and to restore comfort unto him. Each and every Adamic soul shall receive those promises, as Yahweh had made the Adamic man to be contrite and humble. 

So the people of Yahweh God, those who have His spirit, shall be healed in spite of the wickedness which they had done, even in spite of the fact that they had enflamed themselves in the sexual rituals of their idolatry, and had even killed their own children. But distinct from these are the wicked who are described at the end of the chapter, where we read: 

20 But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. 21 There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.

We had already cited Hebrews chapter 12 in reference to this, where Paul wrote in part that “8 … if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.” Then we also cited Ezekiel chapter 20 where Yahweh had said “38 … I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against me…” and Amos chapter 9 where He said:

9 For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth.

If true sons are chastised for their correction, whereas bastards do not receive such chastisement, and if the rebels in Israel had to be purged out, rather than corrected, as grain is sifted in a sieve, then the process of the captivity and subsequent history of the children of Israel in their migrations must have been a cleansing process in that regard, wherein the wicked would have no peace, then they must also be the rebels and the chaff and the other impurities which needed to be sifted from the grain. “Yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth” as Yahweh had said here that He would have mercy on the souls which He had made. Paul wrote that bastards would not accept correction, and Yahweh did not create bastards. He cannot be blamed for the sins of men.

So in our opinion, in this chapter we have found further support for our continual assertions that there are people who are redeemable simply on account of their origin, or their race, because they are what Yahweh God had created, and there are people who cannot be redeemed on account of their race, because they are not what He had created. Not being of the “souls which He had made”, He has no part with them, as Christ had told certain men who professed Him, “I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity”, in Matthew chapter 7 (7:23). Of course, many other sayings of Christ and His apostles which are found in the New Testament may be interpreted justly along these same lines.

Now as we commence with Isaiah chapter 58, the focus returns once more to the sins of the children of Israel. But while we have just been informed that there is no peace for the wicked, once again here, in spite of their sins, the children of Israel are invited to repentance and reconciliation:

1 Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins. 

From the scant historical records of Scripture it is difficult to know just how many of the people of Israel had actively participated in the sins of Baal and Molech and the other idols of the Canaanites. But in the days of Elijah, at least a hundred and forty years before the captivity of Samaria, the prophet had despaired and Yahweh had encouraged him by telling him, as it is recorded in 1 Kings chapter 19, that:

18 Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.

Seven thousand is not very many in a nation which once had eight hundred thousand men of war, aside from the five hundred thousand men in Judah, which are the numbers from the census of Joab which had been conducted in the days of David (2 Samuel 24:9). So now, another thirty years after the fall of Samaria, it certainly would be a wonder if there were any men left who had sought after Yahweh the God of Israel. So in spite of their sins, they are now portrayed as if they had sought after Him.

However as we proceed through chapters beyond this one, it becomes evident on at least several occasions, even as late as the final chapter of Isaiah, that the purging process is just beginning with the time of the captivities, and it would take some time before the rebels and the wicked are removed. For example, while the children of Israel are described collectively here, in Isaiah chapter 66 there are continued references to the wicked men among them, where it speaks of:

17 They that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves in the gardens behind one tree in the midst, eating swine's flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the LORD.

So with that, it is also evident that here the children of Israel are being portrayed prophetically, and that whether or not any of them may be seeking their God as Isaiah writes these things, they shall all be seeking their God at some time future. So we interpret this passage as a prophecy of something which transpires in the time future to when Isaiah had written, and since the context has not broken since the prophecy of the Suffering Servant, it must be relative to some time after the acceptance of the Gospel of Christ which has also already been prophesied in these same chapters:

2 Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God. 

This is a portrayal of the children of Israel in captivity, which could never have been fulfilled until after the acceptance of the Gospel of Christ among their descendants who were scattered throughout the nations of Europe and the Near East. But even then, and unto this very day, it is apparent that it is still not entirely fulfilled since the application of the Gospel has never been perfect among them, and now we have a dialogue, where they themselves are portrayed as having collectively inquired of God:

3 Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? … 

We shall stop here in the middle of verse 3, as the rest of the verse and the balance of the chapter and beyond represent the answer of Yahweh God to these questions.

Both of these questions are really only one, since they are a parallelism, which is a literary device that appears frequently in Scripture, where the same thought or concept, whether it is in a phrase or in an entire passage, is expressed repeatedly but using different terms. For us, this question alone should evoke the thoughts of the self-righteous pharisee in the parable of Christ, as it is recorded in Luke chapter 18:

10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. 11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. 12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. 13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.

