2006-11-24
Good Morning Fellow Children of God,
There are some additional reasons to fast that have not yet been shared. If we ever question why a particular person is allowed by God to be a writer in the Bible, we might wonder why Daniel was. But that's only when one first gets acquainted with this devoutly Jewish servant in exile in the Babylonian king's palace. He was there from the time he was only 15 years old. What elevates him from the ordinary is not only his profound faith in God but in his courage of that faith and impact on others around him. Daniel, who we learn from the angel Gabriel, is "esteemed by God" in DN 10: 11. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Daniel knew why the people of his beloved Judah were in exile; he understood that they had sinned against God with idolatry and were being punished. By the time of DN 9 [around 539 BC], Darius the Mede, the son of Xerxes, ruled over Babylonia. DN 9: 2-4, "During the first year of his reign, Daniel was studying the sacred books and thinking about the seventy years that Jerusalem would be in ruins, according to what the Lord had told the prophet Jeremiah [JER 25: 11]. And I prayed earnestly to the Lord God, pleading with Him, fasting, wearing sackcloth, and sitting in ashes. I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed the sins of my people."
We learn from this that Daniel is a self-educated man, as far as Judaism is concerned. He is intelligent and deeply, obediently faithful to Jehovah. He, like many other prophets, can see the future which God reveals to him. This ninth chapter of Daniel is a key chapter, because we learn so much about Daniel and the Jewish people of his time in it. Moreover, the end of this chapter, DN 9: 25-27, contains Daniel's vision of the seventy weeks-a view of the future for all time, even our own future. Daniel is a humble man, as he includes himself along with all the other exiled Jews in this plea for God's forgiveness and an end to the Babylonian Captivity. DN 9: 18-19 concludes his plea. "Listen to us, O God, look at us and see the trouble we are in and the suffering of the city that bears Your name. We are praying to You because You are merciful, not because we have done right. Lord, hear us. Lord, forgive us. Lord listen to us, and act! In order that everyone will know that You are God, do not delay! This city and these people are Yours." Daniel knew from his study of the scrolls already written God's promise in PS 37: 11. "But all who humble themselves before the Lord shall be given every blessing, and shall have wonderful peace." His fast in preparation to pray is an act of humbling himself before God, and we later see that God knew this. We too can fast as a means of genuinely humbling ourselves before God.
In his time, Ezra also fasted and humbled himself before God in EZRA 8: 21-23, which I wrote about previously. "There by the Ahava Canal I gave order for us all to fast and humble ourselves before our God and to ask Him to lead us on our journey and protect us and our children and all our possessions. I would have been ashamed to ask the emperor for a troop of cavalry to guard us from any enemies during our journey because I had told him that our God blesses everyone who trusts in Him, but that He is displeased with and punishes anyone who turn away from Him. So we fasted and prayed for God to protect us, and He answered our prayers." It's important that we see the connections between passages in the Scriptures and the many times God repeats a message because it is important to Him.
After Ezra learned of mixed marriages among the people, he engaged in intercessory prayer. The people had much respect for the learned Ezra, and gathered around him when they saw him tear his clothes and kneeling in prayer [EZRA 9: 5]. In EZRA 9: 9 allows us to see both the time of this prayer [sometime around 445 BC] and Ezra's understanding of God's will. "We were slaves, but You did not leave us in slavery. You made the emperors of Persia favor us and permit us to go on living and to rebuild Your temple, which was in ruins , and to find safety here in Judah and Jerusalem." EZRA 9: 12, "They [the prophets] told us that we were never to intermarry with those people [pagans] and never to help them prosper or succeed if we wanted to enjoy the land and pass it on to our descendants forever" [EX 34: 11-16; DT 7: 1-5]. While Ezra was bowing in prayer and confessing these sins, the others around him began weeping as they heard his prayers. EZRA 10: 2-3, "Then Shecaniah son of Jehiel, of the clan of Elam, said to Ezra, 'We have broken faith with God by marrying foreign women, but even so there is still hope for Israel. Now we must make a solemn promise to our God that we will send these women and their children away. We will do what you and the others who honor God's commands advise us to do. We will do what Gods Law demands.'" (5-6) "Ezra made the leaders of the priests, of the Levites and the rest of the people take an oath that they would do what Shecaniah has proposed. Then he went from the front of the temple into the living quarters of Jehohanan son of Eliashib, and spent the night there grieving over the unfaithfulness of the exiles. He did not eat or drink [fasted] anything." This fast was an act of grief and respect for God. Fasting for a short period in the throes of grief can be a choice and at times, a natural expression of grieving that isn't by choice. Notice that we are told Ezra's fast for that night. Excessive fasting in grief is not suggested here or by anyone with common sense.
PRAYER: O Lord, we are not without sin ourselves. Today, our society here in America is materialistic and is being attacked as never before by the adversary. We can see this in the preparations for the celebration of a pagan holiday, Halloween. Never before has it been so dangerous for little children to trick or treat by ringing doorbells. Suggestions to stimulate interest in the occult and horror are rampant. Tattooing and placing jewelry in strange places on the body is popular, despite the admonition in LV 19: 28 against such practices. Many children are raised playing computer games, TV programs, and movies that are violent, often have foul language, and/or contain gratuitous sex. This is their entertainment, instead of learning to enjoy reading well-written books and Your word. I confess that I sent my own child to schools where You were never mentioned, where children learn to mock those who are faithfully obedient to You. For this, I beg Your forgiveness. Dearest Father, we acknowledge the great sacrifice You made of Your Son on the cross, so that we sinners could be eternally forgiven. We pledge our faith in Him and our willingness to serve You for the rest of our lives. We bow before You in humility as Daniel and Ezra did, asking You to hear our confession and grant us blessed forgiveness. We know we can choose to fast as a means of humbling ourselves before You and as an act of sincere grief. You have given us fasting, so that we will use it wisely along with prayer with a genuinely faithful heart. This prayer is offered with love to You, because we know that You deserve our worship, adoration, willingness to listen and obey Your commands, praise, and sincere thanks. We praise You for Your patience and kindness toward us in hearing our prayers and answering them [PS 116:1]. We bow before You with reverence and adoration for You, in Christ's holy and mighty name. Amen.
Next week we will look at some NT examples of fasting to learn more occasions when it is appropriate. This background of fasting already given allows us to see into Christ's mind and experience as He is giving the Sermon on the Mount. We must remember that our Lord Jesus is the second personality of God and a Revealer of God's will. His task in going to the cross for us is huge in our lives, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. I say this because the redemption we can enjoy from God's grace allows us to put God's perspective on the eventual end of our physical lives. While sad for those who will mourn us, this is God's call home to us, not a tragedy with hopelessness. Our faith in what God teaches tells us that those who believe will have everlasting life and will not perish [JN 3: 16]. Only our earthly bodies die, but we are given immortal bodies that allow us to live in blissful fellowship with the Father forever [1 COR 15: 42-50]. We will eventually see the face of God [PS 17: 15]. Emotionally, we are given strength we couldn't have had to face adversity. I have seen this in my own life as I faced major surgery. I have seen this in others too. God allows us to stretch toward His perspective, instead of giving in to unchecked raw emotion leading to sin-the work of the devil. Spiritually, we should spend the rest of our lives praising God for Who He is and what He does for us. Everything that is good on this earth comes from Him. PS 31: 19, "How wonderful are the good things You keep for those who honor You. Everyone knows how good You are, how securely You protect those who trust in You." I end this devotion with a wonderful reminder, PS 46: 10. "Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn