Fasting has in all ages and among all nations been an exercise much in use in times of mourning, sorrow, and afflictions. Yet there is no Bible example of fasting to be seen before the time of Moses. Although the Bible doesn't say so, it is presumed that the patriarchs of old fasted until Moses' time.
1 Fasting: A Look at the Old Testament
Fasting has in all ages and among all nations been an exercise much in use in times of mourning, sorrow, and afflictions. Yet there is no Bible example of fasting to be seen before the time of Moses. Although the Bible doesn't say so, it is presumed that the patriarchs of old fasted until Moses' time.
(We know this because there was a great deal of mourning among people of the Old Covenant.) It is interesting to notice that Moses enjoined no particular fast in his five books, except upon the solemn Day of Atonement. In Leviticus 23:27, Moses talks about "afflicting your souls." In Hebrew this means, "Ye shall humble yourself deeply before God inwardly by sorrow, and by judging and loathing yourselves; and outwardly by fasting and abstinence from all carnal comforts and delights." This fast is the only one Moses enjoins, although the Jews did fast at other times for periods of 24 hours: from the sundown of one day to the sundown of the next. Since the time of Moses, examples of fasting have been common among the Jews. After Israel's defeat at Ai, Joshua and the leaders lay on their faces before God until evening (Josh. 7:6). In other words, it was from morning until evening; about 12 hours. Judges 20:26 speaks of fasting until evening, and First Samuel 7:6 and Second Samuel 12:16 also give examples Should My Goal Be a 40-Day Fast? A mistake many people make in teaching on fasting is picking out isolated portions of Scripture and misconstruing them. Any Bible subject can be pushed out of context and do more harm than good. Some writers leave the impression everyone should go on a 40-day fast. They use the illustration that Moses fasted 40 days on Mount Horeb. But consider this: Moses was in the very presence of God. If you were on a mountain in the presence of God, talking to Him, you probably could go without food and water 40 days, too! Exodus 34:28 says, "And he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments." The Scripture prior to this says God appeared to him. The glory of God was there, and Moses was caught up in it. He could well go without food or water. Nobody can go without water very long unless he is in a supernatural condition. You can go without food, but not water. If you're caught up in the Spirit and are in the glory of God, you also lose all sense of time. Those 40 days probably seemed like about 14 minutes to Moses. Sister Maria Woodworth-Etter, one of the pioneers of the Pentecostal movement, was still preaching in a tent that would seat 20,000 when she was 72 years old. She would fill it up and preach without a public address system. When she ministered, the power of God often came upon her as well as upon others in the congregation. For example, in one of Sister Etter's books she reports that during a tent revival in Shawnee, Ohio, the Spirit of God came upon a woman and the woman lay under the power of God for eight days. During that time she did not take any nourishment. At the end of that time, she came up shouting and preaching, telling others of the wonderful experience she had had. Naturally, anyone caught up in such glory could go without food, water, or anything else. (A Diary of Signs and Wonders, Etter, p. 107.) Some say Elijah fasted 40 days, but actually he didn't. Jezebel threatened to cut his head off, so he ran. Wearily, he climbed under a juniper tree and cried, "Just let me die. I would just as soon be dead!" But he didn't want to die any more than you would if you had said that. If he had really wanted to die, he could have stayed where he was—Jezebel would have accommodated him! The Lord came and ministered to him, and the angels fed him. He went in the strength of that angel food 40 days. First Kings 19:7 says, "And the angel of the Lord came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee." If an angel came down and fed you, you might be able to go in the strength of that quite a while, too. But that's not a bona fide fast. You can't use that as an example of someone fasting in the natural. The only one whom the Bible ever said fasted 40 days was Jesus. In Matthew 4:2 we read, he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungered." There is a clue here. Matthew 4:1 says he was "led up of the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil." So He was led by the Spirit and ministered to by angels, Again, that's not a bona fide fast.
(We know this because there was a great deal of mourning among people of the Old Covenant.) It is interesting to notice that Moses enjoined no particular fast in his five books, except upon the solemn Day of Atonement. In Leviticus 23:27, Moses talks about "afflicting your souls." In Hebrew this means, "Ye shall humble yourself deeply before God inwardly by sorrow, and by judging and loathing yourselves; and outwardly by fasting and abstinence from all carnal comforts and delights." This fast is the only one Moses enjoins, although the Jews did fast at other times for periods of 24 hours: from the sundown of one day to the sundown of the next. Since the time of Moses, examples of fasting have been common among the Jews. After Israel's defeat at Ai, Joshua and the leaders lay on their faces before God until evening (Josh. 7:6). In other words, it was from morning until evening; about 12 hours. Judges 20:26 speaks of fasting until evening, and First Samuel 7:6 and Second Samuel 12:16 also give examples Should My Goal Be a 40-Day Fast? A mistake many people make in teaching on fasting is picking out isolated portions of Scripture and misconstruing them. Any Bible subject can be pushed out of context and do more harm than good. Some writers leave the impression everyone should go on a 40-day fast. They use the illustration that Moses fasted 40 days on Mount Horeb. But consider this: Moses was in the very presence of God. If you were on a mountain in the presence of God, talking to Him, you probably could go without food and water 40 days, too! Exodus 34:28 says, "And he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments." The Scripture prior to this says God appeared to him. The glory of God was there, and Moses was caught up in it. He could well go without food or water. Nobody can go without water very long unless he is in a supernatural condition. You can go without food, but not water. If you're caught up in the Spirit and are in the glory of God, you also lose all sense of time. Those 40 days probably seemed like about 14 minutes to Moses. Sister Maria Woodworth-Etter, one of the pioneers of the Pentecostal movement, was still preaching in a tent that would seat 20,000 when she was 72 years old. She would fill it up and preach without a public address system. When she ministered, the power of God often came upon her as well as upon others in the congregation. For example, in one of Sister Etter's books she reports that during a tent revival in Shawnee, Ohio, the Spirit of God came upon a woman and the woman lay under the power of God for eight days. During that time she did not take any nourishment. At the end of that time, she came up shouting and preaching, telling others of the wonderful experience she had had. Naturally, anyone caught up in such glory could go without food, water, or anything else. (A Diary of Signs and Wonders, Etter, p. 107.) Some say Elijah fasted 40 days, but actually he didn't. Jezebel threatened to cut his head off, so he ran. Wearily, he climbed under a juniper tree and cried, "Just let me die. I would just as soon be dead!" But he didn't want to die any more than you would if you had said that. If he had really wanted to die, he could have stayed where he was—Jezebel would have accommodated him! The Lord came and ministered to him, and the angels fed him. He went in the strength of that angel food 40 days. First Kings 19:7 says, "And the angel of the Lord came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee." If an angel came down and fed you, you might be able to go in the strength of that quite a while, too. But that's not a bona fide fast. You can't use that as an example of someone fasting in the natural. The only one whom the Bible ever said fasted 40 days was Jesus. In Matthew 4:2 we read, he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungered." There is a clue here. Matthew 4:1 says he was "led up of the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil." So He was led by the Spirit and ministered to by angels, Again, that's not a bona fide fast.
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