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.

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