The Call of Isaiah
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Isaiah 6
Isaiah 6
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.”
The Conditions (Vs1)
In the King Uzziah died. King Uzziah (791-740 BC) also called Azariah was the 10th King of Judah after the assassination of his father. Uzziah shared the throne with his son Jotham after being infected with leprosy. Because he was unclean he could not perform publically so he shared the throne with his son. He eventually died from leprosy after reigning for 52 years. Many believe he was the last good King of Judah.
Also just prior to Uzziah’s death the great Assyrian King Tilgath-Pilser III had ascended his throne reviving the waning Neo-Assyrian Empire. He turned his attention to Israel and the West starting with Military campaigns. In one campaign he encountered Azariah of Judah. Fear came upon Israel because their King had died and now the threat of an invading army. This fear provided and opportunity for the Prophet to be heard. One commentator says “ The National glory of Israel died out too with King Uzziah and has never been recovered to this day.”
The Revelation of the Lord. (VS1)
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.
“ I saw the Lord. Isaiah receives the vision of the Lord. Notice what the Scripture says about his vision:
1. Sitting on the Throne.
2. High and Lifted Up.
3. The train of His robe.
This description displays His glory, His power , His majesty and His size. He is infinitely more than we could ever imagine.
The seraphim . What is a seraphim?
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.
“Literally burning little ones. Seraphim are winged serpents whose images decorated many of the Egyptian Pharaohs. In some cases, they were the crowns of the Egyptian Kingdoms and were thought to act as guardians over the King. Israel adopted the symbolism for God’s throne. Isaiah envisioned the seraphim as agents of God who prepared him to proclaim the Lord’s message to Judah. “(Holman illustrated Bible Dictionary, pg. 143, Holman Bible Publishers 2004)
Above Him stood seraphim, each one had six wings, two covered his face, two covered his feet and two flew. They were calling out to each other, “Holy, Holy , Holy.
And one cried to another and said:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
The whole earth is full of His glory!”
The seraphim would shout Holy, then the other would shout Holy, and then the other would shout Holy. The repetition is a Hebrew way of adding emphasis. What are they emphasizing? They are emphasizing the Holiness of the Lord.
And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.
Now this was no casual encounter. I want to say we have lost our reverence for the Lord. We have become way too casual with Him. Notice the revelation of the voice of the Lord shakes the door post and fills the house with smoke. This is no ordinary occurence. It’s a revelation of God and it is life changing.
The Conviction (Vs5)
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.”
When Isaiah saw the vision of the Lord, it immediately revealed his sinfulness. The problem today is we don’t see the Lord. We see organized religion, we see self help seminars, we see Church growth programs but we don’t see the Lord.
None of these things are life changing. Only the vision of the Lord will expose your sinfulness. It is key for us changing, we must see our sinfulness compared to His Holiness which brings conviction. What happens when we are convicted?
The Cleansing. (Vs6)
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.
One of the seraphim comes to Isaiah with a burning coal from the altar and touches Isaiah’s lips. And says “this has touched your lips your guilt is taken away your sin has been atoned for.”
Fire is the chief symbol of the Holiness of God in the Bible. Fire has a refining process and power. It was the cleansing provided by the Father that made Isaiah right with Him. It is also the cleansing the Father has provided us through Jesus Christ that allows us to be right with Him. Notice this cleaning immediately follows the conviction. In I John we see how the cleaning takes place in the life of the believer.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
The Call (Vs8)
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.”
God calls Isaiah. Before He does, notice Isaiah had conviction and cleansing. Before God calls someone to do something there first must be conviction and cleansing.
Many times a believer may say God has not called me to do something. The question should be asked are you clean? God will not use you with sin in your life. Yield to the conviction in your life and receive cleansing then you can answer the call. Isaiah answers by saying “Here am I send me”.
The Commission (Vs9)
And He said, “Go, and tell this people:
‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand;
Keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’
God tells Isaiah to “Go and Tell”. Isaiah was to only do what God called him to do. He was not responsible for the response of the people he was simply responsible to go and tell.
What was he to tell them?
“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.”
Isaiah was sent to preach repentance to the people of Judah. But his message would only bring to surface the hardness that existed in their hearts. He repeatedly called them to repent and they as a whole ignored His instruction.
According to John 12:40-41
“He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts,
Lest they should see with their eyes,
Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,
So that I should heal them.”
These things Isaiah said when he saw His glory and spoke of Him.
Jesus indicates that Isaiah actually saw in this vision the Lord Jesus in His pre-incarnate state. This is strong evidence for the deity of Jesus. (David Jeremiah)
Isaiah warns Israel will become like what they worship. Isaiah was called and commissioned to Israel and they refused to listen. As a result they would reap the consequences of rejecting God.
Conclusion:
Isaiah’s call and commission came after the conviction and cleansing. Have you clearly seen by faith the Glory and Holiness of the One True God?
Before God will use you, He must convict and cleanse you. Are you clean?