Despite the fact that fasting became very much a ceremonial part of Israelitish worship, it is interesting to note that the word “fasting” does not occur in the Pentateuch at all. It has no place in the early establishment of Mosaic worship among the other rituals. The first occurrence of the word is Judges 20:26 connected with an event that brought credit to no one and disaster to all Israel.
“Sons of Belial” in Benjamin abused a Levite’s concubine and in a gruesome reaction, he cut her body into 12 pieces and sent them into Israel’s tribes. In a vengeful mood, Israel resorted to civil war and in attempting to wipe out Benjamin lost 40,000 men in two battles.
For this seemingly inexplicable failure, 11 tribes “came unto the house of God and wept and sat there before the Lord and fasted that day until even… ” The Lord responded and 25,100 Benjamites were slain, leaving a mere 600. It’s the folly of mankind in miniature — 65,100 men perished because of the sin of a handful of wicked men.
The next mention of fasting is 1 Sam. 7:6 after the ark was returned from the Philistines to Israel. Samuel organised a day of prayer and rededication of the people. “And they gathered together to Mizpeh, and drew water, and poured it out before the Lord, and fasted on that day and said there, We have sinned against the Lord.”
Thus, fasting is first mentioned at times of national distress when the people found a compelling need to demonstrate their desire to “draw nigh to God”. It lasted one day “until even” and was accompanied by prayer and other appropriate forms of worship. In both instances the turning point came when a higher inner spirituality was outwardly demonstrated, and no doubt assisted, by fasting.
Scripture allows David to introduce it as a practice for individuals. There is a group of references in his time. He prayed and fasted unsuccessfully for his first child of Bathsheba (2 Sam. 12:16). He fasted, wept and mourned for Saul and Jonathan until even (2 Sam. 1:12). Psalms refers to fasting three times.
By Jeremiah’s time, we have Scriptural proof of fasting as an established institution. In Jeremiah 36:6 we read of an expected “fasting day” and later of the proclamation of it in the ninth month. But the dangers of replacing spontaneous expressions of repentance with institutionalised worship on demand is demonstrated graphically by the fact that, this time, ritual fasting was not successful in providing a turning point away from disaster. Jeremiah’s warning was heard by the people; but the king cast the roll into the fire and the Babylonians came to conquer.
In direct contrast, Jehoshaphat, when threatened by a great army of Moab, Ammon and Mt. Seir, “feared and set himself to seek the Lord and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah”. (2 Chron. 20:3). After praying in the house of the Lord before the whole congregation, there came that wonderfully famous instruction, “Set yourselves, stand ye still and see the salvation of the Lord”. The enemy fought among themselves and were found, next day, all dead men.
Spiritual Reason For Fasting
It is David who provides us with the all important spiritual reason for fasting. It may be true that abstaining from food for a period physically cleanses the body and evidence suggests that it sharpens the mind, but these physical benefits must be added to, if the exercise is to benefit us spiritually.
David gives us a strong indication in Psalm 35:13, “I humbled my soul with fasting” and again in Psalm 69:10, “I wept and reproached my soul with fasting”. How many times in our lives does human pride get the upper hand?
How many times do we feel the need to humble ourselves before we can draw close to God again? How many times do we feel our haughty spirit needs reproach?
David has shown us a way of doing it. When put alongside the lessons to be learned from the practical situations we find in the Bible, we can see emerging a Scriptural exercise that has great value, not only in “drawing nigh unto God”, but in finally being effective in an otherwise unresponsive situation. In short, God has finally responded to prayers accompanied by fasting when prayer without fasting was of no avail.
The life of Daniel is a great inspiration and example to believers of all ages. Particularly in chapters 9 and 10 are we able to note his devotion to Bible study and great desire to understand it. Ch. 9 records that when he came to understand from Jeremiah’s writings the imminent end of the captivity and reasons for it, he set his “face unto the Lord God to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting and sackcloth and ashes… “
By contrast, ch. 10 records that “from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard…” Thus, because he wanted to understand, he “chastened” himself, or as v.3 describes it, “I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled”.
