Isa 58:10 | KingComments | STEP | If in these things they are in fellowship with the LORD, thinking about fasting as He does and thereby acting as He wants, their light will break through and their incurable wound will soon be healed ( ; cf. ). Righteousness and glory will protect them before and behind as the pillar of cloud was with them during the wilderness journey. They will please God. Their prayer will be answered by Him. He will show Himself to them when they no longer subject others to rule over them and abuse them for the pursuit of their own desires ( ). They will then give to others what they desire for themselves, resulting in a life in the light ( ). Merely external religion and external conformity to rituals are easy. In doing so, they create a spirit of complacency. However, what corresponds to God’s approval is obedience to His Word. The first effect of this will be that they are kept in true exercise of heart in His presence. Subsequently, it leads to a fulfillment of His righteousness in their ways and relationships with others. We can accurately fulfill spiritual duties, while all the time the heart is not upright toward God because there is sin in life that does not escape His all-seeing eye. That is the message of this section. continues on what is said in , with promises of abundant blessing if the conditions are met. The promises are: 1. uninterrupted guidance; 2. satisfaction of the soul even in extreme drought and aridity; 3. the giving of strength to the bones, so that the body can be the instrument to fulfill His will; 4. the green beauty of a watered garden, as a picture of the brilliant manifestations of the working of the Spirit of God; 5. the outpouring of blessing by the Holy Spirit, presented as a source of water whose water does not disappoint. What is promised here to Israel, the Lord in His grace wants to give in the life of the believer also now. contains the promise of national restoration. Those who return from exile will rebuild the old ruins on foundations that many generations before have been laid. They will be given the beautiful names “the repairer of the breach” and “the restorer of the streets”.

‏ Isaiah 58:10

Promise of Blessing

If in these things they are in fellowship with the LORD, thinking about fasting as He does and thereby acting as He wants, their light will break through and their incurable wound will soon be healed (Isa 58:8; cf. Isa 1:6). Righteousness and glory will protect them before and behind as the pillar of cloud was with them during the wilderness journey.

They will please God. Their prayer will be answered by Him. He will show Himself to them when they no longer subject others to rule over them and abuse them for the pursuit of their own desires (Isa 58:9). They will then give to others what they desire for themselves, resulting in a life in the light (Isa 58:10).

Merely external religion and external conformity to rituals are easy. In doing so, they create a spirit of complacency. However, what corresponds to God’s approval is obedience to His Word. The first effect of this will be that they are kept in true exercise of heart in His presence. Subsequently, it leads to a fulfillment of His righteousness in their ways and relationships with others.

We can accurately fulfill spiritual duties, while all the time the heart is not upright toward God because there is sin in life that does not escape His all-seeing eye. That is the message of this section.

Isa 58:11 continues on what is said in Isa 58:8, with promises of abundant blessing if the conditions are met. The promises are:

1. uninterrupted guidance;

2. satisfaction of the soul even in extreme drought and aridity;

3. the giving of strength to the bones, so that the body can be the instrument to fulfill His will;

4. the green beauty of a watered garden, as a picture of the brilliant manifestations of the working of the Spirit of God;

5. the outpouring of blessing by the Holy Spirit, presented as a source of water whose water does not disappoint.

What is promised here to Israel, the Lord in His grace wants to give in the life of the believer also now.

Isa 58:12 contains the promise of national restoration. Those who return from exile will rebuild the old ruins on foundations that many generations before have been laid. They will be given the beautiful names “the repairer of the breach” and “the restorer of the streets”.