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In the chapters that surround Isaiah 58, we can see the dissonance between Yahweh’s promise and its
fulfilment because there are various conditions which must first be met. In 60:1, for example, God promised,
“Arise, shine; for your light has come.” But in 59:9, the people said, “We wait for light, and lo! There is
darkness.” Also, in 62:1, God said, “For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent.” But in 64:12, the people ask God,
“Will you keep silent, and punish us so severely?” These are but few examples of such echoes of as yet
unfulfilled promises.
But the question is, what are the reasons why God’s promises do not come into completion? Since the
author could not lay the blame for the delay to God, he began to look for the particular failings in conduct of the
people which might be the cause. Among the topics mentioned in this regard are: profaning the Sabbath (56:2-8;
58:13-14); illegal cult practices (57:3-13; 65:3-7); a wrong attitude to fasting (58:1-19); general forms of
iniquity, including injustice, violence, and deceit (59:1-15); dietary offences (65:4; 66:17); and an improper
understanding of sacrifice (66:3-4). In short, the author seems to point out that the reason why God’s promises
are not fulfilled is because of the false religiosity of the people, which is very evident in their insincere religious
practices. So how did he addressed the issue of false religiosity?
The author uses rhetorical questions to deal with the attitudes of his audience/readers and to
communicate God’s message to them. For example, in 58:3a-b, we will notice that the author used the very
questions of his audience and as a result, it makes it easier for him to answer them directly in vv.3c-4. Then in
vv.5-7 he uses God’s questions to imply to his audience that it is God himself who is asking them and
1
Henry L. Bernardo, Responding to the Call of Justice and Love, (National Bookstore, 2008), 1
2
Melba Maggay, Transforming Society, (Regnum Books, 1998), 11
commanding them to do the true practice of religiosity. Hence, the question of the people in v.3 and God’s
questions in vv.5-7 functions as a rhetorical device that portrays the futility of the people’s religious practices
on the one hand, and the kind of religious practices that is acceptable to God on the other hand. And vv.8-12
shows the possible results if these practices are done. Therefore, I will outline my paper according to these
rhetorical devices that the author uses which gives us the homiletical keyword of “Questions.”
Transition sentence: Thus, my interrogative statement is . . .
“What are the questions regarding the practice of social responsibility as God’s challenge to Israel’s false
religiosity?”
I
The Question of Description:
Why God Do Not Accept Rigid Religious Practices? (vv.1-5)
II
The Question of Prescription:
How God Wants His People to Practice True Religiosity? (vv.6-7)
3
Joseph Blenkinsopp, Isaiah 56-66: A New Translation With Introduction and Commentary, (New Haven : London; Yale
University Press, 2008), 174
4
Walter C. Kaiser Jr., What Does the Lord Require?, (CLC Publications, 2009), 25
it is exemplified by the corruption of some of our government officials. Yes, it is easy to blame the Government
with these kinds of injustices, but what about the Church? Can we say that we are not guilty and we have
nothing to do with these issues? Is it right for us to remain silent and leave everything to the hands of the
Government and just pray and sing praises to God? The problem with us, according to Ched Myers, is that we
always “talk about ‘power in the name of Jesus’ but are too timid to interrogate public addiction or high
corporate crimes. We speculate blithely about ‘last days’ while endorsing through passivity world-historic shifts
in consumerism and economic policies that are chewing up millions of the lives we say God loves . . .” 5 Like
Israel, God is also calling us to practice true religiosity by means of liberating those who are enslaved by
injustices.
