It is imperative that we communicate clearly and build a culture around fasting that inspires a right heart and a determined devotion. We are constantly in danger of fasting becoming obligatory and thus useless. These three weeks are designed to reinvigorate our perspective and desire to seek God’s heart
Delighting in God
Commanded. Psa. 37:4.
Reconciliation leads to. Job 22:21, 26.
Observing the sabbath leads to. Isa. 58:13, 14.
Saints’ experience,
in Communion with God. So. of Sol. 2:3.
The law of God.
Psa. 1:2.
Psa. 119:24, 35.
The goodness of God. Neh. 9:25.
The comforts of God. Psa. 94:19.
Hypocrites
Pretend to. Isa. 58:2.
In heart despise. Job 27:10. Jer. 6:10.
Promises to. Psa. 37:4.
Blessedness of. Psa. 112:1.
Job 27:1-12
27 And Job again took up his discourse, and said:
2 “As God lives, who has taken away my right,
and the Almighty, who has made my soul bitter,
3 as long as my breath is in me,
and the spirit of God is in my nostrils,
4 my lips will not speak falsehood,
and my tongue will not utter deceit.
5 Far be it from me to say that you are right;
till I die I will not put away my integrity from me.
6 I hold fast my righteousness and will not let it go;
my heart does not reproach me for any of my days.
7 “Let my enemy be as the wicked,
and let him who rises up against me be as the unrighteous.
8 For what is the hope of the godless when God cuts him off,
when God takes away his life?
9 Will God hear his cry
when distress comes upon him?
10 Will he take delight in the Almighty?
Will he call upon God at all times?
11 I will teach you concerning the hand of God;
what is with the Almighty I will not conceal.
12 Behold, all of you have seen it yourselves;
why then have you become altogether vain?
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Job 27:1–12.
Psalm 27:3-6
3 Trust in the Lord, and do good;
dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.
4 Delight yourself in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him, and he will act.
6 He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,
and your justice as the noonday.
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ps 37:3–6.
Meditate [Heb. śî (a)ḥ, śû (a)ḥ] (Gen. 24:63; Ps. 77:3, 6 [MT 4, 7]; 119:15, 23, 27, 48, 78, 148; 145:5); AV also COMPLAIN, “commune with mine own heart” (Ps. 77:6), TALK OF, SPEAK OF; NEB also “hoping to meet” (Gen. 24:63), “lay thinking” (Ps. 77:3, 6), STUDY, “my theme shall be” (Ps. 145:5); [hāg̱â] (Josh. 1:8; Ps. 1:2; 38:12 [MT 13]; 63:6 [MT 7]; 77:12 [MT 13]; 143:5); AV also IMAGINE; NEB also “keep in mind” (Josh. 1:8), MUTTER, “think on,” MEMORY; [Gk. promeletáō] (Lk. 21:14); NEB “prepare beforehand”; MEDITATION [Heb. śî (a)ḥ] (Ps. 104:34); [śîḥâ] (Job 15:4; Ps. 119:97, 99); AV also PRAYER; NEB SPEAK, STUDY; [higgāyôn] (Ps. 19:14 [MT 15]); NEB “all that I … think”; [hāg̱ûṯ] (Ps. 49:3 [MT 4]); NEB “thoughtful.”
In the biblical world meditation was not a silent practice. Hāg̱â means “growl,” “utter,” or “moan” (cf. BDB, p. 211) as well as “meditate” or “muse.” No doubt meditation involved a muttering sound from reading half aloud or conversing with oneself (cf. Ps. 77:6). Consequently, translations can vary: e.g., in Job 15:4 “meditation” (RSV) is rendered “prayer” by the AV and “to speak” by the NEB; in the AV Ps. 5:1 (MT 2) has, “O Lord, consider my meditation”, but the RSV has “give heed to my groaning” and the NEB “consider my inmost thought.”
J. E. Hartley, “Meditate,” ed. Geoffrey W Bromiley, The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Revised (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1979–1988), 305.
Meditation takes place any time of the day or night (Josh. 1:8; Ps. 1:2). It produces inward strength and joy (Ps. 63:5f.). The object of meditation is particularly the law with its precepts (119:15), statutes (v 48), testimonies (v 99), and promises (v 148). The glorious splendor of God’s majesty, along with His wondrous works or miracles, is also the content of meditation (143:5; 145:5). Meditation takes place in the heart, the seat of the emotional and rational life. Therefore, the psalmist prays that the meditation of his heart will be acceptable in God’s sight (19:14; 104:34), i.e., he wants his inner thoughts to approach the standard God approves. Thus the righteous, when they encounter the plots of the wicked, maintain a pure mind by meditating on God’s law (119:23).
Jesus instructed His followers not to waste their time meditating their anticipated defense before their persecutors. Such confrontations are so versatile and unpredictable that undue preoccupation with them only increases one’s anxiety and reduces one’s effectiveness in the task at hand. To meet such a crisis Jesus promised special wisdom in speech from the Holy Spirit (Lk. 21:14f.). Conversely, as Paul taught Timothy, the mind is to be occupied with spiritual matters to increase spiritual growth (1 Tim. 4:15, using Gk. meletáō, RSV “practice,” AV “mediate”).
J. E. Hartley, “Meditate,” ed. Geoffrey W Bromiley, The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Revised (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1979–1988), 306.
Psalm 1:1-6
1 Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
3 He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
4 The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
6 for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.