Seventh-day Adventist Bible CommentaryIsaiah 58

Francis D. Nichol (ed.) and contributors

Isaiah 58:1

Cry aloud. In ch. 57:15–21 Isaiah presents Heaven’s message of reconciliation and peace. In ch. 58 he gives instruction as to what repentance involves, and what is essential before the promised blessings may be realized. A call to repentance cannot be effective unless it sets forth clearly what men must do about sin in their lives (see Eze. 13:10–16). A call to reformation is a call to decisive action. Compare the message of Joel 2:12, 13. Shew my people. Leaders who fail to draw a clear line between right and wrong, that the people may understand the principles involved, are “blind leaders of the blind” (Matt. 15:14; Luke 6:39; see on Matt. 23:16).

Ellen G. White

A Wide and Extensive Vineyard Opened—The piety and advanced spiritual knowledge and growth of a church is proportionate to the zeal, piety, and missionary intelligence that has been brought into it, and carried out of it to be a blessing to the very ones who need our assistance the most. Again I urge you to consider Isaiah 58, which opens a wide and extensive vineyard to be worked upon the lines which the Lord has pointed out. When this is done there will be an increase of moral sources and the church will no more remain almost stationary. There will be blessing and power attending their labor. The selfishness that has bound up their souls they have overcome, and now their light is being given to the world in clear, bright rays of a living faith and godly example. The Lord has His promises for all who will do His requirements. [Psalm 41:1-3; 37:3; Proverbs 3:9, 10; 11:24, 25; 19:17; Isaiah 58:10, 11 quoted.]

The Word of God is full of precious promises, as the above (Manuscript 14a, 1897).

In our work we shall find a high profession of piety and much outward exactness bound up with great inward wickedness. The people represented in Isaiah 58 complain that the Lord allows their services to go unnoticed. This complaint is the expression of hearts unsubdued by grace, rebellious against the truth. Those who receive the truth which works by love and purifies the soul are loyal to God, honoring Him by obedience to His law, which is holy, just, and good. The spirit of true fasting and prayer is the spirit which yields mind, heart, and will to God.

Ministers of God have been guilty of the sin of disregarding a “Thus saith the Lord.” They have led the members of their churches to observe rites which have no foundation in the word of God, but are in direct opposition to His law. By perversion and misrepresentation of the Word of God, they have caused the people to commit sin. God will reward them according to their works. Even as did the priests and rulers in the time of Christ, they have caused the people to err. Christ says of them as He said of the Jewish leaders, “In vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Manuscript 28, 1900).

1. The Only Course of Safety—My brethren, you need to study more carefully the fifty-eighth chapter of Isaiah. This chapter marks out the only course that we can follow with safety....

The prophet receives this word from the Lord—a message startling in its clearness and force:

“Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.” Though they are called the people of God, the house of Jacob, though they profess to be linked with God in obedience and fellowship, they are far from Him. Wonderful privileges and promises have been given to them, but they have betrayed their trust. With no words of flattery must the message be given them. “Show my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.” Show them where they are making a mistake. Set their danger before them. Tell them of the sins they are committing, while at the same time they pride themselves on their righteousness. Apparently seeking God, they are forgetting Him, forgetting that He is a God of love and compassion, long suffering and goodness, dealing justly and loving mercy. Worldly policy has come into their business and religious life. Their hearts are not purified through the truth. God looks on their outward ceremonies of humility as a solemn mockery. He regards all religious sham as an insult to Himself.

The people of whom the prophet spoke made a high profession of piety, and pointed to their fasting and to other external forms as an evidence of their piety. But their deeds were tainted by the leprosy of selfishness and covetousness. They had nothing except that which they had first received from God. He bestowed His goods on them that they might be His helping hand, doing what Christ would do were He in their place, giving a true representation of the principles of heaven (Letter 76, 1902)

1, 2. An Unmuffled Message—Our work now is to rouse the people. Satan with all his angels has come down with great power, to work with every conceivable deception to counterwork the work of God. The Lord has a message for His people. This message will be borne, whether men will accept or reject it. As in the days of Christ, there will be the deep plottings of the powers of darkness, but the message must not be muffled with smooth words or fair speeches, crying peace, peace, when there is no peace, to those who are turning away from God. “There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.” [Isaiah 58:1, 2, quoted.]

The whole chapter is applicable to those who are living in this period of the earth’s history. Consider this chapter attentively; for it will be fulfilled (Manuscript 36, 1897.)

