{"id":438,"date":"2015-09-25T14:29:26","date_gmt":"2015-09-25T13:29:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fastefordanmark.dk\/?page_id=438"},"modified":"2015-11-07T13:33:26","modified_gmt":"2015-11-07T12:33:26","slug":"fasting-in-the-bible","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/fastefordanmark.dk\/?page_id=438","title":{"rendered":"Fasting in the Bible"},"content":{"rendered":"

I have gathered all the Biblical texts, which I could find, that talk about fasting, because I hope this huge amount of verses will give you an impression of, how much the Bible has to say about fasting. It is much more than a few, obscure texts that focus on the topic of fasting. For fasting was widely known and used, both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. It was a discipline that most of the main characters of the Bible made use of. And it was also used by people of the nations that surrounded Israel. In the following list I have also included Bible texts, where people used fasting to do things, that most certainly was not God\u00b4s plan, because these verses show, how many different ways fasting was used. (eg. a fast initiated by priests under orders of the evil queen Jezebel, because she wanted to kill the godfearing Naboth in 1 Kings 21:9-13.)<\/span><\/p>\n

All scriptures are taken from the NIV.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Fra det Gamle Testamente:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Exodus 34:27-28:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Then the Lord said to Moses, \u201cWrite down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.\u201d Moses was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant\u2014the Ten Commandments.”<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Lev 16:29-31:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

This is to be a lasting ordinance for you: On the tenth day of the seventh month you must deny yourselves [=> fast] and not do any work\u2014whether native-born or a foreigner residing among you\u2014 because on this day atonement will be made for you, to cleanse you. Then, before the Lord, you will be clean from all your sins. It is a day of sabbath rest, and you must deny yourselves [=> fast]; it is a lasting ordinance.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Lev 23:27-29:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. Hold a sacred assembly and deny yourselves,[=> fast] and present a food offering to the Lord. Do not do any work on that day, because it is the Day of Atonement, when atonement is made for you before the Lord your God. Those who do not deny themselves [=> fast] on that day must be cut off from their people.<\/span><\/p>\n

Num 29:7:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

On the tenth day of this seventh month hold a sacred assembly. You must deny yourselves[=> fast] and do no work.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Deu 9:16-19:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

When I looked, I saw that you had sinned against the Lord your God; you had made for yourselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. You had turned aside quickly from the way that the Lord had commanded you. So I took the two tablets and threw them out of my hands, breaking them to pieces before your eyes. Then once again I fell prostrate before the Lord for forty days and forty nights; I ate no bread and drank no water, because of all the sin you had committed, doing what was evil in the Lord\u2019s sight and so arousing his anger. I feared the anger and wrath of the Lord, for he was angry enough with you to destroy you. But again the Lord listened to me.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Jos 7:6-9:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell facedown to the ground before the ark of the Lord, remaining there till evening. The elders of Israel did the same, and sprinkled dust on their heads. And Joshua said, \u201cAlas, Sovereign Lord, why did you ever bring this people across the Jordan to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us? If only we had been content to stay on the other side of the Jordan! Pardon your servant, Lord. What can I say, now that Israel has been routed by its enemies? The Canaanites and the other people of the country will hear about this and they will surround us and wipe out our name from the earth. What then will you do for your own great name?<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Judges 20:21-29:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The Benjamites came out of Gibeah and cut down twenty-two thousand Israelites on the battlefield that day. But the Israelites encouraged one another and again took up their positions where they had stationed themselves the first day. The Israelites went up and wept before the Lord until evening, and they inquired of the Lord. They said, \u201cShall we go up again to fight against the Benjamites, our fellow Israelites?\u201d The Lord answered, \u201cGo up against them.\u201d Then the Israelites drew near to Benjamin the second day. This time, when the Benjamites came out from Gibeah to oppose them, they cut down another eighteen thousand Israelites, all of them armed with swords. Then all the Israelites, the whole army, went up to Bethel, and there they sat weeping before the Lord. They fasted that day until evening and presented burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to the Lord. And the Israelites inquired of the Lord. (In those days the ark of the covenant of God was there, with Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, ministering before it.) They asked, \u201cShall we go up again to fight against the Benjamites, our fellow Israelites, or not?\u201d The Lord responded, \u201cGo, for tomorrow I will give them into your hands.\u201d Then Israel set an ambush around Gibeah.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

