Isaiah 6 “I SAW… I HEARD” This chapter concludes the first section of the book of Isaiah. In the fourteenth jubilee year since Israel had occupied Canaan, Uzziah died. Even though in general, he was a good king, he acted one time in self-will and in his impatience, he tried to offer a sacrifice. That was not his place even though he was the king, and immediately he became a leper, and he died leprous man in spite of being king. Perhaps he thought being king gave him more authority than the priests. God has an order He intends us to follow, and if we take matters in our own hands and change things to suit ourselves, we are intruding into that which is none of our business.
The death of Uzziah affected the whole nation, and for Isaiah it was a life-changing year. The glory was about to depart from the temple, and it will not come back until Christ reigns in the future. Shortly after the death of Uzziah, Rome was founded which was the power God chose to finally devastate Jerusalem and scatter the Jews world-wide. It was then Isaiah gave his personal testimony as to how he was cleansed from his sin and the call of God came to him. He told how the Lord was revealed to him and the cleansing power of the sacrifice on the altar was personally applied to him Every person’s salvation experience is unique to them, but the result is the same – acceptance in the “Beloved.” The start of a person’s ministry begins at conversion, and the cleansing power of the sacrifice of Christ for us being made plain to u personally.
Isaiah’s vision of God, “I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up…,” was a fearful thing to him. The holiness of God is very seldom realized as a power, not just a presence. When we first see the Lord as He is, highly exalted; attended by seraphim, the guardians of the holiness of God who are in such awe of the Lord that they dare not look at Him, we are totally humbled and brought down in repentance and an acknowledgement of our guilt before Him. The statement of the seraphim of the holiness of God is not a hymn or a song of joy, but rather the pronouncement of a fact. The “Three-in-One” Godhead is perfect and spotlessly pure in character and counsel. In power and glory God acts, and the foundations of everything are moved when that happens. This is in contrast to the dishonor done to Him by His people.
Our attitude toward God needs to be right before we can represent Him, and before He allows us to speak His word to others. Confession of our sin is needed first. Then comes personal cleansing from sin; then the cleansing of the whole person in relation to life, both in word and deed. After this cleansing power is effective, then the chosen servant can be used by the Lord. The Lord Himself prepares the hearts of the ones He chooses to serve Him and use to reach other people. When we first present the Gospel, we may not understand a whole lot of all the Gospel message entails. Early in our public presentation of the Gospel message, we are quite limited, but the more we prepare for speaking and testifying, the more we understand of the message and the reasons we must go out and proclaim it to others.
Full occupation with the Lord opens the door of understanding of who we are as well as who God is and of the truth of His word, and how it applies to everyone. When we realize how unworthy and corrupt we are, then we are able and willing to respond to the Lord and what He wants from us. The grace of God makes the meaning of the sacrifice of Christ clear to us, and that brings cleansing to us. Redemption and purification from sin comes as a result of what our Lord Jesus Christ has done for us when He suffered for our sins to bring us to God. The call from God to tell His truth to mankind, came to men, not angels. The word preached may harden the hearts of some who hear the Gospel, but in spite of that we must preach the word of God faithfully, not socially acceptable or seeker friendly. God is honored when His truth is proclaimed in the way He wants, and it will not return void to Him but will do what He intends. We do not save people nor do they save themselves from their sins. God saves any and all who will come to Him in repentance for sin and faith in the sacrifice of Christ alone as payment for our sin.
Isaiah’s message to the people of Jerusalem and Judah was a solemn message to people of “unclean lips,” as a warning. God was going to destroy His people as an entity because of their disobedience to Him and failure to keep covenant with Him. When people have a wrong view of God, that concept has serious consequences. The holiness of God has never been clearly understood by sinful people, even though believers have been called to be holy because our God is holy. Holiness is to be morally perfect and pure. It means to be set apart from sin. Because of living in a sinful society, we become used to sin, and our view of the seriousness of sin fades. The reality of what it means to be holy is also diminished to the extent we may find ourselves overlooking sin and accepting what society accepts as
“normal life.” The Bible view of God is high and lofty, morally perfect and pure, so if we can glimpse even some of that purity, it will cleanse our thinking and practices. It is then we can worship and serve our Lord as He intends us to.
Personal cleansing starts when we are saved by God’s grace. The cleansing power of Christ’s blood, the sacrifice He made on our behalf when He was on the cross, changes our nature. But we still need continual cleansing by the word of God from the effects of sin around us in order for us to be able to serve Him acceptably. The more we are conscious of our own inadequacy, the more God is able to use a sanctified, willing person. People will hear the message of warnings and of the Gospel, but few will listen. Because hard hearts choose to not pay heed to warnings with divine authority behind them, they will be left to reap the effects of their hard hearts and rebellion against God’s will. A nation that chooses to do that, will not survive the righteous justice of God’s judgment.
Isaiah’s solemn message to Israel pointed to Christ, but also to the final doom of Israel at that time. They had perverted their way so much that they were beyond conversion and healing. However, there would be a remnant, a few, who would remain, and someday, from that remnant there will come a recovery to the Lord Jesus Christ as their Messiah and the Great Deliverer of Israel. Some have followed the Lord, perhaps a tenth is suggested here, in spite of what everyone else will do. God will revive the nation to fulfill the promises of the covenant He made with them in ancient times. God will be glorified in Israel, and also in all the nations of the earth who will be blessed because of His grace to them. We are encouraged by knowing that God will keep His promise to preserve His own.