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In Daniel’s native country, a succession of deficient harvests launched a crisis in the subsistence farming economy in which his family and neighbors had lived for generations. Daniel was forced to borrow money at exorbitant interest rates to purchase seed and supplies for upcoming harvests. Unable to repay this debt, Daniel was driven to place his family in indentured service to lenders. Eventually, Daniel lost the land they depended on for survival and had farmed for decades. Daniel’s experience was true in the days of Isaiah, and it continues to be a familiar scenario today for people from countries like Guatemala, Uganda, Vietnam, Mexico, and Nigeria who farm crops such as coffee and cocoa beans (for chocolate). Today’s passage connects the fasting and worship of God’s people to their call to undo the conditions that create situations like Daniel’s.
Verse 2 initially seems like an ideal description of God’s people, but verse 1 indicates that something was seriously wrong. The people noticed that God was unresponsive to what they passed off as sincere devotion to Him (v. 3). Like in yesterday’s reading, God declared that their religious practices were unacceptable because their behavior belied the condition of their hearts. They couldn’t fast and simultaneously mistreat their employees, argue with one another, and ignore injustice and oppression around them (v. 5). The LORD clarified the kind of fasting He desired: liberating people from what oppresses them, providing for those in need, and denying oneself for the sake of the vulnerable (vv. 6-7, 9-10).
If God’s people began worshiping Him in this way, the result would be extraordinary. God promises that if you fight for justice and serve the poor, “then” your own healing will begin, the darkness of your looming enemies will end, and you will be protected by righteousness and glory. God will not forsake you; He will provide for you; you will be restored, and you will flourish (vv. 10-12).
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
To pretend that people like Daniel and their stories of injustice are not real, to convince ourselves that this is someone else’s problem, or simply to wish that all the brokenness would just disappear are not acceptable responses if we follow Jesus as our Lord and Savior (see Luke 10:25-37). To learn how to act responsibly and wisely in a world marked by poverty and injustice, read When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor . . . and Yourself by Brian Fikkert and Steve Corbett.
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