1 Sam 1:6-8:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Because the Lord had closed Hannah\u2019s womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her. This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the Lord, her rival provoked her till she wept and would not eat. Her husband Elkanah would say to her, \u201cHannah, why are you weeping? Why don\u2019t you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don\u2019t I mean more to you than ten sons?\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

1 Sam 7:5-6:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Then Samuel said, \u201cAssemble all Israel at Mizpah, and I will intercede with the Lord for you.\u201d When they had assembled at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out before the Lord. On that day they fasted and there they confessed, \u201cWe have sinned against the Lord.\u201d Now Samuel was serving as leader of Israel at Mizpah.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

1 Sam 14:24:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Now the Israelites were in distress that day, because Saul had bound the people under an oath, saying, \u201cCursed be anyone who eats food before evening comes, before I have avenged myself on my enemies!\u201d So none of the troops tasted food.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

1 Sam 31:11-13:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

When the people of Jabesh Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, all their valiant men marched through the night to Beth Shan. They took down the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall of Beth Shan and went to Jabesh, where they burned them. Then they took their bones and buried them under a tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and they fasted seven days.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

2 Sam 1:12:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

They mourned and wept and fasted till evening for Saul and his son Jonathan, and for the army of the Lord and for the nation of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.<\/span><\/p>\n

2 Sam 3:35-36:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Then they all came and urged David to eat something while it was still day; but David took an oath, saying, \u201cMay God deal with me, be it ever so severely, if I taste bread or anything else before the sun sets!\u201d All the people took note and were pleased; indeed, everything the king did pleased them.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

2 Sam 12:15-21:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

After Nathan had gone home, the Lord struck the child that Uriah\u2019s wife had borne to David, and he became ill. David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and spent the nights lying in sackcloth[a] on the ground. The elders of his household stood beside him to get him up from the ground, but he refused, and he would not eat any food with them. On the seventh day the child died. David\u2019s attendants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they thought, \u201cWhile the child was still living, he wouldn\u2019t listen to us when we spoke to him. How can we now tell him the child is dead? He may do something desperate.\u201d David noticed that his attendants were whispering among themselves, and he realized the child was dead. \u201cIs the child dead?\u201d he asked. \u201cYes,\u201d they replied, \u201che is dead.\u201d Then David got up from the ground. After he had washed, put on lotions and changed his clothes, he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and at his request they served him food, and he ate. His attendants asked him, \u201cWhy are you acting this way? While the child was alive, you fasted and wept, but now that the child is dead, you get up and eat!\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

1 Kings 13:8-10+17-24:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

But the man of God answered the king, \u201cEven if you were to give me half your possessions, I would not go with you, nor would I eat bread or drink water here. For I was commanded by the word of the Lord: \u2018You must not eat bread or drink water or return by the way you came.\u2019\u201d So he took another road and did not return by the way he had come to Bethel. … I have been told by the word of the Lord: \u2018You must not eat bread or drink water there or return by the way you came.\u2019\u201d The old prophet answered, \u201cI too am a prophet, as you are. And an angel said to me by the word of the Lord: \u2018Bring him back with you to your house so that he may eat bread and drink water.\u2019\u201d (But he was lying to him.) So the man of God returned with him and ate and drank in his house. While they were sitting at the table, the word of the Lord came to the old prophet who had brought him back. He cried out to the man of God who had come from Judah, \u201cThis is what the Lord says: \u2018You have defied the word of the Lord and have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you. You came back and ate bread and drank water in the place where he told you not to eat or drink. Therefore your body will not be buried in the tomb of your ancestors.\u2019\u201d When the man of God had finished eating and drinking, the prophet who had brought him back saddled his donkey for him. As he went on his way, a lion met him on the road and killed him, and his body was left lying on the road, with both the donkey and the lion standing beside it.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

1 Kings 19:5-8:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep. All at once an angel touched him and said, \u201cGet up and eat.\u201d He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again. The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, \u201cGet up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.\u201d So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

1 Kings 21:9-13:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

In those letters she wrote: \u201cProclaim a day of fasting and seat Naboth in a prominent place among the people. But seat two scoundrels opposite him and have them bring charges that he has cursed both God and the king. Then take him out and stone him to death.\u201d So the elders and nobles who lived in Naboth\u2019s city did as Jezebel directed in the letters she had written to them. They proclaimed a fast and seated Naboth in a prominent place among the people. Then two scoundrels came and sat opposite him and brought charges against Naboth before the people, saying, \u201cNaboth has cursed both God and the king.\u201d So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