So in the balance of this chapter, the Word of Yahweh explains why their fasts are not recognized, and we find that He desires for men to be much more like the repentant publican than the self-righteous pharisee.

But first, I will offer a digression. In January of 2016 I presented a commentary on Paul’s epistle to the Philippians, and presenting chapter 2 of that epistle, I had given the presentation the same title which I have now given for my commentary on this chapter of Isaiah. In that chapter of his epistle, among other things, Paul had spoken about the humility and self-sacrifice of Christ, about his own self-sacrifice and that of some of his fellow-workers in their endeavor to help spread the Gospel of Christ, the need for Christian brethren to love one another, to esteem their fellows above themselves, to consider the needs of their fellows rather than their own needs, and also the need for obedience to God, where he cited the same passage from Isaiah chapter 45 which we have already cited here.

In that presentation in Philippians, we had mentioned that the commandment to “love thy neighbour as thyself” is found in the Old Testament only in Leviticus chapter 19, and that Yahshua Christ, in Mark chapter 12, had described that commandment as the second greatest of all the commandments, being second only to the commandment to love God. So there we had also explained that Isaiah chapter 58 is one place in the Old Testament where Yahweh had demonstrated how the children of Israel were expected to love their neighbours as themselves. So there I had also said that:

When we begin to understand passages such as Isaiah chapter 58, we may also begin to understand why Christ taught as He did in regard to the Sabbath: that the Sabbath was not appointed for those reasons which the Pharisees imagined, but rather, so that the children of Israel could do good for one another, and He made that constant example while His enemies criticized Him for it. 

So with that, we shall commence with the balance of verse 3, and Yahweh’s answer to the question posed by His people:

… 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. 

The New American Standard Bible has the last clause of verse 3 to read: “Behold, on the day of your fast you find your desire, And oppress all your workers.”

This portion of the discourse evokes the words of Christ from the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew chapter 6:

16 Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 17 But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; 18 That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.

The parable of the publican and the pharisee reflects this strife and debate, where the self-righteous pharisee had exclaimed “that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.” The parable suggests that he had only said that to himself, which indicates that his words were not heard by the publican, but he nevertheless exalted himself above the publican in his prayer, and it is inevitable that his attitude would also be reflected in the activities he conducts in his daily life.

Of course, the question posed here and this portion of its answer may also evoke the words of the apostle James, in chapter 4 of his epistle, who spoke of those who may pray and their prayers are not answered, where he had written:

1 From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? 2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. 3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.

Here it should be noted, that nowhere in the books of Moses is there a description of how to fast. There is only a commandment concerning the day of atonement, that “ye shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all” and also to “offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD”, which is found in Leviticus chapters 16 and 23 (16:29-31 and 23:27-32). Certain customs related to fasting may be found elsewhere throughout Scripture, but here it is apparent that the children of Israel are fasting for the sake of their own satisfaction, for self-justification and to exalt themselves above their neighbours as the pharisee had done in his prayer.

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? 

Public displays of asceticism are basically public declarations of one’s own righteousness, and such displays show a lack of humility and a proclivity for strife and debate among brethren, as if brethren should compete with one another to somehow demonstrate whose fast is better. This sort of fast reflects individualism and a love for one’s own self above one’s brethren, as the fasts are performed for attention rather than with good intentions. So their fasts were not acknowledged, because they were not acceptable, and now the answers explain legitimate reasons to fast:

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? 

At the beginning of His ministry, as it is described in Luke chapter 4, Yahshua Christ attended a synagogue in Nazareth on a day of a Sabbath, where we learn that it was His custom to stand up to read, and evidently the synagogues had such customs which allowed for men of the community to read passages of Scripture during the assemblies of the people. So, as the King James Version records His words, we read:

17 And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, 18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, 19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. 20 And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.

