To Let the Oppressed Go Free

October 30
A couple of decades ago I recall really being struck by the passage in Isaiah 58 which reads,


“Is this not the fast which I choose, to loosen the bonds of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free and break every yoke? Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into the house; when you see the naked to cover him; and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? Then your light will break out like the dawn, and your recovery will speedily spring forth; and your righteousness will go before you; the Lord of glory will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’ If you remove the yoke from your midst, the point of the finger and speaking wickedness, and if you give yourself to the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then your light will rise in darkness and your gloom will become like midday. And the Lord will continually guide you, and satisfy your desire in scorched places, and give strength to your bones; and you will be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters do not fail. Those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins; you will raise up the age-old foundations; and you will be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of the streets in which to dwell."
Isaiah continues promising a special blessing to any who honor God’s Sabbath day of rest. Honoring God’s day of rest involves ceasing and desisting from doing things that are self aggrandizing and seeking God’s word to us. Finally, God promises those who honor him in these ways will ride high on the heights of the earth and be fed with the heritage of Jacob.

Several years ago, the first time I really took note of these verses, I was an elder in a small church in Arizona. The pastor and I were especially close friends and spent a lot of time in ministry together. We gathered the elders together and pledged to one another to begin doing the kind of things described in this 58th chapter of Isaiah. We began a ministry especially directed at drug addicts and drunks. We sought opportunities to help people who were down on their luck. I was a police officer, so I had insider information on who all the drunks and drug addicts in the area were; almost daily I had contact with people who were down on their luck (just a figure of speech), so we had a ready-made clientele with which to deal.

It was an amazing time of ministry, caring for those extremely needy individuals whom most people in society had written off as a waste of time. Demonic activity was high. I had one experience in college dealing with demon possession, so I was able to approach the problem from the biblical perspective. By God’s grace we didn’t have any seven sons of Sceva experiences (Acts 19:13-16). My point for today is that we need to act upon God’s word when He tells us to do so. The day that particular section of scripture became so meaningful to me, we believed, as a group of elders, it was time to aggressively pursue practicing it.

Over the years, my wife and I have had countless opportunities to help the poor, downtrodden of our community. It has been discouraging at times to see them return to their old lifestyle the moment things got a little hard. Some have prospered spiritually; some have not. What is most important of all is that we have the wonderful privilege of helping others in the sacred and holy name of our Lord, and He never fails to reward us for our endeavors. Everything done in love and in His name finds its greatest fulfillment in being pleasing to God.

Israel experienced several revivals upon discovering from God’s word they needed to recommit themselves to His work during the times of the kings and upon returning from the exile under Ezra and Nehemiah. I pray daily for that kind of revival throughout this land. I ask those of you who are reading this do likewise. Get on your knees daily and seek God’s face about what He would have you do specifically to make such a revival happen. We are His ambassadors on planet earth. If we remain apathetic much longer, I believe He will begin with us, His church and deal with us according to our faithfulness or lack thereof (I Peter 4:17). And that’s God’s word for us today.