OLD TESTAMENT

SUMMARY

Exodus 24:1-18

(ref Deuteronomy 9:9)

The Covenant (9) Confirmed; Moses (10) fasts for 40 days with God.

Exodus 34:1-28

(ref Deuteronomy 9:18)

The New Stone Tablets (11); Moses returns to Mount Sinai (12).

Judges 20:26

(read Judges 19-20)

The Israelites (13) punish the Benjaminites (14).

1 Samuel 7:6

Israel fasts for a day to repent, Samuel (15) prays, YHWH delivers them from the Philistines (16).

1 Samuel 14:24-48

King (17) Saul (18) places the army under oath not to eat until evening on the day of battle with the Philistines.

1 Samuel 20:34

Jonathan (19) refuses to eat because of his grief over his father’s (King Saul) mistreatment of David (20).

1 Samuel 31:1-13

(ref 1 Chronicles 10:1-14)

Men of Jabesh fast seven days after recovering the bodies of Saul and Jonathan from the Philistines.

2 Samuel 1:1-16

David and his men fast until evening upon hearing of the deaths of Saul and Jonathan.

2 Samuel 3:35

David refuses to eat food until evening when he heard of the death of Abner (21).

2 Samuel 12:1-23

David fasts and weeps seven days during the terminal illness of his son by Bathsheba (22).

1 Kings 13:1-22

A Man of God from Judah (23) is instructed by God not to eat or drink while on a mission to prophesy against Jeroboam's  (24) idolatry.

1 Kings 19:1-9

Elijah (25) goes 40 days on the strength of food provided to him by an Angel of the Lord (26).

1 Kings 21:1-29

Jezebel (27) conspires to steal Naboth's (28) vineyard and he's killed; Ahab (29) repents; Elijah prophecies.

2 Chronicles 20:1-4

Jehoshaphat (30) proclaims a fast throughout Judah (31) to seek YHWH for fear of the armies of Ammon (32) and Moab (33).

Ezra 8:21-23

Ezra (34) calls a fast to seek God’s protection for those sojourning to Israel (35) after leaving  Babylon (36).

Ezra 9:1-10:17

Ezra’s Prayer About Intermarriage & The People's Confession of Sin (37).

Nehemiah 1:1-11

Nehemiah (38) mourns and fasts for days over the news of the state of Jerusalem (39), confessing national sin.

Nehemiah 9:1-38

The people of Israel assemble with fasting to confess their sin after Ezra reads from The Law (40).

Esther 4:1-17

The Jews weep and fast when they hear of the king’s decree for their destruction.

Esther 9:1-23

Purim is established for the Jews with instructions for fasting and lamentations.

Job 3:24

Job (41) groans at the sight of food, and experiences great affliction and pain.

Job 33:19-20

Elihu (42) suggests that man (specifically, Job) is afflicted by God and unable to eat because God is chastening him.

Psalms 35:13

David defends his honor by saying that he fasted and prayed when his enemies were sick.

Psalms 42:3

The psalmist (Sons of Korah) says that tears are his food day and night.

Psalms 69:10

David’s fasting, weeping and prayer (43) was an object of scorn by his enemies.

Psalms 102:4

The afflicted psalmist forgets to eat bread because of his great grief.

Psalms 107:17-18

People in distress are pictured as near death, unable to eat, but YHWH saves them.

Psalms 109:24

David says his knees are weak from fasting, and his flesh has grown lean during his affliction from his enemies.

Isaiah 58

Israel’s fasts are not heard by God because of their oppression and hypocrisy; He desires righteousness first.

Jeremiah 14:12

Israel’s fasts are not heard by God because of their oppression and hypocrisy.

Jeremiah 36:1-32

The people of Judah assemble in Jerusalem for a fast, and

Baruch (44) reads Jeremiah’s prophecy to them.

Ezekiel 24:15-27

Ezekiel (45) is instructed in special mourning rites, which include fasting, for the death of his wife.

Daniel 6:18

King (46) Darius I (47) fasts from food, entertainment, and sleep through the night while worrying for Daniel (48) in the lion’s den.

Daniel 9:1-3

Daniel fasts, confessing Israel’s sin, upon reading Jeremiah’s prophecy of the seventy weeks.

Daniel 10:1-3

Daniel mourns for three weeks, abstaining from tasty food, meat, wine, and ointment.

Joel 1:13-20

Joel (49) calls for a nation-wide fast because of famine that is destroying the land.

Joel 2:12-17

YHWH calls the people to return to Him with fasting, rending their hearts, not garments; Joel again calls for a fast.

Jonah 3:1-10

All of Nineveh (50) fasts, repenting at the preaching of Jonah (51) of the destruction of the city.

Zechariah 7:5

YHWH rebukes the priests for their ritual fasts that were done more for themselves than for Him.

Zechariah 8:19

YHWH will transform the ritual fasts into feasts of joy when His people have repented of sin and He grants them favor.

NEW TESTAMENT

 SUMMARY

Matthew 4:1-11;

Mark 1:12-13;

Luke 4:1-4

Jesus fasts for 40 days and 40 nights in the wilderness (52), being tempted by Satan (53).

Matthew 6:16-18

Jesus teaches that fasting should be done privately for God, not for the purpose of being seen to be fasting, like the hypocrites.

Matthew 9:14-17;

Mark 2:18-22;

Luke 5:33-39

Jesus tells John's (54) Disciples that own His Disciples (55) do not fast because the bridegroom is present, but when He is taken away they will.

Matthew 15:32;

Mark 8:3

Jesus did not wish to send the crowd away fasting, since they had been with Him three days and have nothing (more?) to eat.

Matthew 17:21;

Mark 9:29

Jesus says that this kind of demon goes out only by means of prayer and fasting.

Luke 2:36-38

Anna (56) the Prophetess serves in the temple night and day with fastings and prayers.

Luke 18:9-14

The Pharisee (57) in Jesus’ parable (58) shows his self-righteousness by boasting that he fasts twice a week and tithes.

Acts 9:1-9

Saul/Paul (59) fasted from food and water three days after his Damascus Road experience.

Acts 10:30

Cornelius (60) was fasting and praying when an Angel instructed him to go to the Apostle Peter (61).

Acts 13:1-3

Prophets and teachers in Antioch (62) were ministering to the Lord and fasting before and after the Holy Spirit (63) set apart Paul and Barnabas (64).

Acts 14:21-25

Paul and Barnabas appoint elders in the churches, having prayed while fasting.

Acts 23:12

Certain Jews bind themselves by oath not to eat or drink until they kill Paul.

Acts 27:9

Paul’s voyage to Rome (65) takes place after “the fast” was over, a reference to the Day of Atonement (66).

Acts 27:33

Paul encourages the ship’s crew to eat, since they had fasted for 14 days.

1 Corinthians 7:5

Paul tells couples not to deprive one another sexually, except for brief periods devoted to prayer and fasting.

2 Corinthians 6:3-10;

2 Corinthians 11:27

Paul lists “fastings" among the hardships (67) he suffered as a mark of his apostleship.