Those words which Christ had cited from Isaiah are found in the opening verses of Isaiah chapter 61, from verse 1 and the first clause of verse 2. The resulting reading of the Greek in the Septuagint is also generally consistent with the translation of Isaiah chapter 61 found in the Dead Sea Scrolls Bible, with the exception of a word or perhaps two. However as Luke had recorded His reading, at the end of what we know as verse 1, Christ had inserted a phrase from this passage found here in Isaiah in verse 6, where the King James Version has “and to let the oppressed go free”, although that version translates the corresponding phrase at the end of Luke 4:18 to read “to set at liberty them that are bruised”. The Greek of that clause in Luke is also practically identical to the Septuagint Greek of the clause as it is here in Isaiah, except for two letters which change the form of the first verb from a second person present active tense, to an infinitive.

For whatever reason Christ had done that, it must have been purposeful, and He also must have intended to draw our attention to this portion of Isaiah. A fast is a form of personal sacrifice, and Christ had certainly sacrificed Himself for the sake of all of His brethren, so He is the signal example of the fast which Yahweh God describes here, and which He desires of His people. That is the sort of fast which He had chosen for Himself, and that is the sort of fast which He shall see and acknowledge. But there is more, and as it continues there are further objectives in fasting which also evoke other aspects of the Gospel of Christ:

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? 

This is how the children of God are expected to act towards one another, to feed, shelter and clothe the poor and needy, and in that manner, they do not hide themselves from their own flesh, which is a statement congruent to the definition of a neighbor in Leviticus 19:18 where we read:

18 Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.

So one’s neighbor is one of the children of one’s own people, and loving them, one is not hiding himself from his own flesh, as one’s people are of one and the same flesh, having descended from the same ancestors.

Rather than “that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh”, the Septuagint has the clause to read, as Brenton had translated it, “and thou shalt not disregard the relations of thine own seed.” The word for seed there is σπέρμα, which is sperm or offspring. But the word translated as relations is τῶν οἰκείων, a phrase describing those of the same household or family, where it was used to describe one’s kin, clan or relatives. This corroborates our own interpretation of the phrase “thine own flesh” as describing one’s own larger family or race. 

This passage evokes the words of Christ in the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats which is found in Matthew chapter 25, and it must be remembered that at the first, the sheep and the goats are separated on sight, just as a shepherd would separate sheep and goats, so we read in part:

34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

Then when the sheep ask the King how they had done these things for Him we read:

40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

But all of the goats were told that they did not do these things for the King, and when they asked when they had ever seen Him hungry or naked or without shelter, we read:

45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.

Where the King referred to “the least of these”, He was speaking of “the least of these my brethren” to which He had referred a few verses earlier. So the goats are not condemned for how they treat the other goats, but rather, they are condemned for how they treat the sheep. Having maltreated the children of God in that manner, all of the enemies of God are condemned.

Now we have another explanation for yet another of the sayings of Christ:

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 rereward. 

So one’s light breaks forth, and one’s health is assured, and one’s righteousness becomes evident when one loves his brethren, those of his own flesh, and provides for them when they are in need. Here we shall read from the Gospel of Matthew, from a portion of the Sermon on the Mount found in chapter 5:

13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.

In ancient times, salt was used to preserve meat, so one way that men may emulate salt is to help preserve their brethren, which they may do by feeding, sheltering and clothing them when they are needy, although there are also many other things which men may do for their communities. Now, even more relevant to the text of this verse in Isaiah:

14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. 15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Examples of these good works are described here in Isaiah chapter 58. These are the works of which Paul had also frequently spoken, for example, in Ephesians chapter 2:

10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Then again, in 1 Timothy chapter 6, where Paul advised Timothy on things he should teach Christians:

17 Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; 18 That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; 19 Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.

So Paul agrees, that the good works which we do for our brethren is the manner in which we store up treasures in heaven. For that reason, the apostle James in chapter 2 of his epistle wrote more succinctly and said:

14 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, 16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? 17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. 18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.

So James, where he said “ I will shew thee my faith by my works”, agrees with the Word of God here in Isaiah which says that on account of these same works, “thy righteousness shall go before thee”.

