Section Introduction

The vision gave him a deep revelation that the current problem in Judah was not the attacking nations, but that the problem was sin and rebellion in the human heart. So, the solution was not a military Messiah, but a God who cleanses, takes away guilt and forgives sin.

Isaiah did not have a vision of God in battle against the Assyrians, but of God on a throne, a holy king, whose glory fills the whole earth. He saw that God really is the one on the throne, in contrast to the current empires who thought they reigned over the earth. The king of Judah, Uzziah, was dead, but God reigns forever over the earth. The earth is in chaos, but God is in control. Jesus later said that Isaiah saw the glory of the Messiah and spoke of him (Jn 12:41), quoting from Is 6. There are similarities with Ezekiel's call to be a prophet. Both were called to bring God’s word to people who will not listen (Ezek 2:7, 3:4), but both were faithful and obedient to God. Isaiah’s vision gave him the authority to speak as God’s prophet, because he had stood in the council of God.

Isaiah's response to a Holy God was, "I am lost, I am unclean and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips" (6:5). He saw clearly that the real problem was sin, both personal and corporate, so this vision shaped the whole of Isaiah's message. He saw that the solution was cleansing (6:6-7), with guilt being taken away and sin forgiven. Once Isaiah was cleansed, he could then hear God's voice and was ready to be God's messenger.

This encounter with God resulted in Isaiah being impressed only with God. His only fear was fear of God (8:11-15). What terrified the kings of Judah (invasion) was only a small matter in Isaiah's eyes. But what terrified Isaiah (sin, idolatry, and trusting in military might instead of God) was only a small thing in the eyes of the kings of Judah. His vision of the holiness of God became the foundation of Isaiah's hatred of idols.

Why is Isaiah's call not at the beginning of the book?

Chapters one to five form an introduction to the book by giving a summary of Isaiah's message, describing Yahweh’s holiness, kingdom and judgement on Israel’s sin and rebellion. His vision of God’s glory and holiness, followed by his personal cleansing and call to proclaim that message comes in chapter six. God shows Isaiah in his own life that this is the answer to the problems described in the introduction, so Isaiah becomes a representative of the nation. In the following chapters, the holiness of Yahweh is applied into the historical context of Judah, Israel, Aram and Assyria.

Outline

a. The vision of a holy God in glory (v1-4)
b. Isaiah’s confession of sin and cleansing (v5-7)
c. Isaiah commissioned to preach to a stubborn people (v8-13)

a. The vision of a holy God in glory (v1-4)

Isaiah’s vision occurred in the year that king Uzziah died (740 BC) (v1). The period of Jeroboam II of Israel and Uzziah of Judah was a time of peace and prosperity, with the kingdom reaching its greatest extent since Solomon. In many ways, it was a 'golden age' politically. Uzziah was a good king, who reigned for 52 years, but military success led to pride. He burnt incense in the temple, which only the priests were permitted to do, and the priests tried to stop him. Uzziah was angry and the Lord smote him with leprosy. His son Jotham became co-regent because his father was a leper (2 Kg 15:1-7, 2 Chr 26).

After the death of Jeroboam II in 743 BC, Israel had plunged into chaos, and now Assyria was rising in power again. The old order had gone. The question people would be thinking was, What will happen to Judah? Would it be the same as Israel?

Isaiah was given a vision of the real king. Isaiah was probably born during the reign of Uzziah and had never known another king, so this vision gave him the assurance that in the middle of a time of political change and upheaval, God is still in control as the king of the whole world - his glory filled the earth (v3)

Isaiah saw the Lord enthroned in the temple. The description of the vision is based on the familiar earthly Jerusalem temple. The setting is ambiguous, between Isaiah seeing a vision of God seated on a throne in the Holy of Holies, and of the heavenly temple where God is surrounded by the angelic hosts. God revealed himself to Isaiah, being described in human form on his throne as sovereign King and Judge. The apostle John said that Isaiah had a vision of Jesus (Jn 12:41).