1-4. Sins of Israel Are Sins Today—[Isaiah 58:1-4 quoted.] ... The house of Jacob, at the time this warning was given to Isaiah, appeared to be a very zealous people, seeking God daily, and delighting to know His ways; but in reality they were filled with presumptuous self-confidence. They were not walking in the truth. Goodness, mercy, and love were not practiced. While presenting an appearance of sorrow for their sins, they were cherishing pride and avarice. At the very time when they were showing such outward humiliation, they would exact hard labor from those under them or in their employ. They placed a high estimate on all the good that they had done, but a very low estimate on the services of others. They despised and oppressed the poor. And their fasting only gave them a higher opinion of their own goodness.

In the fast that God has chosen, mercy, tenderness, and compassion will be exercised. Avarice will be put away, and fraud and oppression will be repented of and renounced. All the authority and influence will be used to help the poor and oppressed. If this were the condition of the world, it would no more be a proverb, “Truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter;” “he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey” (The Review and Herald, October 13, 1891)

1-5. A Reformatory Influence From God Needed—[Isaiah 58:1-3 quoted.] The people here described realize that they have not the favor of God; but instead of seeking His favor in His own way, they enter into a controversy with God. They ask why, since they observe so many ceremonies, the Lord does not give them special recognition. God answers their complaints: “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: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high.” These fasts are only outward show, mere pretense, a mockery of humility. These worshipers, while mourning and lamenting, retain all their objectionable traits of character. Their hearts are not humbled, nor cleansed from spiritual defilement. They have not received the softening showers of the grace of God. They are destitute of the Holy Spirit, destitute of the sweetness of the heavenly influence. They manifest no repentance, nor faith that works by love and purifies the soul. They are unjust and selfish in their dealings, mercilessly oppressing those whom they regard as their inferiors. Yet they charge God with a neglect to manifest His power to them, and exalt them above others because of their righteousness. The Lord sends them a message of positive reproof, showing why they are not visited by His grace (Manuscript 48, 1900).

Outward Signs Alone Are Valueless—The outward signs of fasting and prayer, without a broken and contrite spirit, are of no value in God’s sight. The inward work of grace is needed. Humiliation of soul is essential. God looks upon this. He will graciously receive those who will humble their hearts before Him. He will hear their petitions and heal their backslidings.

Ministers and people need the work of purification in their souls, that God’s judgments may be turned away from them. God is waiting, waiting for humiliation and repentance. He will receive all who will turn unto Him with their whole heart (Manuscript 33, 1903).

In God’s great plan for the redemption of a lost race, He has placed Himself under the necessity of using human agencies as His helping hand. He must have a helping hand, in order to reach humanity. He must have the cooperation of those who will be active, quick to see opportunities, quick to discern what must be done for their fellow men (NL No. 23, p. 1).

As Christians we are to have a righteousness that shall be developed and seen—a righteousness that represents the character of Jesus Christ when He was in our world (Manuscript 43, 1908).

Many are in obscurity. They have lost their bearings. They know not what course to pursue. Let the perplexed ones search out others who are in perplexity, and speak to them words of hope and encouragement. When they begin to do this work, the light of heaven will reveal to them the path that they should follow. By their words of consolation to the afflicted they themselves will be consoled. By helping others, they themselves will be helped out of their difficulties. Joy takes the place of sadness and gloom. The heart, filled with the Spirit of God, glows with warmth toward every fellow being. Every such an one is no longer in darkness; for his “darkness” is “as the noon day” (Manuscript 116, 1902).

These blessings we need. We need the water of life that flows from Jesus Christ, which will be in us a well of water springing up into everlasting life. “The Lord shall guide thee continually.” When we are guided by the Lord, we shall have clear discernment. We shall not call righteousness unrighteousness, nor think that things that the Lord has forbidden are right. We shall understand where the Lord is working.

Many have not understood this. There are some who I know have been led astray by the enemy. But God wants to make you a partaker of the divine nature. He wants no yoke of human authority on your neck, but that you shall look to Him who is able to save to the uttermost every one that comes to Him in righteousness and truth. We have no time to tamper with the enemy; for we are very near the close of this earth’s history (Manuscript 43, 1908).

This angel is seen flying in the midst of heaven, “saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb.... Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.”

This is the people that are repairing the breach in the law of God. They see that the Sabbath of the fourth commandment has been supplanted by a spurious sabbath, a day that has no sanction in the Word of God. Amid great opposition they become loyal to their God, and take their position under the standard of the third angel (Manuscript 48, 1900).