A fast is a personal sacrifice where one does without something, and here it should be manifest that the most valid reason to fast is for the benefit of one’s brethren. So if one’s brother is hungry, it is better to skip a meal so that one’s brother may eat, if one has not enough for two. But every act of giving is a sort of fast, because in order to give, one must deprive himself of something which he has. So men do not necessarily have to go hungry in order to fast. If we give a man ten dollars for a meal, then that is ten dollars less we can store up for the jewish worm of inflation to devour. If we give a man a meal, we may have to go to the market a day sooner where we can hope to buy more. Every act of giving is a sort of fast, a sacrifice so that someone else may have what they need. Those fasts, Yahweh promises to hear and to acknowledge:

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; 

The translation of this passage which is from the New American Standard Bible is closer to the translation as it is found in the Dead Sea Scrolls Bible and to the meaning of the Hebrew passage, where we read:

9 Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; You will cry, and He will say, 'Here I am.' If you remove the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,

So another manner of fasting is to remove the burdens borne by one’s brethren, which is symbolized in the yoke. Note that the yoke is to be removed “from the midst of thee”, or from between brethren, so Yahweh our God urges men not to hold their brethren as slaves, and therefore Christians should not have their brethren in servitude. While slavery is a fact of life, and there is no law prohibiting such servitude, the prayers of a Christian are apparently much more likely to be heard if he refrains. Further, Christians should not make any evil accusations, which is what is meant by “the pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness.” While idolatry is vanity and wickedness, the primary meaning of the word which the King James Version translated as vanity here, which is און or aven (# 205) is trouble, sorrow or wickedness, according to Brown, Driver, Briggs [7]. 

Now once again there is an explanation of how to make one’s light shine:

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 noonday: 

Here there is an interesting passage in the Book of Job, which shows that being such a light is associated with the good works which one does for his people is an ancient concept that had even predated the time of David and Solomon, since there is evidence in Job that the book was written during the Judges period, several generations before David. This is found in Job chapter 29:

1 Moreover Job continued his parable, and said, 2 Oh that I were as in months past, as in the days when God preserved me; 3 When his candle shined upon my head, and when by his light I walked through darkness; 4 As I was in the days of my youth, when the secret of God was upon my tabernacle; 5 When the Almighty was yet with me, when my children were about me; 6 When I washed my steps with butter, and the rock poured me out rivers of oil; 7 When I went out to the gate through the city, when I prepared my seat in the street! 8 The young men saw me, and hid themselves: and the aged arose, and stood up. 9 The princes refrained talking, and laid their hand on their mouth. 10 The nobles held their peace, and their tongue cleaved to the roof of their mouth. 11 When the ear heard me, then it blessed me; and when the eye saw me, it gave witness to me: 12 Because I delivered the poor that cried, and the fatherless, and him that had none to help him. 13 The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me: and I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy. 14 I put on righteousness, and it clothed me: my judgment was as a robe and a diadem. 15 I was eyes to the blind, and feet was I to the lame. 16 I was a father to the poor: and the cause which I knew not I searched out.

Not only was Job a light to his people on account of his good deeds, his good deeds were also the righteousness that had adorned him. Job was also an example of the fact that any man, no matter how righteous, can suffer trials testing his faith. But in spite of that, there is still a promise, and in spite of Job’s trials, Yahweh did not desert him, but rewarded him double in the end. So for righteousness such as this, going back to Isaiah chapter 58 we read:

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. 12 And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in. 

In Ephesians chapter 6, Paul had described the commandment to honour one’s father and mother as “the first commandment with a promise”, and ostensibly he was referring to Deuteronomy chapter 5 where we read:

16 Honour thy father and thy mother, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

Paul repeated the concept behind this commandment in his instructions on widows to Timothy, in 1 Timothy chapter 5 where we read:

3 Honour widows that are widows indeed. 4 But if any widow have children or nephews, let them learn first to shew piety at home, and to requite their parents: for that is good and acceptable before God.

The word requite means to pay something back or give something in return. So according to Paul, the way to recompence one’s parents is to raise pious children in turn. That is one way of honoring one’s parents. Then where the commandment promises “that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee”, in the final chapter (42) of Job, after his trial had passed, we read:

10 And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.

Then after describing his new family and his restored wealth, we read:

16 After this lived Job an hundred and forty years, and saw his sons, and his sons' sons, even four generations.

But Job, before his trial had begun, had indeed done all of the things which Yahweh had asked here of the children of Israel, so we see that for doing these things, they may hope to share in these same promises in which Job had a share, when their own chastisement is finished.

But even more significant, a man who does these things which Yahweh had described shall be called a Repairer of the Breach, so that he too may have a hand in healing the divide between Yahweh God and His people Israel. Of course, Yahshua Christ is the ultimate Repairer of the Breach, who sacrificed Himself for His brethren, but having done that, He taught His brethren to do all of the very same things which Yahweh expects here.