1 Kings 21:27-29:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and fasted. He lay in sackcloth and went around meekly. Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite: \u201cHave 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.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

2 Chron 7:13-14:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

2 Chron 20:2-4:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Some people came and told Jehoshaphat, \u201cA vast army is coming against you from Edom, from the other side of the Dead Sea. It is already in Hazezon Tamar\u201d (that is, En Gedi). Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah. The people of Judah came together to seek help from the Lord; indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek him.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Ezra 8:21-23:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

There, 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. I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to protect us from enemies on the road, because we had told the king, \u201cThe gracious hand of our God is on everyone who looks to him, but his great anger is against all who forsake him.\u201d So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Ezra 10:6:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Then Ezra withdrew from before the house of God and went to the room of Jehohanan son of Eliashib. While he was there, he ate no food and drank no water, because he continued to mourn over the unfaithfulness of the exiles.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Neh 1:3-11:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

They said to me, \u201cThose who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.\u201d When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven. Then I said: \u201cLord, the God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments, let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel. I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father\u2019s family, have committed against you. We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses. \u201cRemember the instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, \u2018If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations, but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.\u2019 \u201cThey are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed by your great strength and your mighty hand. Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man.\u201d I was cupbearer to the king.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Neh 9:1-3:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

On the twenty-fourth day of the same month, the Israelites gathered together, fasting and wearing sackcloth and putting dust on their heads. Those of Israelite descent had separated themselves from all foreigners. They stood in their places and confessed their sins and the sins of their ancestors. They stood where they were and read from the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for a quarter of the day, and spent another quarter in confession and in worshiping the Lord their God.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Esther 4:1-3:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

When Mordecai learned of all that had been done, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the city, wailing loudly and bitterly. But he went only as far as the king\u2019s gate, because no one clothed in sackcloth was allowed to enter it. 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 in sackcloth and ashes.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Esther 4:15-17:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: \u201cGo, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.\u201d So Mordecai went away and carried out all of Esther\u2019s instructions.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Esther 9:30-31:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

And Mordecai sent letters to all the Jews in the 127 provinces of Xerxes\u2019 kingdom\u2014words of goodwill and assurance\u2014 to establish these days of Purim at their designated times, as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had decreed for them, and as they had established for themselves and their descendants in regard to their times of fasting and lamentation.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Psalms 35:13-14:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Yet 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.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Psalms 69:8-13:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

I am a foreigner to my own family, a stranger to my own mother\u2019s children; for zeal for your house consumes me, and the insults of those who insult you fall on me. When I weep and fast, I must endure scorn; when I put on sackcloth, people make sport of me. Those who sit at the gate mock me, and I am the song of the drunkards. But I pray to you, Lord, in the time of your favor; in your great love, O God, answer me with your sure salvation. <\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Psalms 109:24:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

My knees give way from fasting; my body is thin and gaunt.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Isa 1:15-17:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

When you spread out your hands in prayer, I hide my eyes from you; even when you offer many prayers, I am not listening. Your hands are full of blood! Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight; stop doing wrong. Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Isa 58:3-12:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018Why have we fasted,\u2019 they say, \u2018and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?\u2019 \u201cYet on the 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 people to humble themselves? Is it only for bowing one\u2019s head like a reed and for lying in sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord? \u201cIs 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\u2014 when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? 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. Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. \u201cIf you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, 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. 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. 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.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Jer 14:11-12:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Then the Lord said to me, \u201cDo not pray for the well-being of this people. Although they fast, I will not listen to their cry; though they offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Instead, I will destroy them with the sword, famine and plague.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Jer 36:4-9:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

