a) (Qal) to bow downNext, let's look at the Greek word translated worship. Strong’s Dictionary defines the Greek word translated worship #4352 <proskuneo>from 4314 and a probable derivative of 2965 (meaning to kiss, like a dog licking his master's hand); to fawn or crouch to, i.e. (literally or figuratively) prostrate oneself in homage (do reverence to, adore). Thayer’s Dictionary defines the Greek word translated worship #4352 proskuneo- 1) to kiss the hand to (toward) one, in token of reverenceNelson’s Bible Dictionary defines worship as Reverent devotion and allegiance pledged to God; the rituals or ceremonies by which this reverence is expressed. The English word worship comes from the Old English word worthship, a word which denotes the worthiness of the one receiving the special honor or devotion. (from Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary) (Copyright (C) 1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers). The above definitions of the word worship basically define the visible, fleshly action of worship of one outwardly prostrating one’s self before God. But true worship is more than just the outward prostrating of oneself before God. In John 4:23-24 the Lord Jesus Christ told the woman at the well… 23. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.The Lord Jesus Christ said that in order to really worship God one must prostrate more than just their physical being. One must prostrate their inner being, their very soul in submission to God’s Spirit and to God’s truth. And why is the humbling of our souls in submission to the Spirit and to the truth so important? Because in John 6:63 The Lord Jesus Christ said… 63. It is the spirit that quickeneth <zoopoieo> (produces life); the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.And why is the submitting our souls to the truth so necessary? In Jeremiah 17:9 Jehovah God, speaking through the Prophet Jeremiah tells us… 9. The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?Beloved reader, Jehovah God tells us that the human heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. And then Jehovah God asks a rhetorical question, Who can know it? The answer is implied, no human being can know their own heart. And so in verse ten of Jeremiah 17, Jehovah God answers the question by stating… 10. I the LORD search <chaqar> (penetrate) the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.Exactly how does Jehovah God search or penetrate our hearts? By His word, the word of God! Hebrews 4:12 tells us… 12. For the word of God is quick <zao> (alive), and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing <diikneomai> (penetrating) even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.Now with this in mind, let’s examine Jehovah God’s standard for true worship. In Isaiah 58:1ff Jehovah God told the Prophet Isaiah… 1. Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression <pesha`> (rebellion), and the house of Jacob their sins.Jehovah God told Isaiah; Cry aloud as to accost, as to confront; Lift up your voice, raise your voice like a trumpet giving a clear sound and show, stand out boldly and announce to My people their transgressions, their willful rebellion and the house of Jacob their sins, their rejection of my allotment for their lives. Why the reference to the house of Jacob? Primarily because the house of Jacob represented all the tribes of Israel. And Jehovah God wanted to make clear that His message through the Prophet Isaiah was intended for everyone. No one was to be excluded. Back in Isaiah 2:6-9 the Prophet Isaiah actually tells us in part why Jehovah God had forsaken His own people… 6. Therefore thou (Jehovah God) hast forsaken thy people the house of Jacob, because they be replenished from the east, and are soothsayers like the Philistines, and they please themselves in the children of strangers.Now going back to our text in Isaiah 58, you can understand why Jehovah God tells His Prophet Isaiah to cry aloud and show the people their willful rebellion and their willful sins, rejecting God’s arrangement for their lives. Now in Isaiah 58: 2, in spite of their godless lifestyles, Jehovah Gods tells His Prophet… 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.Isn’t that amazing? The people were completely oblivious to their rebellion and sin against God. And so Jehovah God say’s, they seek me daily, they take great pleasure in their thinking that they know God’s ways as people that were living upright, as people that had not turned away from God’s righteous judgments, and they took great delight in approaching Jehovah God, but without bending a knee because they were so self confident of their relationship with Him. In fact, in the first part of verse three of Isaiah 58, Jehovah God tells us that these rebellious and sinful people were actually questioning God’s righteousness. Just listen to what they were asking Jehovah God… 3a. Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge?The Hebrew word fast actually meant to shut the mouth. Fasting was symbolic of one’s humility by keeping their mouth shut, fully listening. Further, it was a custom to fast by not eating on the Sabbath Day, so as to demonstrate one’s piety in keeping the commandment, by not doing any work on the Sabbath Day. And so fasting became representative of the peoples Sabbath worship. And so here in verse three the people are questioning Jehovah God about the quote "sincerity of their worship". They ask Jehovah God wherefore have we fasted and you don’t take notice? Wherefore have we afflicted our souls and you have no knowledge of it? But contrary to what the people thought, Jehovah God saw exactly what they were doing. Not only did Jehovah God see their outward fleshly actions, but He saw what was really in their hearts. In the last part of verse three and verse four Jehovah God answers them… 3b. Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labours.God saw right through their religious piety. In the day of their fast, in the day of their supposed worship, they found pleasure. In other words they did as they pleased. They exploited their laborer’s expecting them to still work on God’s Sabbath Day. In verse four Jehovah God goes on to tell them that they fasted for strife, and debate. The Hebrew word translated strife is <riyb> and it actually refers to contending in a contest. The people actually contended with one another as in a contest as to how they worshipped, debating and even quarreling with one another. It would be comparable to denominationalism today. Everybody though their particular way was right and everyone else was wrong. And so Jehovah God through the Prophet Isaiah told the people, If this is what your fasting is about, if this is what your worship is about, I will not even listen to you. And then in verse five Jehovah God further asks the people… 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?Jehovah God asks, Is a fast, is the day of worship, simply a day for man to afflict their souls outwardly, to bow down their heads as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? Do you call this acceptable worship? Why did Jehovah God ask these particular questions? He was confronting the people with the superficialness of their worship. The people were simply going through the motions. Their worship was nothing more than outward fleshly acts of self righteousness and pretended piety. And then beginning in verse six, Jehovah God defines the purpose of a true fast, of true worship, by asking another series of questions… 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?Is not this the fast , the acts of true worship that I have chosen asks Jehovah God. And then Jehovah God gives us four requirements of true fasting, of true worship. The first requirement of a true fast, of true worship, is to loose the bands of wickedness , to loose yourself from known sin in our lives. 