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by Samuel E. Ward
Isaiah 6
Introduction
Isaiah lived in momentous times for Israel and Judah. Both nations had experienced prosperity during the first half of the eighth century B.C. But not long after the midpoint of the century, the Assyrians appeared on the horizon like a dark, ominous storm cloud. In an effort to resist the Assyrians, the Northern Kingdom formed a coalition with the Arameans (Syrians). When Judah refused to join the effort, Israel and Aram attacked. Some of the early chapters of the book reflect this background. The Assyrians defeated Aram and Israel, reducing the latter to a puppet state. The morally corrupt Northern Kingdom was moving headlong toward final judgment. In 722 B.C. The Assyrians conquered Samaria and made Israel an Assyrian province. Following in the footsteps of the Northern Kingdom, Judah also rebelled against God's commandments. Isaiah warned his countrymen to change.
--Robert B. Chisholm, Thd., Associate Professor of Old Testament, Dallas Theological Seminary, Article: "Isaiah", Holman Bible Handbook.
As we continue our study of the book of Isaiah, we focus now upon his call to ministry as a prophet by God according the record of Isaiah 6.
A. Isaiah and King Ahaz, Isa 6-12
1. The call from the throne of God, Isa 6:1-13.
a. The splendor of God on His throne, Isa 6:1-4
1) He is high and exalted, Isa 6:.1.
Isaiah 6:1 ( NIV ) 1In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple.
2) He is holy, Isa 6:2-3a.
Isaiah 6:2-3a ( NIV ) 2Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3And they were calling to one another:
"Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty;
3) His glory fills the whole earth, Isa 6:3b.
Isaiah 6:3b ( NIV ) the whole earth is full of his glory."
4) His presence inspires awesome worship of an awesome God, Isa 6:4
Isaiah 6:4 ( NIV ) 4At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.
This vision calls to mind one had by the Apostle John in Rev 4:1-11. The theme there is also the awesome glory of the presence of God, His holiness, and His worthiness of worship.
Revelation 4:1-11 ( NIV ) 1After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, "Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this." 2At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. 3And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian. A rainbow, resembling an emerald, encircled the throne. 4Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. 5From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. Before the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits£ of God. 6Also before the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal.
In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. 7The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. 8Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying:
"Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come."
9Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, 10the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne, and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say:
11"You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being."
b. The shamefulness of Isaiah before the throne, Isa 6:5
Isaiah 6:5 ( NIV ) 5"Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty."
Job felt similarly aware of his sinfulness in the presence of God, Job 40:1-4.
There are others who were awestruck and in fear when they saw a physical manifestation of the Lord or the angel of the Lord:
1) Jacob, after wrestling with God, Gen 32:30
2) Moses, in seeing the backside of God on Mt. Sinai Exo 33:5-8.
3) Gideon, after asking for proof that it was indeed God who was speaking to him, Jud 6:22
4) Samson's parents, after seeing the angel of the Lord who announced the coming birth of Samson, Jud 13:21-22
c. The cleansing of Isaiah at the throne, Isaiah 6:6-7
The answer to Isaiah's concern over his sinfulness came in a unique symbolic act of atonement performed by one of the seraphs.
Isaiah 6:6-7 ( NIV ) 6Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7With it he touched my mouth and said, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for."
d. The call of God from the throne, Isaiah 6:8a
Isaiah 6:8 ( NIV ) 8Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?"
e. The answer of Isaiah before the throne, Isa 6:8b
Isaiah 6:8b ( NIV ) 8bAnd I said, "Here am I. Send me!"
It takes courage to stand up and speak for the Lord when all others are cowering in fear. Be reminded of young David when he volunteered to fight the giant Goliath who had been constantly taunting the Israelites and insulting their God.
1 Samuel 17:26 ( NIV ) 26David asked the men standing near him, "What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?"
1 Samuel 17:32 ( NIV ) 32David said to Saul, "Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him."
f. The commissioning of Isaiah from the throne, Isa 6:9
Isaiah 6:9-10 ( NIV ) 9He said, "Go and tell this people: "'Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.' 10Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed."
The form of the message which God gives to Isaiah was not issued hope of Judah's repentance. I have noticed that the more you present God to some people, the more resistant they become to even His invitation to love and save them. They are so committed to their ways that no amount of talking or showing will be able to draw them to God. If anything, they become more repulsed by Him, His message, and His messengers. This message is a indictment of Israel's disregard for God and His rule.
g. The query from Isaiah, Isa 6:11a
Isaiah 6:11a ( NIV ) 11aThen I said, "For how long, O Lord?"
h. The answer from God, Isa 6:111b-13
Isaiah 6:11b-13 ( NIV ) 11bAnd he answered: "Until the cities lie ruined and without inhabitant, until the houses are left deserted and the fields ruined and ravaged, 12until the LORD has sent everyone far away and the land is utterly forsaken. 13And though a tenth remains in the land, it will again be laid waste. But as the terebinth and oak leave stumps when they are cut down, so the holy seed will be the stump in the land."
Basically, the answer is, "Until everyone in Judah has either been taken away captive or left to stay in a ruined and unproductive land."
Relevance
1. We should ask ourselves if our view of God is a biblical one. Perhaps because we are not able to see Him as He is, we are tempted to dismiss Him and not give due regard to His holiness. One day we shall all be made to appear before His awesome glory and only the righteous in Christ will be able to stand.
2. God is a God of love, but that love is within His holiness. His holiness requires that He judge those who have rejected His love in favor someone or something that is less than He Who is the God of all creation.
3. Love for God's honor motivates some to speak up and declare His message to others. The Christian message is a message of God's love in that He offers rescue from the consequences of sin. God is looking for people today as he was in Isaiah's day to "stand in the gap" on behalf of sinners. But, alas, like Ezekiel's day, they are scarce.
Ezekiel 22:30-31 ( NIV ) 30"I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none. 31So I will pour out my wrath on them and consume them with my fiery anger, bringing down on their own heads all they have done, declares the Sovereign LORD."
Will you be that man or woman to stand in the gap and proclaim to others the only message that can save them--the only message that can give them eternal life?
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