Sermon Outline on Isa. 6:1-13

The Call of the Prophet Isaiah. Isa. 6:1-13

Kevin / General Adult

Isaiah 6:1-13“In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to 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 were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke. So I said: “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 my eyes have seen the King, The Lord of hosts.” Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth with it, and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; Your iniquity is taken away, And your sin purged.” Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: “Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.” And He said, “Go, and tell this people: ‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; Keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’ “Make the heart of this people dull, And their ears heavy, And shut their eyes; Lest they see with their eyes, And hear with their ears, And understand with their heart, And return and be healed.” Then I said, “Lord, how long?” And He answered: “Until the cities are laid waste and without inhabitant, The houses are without a man, The land is utterly desolate, The Lord has removed men far away, And the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land. But yet a tenth will be in it, And will return and be for consuming, As a terebinth tree or as an oak, Whose stump remains when it is cut down. So the holy seed shall be its stump.””

I.  The Tragedy of the Past. vs 1a

A.  Learning From the Past.  vs. 1a

“In the year that king Uzziah died”

1.  Uzziah began well.  II Chron. 26:5,15

Uzziah - “The LORD has helped.”

Note:  II Chron. 26:5,15

vs. 5 - And he sought God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the visions of God: and as long as he sought the LORD, God made him to prosper.  KJV

vs. 15b - And his name spread far abroad; for he was marvelously helped, till he was strong.   KJV

2.  Uzziah ended badly.  II Chron. 26:16

II Chron. 26:16 - But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction: for he transgressed against the LORD his God, and went into the temple of the LORD to burn incense upon the altar of incense.

“Satan’s most clever deceptions and man’s worst rebellions have been in the realm of religion.”  Anderson

Note:  only One individual is qualified to hold the office of both priest and king.  The Lord Jesus who is “a priest after the order of Melchizedek.  

Note:  Examples of Samson, Saul, Demas.  Cp. I Cor. 9:24

I Cor. 9:24 - Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the the prize?  So run, that ye may obtain.

B.  Leaving the Past.  vs. 1b

vs. 1b - “I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple.” NKJV - “train” - “hem”

Cp. Ezekial and John’s vision.

1.  One’s eye’s must not be on man’s failure.  Phil. 3:13

Phil. 3:13 - Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before.

Note:  Modern Progressive Movement:  (1) focuses on past mistakes (slavery, racisms etc); (2) seeks to remove history; (3) no place for redemption.

“No matter what happens in our country, be like Isaiah, he looked up, and God was still on His throne.”  John MacArthur

2.  One’s eyes must be on God. vs. 1b

Note:  the LORD is unmovable, exalted, still on the Throne,and is to fill our lives.

Note:  Our hope is not in earthly rulers, but in the Heavenly Ruler.

Note:  Practicing the Presence of God.  1 Kings 17:1 “Now Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.””

II.  The Vision of the Present.  vv. 2-7

A.  The Response of the Seraphim.  vv. 2-4

“Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to 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 were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.” NKJV

1.  The meaning of the Seraphim.  vs 2 “burning ones” “flames”

Note:  John was said to be “a burning and a shining light” by our Lord.

Matt. 5:14 - Ye are the light of the world.

2.  The covering of the Seraphim.  vs. 2

“Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet,”  NKJV

Note:  Humility and reverence.  Example of Paul, Timothy, Epaphroditus - of Jesus

5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. 9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Phil. 2:5-11

The quote "They also serve who only stand and wait" comes from John Milton’s sonnet “On His Blindness”, not from Paradise Lost. It appears at the very end of the sonnet:

3.  The compulsion of the Seraphim.  vs. 2

“and with two he flew.”

4.  The cry of the Seraphim.  vv. 3-4 (the trihagion)

“And one cried to 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 were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.”     NKJV

“In his book, Isaiah refers to God as ‘the Holy One (of Israel)’ 30 times, demonstrating the enduring impression this vision made on his soul.  The title is used only eleven other times in the rest of the Old Testament.”   Anderson

“whole earth—the Hebrew more emphatically, the fulness of the whole earth is His glory (Ps 24:1; 72:19).”

“Habakkuk 2:14 predicts that someday the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as water covers the sea.”

Great Father of glory, pure Father of light, 

Thine angels adore thee, all veiling their sight; 

All praise we would render; O help us to see

‘Tis only the splendor of light hideth thee.”- W.C. Smith

B.  The Response of the Prophet.  vv. 5-7

1.  His condition.  vs. 5

So I said: “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 my eyes have seen the King, The Lord of hosts.”  NKJV

Note:  He mentions his own condition before mentioning the condiition his people.

Note:  Ex. of Job - “I abhor myself”

           Ex of John - “And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead . . . “  Revelation 1:17 “When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last,” 

2.  His cleansing.  vv. 6-7

“Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth with it, and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; Your iniquity is taken away, And your sin purged.”” NKJV - “purged” - “lit, covered” - JFB

Note:  the Pharisee and the Publican.

Luke 18:9–14 “He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”” 

Note: Propitiation and Expiation.

III.  The Commission for the Future.  vv. 8-13

A.  He Heard the Call.  vs. 8a

“Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: “Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?” 

Note:  The call comes after the cleansing.

B.  He Heeded the Call.  vs. 8b

Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.””  KJV

Note:  Contrast with Moses, Jeremiah, Gideon and others.

Note:  The difficulty of his mission.  vv. 9-13

“And He said, “Go, and tell this people: ‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; Keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’ “Make the heart of this people dull, And their ears heavy, And shut their eyes; Lest they see with their eyes, And hear with their ears, And understand with their heart, And return and be healed.” Then I said, “Lord, how long?” And He answered: “Until the cities are laid waste and without inhabitant, The houses are without a man, The land is utterly desolate, The Lord has removed men far away, And the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land. But yet a tenth will be in it, And will return and be for consuming, As a terebinth tree or as an oak, Whose stump remains when it is cut down. So the holy seed shall be its stump.”” NKJV

Note:  Availing ourselves of the resources God has given us (example of David and Absolom) - the Holy Spirit; the Word of God; Prayer; fellowship of the saints.

Page .  Exported from Logos Bible Study, 9:05 AM June 27, 2025.