In Isa 58:1-5, the prophet is commanded to tell Israel to turn from her sins so the nation can experience God’s blessings (vv 8-11). Unfortunately, most in the nation thought that religious rituals would secure God’s pleasure, even if they continued rebelling against Him. They sought protection from the Lord through these rituals and saw no need to obey Him.
These hypocritical and disobedient Jews were not all unbelievers. Many Israelites who lived this way were eternally saved. Sadly, the intimacy they could have had with the Lord was hindered due to their sin.
However, despite the nation’s failures, the Lord still calls Israel My people and desires to bless them (vv 12-14). The mention of the house of Jacob likely alludes to the Lord’s covenantal relationship with nation (v 14).
Outwardly, the people claimed to be seeking the Lord daily. They claimed that they wanted to know His ways. In following the Mosaic rituals, they saw themselves as approaching God. This serves as a warning to believers today: We could mimic Israel’s attitude. Both believers and unbelievers can convince themselves that they are in fellowship with the Lord when in fact they are not (Luke 18:11-14; 1 John 1:6).
The Israelites of Isaiah’s day pointed to their fasting and following other rituals and accused the Lord of negligence. They complained that He was not noticing all their good works. But the Lord does see and evaluate His people’s works—both good and bad (Isa 30:1, 18; 2 Cor 5:10, Rev 2:2; 3:1). Israel’s problem was that their work was profitless (Isa 64:6). While performing religious rituals, they were also practicing idolatry (57:5-9), exploiting laborers, causing strife, and mistreating the poor. Many claimed to walk with the Lord while maintaining friendship with the world, but the two are incompatible (1 John 2:15-17; Jas 4:4). People ceremoniously bowed their heads, wore sackcloth, and covered themselves with ashes, but none of these outward expressions were acceptable to the Lord.
What would have been acceptable to the Lord? He would have found their turning from sin acceptable. He would have found it acceptable if they had shared food with the hungry (Isa 58:6-14). One of the clearest indications of being in fellowship with the Lord is that we care for others (1 John 4:20, Jas 1:27). The Israelites were doing plenty of fasting, while ignoring the poor and needy.
If the nation repented, it would experience the blessings that come from walking in obedience. The benefits of a life in fellowship with the Lord would surround them. If the people responded in obedience and called upon Him, the Lord would readily answer and say, “Here I am.” Contrary to their accusations, the Lord does notice and respond when His people call upon Him (Isa 58:9). However, He does not respond to those who are walking in darkness—especially those who mistreat others (1 Pet 3:12). The problem was that the people believed they were pleasing the Lord with their rituals while actively rebelling against His commands and mistreating others.
Because of passages like Isaiah 58, many reject the doctrine of rewards, arguing that it is improper to be like the Jews who expected God to compensate them. It is argued that obedience should be done without any expectations. One commentary says that expecting rewards for obedience is a pagan idea. God’s people should not do “works looking for reward but [they should demonstrate] faith acting in obedience” (Motyer, Isaiah, p. 47).
However, this would be rejecting the Lord’s own promises, both for the nation of Israel and for church-age believers in the coming kingdom (Rev 22:12). Not only in Isaiah, but throughout the Bible, the Lord says He will reward His people if they do what He commands. The problem is not the expectation of the Lord’s blessings and approval, but expecting them while walking in disobedience. The Lord explicitly promises many benefits to His people if they turn from wickedness and walk with Him.
In Isaiah, the Lord promises His people blessings for obedience. The NT promises that faithful believers will have intimacy with the Lord in the present world and eternal rewards in the world to come. These rewards include crowns and the privilege of reigning with Christ in the world to come.
Just because the people of Isaiah’s day were hypocrites who treated the Lord like a genie does not negate the clear teachings of Scripture. God desires to reward His people and will do so if they approach Him on His terms—not their own.
