Isaiah 58–66 closes the book of Isaiah with some of its most hopeful chapters. Isaiah 61:1–3 describes the mission of the Anointed One. It brings good news for the humble, healing for broken hearts, freedom for captives, and comfort for all who mourn. About 700 years later, Jesus stood up in the synagogue in His hometown of Nazareth. He read this passage aloud and said, “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.” That’s Luke 4:16–21. He was announcing that He’s the One Isaiah wrote about. Luke 4:28–30 tells that some of His neighbors turned against Him. Today’s story ends before that part.
Isaiah 58 is the Lord’s great teaching on fasting. Some people were fasting while still quarreling and treating their workers unfairly, in 58:3–5. The Lord says the fast He wants sets people free, shares bread with the hungry, and brings the homeless in. That’s 58:6–7. Look closely. That list is almost the same as Jesus’s mission in Isaiah 61. When we fast and give fast offerings, we’re helping Jesus do His work. The promised blessings are beautiful. Light breaks out like the morning, the Lord guides us always, and we become “like a watered garden,” in 58:8–11. In the same chapter, the Lord asks us to call the Sabbath “a delight,” in 58:13–14.
In the Church today, one Sunday each month is fast Sunday. It’s usually the first Sunday. Members who are able go without food and drink for two meals in a row. They pray with a purpose and give a fast offering, at least what those meals would have cost. The bishop uses fast offerings to help people in need. Children are never forced to fast. They can start small when they and their parents feel ready. Anyone whose health would be harmed shouldn’t go without food. Even before they fast, kids can pray with their family and help give the offering.
Other gems this week: “we are the clay, and thou our potter,” in 64:8, shows that God can shape us when our hearts are soft. In Isaiah’s day, deeply sad people put ashes on their heads. The Lord promises “beauty for ashes,” in 61:3. That word can mean a beautiful headdress, like trading ashes for a crown. Isaiah 65:17–25 describes the new heavens and new earth after Jesus comes again, when the wolf and the lamb will eat together. For eight-year-olds, keep coming back to one simple truth. Jesus came to help and heal, and He invites us to help Him.
