THE ORIGIN AND PURPOSE OF FASTING IN THE BIBLE

-
Fasting is the abstinence from food and drinks for a spiritual purpose and for a specified period of time. It could be any of the following: 
  1. an absolute fast (also known as dry fasting) which is normally defined as abstinence from all food and drink for a defined period. 
  2. a partial fast which limits only particular foods or drinks or substances, or be intermittent. It may also include abstinence from sexual relationships between husband and wife. 
The Origin of Fasting 
Fasting was first described in connection with the day of atonement, in the phrase “afflict/humble your souls.” Once each year on the Day of Atonement the Hebrews were to afflict their souls (Leviticus 16:31), which meant fasting (cf. Isaiah. 58:3). They were to abstain from any form of food from the evening until evening (sunset to sunset). 

 Leviticus 16:29-32 “This shall be a statute forever for you: In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether a native of your own country or a stranger who dwells among you. For on that day the priest shall make atonement for you, to cleanse you, that you may be clean from all your sins before the Lord. It is a sabbath of solemn rest for you, and you shall afflict your souls. It is a statute forever. 

 Leviticus 23:26-29, 32 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: “Also the tenth day of this seventh month shall be the Day of Atonement. It shall be a holy convocation for you; you shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire to the Lord. And you shall do no work on that same day, for it is the Day of Atonement, to make atonement for you before the Lord your God. For any person who is not afflicted in soul on that same day shall be cut off from his people. . . . 32 It shall be to you a sabbath of solemn rest, and you shall afflict your souls; on the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to evening, you shall keep your sabbath.” 

Although “afflict your soul” may be obscure to us, the Bible subsequently revealed that the phrase applied to fasting: 

Isaiah 58:3-5 Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and You have not seen? Why have we afflicted our souls, and You take no notice?’ “In fact, in the day of your fast you find pleasure, And exploit all your laborers. Indeed you fast for strife and debate, And to strike with the fist of wickedness. You will not fast as you do this day, To make your voice heard on high. Is it a fast that I have chosen, A day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush, And to spread out sackcloth and ashes? Would you call this a fast, And an acceptable day to the Lord? 

Psalms 35:12-13 They reward me evil for good, (to) the bereaving of my soul. But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth: I afflicted my soul with fasting; and my prayer returned into mine own bosom. 

Ezra 8:21, 23 Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble(afflict) ourselves before our God, to seek from Him the right way for us and our little ones and all our possessions. ... 23 So we fasted and entreated our God for this, and He answered our prayer. 

The afflicting of the soul that came through fasting was a means, “to make your voice heard on high,” and “to seek from Him the right way for us.” During the day of atonement it was a way to bring the heart into conformity with the spirit of the day. Since it was the day of remembrance for their sins and a day in which those sins were removed, their own penitence and sorrow should be great. 

Leviticus 16:21-22 Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, confess over it all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions, concerning all their sins, putting them on the head of the goat, and shall send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a suitable man. 22 The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to an uninhabited land; and he shall release the goat in the wilderness. 

God wanted them to fast in order to afflict their soul and make their feelings of repentance conform to the activities that were being done in the most holy place of the tabernacle as they released the scapegoat into the wilderness. 

WHAT IS AFFLICTION? 
The term affliction is defined as: “to labor; to suffer, to be afflicted, to afflict, to humble, depressed, oppressed. It is the King James Version that probably comes closest in translation to the original Hebrew phrase: ‘ye shall afflict your souls’. The translation ‘afflict’ reflects an element of active violence present in the original Hebrew verb ‘ana, whose primary meaning is to ‘try to force submission through inflicting physical pain’. The affliction of soul usually include changing one’s garments to sackcloth, pouring ashes on oneself as well as weeping before the Lord. It is literally an experience of starvation in which the body experiences itself affected by potentially life-threatening physical changes as it starts to feed and nourish itself on itself. 

The fundamental idea behind the affliction of the soul is to be humbled by circumstances which lead us to re-evaluate our position in God’s eyes, then in repentance and prayer seek to draw closer. 

Psalms 119:67, 71, 75, 76 Before I was afflicted I went astray, But now I keep Your word. ...It is good for me that I have been afflicted, That I may learn Your statutes. ... I know, O Lord, that Your judgments are right, And that in faithfulness You have afflicted me. Let, I pray, Your merciful kindness be for my comfort, According to Your word to Your servant. 

Deuteronomy 8:2-4 And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble/afflict you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. So He humbled/afflicted you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord. 

God used hunger as an affliction to train them. Fasting on the day of atonement was a way to voluntarily bring affliction upon themselves. This affliction was based first on their hunger and second on their confession that they were sinners. For a twenty-four hour period they were to abstain from food. During this abstinence they were to force into their consciousness feelings of anguish and agony which normally would come only from some dire calamity coming upon them. This brought glory to God, and remission of sins to those who practiced it. 