As the end approaches, the testimonies of God’s servants will become more decided and more powerful, flashing the light of truth upon the systems of error and oppression that have so long held the supremacy. The Lord has sent us messages for this time to establish Christianity upon an eternal basis, and all who believe present truth must stand, not in their own wisdom, but in God; and raise up the foundation of many generations. These will be registered in the books of heaven as repairers of the breach, the restorers of paths to dwell in. We are to maintain the truth because it is truth, in the face of the bitterest opposition. God is at work upon human minds; it is not man alone that is working. The great illuminating power is from Christ; the brightness of His example is to be kept before the people in every discourse (Letter 1f, 1890).

There is a decided testimony to be borne by all our ministers in all our churches. God has permitted apostasies to take place in order to show how little dependence can be placed in man. We are always to look to God; His word is not Yea and Nay, but Yea and Amen (NL No. 19, pp. 2, 3).

Isaiah 58:2

They seek me daily. Outwardly the nation of Judah professed to follow the Lord, but inwardly they were far from Him. They held to the external forms of religion, but neglected its basic principles. They fasted and prayed, observed the Sabbath, kept the sacred feasts, brought their offerings to the Temple, and attended solemn assemblies, while they engaged in every form of iniquity (ch. 1:11–15). Theirs was an incongruous attempt to serve both God and mammon (see on Matt. 6:24–34). They professed to love the light, but chose to live in darkness (see on Matt. 6:19–23). They wanted all this world had to offer—and heaven too. They thought to enjoy the privileges of obedience, but were loath to shoulder its responsibilities (see pp. 32, 33; see on Matt. 21:28–32).

Isaiah 58:3

Wherefore have we fasted? Hypocrisy had permeated their religious life (see on Matt. 6:2). These hypocrites thought to make themselves acceptable to God by undergoing various forms of bodily affliction. Fasting, they believed, would atone for iniquity. Their darkened minds failed to realize that God is righteous and that He requires righteousness of His children. They forgot that the essence of true religion is the exercise of justice, mercy, and humility (Micah 6:8; see on Isa. 57:15). Find pleasure. These hypocrites fasted because they thought thereby to earn God’s approval. They did not grasp the spiritual meaning of such things as fasting and Sabbath observance, and thought that adherence to the forms of religion gave them license to gratify their own passions and to oppress the poor and the helpless. Exact all your labours. Literally, “oppress all your laborers” (see Lev. 19:13; James 5:4).

Isaiah 58:4

For strife and debate. The forms of fasting were religiously followed, but the spirit of true fasting (see v. 6) was missing. Rigorous practices served only to excite the nerves and irritate the temper. Fasting such as that ordained by God (v. 6) would have led to more virtuous living.

Isaiah 58:5

Such a fast. Their fasting was not of God’s appointment, and therefore entirely unacceptable to Him. They fasted merely to gain favor with God and to secure His approval of their evil deeds, as if abstention from food was of more importance in God’s sight than abstention from iniquity! See on Matt. 6:16.

Ellen G. White

5-7. Christians Not a Band of Mourners—We have everything to be thankful for. Never ought Christians to move along like a band of mourners in a funeral train. God does not require this of His followers. He does not ask them to spread sackcloth and ashes under them. “Is it such a fast that I have chosen?” He asks; “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?” God tells us what kind of fast He has chosen. “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?” This is the fast He wishes us to observe. [Isaiah 58:7 quoted.] In these words our duty is outlined. God shows us where we should place our treasures. As we follow in the path of self-denial and self sacrifice, helping the needy and suffering, we shall lay up treasure before the throne of God (Manuscript 31, 1901).

Help Those Suffering for Truth’s Sake—[Isaiah 58:5-7 quoted.] God’s cause embraces every needy, suffering saint. We are not selfishly to single out a few relatives and friends and help them, letting our work end here. All the needy who come to our notice are to be helped, but especially those who are suffering for the truth’s sake. If we neglect this work, God will hold us accountable. Shall we not as a people who work righteousness, follow the conditions God has laid down, and be doers of His Word (Manuscript 145, 1899)?

Isaiah 58:6

To loose the bands. True fasting was designed to purify the motives and reform the life. But with the Jews the practices of religion had become a cloak for oppression of the weak, robbery of widows and orphans, and all forms of bribery, deceit, and injustice (Isa. 1:17, 23; Hosea 4:2; Amos 2:6; 3:10; 4:1; 5:11; 8:4–6; Micah 6:11, 12). The true purpose of religion is to release men from their burdens of sin, to eliminate intolerance and oppression, and to promote justice, liberty, and peace. God intended His people to be free, but the leaders of Israel were making slaves and paupers of them. The heavy burdens. Literally, “the bonds of the yoke.”

