By Eugene Garner

ISAIAH CHAPTER 6

A PROPHET'S CALL AND COMMISSION

In the year that King Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings, with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. Then said I, Woe, is me! for I am undone because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.

    1. The vision is located "in the year that king Uzziah died"; whether before or after his death is not specifically stated - though Isaiah was definitely in the prophetic office before his death, (1:1).
    2. In the midst of trying times, Isaiah was granted a glimpse of Judah's Divine King enthroned, exalted, glorious and adequate to meet her deepest need, (Rev. 4:2-3; 20:11; comp. Eph. 3:20; Phil. 4:19).
    3. Above him hovered the six-winged seraphim's (burning ones) proclaiming in antiphonal chant, or responsive song, the perfect holiness and earth-filling glory of "Jehovah of hosts" - the pre-incarnate Christ and covenant-God of Israel, (Jn. 12:41; comp. Rev. 4:8; 5:9-13; Num. 14:21; Hab. 2:14; Psa. 22:27).
    4. At the sound of the angelic voices the doorposts of the temple trembled, and smoke (probably suggestive of divine displeasure against sin) filled the house, (comp. Ex. 19:18; Isa. 33:14; Deut. 4:24; Heb. 12:29).
    5. This was truly a humbling and prostrating experience for Isaiah - the man of God, who identified himself with Judah and her sins, comp. (Neh. 9:32-37; Dan. 9:4-19) - the deep sin-consciousness resulting from his beholding "the king, the LORD of hosts", (comp. Ex. 33:22; Job 40:4-5; 42:5-6).

   Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed. Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate, And the LORD have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land. But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be eaten: as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them, when they cast their leaves: so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof.

    1. In response to Isaiah's anguished confession, one of the seraphims took a live coal from off the altar, laid it upon his mouth, and declared his iniquity atoned for; his sin purged, (vs. 6-7; comp. Jer. 1:9; Dan. 10:16; Isa. 40:2; 53:5-6, 11; I Jn. 1:7).

    2. It is then that the Lord's own voice is heard: "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" And the response of the prophet is immediate: "Here am I; SEND ME!"

    3. Only after Isaiah's whole-hearted commitment to proclaim the Lord's message does the Lord reveal that it is to be a hardening, deafening, blinding and condemning word - the result of Judah's persistent rebellion and unbelief, (vs. 9-10; Neh. 9:24-31).

    4. In response to the prophet's impassioned cry of "How long?" the Lord tells him that the message of impending judgment must be proclaimed until the sentence is fully executed in: the laying waste of their cities and farmlands, the vacating of their luxurious houses, and their deportation to a strange land, (vs. 11-12; Psa. 79:5; Lev. 26:31; Isa. 1:7; 3:8, 26; Jer. 4:29).

    5. Though a remnant be spared (a holy seed), it will be subjected to constant testing; but, the Redeemer of Israel will not leave Himself without a people for his own possession and service! (Deut. 7:6-10; I Pet. 2:9-10).
      a. God will not utterly forsake them (2 Sam. 7:24); the discipline of dispersion and desolation is but a proof of their election (Amos 3:2); the casting off will not be permanent, (Zech. 10:6).
      b. A holy remnant (root-stump) will remain - ultimately to sprout, bud, blossom and bear fruit to the glory of God!