Here I Am, Send Me

Introduction

I love to look at the stories of the Heroes of the Faith in the Bible. They often tell tales of faithfulness and obedience. They demonstrate character in action. They inspire us to be better versions of ourselves. But one of the cautions we must keep in mind as we read the Bible for ourselves is that these men and women of God are just that… they are men and women of God. They are not super heroes, even though God may have equipped them with supernatural strength according to His purpose. They do not have command over the wind and the waves, even though God might use them to part seas, stop the rain or even call fire down from the heavens. All power they seem to display is God’s to give and distribute as He sees fit.

No, these heroes of the faith are ordinary people like you and me and everything they achieved worthy of being recorded and transmitted through history can be done in us if we would but trust in God in the same way. Could it be that God is wanting to continue working in these ways, but needs people willing to do whatever God requires?

And so, we come to the main question I want to ask this morning… what will it take for you to stand up and declare the title of this message: Here I am, send me!”

These are words of faith, trust and hope. They are steadfast and firm. They declare something about our willingness and attempt to declare something about our future. But they are terrifying words aren’t they? They speak of things that are not in our control. In fact, they speak of things that are only in God’s hands, and it is a call to trust in Him!

Isaiah is an inspiring prophet and his story is remarkable. He has one of the longer books in the Bible, which for me indicates that he was a very active prophet. He has several prophesies about Jesus Christ despite being written something like 700 years before Christ’s birth.

Isaiah’s book has university and seminary level classes dedicated to its study and so what we can accomplish today is very basic. We are starting in chapter 6 this morning because this is where the narrative telling of his calling takes place.

The Vision (v. 1-4)

Isaiah 6:1–5 “In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called out to another and said, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory.” And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke. Then I said, “Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.””

There are a select few passages in scripture that give us such a vivid glimpse at a heavenly throne, and all of them are prophetic in nature. Here in Isaiah, two places in Ezekiel (see chapters 1 & 10), as well as in Revelation (chapters 4 & 5).

The passage opens by anchoring it at a point in history marked by the historical event of Uzziah’s death. This serves to reassure the readers that this is a prophetic vision, not some wild dream.

Isaiah’s vision is of a heavenly throne room where God is seated on His throne, but this room is in the temple. Vivid descriptions are given to ensure that we know in detail what Isaiah sees. The opulence is laid out there in the words on the page. The Lord is lofty and exalted and has a robe that is so long it fills the temple! One commentary describes it as follows:

“Here it is evidently designed as a representation of a large, flowing robe, that filled all the most holy part of the temple. The Orientals regarded such large robes as indicative of grandeur and state.”

Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament: Isaiah, vol. 1 (London: Blackie & Son, 1851), 138.

Isaiah describes special angelic attendants, seraphim that stand next to the Lord. Specific attention is given to the many wings and their positions, as well as to what they say, and the response of the very ground itself at what the angels declare to one another.

The following is a quote about the earthquake and “natural” phenomenon that occurred because of the voice of the one praising God.

“So awful and sublime was the worship, that even the posts of the temple were moved; the whole sacred edifice trembled at the presence of God, and at the voice of those who were engaged in his praise; and the whole temple was filled with the symbol of the Divine presence and majesty, ver. 4.

Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament: Isaiah, vol. 1 (London: Blackie & Son, 1851), 137.

One thing that you might not notice right away as you read the account is that Isaiah includes no physical description of the LORD Himself. He describes the Lord’s robes, the throne, the angels, etc… but nothing about the Lord Himself. This is in keeping with other passages that talk about not being able to see the LORD and live. Isaiah seemingly sees everything else, including the Lord’s robe, but offers no physical description of the LORD Himself.

And to close off this section of the passage, Isaiah says that all the while, the temple was filling with smoke. This shouldn’t be all that unusual to the reader as the LORD is often portrayed in connection with fire and/or cloud… think about how God lead the Israelites in the wilderness during the Exodus story.