1 John 1:9-10 tells us how we are to do that… 9. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.If we confess <homologeo> agree with the word of God as to our sin, Jehovah God is faithful and just to forgive <aphiemi> send away our sin. Verse ten goes on to say… 10. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.The second requirement of a true fast, of true worship, is to undo the heavy burdens. Let me define some of the words used here so we can see what this means. The Hebrew word undo is <nathar> and it means to violently shake or agitate. The Hebrew word translated heavy is <mowtaw> and it refers to the pole of a yoke. So this is a very forceful phrase meaning to shaking off whatever has hold of you, that is literally burdening you down. This refers to shaking off or separating one’s self from anything ungodly. It can refer to people or things. In 2 Corinthians 6:11ff, writing to the Corinthian’s, the Apostle Paul said… 11. O ye Corinthians, our mouth is open unto you, our heart is enlarged.Why were they distressed or burdened within themselves? Verse 14ff tells us… 14. Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?And 2 Corinthians 7:1 continues… 1. Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.In Hebrews 12:1 we are further instructed… 1. Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside (cast off) every weight (burden), and the sin which doth so easily beset (stands around) us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,Then the third requirement of a true fast, of true worship is to let the oppressed go free. How do we let the oppressed go free? We let the oppressed go free through total forgiveness. Now this is virtually impossible to do if we have not complied with the first two requirements of a true fast and of true worship. In Matthew 6:14-15, the Lord Jesus Christ said… 14. …if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:The sole reason we do not forgive others is that we ourselves have not been forgiven. Because we have not been willing to confess our own sins; and so instead of forgiving others, we judge them and condemn them. In Matthew 7:1-5 the Lord Jesus Christ addressed this when He commanded us… 1. Judge not, that ye be not judged.Strong’s Dictionary defines the Greek word transliterated hypocrite 5273 <hupokrites> from 5271; an actor under an assumed character (stage-player), i.e. (figuratively) a dissembler ("hypocrite"). And then the fourth requirement of true worship is to break every yoke. This requirement includes anything else and everything else that isn’t covered by the first three requirements of worship. You may ask why are these four steps of fasting, of worship so necessary? The answer is twofold. First of all this process is necessary because it is a cleansing process to make us holy. Because Jehovah God is Holy! 1 Peter 1:13-16 tells us… 13. Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;To be Holy means to be absolutely pure unto perfection. Jehovah God is absolutely perfect, because He is Holy! Now the purifying process of becoming holy is called sanctification. And In 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 writing to Christians the Apostle Paul wrote… 23. And the very God of peace sanctify (purify) you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.Why is God going to sanctify, to cleanse, to purify every born again Christian? Because Ephesians 5:25-27 tells us… 25. …(The Lord Jesus) Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;In John 17:17 The Lord Jesus Christ prayed to His Father for believers… 17. Sanctify (purify) them through thy truth: thy word is truth.And the Christian is sanctified by hearing under as a subordinate the preached word of God and applying it to their lives. And anyone who has genuinely been saved ought to want to be sanctified, and made pure, in their lives. The Apostle John wrote in 1 John 3:2-3… 2. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.And in Hebrews 12:14 We are commanded to continuously… 14. Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:Let me just note here that the true cleansing process of sin in our lives is a painful experience because it is in reality the humbling of ourselves in passive submission to the Lord Jesus Christ and the authority of His word the word of God. The apostle James tells us in James 4:6ff 6. But he (God) giveth more grace. Wherefore he (the scripture) saith, God resisteth <antitassomai> (is against orderly arranging the life of) the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.And here is how you and I humble ourselves in passive submission to God… 8. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.And you will understand this lifting up process as we continue on… Now going back to our text in Isaiah 58, for the sake of keeping in context, let’s pick up again in verse six, where through the use of questions Jehovah God gave us these four requirements of true fasting, of true worship… 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?And then in verse 7, again through the use of questions, Jehovah God gives us the second purpose derived from a true worship experience… 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?Beloved, every Christian who truly worships Jehovah God will begin to minister to the needy! They will give food to the hungry, house the homeless, and clothe the naked. If you question this, listen to what the Lord Jesus Christ said in Matthew 25:31-46… 31. When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:Now going back to our text in Isaiah 58, I want you to notice the opening phrase of verse 8… 8. Then shall thy light break forth as the morning…My beloved reader, true worship brings cleansing and ministry. And then, and only then does one begin walking in light. The Apostle John wrote in 1 John 1:5-7… 5. This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.Now let's return again to Isaiah 58 and re-read all of verse 8ff, and just notice the glorious fellowship we have with Jehovah God when we walk in the light... 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.Along with the promises, notice the conditional 'ifs' in verses 9-10… 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;And then Jehovah God concludes this message on worship in verses 13-14 where He reminds us with another conditional "if" concerning the true Day of worship… 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:Beloved reader, this then is true worship which results in true ministry, and anything less is an abomination to Jehovah God. May God give you the grace to hear under His word concerning true
worship and submit to it in your life!
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