The California Collection/TheCaliforniaCollection.cdr/his101/isue18.arj/ISUE18.TXT

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                       A Few Observations on Fasting
                              By Calvin Culver

                                PROLEGOMENA

.    For this topical study I adhered to the following procedure: first,
using the New American Standard Concordance, I collected all references in
the New American Standard Version of the Bible for the words Fast (when used
as a noun), Fasted, Fasting and Fasts.  I have listed these references in
the document below.  I then combed these passages looking for two things: 1.
The motivations for fasting (WHY it was done) and 2. Those activities and
items which seemed to be involved (WHAT was done).

.    The following observations are based on the above procedures.  Please
keep in mind that they are only preliminary observations, based entirely on
a reading of the passages in question and what knowledge I have of the
backgrounds of the texts (which is undoubtedly often inadequate).  No
attempt was made to do any detailed study of the cultural, linguistic, or
political milieus, and such studies, were they to be done, might easily
alter or invalidate my observations.  With these reservations in mind, then,
I humbly offer these my preliminary observations.  All scripture quotations
are from the Holy Bible, New International Version, copyright 1978 by the
New York International Bible Society.

.    I was motivated originally to begin this study by the WHY category of
questions on fasting.  Why do we fast?  Why did Biblical figures fast?  What
did they hope to achieve?  And so on.  Many of these questions were
motivated by a desire on my part to find a scriptural basis for what I had
been taught regarding the practice of fasting, and to see what role (if any)
it played in the lives of those we see in the Bible, especially those of the
New Testament.

                             THE OLD TESTAMENT

Old Testament References:

 Jdg 20:26  2Sa 12:21-23  2Ch 20:3  Est 4:3    Psa 109:24  Dan 6:18  Jon 3:5
 1Sa 7:6    1Ki 21:9      Ezr 8:21  Est 4:16   Isa 58:3-6  Dan 9:3   Zec 7:5
 1Sa 31:13  1Ki 21:12     Ezr 8:23  Est 9:31   Jer 14:12   Joe 1:14  Zec 8:19
 2Sa 1:12   1Ki 21:27     Neh 1:4   Psa 35:13  Jer 36:6    Joe 2:12
 2Sa 12:16  1Ch 10:12     Neh 9:1   Psa 69:10  Jer 36:9    Joe 2:15


.    As for the motivations for fasting, I find almost nothing in the
references in the New Testament.  The practice is mentioned a number of
times, but almost always only in reference, without any indications of the
reasons behind it.

    The Old Testament, on the other hand, gives indication
of a variety of motivations for fasting, among them such things as distress,
repentance, mourning, grief and as an act of humility.  For example, looking
at the first reference, Judges 20:26, we see Israel, reeling from repeated
defeat at the hands of the tribe of Benjamin, 'weeping before the Lord.

   They fasted that day until evening and presented burnt offerings and
fellowship offerings to the Lord.'  In 2nd Samuel 1:12, the men of Jabesh
Gilead recover the body of Saul and burn it, then 'They mourned and wept and
fasted till evening for Saul and his son Jonathan, and for the army of the
Lord and the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.'  When
the Jews in exile learn of the king's edict that they be destroyed, we read
that 'In every province to which the edict and order of the king came, there
was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping and wailing.  Many
lay on sackcloth and ashes' (Esther 4:16).  And, when the king had thrown
Daniel to the lions, we read, in Daniel 6:18, that he 'returned to his
palace and spent the night without eating and without any entertainment
being brought to him.'  In these passages, we see examples of fasting as an
expression of grief or distress.

.    Again, we can see elements of repentance in the practice of fasting.
For example, we read in 1st Kings 21:27-29 of Ahab when he hears the rebuke
of Elijah: 'When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes, put on
sackcloth and fasted.  He lay in sackcloth and went around meekly.'  And in
Nehemiah 9:1-3 we read of the rediscovery of the Law after the return from
exile, and that 'On the twenty-fourth day of the same month, the Israelites
gathered together, fasting and wearing sackcloth and having dust on their
heads....  They stood in their places and confessed their sins and the
wickedness of their fathers.'

.    Coupled with repentance is the concept of confession.  This can be seen
in the account of Israel's reaction to the capture of the Ark of the Lord,
which recounts that all Israel, distressed at the Ark's loss, 'assembled at
Mizpah, [and] they drew water and poured it out before the Lord.  On that
day they fasted and there they confessed, "We have sinned against the Lord"'
(1st Samuel 7:6).  And, again, in the passage in Nehemiah 9:1-3, we see
large implications of repentance.

.    And, often, fasting was a means of humbling oneself before the Lord.
In 1st Kings 21:27-29, the Lord responds to Ahab's fast by saying to Elijah
'Have you noticed how Ahab has humbled himself before me?  Because he has
humbled himself, I will not bring this disaster in his day, but I will bring
it on his house in the days of his son.'  In Ezra 8:21, Ezra, detailing the
return of the remnant from Exile, says that 'by the Ahava Canal I proclaimed
a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask him for a
safe journey for us and our children, with all our possessions.'

.    Finally, often fasting is connected with the presentation of a petition
or request before God.  We see this clearly in the passage from Ezra quoted
above, and again in Psalm 35:13, where the psalmist declares about his
enemies that 'when they were ill, I put on sackcloth and humbled myself with
fasting.  When my prayers returned to me unanswered, I went about mourning
as though for my friend or brother.  I bowed my head in grief as though
weeping for my mother.'

.    Thus, in the early Old Testament period at least, fasting was largely
associated with times of extreme distress or mourning, or of special
confession and repentance, or as an act of humility before God.  This seems
to have remained the case at least through the time of the Babylonian
Captivity, and even somewhat beyond.