Jesus revealed that fasting and mourning go together, giving this as the reason his own disciples would not be fasting while He was present with them. 

Matthew 9:14-15 Then the disciples of John came to Him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but Your disciples do not fast?” And Jesus said to them, “Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.” 

Fasting and mourning go together. It was so under the Old covenant and continues to be so today. During times of severe affliction or great anguish, fasting is a powerful source of spiritual strength. Jesus made it clear that after He was taken away from them, His disciples would fast. 

It is worthy of note that fasting is not a way to twist God's arm to do what we want Him to do. It is not a means to control God and produce the outcome we desire from Him. We cannot manipulate God. Any attempt to do so is wasted go-getting.


If you like our blog, kindly share your views, suggestions, and comments. Like our Facebook page @BibleWatch, follow us on Twitter @bible_watch and click the Subscribe button above.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

JACOB DID NOT WAIT FOR 7 OR 14 YEARS BEFORE LEAH/ RACHEL WERE GIVEN TO HIM. HE TOOK BOTH WIVES IMMEDIATELY.

-
Many Christians thought that Jacob worked seven years for Laban, realized that Laban deceived him to marry Leah, and then worked seven more years before finally getting married to Rachel. However the bible shows that he took both Leah and Rachel immediately before he began serving Laban. For clarity, I advise you to read this Jacob's story in other translations of the Bible aside King James Version (KJV). Meanwhile lets look at look at some of the facts from the Bible: (Genesis 29:21 KJV) And Jacob said unto Laban, Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in unto her. Please note that the 7 years of service required of Jacob were the total dowry and not the customary waiting period before a wife was given to the groom. In other words, Jacob took Leah after the customary waiting period which was a couple of days just like we read in vs 21. Notice that he said, "Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled" implying a certain number of d...
Read more

DOES OUR FIRST FRUITS MEAN ANY MONEY RECEIVED SUCH AS INHERITANCE?

-
Image
Firstfruits is a case where the literal meaning of a Biblical word has been changed to a modern concept. This substituting of one word for another is called the fallacy of equivocation. If you research the term, firstfruits really has nothing to do with money. Firstfruits were literally the first of the produce of plants or trees or livestock (including wool and yes, winel) that came from the Promised Land. God asked the Jewish people to give the firstfruits of the land to Him, because He had given them the land to begin with. These firstfruits were then distributed to the Levites/Priests who did not have a share in the land and depended on these supplies. (Neh 12:44) So, biblically, firstfruits do not appear to have been money; they were produce tied to God's gift of the land of Israel and they had a specific charitable purpose. Ask yourself: would your church be pleased if you LITERALLY followed this command and brought some wool, wine, grain, vegetables, or figs to the ...
Read more

SHOULD YOU GIVE YOUR WHOLE FIRST MONTH’S SALARY TO YOUR CHURCH AS ‘FIRST-FRUIT’?

-
Image
(Prob 3:9-10)  Give honour to the Lord with your wealth, and with the first-fruits of all your increase: So your store-houses will be full of grain, and your vessels overflowing with new wine.   Should I give my whole first month’s salary to my church as ‘first-fruit’? Usually when I am asked this question, my answer is straightforward. “It is your money and you can do anything you like with it.” I mean that simply! Now, if the question is “did the Lord command that Christians should surrender their whole January salary (income) to their church as first-fruits?” Then I give another unequivocal answer:  No, He never did . There is no such thing in the whole Bible, not even under the Law of Moses. Yes, many churches ask their members to do it, but it is a decision of the elders of the church and is not the commandment of God or the Lord Jesus to Christians. God doesn’t have any special blessings attached to it, and so I hope the elders can pray a special blessin...
Read more

IS THE RAPTURE BIBLICAL PART 2: WHY WOULD THE SAINTS RISE TO MEET CHRIST IN THE AIR, WHEN HE IS ON HIS WAY TO THE EARTH?

-
Image
This is a continuation of my previous post " Is The Rapture Biblical " Why would the saints rise to meet Christ in the air, when He is on His way to the earth to defeat evil and to establish the Kingdom of God here? Why not simply wait for Him to arrive? Those who teach the rapture make much of this issue, claiming that it buttresses their theory. In fact, the truth of the matter actually further discredits their erroneous teaching. We need to look at the meaning of the Greek term translated “to meet” that Christ inspired Paul to use in 1 Thessalonians 4:17. Dr. Leon Morris writes in the Tyndale New Testament Commentaries: “The expression translated to meet is kind of a technical term ‘for the official welcome of a newly arrived dignitary’…and is very suitable in this context.” Notice that it pertains to a newly arrived dignitary, not to one who is merely passing through. In no way does it convey that Christ only enters the atmosphere and then reverses cou...
Read more

WHY DID JESUS SAY HE CAME ONLY FOR ISRAEL?