Isaiah saw 'Adonai', the Lord, the sovereign Creator God, the Master of the universe. Isaiah had a revelation of the holiness of God, which became the heart of his message. A sovereign holy God who demands holiness from his people, a sovereign God who acts in judgement against sin, and a sovereign God who controls the destiny of the nations.

Around the throne were seraphim (v2). These are heavenly attendants (like those around an earthly king), servants ready to obey the Lord. Seraphim are only mentioned here in the OT, although the same word also describes fiery serpents (Num 21:6). Seraphim are similar to cherubim, but are slightly different (Ezek 1, Rev 4).

Isaiah saw the heavenly worship taking place (v3) (similar to John’s vision in Revelation - Rev 4), which was mirrored in Solomon’s temple in Jerusalem. The singing, incense and coals on the altar were all important elements of temple worship. The Seraphim's task is to continually praise God. They call to each other, proclaiming the holiness of God. God is holy - perfect, distinct and separate from his creation, separate from all sinfulness. The word 'Holy' repeated three times, a repetition for emphasis, superlative holiness, and some suggest an anticipation of the three persons of the Trinity. The holiness of God becomes the main subject of Isaiah's message, shown by the characteristic description of God as "The Holy One of Israel". Isaiah uses this description 26 times, compared with only six times in rest of the OT. The effect of the praise was to shake the doorway (v4), where Isaiah would be standing.

b. Isaiah’s confession of sin and cleansing (v5-7)

Isaiah's response to seeing God's holiness was an awesome awareness of and conviction of his personal sinfulness (v5). He knows that he can do nothing, except cry out to God. A woe is a warning of a coming catastrophe. In the previous chapter, Isaiah had pronounced six woes on Judah (5:8-30), but now sees woe in his own personal life when confronted with the holiness of God. Because he had seen the Lord, he was expecting to die because of his sinfulness. Isaiah knew that man cannot see God and live (Judges 13:22), even the Seraphim cover their faces (v2).

There is a stark contrast to the purity of the seraphim who praise God with clean lips, and the impurity of Isaiah who cannot praise God because he knows he has unclean lips. He needs forgiving and cleansing before he can praise and serve God. A prophet who is predicting judgement needs to have a profound awareness of his own sinfulness, otherwise there is great danger of pride. Isaiah realised he was no better than the people, leading to great humility. Neither Isaiah, nor the people, were fit to praise God. The nation of Judah, chosen to be God's people, were not fit to praise him.

God is described as “The Lord of hosts” (v3,5), meaning the lord of the armies. This can mean the armies of Israel (1 Sam 17:45), or the heavenly armies, which makes more sense here. God is the great King, the Master, who alone is holy, and who is coming to extend his kingdom to all of his creation. Isaiah is the court prophet of the Lord, who stands in the divine counsel, and was called to announce the coming of God’s kingdom.

Isaiah’s cleansing is an act of God's grace, to make atonement of his sin (v6). One of the seraphs takes a coal from the altar, probably the altar of incense, the fire being a symbol of purification and cleansing, and of God's holiness. The seraph announces that his guilt is taken, and his sin is forgiven (v7). Isaiah can now praise God like the Seraphim, and proclaim God's message with clean lips. The sign of burning coal and the explanation that his sin is forgiven go together.

To summarise, the death of the king leads to a vision of the real king; the vision leads to Isaiah having no hope because of his sinfulness; the despair leads to cleansing as an act of grace, which leads to service.

c. Isaiah commissioned to preach to a stubborn people (v8-13)

Isaiah's great spiritual experience is not enough on its own. It is only the beginning, which leads to him volunteering for service to his Lord. The voice of the Lord himself is heard (v8), asking who is willing? He invites Isaiah to volunteer, without any compulsion. Isaiah's response is immediate. There is a great change from hopelessness (v5), to service. He had been convicted of sin and forgiven. Genuine cleansing and knowledge of forgiveness will always lead to joyful service to the Lord. He who has been forgiven much will love much (Lk 7:47).