The Effect of the Vision (v. 5-7)

Isaiah 6:5–7 “Then I said, “Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.” Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs. He touched my mouth with it and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away and your sin is forgiven.””

Seeing the LORD in this way would have been utterly terrifying for Isaiah. He knows that he is a sinner (hence the declaration that he is a man of unclean lips) and that God is so holy that he clearly sees that he is unfit to be in His presence, or to worship Him, or to be involved in delivering such a message to the people as he will be asked. Such reverence for our Holy God can be found throughout the Bible, but one such example would be:

Job 42:5–6 ““I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; But now my eye sees You; Therefore I retract, And I repent in dust and ashes.””

In one line, Job retracts all of what he has said throughout the previous chapters of the book. Being confronted by God was enough to silence him, even though he spoke boldly about wanting to know why the Lord would allow him to go through what he did.

What follows Isaiah’s declaration of his unworthiness is a beautiful picture of redemption and forgiveness. Indeed, Isaiah is right in his assertion that he is not worthy to be there and that his sin puts his life in immanent danger. But the Lord has ordained this moment and one of the Seraphim, terrifying angelic creature that it is, flies over with a “burning coal” in his hand and touches Isaiah’s mouth with it.

While Isaiah declares that he is a man of unclean lips, this angel has symbolically demonstrated that his sins have been paid for and that he has been redeemed. He can now be in this holy place because “your iniquity is taken away and your sin is forgiven.”

It would do us well to consider this scene anytime we consider approaching God in prayer or praise. He is holy and our prayers are like bowing before the throne and making requests of the Holy God that sits upon it. One commentary ties together Isaiah’s feelings about himself with the things that were going on at a national level and puts it this way:

Seeing all this, Isaiah immediately was aware of his own unworthiness (6:5) and the need for atonement (6:6–7). In the presence of God’s holiness Isaiah was not struck by his humanity or mortality, but by (a) his own impurity; (b) the uncleanness of the nation of Judah; and (c) the sight of the King, the Lord Almighty. Isaiah could not join the seraphs in praising God until his lips were purified. He cried out, “woe is me” (ʾōy lî) because he was in the presence of a holy God.

Gary V. Smith

With sins forgiven, the remainder of the chapter can happen.

The Commission of the Prophet (v. 8-13)

Isaiah 6:8–13 “Then 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!” He said, “Go, and tell this people: ‘Keep on listening, but do not perceive; Keep on looking, but do not understand.’ “Render the hearts of this people insensitive, Their ears dull, And their eyes dim, Otherwise they might see with their eyes, Hear with their ears, Understand with their hearts, And return and be healed.” Then I said, “Lord, how long?” And He answered, “Until cities are devastated and without inhabitant, Houses are without people And the land is utterly desolate, “The Lord has removed men far away, And the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land. “Yet there will be a tenth portion in it, And it will again be subject to burning, Like a terebinth or an oak Whose stump remains when it is felled. The holy seed is its stump.””

What is said in verse 8, I believe the Lord still declares to this day! “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?”

Despite describing such terrifying and awe-inspiring circumstances, Isaiah is quick to find his words and quick to volunteer! The Lord needs someone to go and deliver a message and Isaiah is the prophet for the job! Since this story is embedded in the sixth chapter of his book, it seems reasonable to assume that he has already been acting as a prophet for the nation already and that this vision is likely not his first calling into this ministry, but a special calling to a special task with a specific message.

How many of us would be quick to volunteer to be the hands, feet and voice of the Lord and say to Him, “Here I am, send me!”?

What is the message that God wants to send to the people? It is not the most hopeful message… it’s kind of like when someone says “I’ve got good news, and I’ve got bad news...” Except you don’t get to choose which order you hear it in.

