Moses’ Second Forty Day Fast” Dt. 9:18-29

“And I fell down before the LORD as at the first time, forty days and forty nights; I did neither eat bread nor drink water, because of all your sins which you sinned, in doing wickedly in the sight of the LORD, to provoke Him to anger.” Deut. 9:18

Moses goes back up on the mountain of God to pray for the people and to make atonement for them, why couldn’t Aaron do it? Because God was wroth with him and wanted to kill him for making the golden calf, and Moses prayed for him in v. 20 but when Moses comes down after praying, Aaron dies in Deut. 10:6, on Mt. Hor in Num. 33:38 on the 1st of Av; Num. 25:25-28; and his son Eleazer takes his place and they move out. During this second time of fasting or just prior to it Moses made an ark of acacia wood to put the two new tablets in, God wasn’t taking any chances with the second set. I often wonder what happened to the first set, did anyone ever go looking for them? They must still be lying around somewhere, they are stone so they won’t rot or decay. Anyway there wasn’t much of a time lapse between Moses’ two extensive 40 Day fasts to build up his strength so this had to be something supernatural. But then again what is the purpose of fasting anyway?

First we need a definition of fasting; Webster says, “Fasting is abstaining from food;” actually in the Hebrew Scriptures the word for fasting is (tsuwm) and means to cover over your mouth, implying neither food nor drink is to enter into it. In the New Testament the word for fasting is (nasteuo) and means to abstain from, not to eat, to literally starve. So, to fast means to abstain for a limited period of time from any kind of food and even liquid in many instances. But why do it? Several reasons, but three kind of jump out at you. First it humbles your soul before God; In Ps. 35:13 David is praying and fasting for his enemies and he says, “I humbled my soul with fasting.” The word translated humbled in the Hebrew text is (anah) and means to afflict, chasten, or to deal hardly with. In fact the expression, “Afflicting the soul,” is found several times in Old Testament passages; Lev. 16:29-31; 23:27; Num. 30:13, etc. It implies, ‘The sacrifice of the personal will,’ which gives to fasting all of its value! The same word is translated here in Ps. 35:13, ‘Humble or Afflicting the Soul!’ So we see that fasting first of all, helps to humble the soul before Almighty God!

Second – King David said in Ps. 69:10 that fasting chastened his soul also, “When I wept and chastened my soul with fasting;” The two strongest drives in a human body are ‘Sex and Hunger’ and if you can control them you are on your way to bringing your body into and under total subjection. Paul said in I Cor. 9:27; That he keeps his body (hupopeazo) to beat it black and blue, to give it a black eye, to beat it down and to keep it in subjection, (dulagogeo) to claim as one’s slave, with severity, and stern and rigid discipline. That is why Paul practiced fasting often to bring his body into subjection with severity and stern and rigid discipline. He wasn’t saved 30 minutes and he started fasting. From the light on the Damascus Road, to his healing and baptism he fasted for three days (Acts chapter 9) no food and no water (nasteuo). So, fasting humbles the soul and it chastens the soul as well! Third – King David said in Ps. 109:24 that fasting weakens the knees, so we can pray more effectively, “My knees are weak through fasting, and my flesh faileth of fatness.” In other words, it made him a lean, mean gospel machine! Fasting is one of the fastest and best ways to humble yourself before a holy, awesome God who is in control of everything, especially the details of your life. Fasting is a voluntary self-sacrifice of the will, it afflicts the souls, it chastens the soul, and it weakens the knees.

In Joel 2:12-17, Israel is being invaded and only repentance can turn the invasion. God says, “Turn to Me with all your heart and with fasting.” Fasting shows God you are serious about whatever you are asking Him to do. Fasting helps you turn to God with your whole heart and with a true heart, it’s a voluntary self-sacrifice of the human will! Listen to Isa. 57:15, “For thus saith the high and lofty One, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place; (listen) with him also who is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” WOW! I don’t know about you but my heart burned when I read that, if you didn’t feel anything then you are spiritually DEAD! My spirit tingles when I read verses like that, I want to jump up and shout! The word contrite means to bruise, to break, to crush, and to humble; whether personal, national, ecclesiastical, family or in your closet! Do you really, really want revival? Do You? God said He will give it to those who are of a contrite (broken) humble heart and spirit; and fasting is the fasted way to bring that about.

David wrote Psalm 51 after his romp with Bathsheba up on his ‘hot tin roof.’ We know it as David’s “Psalm of Repentance.” We see a broken man, a repentant man, a sorrowful man, a man after God’s own heart. He tells us in v. 17, that the sacrifices of God are, “A broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise.” And fasting brings those about and David knew it and so did Moses and every Old Testament leader. David was speaking from experience, he just finished fasting and praying for seven days and nights for his un-named son, lying prostrate on his face in the dirt. Read II Sam. 12:13-23 for a better picture. David meant business with God and he wanted God to know it. Fasting was a common practice in David’s life, he even fasted for Saul and Jonathan after they were killed, I Sam. 31:13; II Sam. 1:12.

So, what is the purpose of fasting, what does it produce? 1. – It humbles our souls and afflicts them, producing a self-sacrifice of the personal will; 2. – It chastens our souls, convicts, corrects and reproves them bringing about true repentance; 3. – It makes our knees weak, not only humbling our spirits and hearts but our flesh as well to prepare us to seek God’s face with all our hearts. However, it’s primary purpose is for us to give ourselves “Holy and Wholly” to God, so He can have complete and total freedom to do with us whatever He wants. The problem is, less than 10% of the body of Christ has ever totally surrendered their lives to Christ for His will and service, if that many. Fasting helps us turn our whole body, soul and heart over to God and it produces a humble and a contrite spirit that God can and will revive, and that is what we really want, is it not? Revival! A spiritual awakening from God? Revival in our hearts – Revival in our churches – Revival in our nation – Revival in our schools – Revival in our homes – Revival in our closets! Then prayer and fasting is one of the fastest ways to bring all that about regardless of what you believe about II Chron. 7:14, because it humbles the body, soul, and spirit and shows God that we mean business.

Moses knew all this, on his first trip up the mountain; He was no stranger to this ‘Principle For Living,’ the real question is, “AreYou?” When was the last time you set aside a day or two or even three for fasting and prayer? I guarantee you will have struggles and a battle to do it, Satan will be your biggest enemy and many times your spouse will not be friendly to it either.  I recommend that you start slow, study it out, get a book on it, look it up in your Bible, and don’t try 40 days in February for Lent of I will be visiting you in the hospital. If you are under a doctor’s care talk to them, Moses, Joshua, Elijah, and Jesus fasted for 40 days that is a spiritual endeavor, empowered by the Holy Spirit not man’s spirit. So, fasting intensifies prayer, helps us find God’s will, disciplines our spirit towards the things of God, strengthens our relationship with God, is the discipline of the Holy Spirit, and brings about repentance and forgiveness. Enough for now, till next time, I’ll see you, “…Between The Lines…” 

“Moses’ Second Forty Day Fast” Dt. 9:18  1/15/18