Isaiah’s task was to bring God's message to a people who will not hear or listen (v9-10) - a thankless task, with apparent failure, but God had called him. People are so insensitive to the Word of God, they will hear it, but will not understand it, and will not respond to it. (cf Deut 29:2-4). Isaiah's message will cause hardening of hearts, so it becomes impossible for the people to repent.

God’s word comes in a chiastic pattern:
     A. Make the mind of this people dull,
          B. and stop their ears,
               C. and shut their eyes,
               C. so that they may not look with their eyes,
          B. and listen with their ears,
     A. and comprehend with their minds

The people will not be able to see their own sinfulness or their nation's sinfulness or their need of repentance. They will be blind to the true state of the nation. They need to see their sinfulness before repentance can happen. If people cannot see their sinfulness there can be no repentance. Isaiah is to preach to a people who will not respond, to show that they deserve exile, and to show God's justice in bringing judgement. It shows that men love darkness more than light and hide from the light.

In the Hebrew, these are imperatives, showing a sovereign hardening of the hearts of the people, just as Yahweh sovereignly hardened Pharaoh’s heart. The Greek Septuagint (LXX) does not have the imperatives, but makes it a statement: “You shall indeed hear, but you shall not understand, and you shall see but not perceive. For the heart of this people has become hard, and their ears dull of hearing, and they have closed their eyes ...” . This passage is quoted in all four Gospels. Matthew, Mark and Luke follow the sense of the LXX, but John (Jn 12:39-41) follows the imperatives of the Hebrew. Jesus quoted this passage when speaking about teaching in parables (Mt 13:14-15, Mk 4:12, Lk 8:10). People will not understand the parables, Jesus, or his kingdom because of their hard hearts. Paul also quoted this about the hard-heartedness of the Jews who would not respond to the gospel (Acts 28:26-27).

Isaiah's horrified question was to ask how long (v11). When will their hardness of heart soften? Isaiah was concerned for the people who deserve judgement. He faced two conflicting emotions, a desire to be obedient to God, but also a concern for his people.

God's answer was that the hardness will remain until the cities are laid waste (v11) and the people exiled (v12). This will not happen until 586 BC. It will take exile in Babylon to soften hearts so Isaiah’s ministry will seem to be a failure at the time. With historical hindsight we can see that the exile did cure Israel of their persistent idolatry. It was never such a problem following the exile. The same thing happened when the Messiah came. People saw the signs, but did not believe, because their hearts were hardened by God, as noted by John (Jn 12:39-40, quoting Is 6:10).

The cities will be destroyed, and left without inhabitants, and the land left deserted (v11). The people will be taken far away, leaving the land empty (v12). Even if a tenth is left but that is burnt again, like a burnt forest, leaving burnt stumps. Judah was burned during the invasion of Sennacherib (701 BC), and again by the Babylonians (586 BC). However, the vision does end with a faint glimmer of hope. A shoot will spring from the stump, because the stump will not die altogether. The surviving remnant is like a tree stump, but there is still life in the stump - “the holy seed”. God's faithful remnant, will preserved by God through the judgement. There will not be total destruction, a remnant will be left (v13, Amos 9:8). Isaiah’s message will cause people to condemn themselves by unbelief, but at the same time a faithful remnant will be prepared for God’s kingdom.

Isaiah stands as a representative of the people, of his own time, and of all time. He saw a vision of God’s glory and holiness, became aware of his own sinfulness, was cleansed by God’s grace, and then volunteers and is commissioned for service to his Master. We too need to see a vision of God’s glory and holiness, be convicted of sin, be cleansed by God’s grace, and be called into his service. Isaiah’s call is a preview and model of the Gospel message.

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