So Jeremiah called Baruch son of Neriah, and while Jeremiah dictated all the words the Lord had spoken to him, Baruch wrote them on the scroll. Then Jeremiah told Baruch, \u201cI am restricted; I am not allowed to go to the Lord\u2019s temple. So you go to the house of the Lord on a day of fasting and read to the people from the scroll the words of the Lord that you wrote as I dictated. Read them to all the people of Judah who come in from their towns. Perhaps they will bring their petition before the Lord and will each turn from their wicked ways, for the anger and wrath pronounced against this people by the Lord are great.\u201d Baruch son of Neriah did everything Jeremiah the prophet told him to do; at the Lord\u2019s temple he read the words of the Lord from the scroll. In the ninth month of the fifth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, a time of fasting before the Lord was proclaimed for all the people in Jerusalem and those who had come from the towns of Judah.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Dan 6:17-19:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the rings of his nobles, so that Daniel\u2019s situation might not be changed. Then the king returned to his palace and spent the night without eating and without any entertainment being brought to him. And he could not sleep. At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lions\u2019 den.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Dan 9:2-19:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the Lord given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years. So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes. I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed: \u201cLord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments, we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws. We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our ancestors, and to all the people of the land. \u201cLord, you are righteous, but this day we are covered with shame\u2014the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far, in all the countries where you have scattered us because of our unfaithfulness to you. We and our kings, our princes and our ancestors are covered with shame, Lord, because we have sinned against you. The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him; we have not obeyed the Lord our God or kept the laws he gave us through his servants the prophets. All Israel has transgressed your law and turned away, refusing to obey you. \u201cTherefore the curses and sworn judgments written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against you. You have fulfilled the words spoken against us and against our rulers by bringing on us great disaster. Under the whole heaven nothing has ever been done like what has been done to Jerusalem. Just as it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come on us, yet we have not sought the favor of the Lord our God by turning from our sins and giving attention to your truth. The Lord did not hesitate to bring the disaster on us, for the Lord our God is righteous in everything he does; yet we have not obeyed him. \u201cNow, Lord our God, who brought your people out of Egypt with a mighty hand and who made for yourself a name that endures to this day, we have sinned, we have done wrong. Lord, in keeping with all your righteous acts, turn away your anger and your wrath from Jerusalem, your city, your holy hill. Our sins and the iniquities of our ancestors have made Jerusalem and your people an object of scorn to all those around us. \u201cNow, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant. For your sake, Lord, look with favor on your desolate sanctuary. Give ear, our God, and hear; open your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears your Name. We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy. Lord, listen! Lord, forgive! Lord, hear and act! For your sake, my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Dan 10:2-6:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

At that time I, Daniel, mourned for three weeks. I ate no choice food; no meat or wine touched my lips; and I used no lotions at all until the three weeks were over. On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river, the Tigris, I looked up and there before me was a man dressed in linen, with a belt of fine gold from Uphaz around his waist. His body was like topaz, his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and his voice like the sound of a multitude.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Joel 1:13-20:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Put on sackcloth, you priests, and mourn; wail, you who minister before the altar. Come, spend the night in sackcloth, you who minister before my God; for the grain offerings and drink offerings are withheld from the house of your God. Declare a holy fast; call a sacred assembly. Summon the elders and all who live in the land to the house of the Lord your God, and cry out to the Lord. Alas for that day!<\/span>
\n For the day of the Lord is near; it will come like destruction from the Almighty. Has not the food been cut off before our very eyes\u2014 joy and gladness from the house of our God? The seeds are shriveled beneath the clods. The storehouses are in ruins, the granaries have been broken down, for the grain has dried up. How the cattle moan! The herds mill about because they have no pasture; even the flocks of sheep are suffering. To you, Lord, I call, for fire has devoured the pastures in the wilderness and flames have burned up all the trees of the field. Even the wild animals pant for you; the streams of water have dried up and fire has devoured the pastures in the wilderness.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Joel 2:12-17:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEven now,\u201d declares the Lord, \u201creturn to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.\u201d Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity. Who knows? He may turn and relent and leave behind a blessing\u2014 grain offerings and drink offerings for the Lord your God. Blow the trumpet in Zion, declare a holy fast, call a sacred assembly. Gather the people, consecrate the assembly; bring together the elders, gather the children, those nursing at the breast. Let the bridegroom leave his room and the bride her chamber. Let the priests, who minister before the Lord, weep between the portico and the altar. Let them say, \u201cSpare your people, Lord. Do not make your inheritance an object of scorn, a byword among the nations. Why should they say among the peoples, \u2018Where is their God?\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Jonah 3:4-10:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Jonah began by going a day\u2019s journey into the city, proclaiming, \u201cForty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.\u201d The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth. When Jonah\u2019s warning reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust. This is the proclamation he issued in Nineveh: \u201cBy the decree of the king and his nobles: Do not let people or animals, herds or flocks, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink. But let people and animals be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence. Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish.\u201d When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Zech 7:2-10:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-Melek, together with their men, to entreat the Lord by asking the priests of the house of the Lord Almighty and the prophets, \u201cShould I mourn and fast in the fifth month, as I have done for so many years?\u201d Then the word of the Lord Almighty came to me: \u201cAsk all the people of the land and the priests, \u2018When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for the past seventy years, was it really for me that you fasted? And when you were eating and drinking, were you not just feasting for yourselves? Are these not the words the Lord proclaimed through the earlier prophets when Jerusalem and its surrounding towns were at rest and prosperous, and the Negev and the western foothills were settled?\u2019\u201d And the word of the Lord came again to Zechariah: \u201cThis is what the Lord Almighty said: \u2018Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other.\u2019<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Zech 8:19-23:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