How much of Daniel’s example are we prepared to follow? Understanding Scripture is a problem not confined to Daniel’s time. Are we not given here yet another pointer to the effectiveness of fasting in conjunction with other activities to assist in humbling our minds and spirits, enabling God to increase our understanding of His Word?
The phrase “chasten thyself” brings us to consider indirect Bible evidence (as distinct from proof) that fasting was early connected with the Day of Atonement. Leviticus 16 describes the observance of this day thus, “ye shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all.. it shall be a sabbath of rest unto you”. When one asks, in a practical way, how they afflicted their souls, a possible answer lies in Isa. 58:5, “Is it such a fast that I have chosen? A day for a man to afflict his soul?” There is also a similarity of terms in the Psalms, “1 (1) humbled” and (2) “reproached my soul with fasting” and Daniel’s reference to chastening himself. However, the evidence is far from conclusive that fasting was observed from the beginning on this ceremonial occasion.
Old Testament Principles
The Lord quite specifically calls for fasting in Joel 2:12-14. “Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: and rend your heart and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God… who knoweth if He will return and repent and leave a blessing behind him?”
The hearers are not left without the reason for this exercise, which includes fasting, and taken together denotes an outward sign of an inward chastening. Thus the Lord approves of and calls for fasting as part of the process of “drawing nigh” for repentance and blessing.
But the Lord also condemns hypocritical fasting. “Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? wherefore have we, afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labours. Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high. 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? 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 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?” (Is. 58:3-7).
When fasting is undertaken for wrong reasons (here they were “for strife and debate and to smite with the fist of wickedness”) then, like any other religious observance, instead of blessings comes condemnation. Thus, in the Old Testament, the Lord not only calls for fasting in appropriate circumstances, but also condemns hypocritical fasting.
New Testament Advice
When we come to the New Testament, Jesus did exactly the same. He approves of fasting in his sermon on the mount, where he links it as the third Christian practice in a chain of three, about which he gives specific advice. The series of three are, alms-giving, prayer, and fasting.
His basic advice is common to all three. Don’t make an open show of alms-giving, prayer or fasting. He condemns hypocritical worship — advertising one’s alms-giving; long prayers on street corners; exaggerating the effects of fasting. In that case, for each, the glory of men is the only reward.
Jesus instructs that discreet charity, prayer and fasting will be amply rewarded by our Heavenly Father. “Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly”. (Matthew 6:16-18).
That Jesus gave fasting such attention, linked with prayer, is sufficient reason for us to think a little more seriously about employing the practice in our worship. Are we already so closely in touch with God that we can afford to ignore a way of communicating with Him which has Jesus’ specific approval in these plain terms, “… thy Father… will reward thee openly”.?
Some care should be taken in using New Testament references to fasting, because it appears that some may not have appeared in the original. But many occurrences are beyond doubt. Particularly instructive, to those who are seeking effective ways of “drawing nigh” to God, is the example of the 1st century ecclesias.
In Acts, ch. 6, is recorded the division of responsibility in Jerusalem where seven took over the “daily ministration” while the key 12 devoted themselves to “prayer and the ministry of the word”. By Acts, ch. 13, Antioch had become the predominant centre, and v.1 names the key brethren there. The next verse not only gives us a clue to the kind of activity they indulged in, but also tells us how effective it was in communicating with the Father.
“As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. And when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.” Thus, after a period of preparation, in which fasting played such an important part that it is specifically mentioned, began a series of missionary journeys that changed the face of the world.
In our day, our Christadelphian mission committees, both here and overseas, are beset with great problems in keeping the mission work going. One wonders if we can afford to ignore a method that proved so effective in the first century in attracting the Lord’s blessing to the same sort of endeavour. We don’t doubt for a moment that Our Father’s hand is with our mission work, but if the Bible is our guide, it suggests ways of increasing our dedication and effective communication with Our Father as we strive to labour in partnership with Him.
The next chapter of Acts shows how the practice of fasting was extended to the new ecclesias on the very solemn and important occasion of the appointment of elders. “And when they had ordained them elders in every church and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord on whom they believed.” (Acts 14:23).
