Isaiah 58

True Fasting

1 "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.

2 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.

3 'Why have we fasted,' they say,
'and you have not seen it?
Why have we humbled ourselves,
and you have not noticed?'
"Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please
and exploit all your workers.

4 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.

5 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 ?

6 "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?

7 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?

8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness ^[a] will go before you,
and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.

9 Then you will call, and the LORD will answer;
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
"If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
with the pointing finger and malicious talk,

10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.

11 The LORD will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.

12 Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins
and will raise up the age-old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,
Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.

13 "If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath
and from doing as you please on my holy day,
if you call the Sabbath a delight
and the LORD's holy day honorable,
and if you honor it by not going your own way
and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,

14 then you will find your joy in the LORD,
and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land
and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob."
The mouth of the LORD has spoken.

Footnotes:

1. Isaiah 58:8 Or your righteous One

I just read an article that says that an Iraqi Security Adviser is demanding a timetable for the US to withdraw its forces as part of a new security deal. While this seems a little premature to me, it brings up an interesting strategy. If President Bush, agreed to a scheduled withdrawal of our forces, he could potentially save face by doing so at the request of the Iraqi government. This would allow him to say that they came in to save a people, and then left when they were asked. It legitimizes the Iraqi government by our conceding to their wishes even if we disagree (somewhat). It gives definite closure as part of Bush's legacy. It provides a way to bring our people home and if the country falls into more chaos after we left, it is not our fault because they took responsibility for their own actions. Plus if they can see that we are leaving, it will allow for more reconciliation between the factions that like or dislike us. I also would imagine that the Iraqi government would be more willing to allow us to put in a long term base there (such as we have in S.Korea or Germany) if they see that we are not intent on controlling them.

And as a last little twist, if Bush were to agree to the withdrawal (especially in October) it would undercut one of Obama's main planks. Bush could claim the credit for setting up the withdrawal (I'm sure everyone else would try to claim the credit also) but then no one would vote for Obama because he was in favor of withdrawal because withdrawal had already been agreed to. It certainly wouldn't make any conversions, but it might sway a few swing voters.