Isaiah 58:2Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

It is only appropriate for such individuals to yearn for God, to seek closeness to Him, to nurture a profound concern, and above all, to understand His ways. For this reason, a holy prophet has proclaimed, “Seek the Lord, and when He may be found, call upon Him; and when He draws near to you, let the wicked abandon his ways and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, and He will have mercy, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon” (Isaiah 55:6, 7).

Thus, since they have turned away from the righteousness and judgment of God—qualities that refer to Christ, as the Psalmist has written, “O God, give Thy judgment to the King, and Thy righteousness to the Son of the King” (Psalm 71:1)—they boast pretentiously of their adherence to the law, while the truly righteous take pride not in merely knowing the Scriptures but in their deeds, as it is stated, “The way of Thy commandments flowed when Thou enlargedst my heart” (Ps. 118:32).

They inquire of Me concerning the judgments of righteousness, longing for closeness to Me. "Why did we fast and You did not see? Why did we humble our souls and You did not acknowledge?" Behold, on the day of your fasting, your desire is fulfilled, while you exploit your workers. You fast for disputes and conflicts, striking with your fist unjustly. The LXX notes how they ask Me for judgment and righteousness, expressing their desire to approach God, saying, “Why have we fasted, and You have not noticed? We have humbled our souls, and You have not known.” For during your fasts, your desires are achieved, and you wear out all those beneath you, fasting for judgment and disputes, and beating down the humble. There exists another folly among the Jews, thinking themselves to possess a clear conscience; they demand just judgment and mimic the words of the saints, saying: “Judge me, O Lord, for I am not wicked in my walk” (Psalm 23:1), and again: “Try me, O Lord, and test me; examine my mind and my heart” (Psalm 23:2). In another instance they say: “Judge my trial, and deliver me” (Psalms 118:154). They wish to draw close to God, yet this is not about a location but a condition, rooted not in idle contemplation but in diligent actions. Thus, Scripture teaches what it means to draw near to God, stating, “Seek the Lord. And when He draws nigh unto you, let the wicked forsake his ways, and the unrighteous man his thoughts.” The Lord is near to those who approach Him authentically and live righteously, declaring, “It is good for me to cleave unto God” (Psalm 72:28). If the Almighty is the Father of truth and righteousness, then those who are dishonest and unrighteous cannot approach Him, as it is written: “Neither shall the wicked stand before Thee, nor shall the unrighteous dwell in Thy sight” (Psalm 5:6). They criticize the Lord for seeming injustice, saying, “Why have we fasted, and You have not seen; we have humbled our souls, and You have not known?” But they overlook the ancient account of why He did not regard Cain’s offerings, who, despite bringing the proper gifts, failed to show love to his brother (Genesis 4). They neglect the command of Scripture: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul” (Matthew 22:37), expecting God to answer indiscriminately. Consequently, God points out that He rejects not the fasts themselves but the actions undertaken during those fasts, saying, “In the days of your fasts, your desires are fulfilled” for your own pursuits, not His, which the Apostle condemns in his letter to the Ephesians: “According to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience; among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others” (Eph. 2:2-3).

The subsequent expression in the Seventy: “and you torment or wear out all those who are subject to you” is more accurately rendered by Theodotion and Symmachus in our context: “and you extort from all your debtors.” This emphasizes that one should not extort from the impoverished who are unable to repay, nor take a garment pledged to a needy debtor, lest their cries reach God. “He who has mercy on the poor lends to God” (Proverbs 19:17). Conversely, he who extorts the poor acts violently against God. The same passage continues, urging to "loose the bonds of wickedness, untie the cords of the oppressed." This clearly addresses the receipts of debt. What good is it to appear emaciated from fasting and to fast for strife and controversies, for as Scripture states: “He who loves sin rejoices in strife” (Proverbs 17). The servant of the Lord must not quarrel but should be gentle (2 Tim. 2) and follow Him who instructs, “Learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart” (Matt. 11:29), ensuring that humility is genuine and not mere performance, seeking internal sincerity rather than outward approval. You, He says, fast, while striking down the humble with your fists and belittling the meek. Therefore, a bishop ought not to be violent (1 Tim. 2:3). For how can he who cannot control his hands or mouth manage his passions? The Lord also condemns this type of fasting at the outset of this prophet when He declares, “My soul hates your feasts, your new moons, and your Sabbaths” (Isaiah 1:13-14). Thus, through Joel, it is commanded: “Sanctify the fast, proclaim a holy day” (Joel 2:15), so that we may fast from sins and sanctify our fasts through good works and the healing of transgressions. It continues, “Let the bridegroom go forth from his chamber, and the bride out of her closet” (Joel 2:16), that during the fast, we may occupy ourselves with prayer and feed not on the flesh of the dragon, which was issued as sustenance for the nations of Ethiopia. Yet, we do not advocate for the rejection of fasting, which led Daniel, the man of desires, to learn about the future (Dan. 9), while the people of Nineveh turned from sin to appease God’s wrath (Jonah 3). Likewise, Elijah (1 Kings 19) and Moses (Ex. 34) fasted for forty days, nourished by God’s love, and the Lord Himself also fasted for the same duration in the wilderness, establishing annual fasting days for us. It serves no purpose to have an empty stomach while engaging in acts displeasing to God, nor to distort one's face to appear fasting before others, for such individuals, while seeking glory from men, will be denied entry into the kingdom of God; they have received their reward (Matt. 6). Consequently, the apostle declares that even if he were to give his body to be burned or glorified (for both are found in the lists) without the love of God (1 Cor. 13), which resides in the heart, his sacrifice would be in vain.