Ellen G. White

There are sins of this same character among us today, and they bring the rebuke of God upon His church. Wherever such sins are found, seasons of fasting and prayer are indeed necessary; but they must be accompanied with sincere repentance and decided reformation. Without such contrition of soul, these seasons only increase the guilt of the wrong-doer. The Lord has specified the fast He has chosen, the one He will accept. It is that which bears fruit to His glory, in repentance, in devotion, in true piety. [Isaiah 58:6, 7 quoted.]

6. No Yokes to Be Placed—The Lord has not given man the work of putting yokes on the necks of His people, binding them in such a way that they are not free to look to Him and to be led and guided by Him. It is not the Lord’s design that His people shall be made amenable to their fellow-men, who are themselves wholly dependent on God (Letter 76, 1902).

Isaiah 58:7

Deal thy bread. True religion is practical. To be sure, it includes the rites and ceremonies of the church, but it is in the life lived before one’s fellows that the presence or absence of true religion is manifest. It is not so much a matter of abstaining from food as it is of sharing food with the hungry. Practical godliness is the only kind of religion recognized at the judgment bar of God (Matt. 25:34–46).

Isaiah 58:8

Thy light. See on ch. 60:1. Thine health. What we contribute to the well-being of others reacts to our own good. Our own welfare is intimately related to that of our fellow men. Thy rereward. Or, “thy rear guard” (cf. ch. 52:12). Compare Israel’s experience in the wilderness (Ex. 14:19, 20). As we walk in ways of God’s choosing we can be sure of His protecting presence.

Ellen G. White

8 (see EGW comments on Zechariah 4:12). God Needs Human Agencies—We are to put into practice the precepts of the law, and thus have righteousness before us; the rereward will be God’s glory. The light of the righteousness of Christ will be our front guard, and the glory of the Lord will be our rereward. Let us thank the Lord for this assurance. Let us constantly stand in a position where the Lord God of heaven can favor us. Let us consider that it is our high privilege to be in connection with God—to be His helping hand.

A Visible Righteousness Required—Note the inspired promise of the prophet to those who do all in their power to relieve distress, both physical and spiritual. [Isaiah 58:8 quoted.]

8-14. Characteristics of True Reformers—Here are given the characteristics of those who shall be reformers, who will bear the banner of the third angel’s message, those who avow themselves God’s commandment-keeping people, and who honor God, and are earnestly engaged, in the sight of all the universe, in building up the old waste places. Who is it that calls them, The repairers of the breach, The restorers of paths to dwell in? It is God. Their names are registered in heaven as reformers, restorers, as raising the foundations of many generations (The Review and Herald, October 13, 1891).

Isaiah 58:9

Then shalt thou call. The promises of God are conditional upon obedience. Isaiah points out the difference between prayer God can answer, and worship that is not acceptable to Him (chs. 1:11–17; 58:2–4). Were God to shower favors upon those who do not approach Him in sincerity and truth, the result would be to confirm them in their evil ways. If thou take away. By criticism, fault-finding, gossip, and innuendo, many professed Christians make the burdens of their fellows almost too heavy to bear. Many a noble

Christian has been crushed and sent to his grave in discouragement and defeat by having the finger of scorn pointed at him by a fellow Christian. God cannot draw near to His people while they are engaged in criticizing and oppressing their fellows.

Ellen G. White

9, 10. Compassion Causes Light to Rise—[Isaiah 58:9, 10 quoted.] All around us are afflicted souls. Let us search out these suffering ones, and speak a word in season to comfort their hearts. Here and there—everywhere—we shall find them. Let us ever be channels through which may flow to them the refreshing waters of compassion. To those who minister to the necessities of the hungry and afflicted, the promise is, “Then shall thy light rise in obscurity.”

Isaiah 58:10

Draw out thy soul. That is, take a personal interest in. If the church would live up to its opportunities and responsibilities, if its members would be Christians in spirit as well as in name, its task on earth would soon be completed and the Lord would return in glory. Lives of unselfish service for others shed abroad the light of the glory of God (see chs. 9:2; 60:1, 2).

Isaiah 58:11

The Lord shall guide. God cannot lead those who are stubborn, conceited, and self-centered. Christians who would be led by God must first put self aside and give themselves fully to the work of the Master. The Christian experience of many today is bleak and barren because of a lack of love for their fellow men. In drought. In times of spiritual drought God promises to refresh those who have sought sincerely to be a blessing to their fellow men.

