The Words of Jesus the Christ,
the Son of God:
Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.-Matthew 6:16-18
Background Information:
-Joshua was an Israelite from the tribe of Ephraim, descended from Abraham (Abram the Hebrew) and Sarah (Sarai), Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob (Israel) and his 2nd wife Rachel, their firstborn son Joseph and his wife Asenath, and Joseph and Asenath's 2nd born son Ephraim, whom Jacob proclaimed to be his own son. The Israelites in the tribe of Benjamin were descended from Jacob and Rachel's 2nd and last son Benjamin. At least 30 years after Joshua led the Israelites across the divinely parted Jordan River and onto the Promised Land, men from the tribe of Benjamin raped a concubine from Bethlehem. Israelites from the other tribes cried, fasted, and offered sacrifices to the Lord God, and sought an answer from the Lord God before they went to battle the Benjamites the 3rd time.
-After the Philistines returned the ark of the covenant of the Lord to the Israelites, and the Israelites placed the ark in the home of Abinadab, the Israelites poured out water before the Lord God, and the Israelites fasted.
-King Saul, from the tribe of Benjamin, was the 1st king to rule over the Israelites in the Promised Land. After Saul's sons Jonathan, Abinadab and Malchishua (Melchishua) were killed by the Philistines, and Saul's self-inflicted death on the same battlefield, the Philistines took the bodies of Saul and Saul's sons to their kingdom. Israelite men from Jabesh-gilead retrieved the bones, buried the bones in Jabesh, and afterwards fasted.
-Years before Saul and his sons were dead, Samuel the priest, prophet and judge from the tribe of Levi who had anointed Saul, anointed David, from the tribe of Judah, to reign as king, according to the command of the Lord God. Levi was the 3rd son born to Jacob and his 1st wife Leah, and Judah was Jacob and Leah's 4th born son. After Saul and his sons were dead, David and the men with him mourned, cried and fasted. Shortly thereafter, men from the tribe of Judah anointed David, and 30-year-old David began to reign as king only over the tribe of Judah. Saul's son Ishbosheth (Eshbaal) reigned over the other Israelite tribes. Sometime after Ishbosheth was murdered, the Israelite elders went to David and David made a covenant with them. The elders anointed David, and 37-year-old David became the 2nd king to reign over all of the Israelites in the Promised Land. After the Lord God struck the 1st child born to David and Bathsheba, and the child became ill, David fasted and pleaded with the Lord God and stretched himself on the ground. David arose from the ground and ended the fast when he learned that the child was dead.
-King Ahab was an Israelite and the 7th king to reign over all of the Israelites in the northern nation of Israel in the Promised Land. Ahab's wife Jezebel was a Sidonian (Zidonian) princess. When Jezebel wanted to steal land from Naboth, an Israelite, so that Ahab could have Naboth's land, she wrote letters to the Israelite elders and nobles in Jezreel and told them to proclaim a fast, and commanded them to tell 2 specific lies about Naboth and stone Naboth to death. After Naboth was killed, and possibly Naboth's sons were also killed, the Lord God sent Elijah the prophet to Ahab with a message, and Ahab fasted.
-David and Bathsheba's great-great-great-grandson Jehoshaphat was the 4th king to rule Judah, the southern nation in the Promised Land. When the Moabites, Ammonites and their allies came to attack, Jehoshaphat proclaimed a fast throughout Judah. The Israelites gathered in the royal city, Jerusalem, at the temple of the Lord, and Jehoshaphat prayed to the Lord God.
-Jehoshaphat's great-great-grandson Amaziah was the 8th king to rule Judah. During Amaziah's reign, the Lord God sent Jonah the prophet to Nineveh, in Assyria. When the king of Assyria learned of the words spoken by Jonah, the king proclaimed a fast throughout Nineveh.
-Amaziah's great-great-great-great-great-great-grandson Jehoiakim (Eliakim) was the 17th king to rule Judah. During Jehoiakim's 11-year reign, the Lord God gave Jeremiah the prophet a command, and Jeremiah gave Baruch the scribe a command. Afterwards, Baruch wrote down the words that Jeremiah heard from the Lord God, and Baruch read the words to the Israelites in the temple, and a fast was proclaimed.