To the apostle John, it is natural for a man to love his brethren in this manner, where he wrote in chapter 5 of his first epistle:

1 Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him. 2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. 4 For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.

In that passage we see the two commandments which Christ had said are the first and second of all the commandments, which are to love God, and to love one’s neighbor, the children of one’s own people, which, if one is a child of God, are also the children of God. So the apostle underscored the importance of that by writing that “whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world”. If one is born of God, then one’s brethren are born of God, and one may expect them all to overcome the world. The Adamic spirit being the image of God’s eternity, all of His children have eternal life. If a man does not take care for his people in this world, he will have shame in the world to come. This is why love, repentance and forgiveness are important, because if we are children of God, we are going to live with our brethren forever.

The children of Israel were not called to fast or to make sacrifices in order to establish their own righteousness. But by fasting and making sacrifices they are encouraged to do without so that they could impart it to those of their brethren who have greater need. That is true and Godly fasting, that the fasting which He respects, which is to do without some bread, or some pleasure, so that one may offer sustenance to one's more needy brethren, as it says here in verse 7: “Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house?” In these verses it is manifest that abstention from the vanity of self-righteousness and engaging with the concept of self-sacrifice for the building up of our racial brethren shall bring great rewards. Those rewards are portrayed here, in part, as the prosperity of oneself, one's descendants, and one's people.

The denominational churches have it all wrong. They have practically everything wrong, and they have always had it wrong. The children of Israel are not called to practice rituals, or endless baptisms or altar calls or for the worship of idols, lighting candles and praying to plaster statues or silly paintings which are the works of the hands of men. But the churches have convinced Christians to sacrifice what they should be doing, and to engage in these other things which really only benefit the churches themselves, as they keep their coffers filled with offerings they do not deserve.

Now, in addition to the fasts, there is a significant lesson in the true meaning of the Sabbaths:, which are mentioned here randomly:

13 If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: 14 Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it. 

In the Septuagint, the phrase towards the end of verse 13 where the King James Version has “nor finding thine own pleasure” is entirely wanting. The the last clause, “nor speaking thine own words” differs where Brenton had translated the Greek to read “nor speak a word in anger out of thy mouth”.

The translation of verse 13, especially the first clause, is far better in the Dead Sea Scrolls Bible:

If you keep your feet from trampling the Sabbath, from pursuing your own interests on my holy day, if you call the sabbath a delight and the Lord’s holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own ways and seeking your own pleasure or speaking idle words”

Finishing the sentence, the text of verse 14 is far more similar to that of the King James Version. Here it is evident that Christians should spend their sabbaths pursuing the things of Yahweh their God, which have also already been described in this chapter: making sacrifice of themselves in order to build up their brethren, in that manner they help to build up the Kingdom of God, as the natural result of their behavior. So fasting and sabbaths are not for self-justification, but for self-sacrifice: for the continued preservation of the Body of Christ.

The Sabbaths are set alongside fastings here for a reason, which is that everything which Yahweh had said concerning the acknowledgment of men’s fasts must also hold true for their Sabbaths. If a man would be rewarded for feeding the hungry, clothing the naked and sheltering the homeless with his fasts, then he would be rewarded for doing so on his Sabbaths. In his idleness, a man does his own pleasure. But if he can care for his brethren, he is doing what Yahweh God had described here as His pleasure. For that a man would be honored.

For that, as it is recorded in Matthew chapter 12, when Christ was about to heal a lame man on a Sabbath and He was challenged for that by the Pharisees, we read:

11 And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? 12 How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days.

Today, most Christians do their own will on the Sabbath, and they even watch sporting events or movies and games all day in the name of “rest”, while gouging themselves with food and beer and lusting after women, all while never lifting a finger on behalf of one’s God or one’s brethren. The Sabbath was certainly never made for bread and circuses.

That is the lesson of these final two verses in Isaiah chapter 58, and here we conclude our commentary on this chapter.

Footnotes

1 The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon, Hendrickson Publishers, 2021, p. 742b.

2 Origenis Hexaplorum, Fridericus Field, AA. M., Volume II, Clarendon Press, 1875, p. 544.

5 περιβάλλω, A Greek-English Lexicon, Henry George Liddell and Robert Scott, 9th edition, 1996, Oxford University Press, New York, p. 1369. 

4 The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon, p. 924.

5 ibid., p. 675.

6 ibid., p. 659.

7 ibid., pp. 19-20.