The first thing God declares to Isaiah is that his mission is to fail. More specifically, the message Isaiah is to bring is a message to the people about how they don’t listen. They are just not getting it. Historically, Israel keeps spinning around the same bush… keeps repeating the same mistakes. They are God’s chosen people, brought out of Egypt to inhabit the Promised Land. And when the people are comfortable living in the promises, they turn away from God, which in turn sees Him send enemies their way to punish them. In the midst of the punishment, the people feel the oppression and turn back to God and cry out to Him. He delivers them and they come back to God for a time before turning away again and repeating the cycle. By Isaiah’s time, the Lord’s patience was tested enough and they were about to go into exile. This prophesy looks to what that exile will look like. And the people must go through this simply because they just aren’t hearing the messages God sends, nor are they comprehending what God is trying to say. It’s just not making enough of a difference in their lives!

This is the first part of the prophesy God gives to Isaiah… you, the people, are a stubborn and deaf people, unwilling to listen to what God says, and unwilling to practice what little they do hear.

But even in the midst of the prophesy about punishment is embedded a beacon of hope. If they would but listen and understand, God will let then return to the blessings of the Promised land. They will experience the healing they so desparately desire in the midst of their oppression.

But then Isaiah does something that might not be expected. He asks God how long he is to preach this message. And the Lord says that he must proclaim it until everything is destroyed and the land is utterly desolate. The people will be scattered everywhere and next to no one will be left in the land that the Lord gave to them.

As the Lord continues His response to Isaiah about how long to preach the message for, He touches on another theme that can be found throughout scripture… the remnant. God made a promise to the people of Israel and to the kingdom of David and despite the prophesied circumstances of exile ahead, a remnant will be left of the people… one tenth will survive. And from that tenth… from that tithe of the people, God will still fulfill His promises!

The picture God paints for Isaiah is of a stump that has been cut down, but there is still life in it and it will spring forth again, this time, hopefully, to new and abundant life!

Conclusion

In wrapping up our discussion on the text, it now is our task to strive to understand what we might learn from this. We don’t necessarily want to find direct application points, but rather, we want to walk the right path from the text’s original audience, through history, pointing to Jesus, and then to us. So, how do we do that?

Isaiah’s prophesies were written for the people of Israel. Depending on when it was written, it might have been distributed to the nation before their exile in hopes of national repentance and course correction. Or, if it was written afterwards, it would have been intended for the remnant that Isaiah would have prophesied about… the tenth of the people. Either way, it would have been recorded so that future generations didn’t forget what happened and that they might finally learn their lessons from history and pass along those teachings.

But how does this passage point to Jesus? Isaiah’s book as a whole offers a lot of prophesies about Jesus and His initial coming. And while this particular passage isn’t explicitly about the Savior, even the New Testament teaches that Isaiah had an encounter with the pre-incarnate Christ as he encounters the heavenly throne room.

John 12:41 “These things Isaiah said because he saw His glory, and he spoke of Him.” John’s gospel seems to indicate that Isaiah’s witnessing the heavenly throne room gave him a glimpse of the promised Messiah.

Additionally, Christ is the ultimate fulfillment of the promises of God, which I’m sure the people were questioning as they were facing exile. Without the people of God, the Messiah couldn’t be born. But the promised remnant could still fulfill the promise of the Messiah.

As we begin to plumb the depths of this passage for something we can apply to our lives, it is to verse 8 that I really want to focus our attention. Isaiah is inspiring because he is willing. Even though he finds himself in a situation beyond imagination, he responds quickly to the call of the Lord and we could listen well to his words and adopt them for ourselves.

This world still needs to hear the Word of the Lord… the message of the gospel… the good news of a remnant that God will save from the prophesied destruction! He needs people who are willing to raise their voices and use their feet to go to the lost and call out to those who would listen and repent! He needs people willing to stand up and say “Here I am, send me!”

Are you ready to answer the call? Are you ready to say “yes” to the Lord? Will you bring the messages of God to your friends, family members, neighbors and friends? Will you be willing to go next door and/or to the ends of the earth? Let’s pray that many in our congregation this morning would take up the call and be bold in the proclamation of the gospel to the lost that we might fill this place with new Christians eager to learn more about God and His purposes for their lives!