*Isaiah 6:1-13
Isaiah 6 describes Isaiah’s calling as a prophet after a vision of God’s holiness and majesty.
- Vision of the Lord’s Glory:
- The passage begins with Isaiah recounting a vision he had in the year King Uzziah died, where he saw the Lord seated on a lofty throne, high and exalted.
- He describes the Lord’s appearance, with His robe filling the temple and seraphim hovering above Him, each with six wings, calling out “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of His glory.”
- Isaiah’s Response and Cleansing:
- Isaiah reacts with awe and fear at the sight of the Lord’s glory, feeling unworthy and acknowledging his own sinfulness and that of his people.
- One of the seraphim takes a live coal from the altar with tongs and touches Isaiah’s lips with it, symbolizing the purification of his sin and the forgiveness of his guilt.
- Commissioning of Isaiah:
- Upon being cleansed, Isaiah hears the voice of the Lord asking, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” to which Isaiah responds, “Here am I. Send me!”
- The Lord commissions Isaiah to go and speak to the people of Israel, warning them of impending judgment and exile due to their hardness of heart and refusal to listen.
- The Hardening of Hearts:
- Isaiah is given the daunting task of prophesying to a people whose hearts have become calloused and their ears dull of hearing, foretelling that they will not understand or respond to his message.
- He is instructed to continue prophesying until the land lies desolate and its cities are destroyed, with only a remnant left to carry on the message of hope.
- Promise of Restoration:
- Despite the coming judgment, Isaiah is given a glimmer of hope as he is told that a holy seed will remain in the land, indicating that God’s covenant promises will ultimately be fulfilled.
- The vision concludes with a declaration of the enduring nature of God’s sovereignty and the certainty of His plans, even in the face of human rebellion and disobedience.
Daily Prayer
Heavenly Father,
Thank You for showing us Your holiness and glory through Isaiah’s vision. You are high and lifted up, and all creation declares Your praise. Like Isaiah, we recognize our need for Your forgiveness and grace.
Cleanse our hearts and make us ready to serve You. When You call, give us the courage to say, “Here I am, send me,” and help us to trust in Your plan, even when we don’t see the full picture.
Thank You for Your mercy and for allowing us to be part of Your work.
Amen.
Isaiah 6:1-13 (KJV)
6:1 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.
6:2 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.
6:3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.
6:4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.
6:5 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.
6:6 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: 6:7 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.
6:8 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.
6:9 And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.
6:10 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.
6:11 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, 6:12 And the LORD have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land.
6:13 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.