.    With the coming of the prophets, however, this seems to have begun to
change.  It is in the words of Isaiah that one begins to see attempts at a
redefinition of the practice.  In Isaiah 58:1-7 God describes Israel to
Isaiah:

.    "Shout it aloud, do not hold back.  Raise your voice like a trumpet.
Declare to my people their rebellion and to the house of Jacob their sins.
For day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways, as if
they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands
of its God.

   They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come
near them.  'Why have we fasted,' they say, 'and you have not seen it?  Why
have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?'  Yet on that day of
your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers.  Your
fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with
wicked fists.  You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be
heard on high.

    Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for a man
to humble himself?  Is it only for bowing one's head like a reed and for
lying on sackcloth and ashes?  Is that what you call a fast, a day
acceptable to the Lord?  Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to
loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the
oppressed free and break every yoke?  Is it not to share your food with the
hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter--when you see the
naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?"

.    Thus, fasting begins to lose some of the cultic overtones it seems to
have acquired (that is, as a means of obtaining something from God--his
attention, or his blessing or favor, or what have you), and begins to take
on something of the quality of an act of worship to God.  Fasting becomes a
part of the larger expression of the kingdom of God as it works itself out
in shalom--the community of peace and of justice which God is establishing
on earth.

                             THE NEW TESTAMENT

New Testament References:

 Mat 4:2         Luk 2:37       Act 27:9
 Mat 6:16-18     Luk 5:33-35
 Mat 9:14,15     Luk 18:12
 Mat 17:21       Act 13:2,3
 Mar 2:18-20     Act 14:23

.    In the New Testament, we find very little data for determining the
purposes of fasting.  In Matthew 4:1,2 we have the record of Jesus' 40 day
fast in the wilderness, but there is nothing explicitly giving the reasons
for his fast.  We might say he went out to pray before the inauguration of
his ministry, but the text itself does not say this.  Or we might say that
he fasted, seeking the strength and the wisdom to resist and defeat the
enemy in the battle of temptation he knew was coming.  But again, the text
does not state this explicitly.

.    Again, in Matthew 6:16-18 we have Jesus' instructions on how to conduct
one's fast; in secret, where only the Father will know.  But, still, there
is no indication as to WHY one should fast, only some ground rules for HOW
he should do it.

.    One of the more interesting of the New Testament passages on fasting is
that found in Matthew 9:14-17, and echoed in Mark 2:18-22 and Luke 5:33-35.
Here, the disciples of John ask Jesus why Jesus' disciples do not fast.
Jesus responds by saying that when he (the bridegroom) has been taken from
them, then they will fast, but while the bridegroom is present, it doesn't
make sense to do so.  He then, in all three accounts, follows this up with
the parables of the patch and the wineskins.  In the context, these parables
were obviously intended as explanation to the disciples of John, and they
seem to hold the most promise for answering the question as to why we should
fast.  Unfortunately, I am really not certain as to what Jesus meant to
convey by them.

.    The remainder of the New Testament references simply mention the
practice, as for instance in the description of Anna the prophetess, who
ministered daily in the Temple (Luke 2:37), or the Pharisee in the story of
the Publican and the Sinner (Luke 18:12), who claims to have fasted twice a
week.  Each of these stories indicates that fasting had, by Jesus' day,
taken on a more ritualistic form, and was regarded as a badge of
spirituality of some sort; something which the truly serious religious
practiced regularly.  In Anna's case, it seems to have been a true
expression of her love for God (though, again, the text doesn't say so
explicitly) while the Pharisee seems to use it in a prideful manner, to
appear religious; he sort of wears it on his sleeve.

.    The last two references of interest in the New Testament are found in
Acts, in the 13th and 14th chapters.  In Acts 13:2,3 we read of the
commissioning of Paul and Barnabas for the ministry to which God had called
them: 'While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said,
"Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called
them."  So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them
and sent them off.'  And in Acts 14:23 we read that as Paul and Barnabas
revisited the churches they had planted they 'appointed elders for them in
each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord in whom
they had put their trust.'  Both of these passages connect fasting not only
with prayer, but with some sort of dedication or consecration ceremony for
Christian leaders as well.

                                 CONCLUSION

.    It is not the intent of this study to draw conclusions about the
practice of fasting, but simply to offer some preliminary observations based
on a cursory reading of the pertinent passages.  It is hoped the reader will
be stimulated to pursue further study for himself.  I myself am yet unclear
as to what the proper motivations for fasting are, however a few tentative
conclusions may be drawn about other facets of the practice.

.    First, it seems apparent that, as originally conceived in the early Old
Testament period, fasting was something that was done under exceptional
conditions of distress, of mourning, or of conviction and confession.  It
was often accompanied by ritual offerings--burnt offerings, fellowship
offerings, and drink offerings are explicitly mentioned--and by laying in or
wearing of sackcloth and ashes.  It was often accompanied as well by prayer,
by confession and occasionally by reading the Word of God.  And Jesus
commanded that it was to be done in secret.

.    In the grand tradition of the prophets, Isaiah attempted, in the post-
Exilic period, to redefine the practice, to divorce it from the cults with
which it had become identified.

.    Finally, by the time of Christ, it would seem that Isaiah's reform had
been--at least in part--adopted by the faithful.  It had certainly become an
act of worship or service to God, rather than a means by which one obtained
something from him, though even this had its abuses.  And we can see in
Luke's account of the Acts of the Apostles that it was also used as a part
of the ritual of consecration, accompanied by prayers of dedication.

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