May 30
Reading: Isaiah 6
1 In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called to another and said:
“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory!”
4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 And I said:
“Woe is me! For I am lost;
for 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!”
6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”
8 And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?”
Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.”
9 And he said, “Go, and say to this people:
‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand;
keep on seeing, but do not perceive.
10 Make the heart of this people dull,
and their ears heavy,
and blind their eyes;
lest they see with their eyes,
and hear with their ears,
and understand with their hearts,
and turn and be healed. ‘”
11 Then I said, “How long, O Lord?”
And he said:
“Until cities lie waste without inhabitant,
and houses without people,
and the land is a desolate waste,
12 and the LORD removes people far away,
and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land.
13 And though a tenth remain in it,
it will be burned again,
like a terebinth or an oak,
whose stump remains when it is felled.
The holy seed is its stump.”
Following the introduction of Isaiah 1-5, Isaiah 6 begins the first of the three major parts of Isaiah. This understanding of Isaiah is from Alec Motyer, Isaiah by the Day.
The Book of the King (chapters 6-39)
The Book of the Servant (chapters 40-55)
The Book of the Conqueror (chapters 56-66)
Each of these books condemns the sin of Israel, though the first one the most, and presents the coming Messiah as the solution. But each book focuses on a different aspect of the Messiah, as you can see.
Isaiah 6 begins the Book of the King by telling the story of the prophetic call of Isaiah. His call opens with a contrast between two kings. King Uzziah had been a powerful king for 52 years, one of the longest reigns in history. But he spent his final years as a leper and now he was dead. In contrast to this, Isaiah meets, in the Temple, the sovereign Lord who reigns forever.
The lofty throne, the smoke, the trembling, the seraphim and their song all emphasize God’s holiness. God reigns, sovereign, supreme, in perfection, and is far above us. “The whole earth is full of His glory.” (vs. 3)
In view of this, Isaiah cannot but see his own sin, and be dismayed. (v. 5) The actions of the seraphim in verses 6-7 shows us that cleansing for sin comes from the altar before the throne of God. This altar is symbolic of God’s sacrifice, in Tabernacle worship and ultimately in Jesus Christ. Isaiah is forgiven.
His prophetic call comes from the Lord and will be incredibly difficult. He is tasked with warning a people who are not going to listen. He is going to be doing this during his life and even after he is dead until God visits His people with judgment. However, just as in Isaiah 4:2, the seed from the stump is prophesied to come and bring hope. (vs. 13) This seed is Jesus.