Ellen G. White

11. God’s Guidance Gives Clear Discernment—Of him who walks in the way of life everlasting, using his blessings to bless others, the prophet Isaiah declares: “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.”

Isaiah 58:12

Old waste places. Or, “ancient ruins” (RSV). When, eventually, the Jews should return from captivity they would find Jerusalem in ruins. But the nation’s moral edifice also lay in ruins, and this must be rebuilt. Here is pictured a great work of revival, reformation, and restoration. A breach had been made in the wall, as it were, because of the failure to practice true religion (vs. 3–5). Nevertheless, the foundations remained, and upon them a new structure was to be reared. The manner of rebuilding the “old waste places” has been set forth in vs. 6–10; it consists of a revival of practical religion. The place where reformation is to begin is indicated in v. 13. Paths to dwell in. That is, right courses of action. Ancient pathways once trodden by God’s people are to be restored (see Jer. 6:16). Right principles are to be honored and followed in all the relationships of life. All over the world the work of restoration is in progress. The Sabbath is being restored to its rightful place in the law of God and in the lives of men. Again men and women are being taught to walk in the ways of the Lord. They are being invited to enter the city of God and to take their place in the living temple that is being built (1 Cor. 3:9–11, 16; Eph. 2:20–22; 2 Tim. 2:19; 1 Peter 2:4–9).

Ellen G. White

12-14 (Revelation 11:19; 14:9-12). Sabbathkeepers Repair the Breach—[Isaiah 58:8-14 quoted.] Where do we find the people who are thus addressed? Who is it that shall build the old waste places, and raise up the foundation of many generations? Where are the people who have had light from heaven to see that a breach has been made in the law of God?

Whole-souled Men to Stand in the Gap—I write this because many in the church are represented to me as seeing men like trees walking. They must have another and deeper experience before they discern the snares spread to take them in the net of the deceiver. There must be no halfway work done now. The Lord calls for stanch, decided, whole-souled men and women to stand in the gap, and make up the hedge. [Isaiah 58:12-14 quoted.]

Isaiah 58:13

Turn away thy foot. The work of restoration is to begin with a revival of true Sabbath observance, the essence of which is communion with God and remembrance of His creative power, on the day that He made holy. The fate of Israel as a nation was determined by its attitude toward God’s holy day (see Jer. 17:24–27). The Sabbath was never intended to be an end in itself, but rather a means by which man might become acquainted with the character and purposes of his Creator (see on Ex. 20:8). From doing. Note that the word “from” has been supplied by the translators. However, Dead Sea scroll 1QIs has “from,” as do also the LXX and the Syriac. Thy pleasure. The essence of sin is selfishness—doing what one pleases, irrespective of God or man. The Sabbath day presents man with an opportunity to subdue selfishness and cultivate the habit of doing things that are pleasing to God (1 John 3:22) and that contribute to the well-being of others. Rightly understood and observed, the Sabbath is the key to man’s happiness both here and in the hereafter. True Sabbath observance will lead to the work of reformation pictured in Isa. 58:5–12. Those who do not enter into the spirit of the Sabbath as God ordained it, little realize what they are missing. The Sabbath is one of the greatest blessings bestowed upon men by a loving Creator.

A delight. The mere form of Sabbath observance is of little value. Those who think of the Sabbath as a burden have not discovered its true meaning and value. The holy of the Lord. See on Gen. 2:1–3. Honour him. Here is the acid test of what is right and proper on the Sabbath—does it honor God? Any activity entered into with the objective of learning more of the character, works, ways, and will of the Creator, or that is made a channel whereby His love may reach the hearts and lives of our fellow men, is indeed an honor to God.

Ellen G. White

(Isaiah 58:13, 14). Every Specification Is God’s Character—The God of heaven has placed a benediction upon them that keep the commandments of God. Shall we stand as a peculiar people of God, or shall we trample upon the law of God and say it is not binding? God might just as well have abolished Himself. In the law every specification is the character of the infinite God (Manuscript 12, 1894).

13, 14. See EGW on Exodus 20:1-17, Vol. 1, p. 1103.

Isaiah 58:14

Delight thyself. Those who make the Sabbath what God intended it to be, enter into a close fellowship with Him that others cannot know. Compare Ps. 40:8; see on Eze. 20:12, 20. High places of the earth. Material as well as spiritual prosperity is promised those who enter wholeheartedly into the spirit of the Sabbath (see on Matt. 6:33). The heritage of Jacob. For a summary of the various blessings that were included in “the heritage of Jacob,” see pp. 27, 28.