-
Image
Some people contend that Jesus' ministry was only for the Children of Israel and not for all mankind. To support their claim, these people are quick to cite the following verses from the New Testament:  (Matthew 15:24) He (Jesus) answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel."  (Matthew 10:5-6) These twelve (disciples) Jesus sent out with the following instructions: "Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel."  It is important to realize first of all that Jesus was born of the lineage of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He was the fulfillment of the promise that God had made to Abraham many centuries earlier. Because of obedience and submission to God's will, God's promise to Abraham was two-fold. First, God promised to bless his lineage, namely Isaac, Jacob (Israel), and the Children (descendants) of Israel. Secondly, God promised that from this lineage of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob would...
Read more

UNDERSTANDING THE GIFT OF PROPHECY: THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FORETELLING, FORTH-TELLING AND FORTUNE TELLING

-
Image
There is so much misunderstanding in the Church today regarding the gift of prophecy. Many people believe that prophecy only refers to telling something before it happens. However, even in the Old Testament, the messages of the prophets contained as much, if not more, about the present than they did about the future. In Hebrew, the word translated prophecy is based on the word stem nābā, which simply means “to speak by divine inspiration, either in prediction or simple discourse.”  “ Prophecies ” is transliterated (i.e. brought straight over from Greek to English) from the noun  prophēteia . It is made up of  pro , meaning “before, in time or position” and a form of the verb  phēmi , meaning “to tell.” The verb form of this word can refer  EITHER : Foretelling  (predicting or telling something before it happens). It seeks to predict the future. It predicts or reveals personalities, occurrences, circumstances that will hap...
Read more

WHAT IS THE NAME OF THE FATHER, THE SON AND THE HOLY GHOST IN THE NEW TESTAMENT?

-
Image
We read in Matthew 28:19 " Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost " Notice the use of singular "name" in this verse, and yet it is referring to 3 persons. The disciples or Apostles who all knew Jesus personally recognized the name of the father. Jesus is the name of the father.  John 5:43 says ,  " I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive ."  So they baptized "In the name of the father" which is Jesus.  And everybody there knew that Jesus was the name of the son .  Matthew 1:21 says,  " And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins."   Lastly, what is the name of the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit?  John 14:26 says,  " But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, h...
Read more

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE MEAN WHEN IT SAYS; "TOUCH NOT MY ANOINTED ONES"?

-
Image
Does this mean pastors are infallible? Does it mean believers should not test what a pastor or other leader says or writes? Psalms 105:14-15 "He suffered no man to do them wrong: yea, he reproved kings for their sakes; Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm." When do we first hear of God's intervention in protecting one of his anointed? Genesis 12:17 "And the LORD plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai Abram's wife." Again in Genesis 20:3 Sarah was divinely protected by God from defilement, this time she was protected from Abimelech. "But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold, thou art but a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken; for she is a man's wife." Now look at Genesis 20:6-7 as God speaks to Abimelech. God identifies Abraham as a "prophet". "And God said unto him in a dream, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart;...
Read more

WHY GOD HARDENED PHARAOH'S HEART

-
Image
In the book of Exodus chapter 4 verse 21, God said He would harden Pharaoh's heart so that he would not let the people of Israel leave Egypt. Let's read the passage: (Exodus 4:21 KJV) And the LORD said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: but I will harden his heart , that he shall not let the people go. The questions many have asked are: Why did God harden Pharaoh's heart?  Is it not unjust for God to harden Pharaoh’s heart and still punish him and Egypt for what he decided when his heart was hardened?  Would God hold Pharaoh accountable for his sins seeing that He is the one that hardened his heart? The answer to these questions can be found in God's own words in Exodus chapters 3 & 7: (Exodus 3:8 KJV) And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a la...
Read more

IS REINCARNATION BIBLICAL? SHOULD CHRISTIANS BELIEVE IN REINCARNATION?

-
Image
What is reincarnation? Is reincarnation a Christian belief? Does the Bible teach reincarnation? Are there evidences in the Bible to support reincarnation? Several people (including many Christians) believe in reincarnation. However, the Bible does not teach reincarnation, rather it teaches resurrection from the dead. What is the difference? In reincarnation (or transmigration), the body dies and returns (i.e comes back to life again) in a different body to live on earth again. Depending on your deeds in the previous life or lives, the new body is entirely different from that of the previous life. For instance, a man could get reincarnated as a woman or an animal or a stone. On the other hand, in resurrection of the dead, the body that dies is the exact body that is raised. For the resurrection that will occur in the last day, the body is made new in the sense that it is perfected and no longer subject to frailty and death, but it is still the same body. In reincarnation, the previous m...
Read more