Fasting

We read of fasts for the most part in the Old Testament. The Hebrew word means to cover the mouth, to keep the mouth shut, to fast. The Mosaic law prescribed only one fast, what Leviticus 16:29-31 calls "afflicting of the soul," on the great day of atonement. Later, the Israelites had the practice of fasting in hard circumstances, in the midst of bereavement, and whenever God threatened judgment. Still later, they fasted on certain days to commemorate outstanding events in their history, such...