“Moses Mentions His Second Forty Day Fast” Deut. 9:25

“And I stayed in the mount, according to the first time, forty days and forty nights; and the LORD (YeHoVaH) hearkened unto me at that time also, and the LORD would not destroy thee.” Deut. 10:10

Some scholars believe Moses fasted for forty days and nights three times because of his references to it, however I don’t believe he did. I believe he only did it twice as stated in this verse. Aaron makes a golden calf, Moses breaks the tablets and makes atonement for Aaron and the people, then Aaron dies on the first of Av, on Mt. Hor, Num. 33:38, and Eleazar his son is appointed ‘High Priest.’ The tribe of Levi is sanctified to bear the ark, stand before the LORD, and minister for Him, and “Bless the people” in His name. Moses said in v. 11 that he stayed in the mountain for 40 days and nights and communed with the LORD, ‘sweet, sweet fellowship’ face to face. Then He told Moses what He required of Israel in vv. 12-13; 1. – “To fear the LORD (reverence) Him, this is reverential trust; 2. – To walk in all His ways; 3. – To love Him unconditionally no holds barred; 4. – To serve the LORD thy God with all your heart and with all your soul; 5. – To keep the commandments of the LORD and His statutes, which I command you this day for thy good.” Sounds a lot like Micah 6:8. Why does man make it so difficult? Micah said, “What does the LORD require, “To do justly; To love mercy; To walk humbly with thy God.” Sounds pretty simple to me, does it to you? God gave man ‘Ten Commandments” the first four concern our relationship with God, and the last six concern our relationship with mankind and most people can’t name more than three, how many can you name?

Moses gives them five here, probably because they have five fingers on each hand as a memory tool, Micah gave them three, Jesus gave them two; Love the Lord thy God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength and your neighbor as yourself. The Jewish leaders came up with 613; 248 positive ones and 365 negative ones. In fact they really have 1,521 commands to observe, 39 (abbot) fathers or heads with 39 (tolladot) children under each heading. So, 39 times 39 equals 1,521, good luck with that. You see, religion is man made, with its lists of do’s and don’ts to please God but God is more concerned with a relationship than a religionship. That’s why He said in Hos. 6:3, “Then you will know (yada) Me when you follow on to know (yada) Me.” You see, you can keep all 1,521 commands perfectly but that does not help you to know (yada) God intimately, just to know about Him. That is why Christianity is a major step above every other religion in the world, it deals with relationship not religionship. It is not what you know that matters but who you know that makes all the difference in heaven!

Moses goes on in this chapter to explain their God to them, the One he spent 80 days fasting and praying with face to face and getting to know personally. He said He is the God of gods, and the LORD of lords, a great God, a mighty God, an awesome God, who regards not persons, nor takes rewards of any kind. “Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, (this word fear means to have reverential trust and a hatred of evil, just like He has) Him shalt thou serve, and to Him shalt thou cleave (impinge – two objects coming together with such force they are literally inseparable) and swear by His name alone.” “He is thy praise, and He is thy God, who has done for thee these great and awe-inspiring things which thine eyes have seen. (And we have seen and continue to see so many!) Our fathers went into Egypt with 70 and now we are like the stars of heaven for a multitude and half our multitude died in the desert due to rebellion, or we would be twice as many. Moses learned so much while he fasted and prayed, it was like being in seminary, God’s Seminary.

So, what are some of the results of fasting or what does fasting and prayer produce? First, and foremost it produces the regeneration of the lost! Jonah 3:1-10; Jonah finally preached what God bid him to preach, and go to the people God wanted him to go to and the people repented of their sins, fasted and the whole nation was saved, all 120,000 of them. v.6 tells us that even the king fasted and prayed and he proclaimed a national fast for man and beast. Note Jonah 3:7b, “they neither ate nor drank water.” They meant business with God and God answered their prayers. So, fasting helps produce regeneration in the unsaved.

Second, fasting results in repentance of the saved as well as the unsaved. Joel 1:14 and 2:15 tells the people to call or sanctify a fast and call a solemn assembly, to gather the elders and to cry unto the LORD. Like I said earlier, only repentance can turn an invasion or turn the heart of Almighty God! And we just saw the repentance of Nineveh, that wicked, vile city. A sure way to show God and yourself that you are repentant of your cold, dead vile ways is to fast and pray. Nothing moves God like a broken and contrite spirit and heart, nothing! Ps. 51:17. His sacrifices are a humble and a contrite spirit. So, fasting results in true, genuine repentance! Ezk. 16:6; 18:30; To return; To turn back around (shuwb) 180 degrees, reverse, revoke, restore. In Paleo-Hebrew, Ancient Hebrew, it meant to burn your house down so you could never return, like burning your bridges behind you!

Third, fasting results in remittance or forgiveness. In I Kings 21:5-16, Jezebel uses a ‘false fast’ to take the life of Naboth so she could get his vineyard. Then in I Kings 21:17-29, Ahab is accused of killing Naboth by God through Elijah and he repents and fasts in v. 27-29 and it turns God’s wrath. So, there we see a true fast and a false fast, motive is always the key and God can see right through our motives and intentions every time. So, fasting produces not only repentance but forgiveness as well.

Fourth, fasting results in strong mountain moving faith. In Matt. 17:14-21, Jesus is approached by the father of a demon possessed son. He was told His disciples could not cast him out, and He referred to them as a faithless generation. He said they could not cast them out due to their unbelief and that this kind goes forth only by, ‘prayer and fasting.‘ So, fasting and prayer does two things here, it helps to excise and cast out demons and bind them, and it helps to increase your faith to do extraordinary service for God. It helps to give you, ‘Mountain Moving Faith.’

Fifth, fasting results in revival, in I Sam. 7:1-14, the people of Israel waited for seven months to get their ark back. Samuel told them to gather at Mizpah and he would pray for them, and they poured out water, a libation offering and fasted and confessed their sins. This parallels with Lam. 2:19, “To pour out thine heart like water.” This seems to denote an inward dissolving through pain and misery. God heard their prayers and confessions and was moved by their fasting and He helped them, v.12. I don’t know about you but I want an Ebenezer, ‘a stone of help’ in my life and ministry. Amen? They waited 20 years for their revival, God could have brought it in 20 minutes. How long will you wait for yours?

Moses’ fasting may have been among the first mentioned in the Hebrew Scriptures, if not the first. It was a voluntary act of the will, a voluntary self-sacrifice of the will, that gives it all its power with God. The key is, it’s voluntary not forced, not coerced, not enticed, not baited or bribed but, ‘voluntary!’ Moses, I believe was to enraptured with the awe inspiring power and presence of God and so absorbed with ‘God’s Divine Revelations‘ to even want to eat or drink, wouldn’t you be? Do you believe that same thing can happen to you? Remember, Moses like Nehemiah fasted out of a concern for God’s work, not man’s! Let me close with this statement from David Livingstone, who was found on his knees, next to his cot in Africa with his face in his Bible, in an attitude of prayer. He died fasting and praying for God’s work in Africa and he said, “Fasting and prayer vigils without a special object in view are time run to waste. They are made to minister to a sort of self-gratification, instead of being turned to a good account for the Lord.” Till next time, I’ll see you, “…Between The Lines…”   

“Moses Mentions His Second Forty Day Fast”  Deut. 9:25  1/18/18