This is what the Lord Almighty says: \u201cNow hear these words, \u2018Let your hands be strong so that the temple may be built.\u2019 This is also what the prophets said who were present when the foundation was laid for the house of the Lord Almighty. Before that time there were no wages for people or hire for animals. No one could go about their business safely because of their enemies, since I had turned everyone against their neighbor. But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people as I did in the past,\u201d declares the Lord Almighty. \u201cThe seed will grow well, the vine will yield its fruit, the ground will produce its crops, and the heavens will drop their dew. I will give all these things as an inheritance to the remnant of this people. Just as you, Judah and Israel, have been a curse[a] among the nations, so I will save you, and you will be a blessing. Do not be afraid, but let your hands be strong.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

Fra det Nye Testamente:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Matt 4:1-5:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted[a] by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, \u201cIf you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.\u201d Jesus answered, \u201cIt is written: \u2018Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.\u2019\u201d Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Matt 6:16-18:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Matt 9:14-17:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Then John\u2019s disciples came and asked him, \u201cHow is it that we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?\u201d Jesus answered, \u201cHow can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast. \u201cNo one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Mark 1:12-13:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness, and he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Mark 2:18-22:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Now John\u2019s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. Some people came and asked Jesus, \u201cHow is it that John\u2019s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not?\u201d Jesus answered, \u201cHow can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them. But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast. \u201cNo one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. Otherwise, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Luke 4:1-4:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted[a] by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry. The devil said to him, \u201cIf you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.\u201d Jesus answered, \u201cIt is written: \u2018Man shall not live on bread alone.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Luke 5:33-39:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

They said to him, \u201cJohn\u2019s disciples often fast and pray, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours go on eating and drinking.\u201d Jesus answered, \u201cCan you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; in those days they will fast.\u201d He told them this parable: \u201cNo one tears a piece out of a new garment to patch an old one. Otherwise, they will have torn the new garment, and the patch from the new will not match the old. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins. And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for they say, \u2018The old is better.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Luke 18:10-14:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTwo men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: \u2018God, I thank you that I am not like other people\u2014robbers, evildoers, adulterers\u2014or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.\u2019 \u201cBut the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, \u2018God, have mercy on me, a sinner.\u2019 \u201cI tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Acts 9:8-9:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Acts 13:2-3:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, \u201cSet apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.\u201d So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Acts 14:23:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Paul and Barnabas appointed elders[a] for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Acts 23:12:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The next morning some Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Acts 27:9:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Much time had been lost, and sailing had already become dangerous because by now it was after the Day of Atonement. So Paul warned them,<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Acts 27:33-36:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Just before dawn Paul urged them all to eat. \u201cFor the last fourteen days,\u201d he said, \u201cyou have been in constant suspense and have gone without food\u2014you haven\u2019t eaten anything. Now I urge you to take some food. You need it to survive. Not one of you will lose a single hair from his head.\u201d After he said this, he took some bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all. Then he broke it and began to eat. They were all encouraged and ate some food themselves.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

1 Cor 7:5:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Do not deprive each other except perhaps by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

2 Cor 6:4-6:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger [fasting]; in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love;<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

2 Cor 11:27-28:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food [fasting]; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

James 4:5-10:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us[a]? But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: \u201cGod opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.\u201d Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I have gathered all the Biblical texts, which I could find, that talk about fasting, because I hope this huge amount of verses will give you an impression of, how much the Bible has to say about fasting. It is…
L\u00e6s mere<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":434,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fastefordanmark.dk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/438"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fastefordanmark.dk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fastefordanmark.dk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fastefordanmark.dk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fastefordanmark.dk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=438"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/fastefordanmark.dk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/438\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":554,"href":"https:\/\/fastefordanmark.dk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/438\/revisions\/554"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fastefordanmark.dk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/434"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fastefordanmark.dk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=438"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}