“Do not fast as you do this day, that your voice may be heard on high. Is this the fast I have chosen, a day for a man to afflict his soul, to bow his head like a reed, and to spread sackcloth and ashes beneath him? Is this what you call a fast and an acceptable day to the Lord?” The LXX states: “Why do you fast for Me, as you do now, that your voice may be heard in shouting?” Not such a fast have I chosen, nor such a day to humble your soul. And not one if you bend your neck like a reed, and clothe yourself in rags and ashes, will you call a fast that is acceptable. To prevent them from completely dismissing the fasting commanded, God teaches how it should be done, stressing that it should be for divine purposes. Do not make a show of prayer, calling attention to yourself in synagogues or on streets, so that men may see you (Matt. 6), and do not shout excessively; pattern not your deeds after the Pharisees, condemned by God for their hypocrisy (Luke 18). Instead, the Lord, rejecting the prayers of the Pharisees, instructs His disciples on how to pray (Matt. 6). They should close the door to their heart and privately speak to God, who hears the silence of the heart. They should fervently cry out in their hearts, “Abba Father” (Rom. 8:15), and not disfigure their faces, but wash their faces and anoint their heads with oil. The Evangelist John also teaches that “you have an anointing from the Holy One” (1 John 2:20), which sanctifies those who are anointed. God does not desire mere exhaustion and humility causing bodily harm—bending the body like a circle and lowering the neck, nor walking about sorrowfully, as expressed in the Psalms, “I am weary and worn out all day long” (Psalm 37:7). Let no one drape themselves in rags or cover themselves in ashes as seen with David and Ahab (2 Sam. 3; 3 Sam. 21), while actively fulfilling the commands that follow. The Apostle states that he often fasted (2 Cor. 6, 2 Cor. 11), and the Lord teaches that when the Bridegroom is taken away from the disciples, they will fast (Mk. 2). The penitent also professes in the Psalms, “I eat ashes like bread, and mingle my drink with weeping” (Ps. 101:10). When they grew cold towards Me, I hid myself (Psalm 34:13). From this, we learn the necessity of prioritizing what pleases the Lord while not neglecting our duties.

In Isaiah, God rebukes those who disregard a courageous life and criticize His works, stating, “They wish to understand My ways, as if they had performed righteousness and had not forsaken the judgment of their God.” If individuals who are inquisitive about heavenly matters are exceedingly bold, how much more so are those who discuss God Himself using a defiled tongue, especially when posing the question, “What is God?” It is not a matter of asking what God is, but rather affirming that He exists. Furthermore, the Lacedaemonians wisely noted that words are mere shadows of actions; thus, they did not permit anyone with low morals to express virtuous thoughts. Therefore, if individuals with genuine faith and good deeds approach you with challenging inquiries, do not feel intimidated. This behavior belongs to the wicked: they seek to gain the upper hand by delving into matters of the Divine, intending to embarrass those who lead righteous lives and restrict their ability to speak freely. However, recognizing that those who misinterpret manifest realities are not deserving of trust when discussing the hidden aspects, these individuals should first correct their lives before pursuing questions about the incomprehensible.

For during your fasting, you pursue your own desires (Is 58:2-3, LXX), meaning your wrongful intentions—offering them as sacrifices to idols, and recognizing those malevolent thoughts as deities, to whom you present the greatest of offerings—your free will, which ought to have been devoted to Me through virtuous actions and a pure heart.

When these elements accompany their fasting, then their searching for Me and drawing near to Me will bear fruit; “then your light shall break forth like the dawn... and the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am!...’ And the Lord will continually guide you.”

Although this request for an explanation is presumptuous, they perceive it as a matter of justice, believing themselves to be individuals of integrity who practice righteousness, uphold a moral life, and remain steadfast in the judgments of their God, adhering to the decrees laid down by God through Moses that govern their religious, ethical, and civic conduct. Confident in their own righteousness, they implore God to render a just judgment, conveying that if they are indeed righteous in His sight and live according to His commandments, He should justly respond to them, as a righteous judge would, and not leave them in a distressing predicament they feel they do not merit, given their perceived purity before His righteous standard. Rather than approaching God with a sincere acknowledgment of their failings, they come with grievances about His seemingly unfair treatment of them, saying:.....