Reflection on Isaiah 6

Isaiah 6:1-5

Mentioned here is the death of King Uzziah (the strength of the Yahweh) to mark time in history when the following prophecy was given. We can assume that the death of a king causes a temporary imbalance of power in any nation, but something special happened when King Uzziah died.

In that same year, Isaiah saw the LORD of hosts. And right away the LORD is positioned up high, on the throne of authority, high and lifted up, and his omnipresence, omniscience, and omnipotence are so large that it fills the temple from wall to wall. A heavenly entourage follows the LORD, these are the seraphs and they sing a powerful song.

If your life were spread out on a wall of shelves, where would God be positioned on your wall? Up high or down low? Far away or close in reach?

"Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.” Isaiah 6:3.

Holy - (qadosh) Sacred, Holy, Consecrated 

By repeating “holy” three times, the holiness of God is emphasized, just as someone may say that a place is “very very far away”, the seraphs are in essence saying, “very, very, very Holy is the LORD of hosts.” This phrase ("Holy, holy, holy!”) is only used in one other part of the Bible.

In Revelation 4, "Holy, holy, holy!” is sung by a heavenly choir as well. “Holy,” said three times, emphasizing the completeness and fullness of the Lord's presence in the moment. So complete that Isaiah says that the glory of the Lord filled the whole temple from wall to wall, and the seraph’s also declare, “The whole earth is filled with his glory.” The Lord truly appeared to Isaiah in complete fullness!

Isaiah’s reaction to the LORD’s presence further emphasizes the weight of Yahweh’s glory, and it actually confirms for the reader that the “I Am that I Am” is a  righteous judge, whose very presence convicts the heart of sinners just as it did to Isaish’s heart. God’s judgement is so righteous that as soon as Isaiah saw the LORD he instantly became convicted of his sin, his sinfulness could not stand to be in God’s Holiness. He expected to be judged and cried out, “Woe is me!”

Isaiah’s jaw dropping reaction to God’s presence draws our attention to the holiness of God. The seraphs song, “Holy, holy, holy!”, draw our attention to the holiness of God. If you were in Isaiah’s shoes would you also cry, “Woe is me!”?

Isaiah 6:6-8

It is described by Isaish as a moment that seemed to happen in an instant, but one thing to take note of is that God did not do what Isaiah expected. A seraph gets involved by taking coal from the altar (mizbeach place of atonement) and uses it to burn away the sin from Isaiah’s mouth.

And as soon as the guilt and shame of sin is removed, Isaiah moves from saying, “Woe is me!” while in God's presence, to saying, “Here am I; send me!”

What a change of heart! Only God’s grace and forgiveness could cause such a transformation.

Isaiah thought he understood how prophecies of judgement work, he thought as a sinner among sinners that he would also perish with everyone else. But right at the moment that Isaiah thought it was over for him, Yahweh sends a seraph to intervene and cleanses his lips with a hot coal. And with the weight of sin removed from his lips, Isaiah is now qualified to accept the call to answer the question, “Who will for us?”

Are you confident enough in your faith to so yes to God’s call to act on it?

Isaiah 6:9-10

Keep listen (shama - to hear)

Do not comprehend (bin - to discern)

In this prophecy of God’s wrath toward Judah we see that when King Uzziah died the LORD decided that He would no longer warn Israel of their idolatry. In fact Isaiah says that God commissions him to confuse people so that they do not repent.

Isaiah 6:11-12

Isaiah asks a question that most people would after being told about a horrible future. When we are faced with a difficult reality that we cannot change, the next thing we want to know is how long will it last?

The length of time is not given, but a sign is given to let Isaiah know when the judgement would be complete. That sign being desolations of which the judgement will not relent until there is a vast emptiness in the midst of the land (12).

Isaiah 6:13 

This heart wrenching prophecy final comes to an end in 2 ways.

1. It says that if a 10th of the people manage to slip away from the judgement in their hiding that the Lord would burn Judah and Jerusalem again just for them. Which imply a season of constant destruction which will not end until the LORD is satisfied.

2. The stump is another agrarian metaphor of a tree stump representing what will be left of the nation of Israel after their judgement. In chapter 5, the vineyard was an agrarian metaphor for the nation of Israel. The vineyard was completely forgotten by the property owner because it yielded wild grapes when it was made up of choice vines. The vineyard was cursed by God and no rain was commanded to fall upon it, so it became desolate with no hope of restoration. But in Isaiah 6, we are told of a remaining stump, a sign of hope for a future story of Israel after the judgement, and the “holy seed (of Abraham) is in its stump.”

How often do you think of your future story, your future beyond the coronavirus outbreak?

You are welcome to pray this prayer with me:

Eternal God,

You know all and you see all. So in you presents honesty is demanded and only truth can stand. I thank you for your warnings of coming judgement, they are convicting and cause me to re-evaluate my life. Teach me to know my worth and to trust that you have a purpose for my life far beyond what I can imagine. Remind me of my redemption, justification, and sanctification, remind me of my first communion, and my baptism, and my first sermon. Rekindle my love for you and your word, so that even if it is needed that I remain distant from others, I can be ever close to you. In Jesus Name, Amen!