5
Ched Myers, Easter Faith and Empire: Recovering the Prophetic Tradition on the Road to Emmaus
6
Blenkinsopp, Isaiah 56-66, 180
7
Jonathan Sacks, To Heal a Fractured World: The Ethics of Responsibility, (Continuum Publishing Company, 2007), 5
8
Antonio Tagle, Lecture on 50th Anniversary of Gaudium et Spes, Vatican II
III
The Question of Promise Consolation:
What are the Promised Results of Exercising Social Responsibility as Proper Religious Practices? (8-12)
9
Blenkinsopp, Isaiah 56-66, 180
10
Gregory Polan, In the Ways of Justice Toward Salvation: A Rhetorical Analysis of Isaiah 56-59, (American University
Studies. Series VII, Theology and Religion; vol. 13; Frangfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 1986), 216; quoted in Bohdan Hrobon, Ethical
Dimension of Cult in the Book if Isaiah, (Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG, Gottingen, 2010), 181
11
Ibid., 181
12
John Leunis Koole, Isaiah III/3, translated by Anthony P. Runia. Vol. 3, (HSOT; Leuven: Peeters, 2001), 142
13
Ivan D. Friesen, Believers Church Bible Commentary: Isaiah, (Herald Press, Scottdale, 2009), 366
14
Kwesi A. Dickson. He Is God Because He Cares, (ATLAS), 7
and irritants directed toward the poor and the afflicted.”15 In the second case a new aspect is added: the people
must also remove “the pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness (or ‘malicious talk’ NIV [v.9d]). This is
no doubt “a reference to all forms of mockery, contempt, false accusation, spreading of vicious rumours and the
like. The poor and the oppressed must no longer be the objects of highbrow scorn or contempt, or be the
substance of our jokes or sarcastic contrasts between them and us”16 because they are our fellow human beings
and they too are made in the image of God and so deserving of our respect, love, and help.
The third condition is put in a positive form: the people must “give (literally, spend [out]) yourself to the
hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted” (v.10a-b). Instead of making themselves hungry at their self-
proclaimed spiritual fasts, what about alleviating the hunger of those who are starving? This verse calls once
again for action on behalf of all the oppressed, and again, the action is directed away from self and towards
others.
With these three further reminders of the conditions God sets as the proper prelude to all sincere and
devout worship, he returns to more promises. Once again their “light will rise in darkness” (v.10c). Their
present darkness and adversities will give way to the glorious light of God’s presence, as promised already in
v.8a. The next promise about the Lord’s guidance and satisfaction in v.11 describes more fully and emphatically
the promise made in v.8c-d. His guidance will rejuvenate and invigorate them just like a “watered garden”
(v.11d) and “spring of water whose waters do not fail” (v.11e), that even their bones, which is previously
trembled and shook because of the sorrow and guilt that were causing a wasting away their frames, will now be
strengthened (v.11c).
The final promise in v.12 assures rebuilding and restoration of the desecrated ruins. The once false
worshippers, thus transformed, will now be the means whereby their whole nation, as a whole, will be
transformed. The people will build on the physical foundations that had been neglected for so long, ever since
the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians. They will act with such purpose and despatch as will make
them deserve to be called “the repairer of the breach” and the “restorer of the streets.” Thus, the practice of
social responsibility as the form of true religiosity is not only acceptable to God, it does not only do away cases
of poverty and injustices, but as v.12 has shown, it will also lead to nation building.
Conclusion
A religion that has self-gratification as its main purpose is a false and vain religion. It just will not fit the
task of bringing glory to God nor will it meet the needs of the poor and the oppressed. The church of the Lord
Jesus Christ dare not remain silent on the issues of the poor, the widowed, the orphaned, or the oppressed. Nor
dare we to imagine that the government must now carry this responsibility alone. If we have taken this route,
perhaps it is the reason why we do not seem to bask in the love and light of God and why we have little or no
influence and impact in our hurting society. Yes, our social responsibilities are large, but the same Lord who
called us to announce the gospel will be with us to help the hurting as well and He promised us that if we call on
Him, He will answer: “Here I am.” Thus, I want to end with my propositional statement/thesis of the paper:
“True religiosity is not measured by good performance of religious rituals but by exercising social
responsibilities as a form of service and worship to God.”
15
Kaiser, What Does the Lord Require?, 27
16
Ibid., 27