Shift In Purpose
In these two examples, it is possible to detect a shift in emphasis in the purpose of fasting. It still proved an effective way of contacting the Lord and attracting His blessing, but it now was not in a context of national worship, appointed priests and collective conscience. Fasting in the Christian’s life is not concerned with a national disgrace or a dramatic moment calling for repentance. In a time when the Lord is not to be communicated with via a formal priesthood and temple worship, the New Testament reveals He will respond to individuals and small ecclesias through, among other things, fasting, especially when the elders of an ecclesia — any ecclesia — are prepared to dedicate themselves physically as well as mentally in their Spiritual endeavours.
It is a matter of how deeply we seek Our Father’s care — how far we are prepared to involve ourselves in asking Him to be with us and our endeavours. When the ordered steps of formal temple worship were taken away, the early ecclesias sought for other ways of maintaining close contact with the Lord. They re-organised their committee work as one step to solve this problem — fasting was another method effectively used to combat this difficulty. Don’t we have the same problems?
Paul stamps fasting with his seal of approval by noting it as one of many attributes of a good worker. “Giving no offence in anything that the ministry be not blamed: but in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings.” (2 Cor. 6:3-5).
Even with the advantages of spiritual gifts and the additional help of the Holy Spirit with power; even with the physical suffering, privations and persecutions that often came their way; they thought it necessary to involve themselves physically even further, in their Christian practice, by fasting.
In these days when we know little or nothing of physical privations, do we flinch at the thought of physical discomfort in our spiritual exercises? At a time when the Lord has withdrawn His presence in open miracle, can we afford to ignore the precious few remaining ways of communicating with Our Father?
Conclusion
Fasting, as such, nowhere appears in Scripture as an observance commanded to be practised. Although it may physically benefit the body and brain, it pleases the Lord when it becomes a voluntary fusion of physical and mental dedication in communing with God. That fusion of mind and body is described as “prayer and fasting”. God has responded to such combined worship when other less intense efforts have been unsuccessful.
Especially as ecclesias, we deny ourselves what could become a wonderfully productive spiritual experience when we lightly dismiss a practice specifically incorporated by the first century ecclesias.
It is interesting to contrast feasts with fasts.
Under Mosaic Law, feasts were commanded to mark joyous occasions. Fasts became accepted worship for entirely different reasons. It is perfectly natural that feasts for one reason should correspond with fasts for an opposite reason.
Under Christ’s Law, a different feast is commanded with a change of emphasis — a memorial of his death and resurrection.
What is more natural that a fast, in the same manner as the old order, should not be commanded but become accepted worship, also with a changed emphasis. This is exactly as we have found in the first century ecclesias. The memorial feast quite rightly exists down to our own times, but what happened to the fasts?
Fasts seem appropriate in times of trouble or when problems press heavily and the guidance of the Lord is especially sought. In particular they are the occasions when special prayer is also appropriate. It seems particularly suited to ecclesial management and committee work when difficulties arise, such as unity, inter-ecclesial relationships, special preaching efforts, etc. All the committee need not join in if some do not wish to be involved. Arrangements can be made elsewhere if necessary. Individual fasting is not ruled out by Scripture, although group fasting seems to have more spiritual benefit.
Fasts need not be long — a day seems the most frequent Bible example. Three days or more can be medically dangerous and until we learn more about it, more than one day is not recommended. Ritual fasting is spiritually useless; Lent and not eating meat on Fridays have all but destroyed an otherwise effectual observance. It should not be undertaken capriciously, but always with a specific object in mind.
There are some problems and some situations that bring Divine intervention only upon the utmost devotion and total dedication of the brethren involved. There are times when Our Heavenly Father asks for our special commitment. The Scriptures give us a picture of brethren physically and mentally immersed in their spiritual difficulties. There is no Christian requirement for rending garments or application of sackcloth and ashes, but a very clear example is provided in the matter of fasting. Perhaps ecclesial difficulties in our day would not prove so perverse if we were prepared to follow that example in totally dedicating ourselves through the ministry of fasting in seeking to “draw nigh” to the Lord and obtain a fuller blessing on our work.
Is Pentecost Happening Today? (Part 7) – Tongues Shall Cease