-Jehoiachin (Jeconiah/Coniah), the son born to Jehoiakim and Nehushta, was the 18th king to rule Judah. During Jehoiachin's reign, the Babylonians (Chaldeans), invaded Judah and Jerusalem and took more prominent Israelites, including Jehoiachin, his wives and mother, to Babylon. In Babylon, after Daniel, an Israelite captive, was put into the den of lions, according to the command of King Darius, ruler of Babylon, Darius spent the night fasting. When Daniel was studying the divinely inspired words written by Jeremiah the prophet about the upcoming 70 years of captivity, Daniel set his face toward the Lord God, and prayed, made supplications, fasted, and confessed his sin and the sin of his fellow Israelites.
-Jehoiakim's brother Zedekiah (Mattaniah) was the 19th king to rule Judah. During the 11th year of Zedekiah's reign, the Babylonians conquered Jerusalem, according to the will of the Lord God, due to the idolatry and other wickedness of the Israelites. Moreover, the Babylonians looted and burned the temple, and broke the walls surrounding Jerusalem. Less than 70 years thereafter, King Cyrus, ruler of the Persian Empire, allowed Israelites to return to Judah and Jerusalem and build a temple. Ezra the priest and scribe was from the tribe of Jacob and Leah's 3rd born son Levi. When Ezra was going to return to Judah, Ezra proclaimed a fast among the Israelites journeying with him, and Ezra and his fellow Israelites sought the Lord God.
-Nehemiah the prophet was an Israelite and the cupbearer for King Artaxerxes, ruler of the Persian Empire. When Nehemiah learned of the condition of the Israelites in Jerusalem and the state of the wall and gates, Nehemiah cried and fasted, and Nehemiah prayed before the Lord God. Moreover, Nehemiah answered Artaxerxes, and prayed some more to the Lord God, and sought permission and assistance from Artaxerxes, and was allowed to go to Jerusalem. In Jerusalem, after Nehemiah and his fellow Israelites observed the Feast of Tabernacles, they fasted.
-Mordecai was an Israelite from the tribe of Benjamin, living in Shushan, Persia, with Esther (Hadassah), the orphaned cousin he raised as his own child. King Ahasuerus (Xerxes), ruler of the Persian Empire, married Esther and she became the queen. When Mordecai and his fellow Israelites learned that the Israelites throughout the empire were scheduled to be killed, the Israelites began mourning, fasting, crying, and wailing. Esther sent Mordecai a request to proclaim a fast after she heard from Hatach the eunuch the message given to him by Mordecai regarding the upcoming fate of the Israelites.
Over 400 years after Mordecai and Esther worked to keep the Israelites from being killed, Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, was born. Jesus was conceived of the Holy Spirit in the womb of Mary, a virgin, and Jesus was born into the tribe of Judah, the tribe of Judah's kings, to Mary and her husband Joseph when Mary was a virgin. Approximately 30 years after Jesus was born to Joseph and Mary, Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River by Mary's relative John the Baptist, from the tribe of Levi. Jesus having prayed, the heavens tearing open, the Holy Spirit descended as a dove and lit upon Jesus. The Lord God in heaven audibly acknowledged his Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the desert wilderness. Jesus fasted for 40 days and nights and was tempted. Afterwards, Jesus was tended to by angels, and Jesus went to the area near John the Baptist, and John the Baptist proclaimed Jesus to be the Lamb of God taking away the sin of the world. In Galilee, Jesus told specific Israelite men to follow him, and Jesus began to preach, teach and perform miracles among the Israelites, the treasured and chosen people of the Lord God. While in Galilee, Jesus spoke to a group of Pharisees and the disciples of John the Baptist about the disciples of Jesus and fasting. When Jesus was speaking to a group of despisers who thought themselves to be righteous, Jesus told a parable that involved a Pharisee and the Pharisee's fasting.-Genesis 11:26-50:26, Exodus, Numbers 13:1-14:45, 20:1-29, 26:1-27:23, Deuteronomy 31:1-34:12, Joshua 1:1-4:24, 23:1-24:33, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job, Jeremiah 36:1-32, 39:1-18, 52:1-34, Daniel, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts 1:1-26, Galatians 1:1-2:21, Jude
Click the link below to read more posts in this category: