Isaiah 6
The book of Isaiah, chapter 6, is an important chapter that describes the calling event of the prophet Isaiah. It begins with a vision in which Isaiah experiences God’s glory and holiness, and then moves on to the scene where Isaiah is called to deliver God’s message. Overall, the structure flows as God’s holiness, human frailty, and God’s call and people’s response.
1verseIn the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up; and his train filled the temple.
2verseAbove him stood the seraphim. Each one had six wings. With two he covered his face. With two he covered his feet. With two he flew.
3verseOne called to another, and said, “Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of Armies! The whole earth is full of his glory!”
4verseThe foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke.
5verseThen I said, “Woe is me! For I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips and I live among a people of unclean lips, for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of Armies!”
6verseThen one of the seraphim flew to me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar.
7verseHe touched my mouth with it, and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away, and your sin forgiven.”
8verseI heard the Lord’s voice, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am. Send me!”
9verseHe said, “Go, and tell this people, ‘You hear indeed, but don’t understand. You see indeed, but don’t perceive.’
10verseMake the heart of this people fat. Make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their heart, and turn again, and be healed.”
11verseThen I said, “Lord, how long?” He answered, “Until cities are waste without inhabitant, houses without man, the land becomes utterly waste,
12verseand the LORD has removed men far away, and the forsaken places are many within the land.
13verseIf there is a tenth left in it, that also will in turn be consumed, as a terebinth, and as an oak whose stump remains when they are cut down, so the holy seed is its stump.”
The Flow and Structure of the Text
- A vision of God’s glory (Verses 1-4): Isaiah sees the Lord seated on a high and exalted throne in the temple in the year King Uzziah died. At that time, angels praise God, and the temple is filled with smoke.
- Isaiah’s reaction (Verse 5): Standing in the presence of God’s holiness, he deeply becomes aware of his own sin and uncleanness and is afraid.
- Cleansing received (Verses 6-7): An angel purifies Isaiah’s lips with a coal from the altar and proclaims that his guilt has been removed.
- God’s call and Isaiah’s response (Verse 8): When God asks, “Whom shall I send?” Isaiah answers, “Here am I. Send me.”
- The mission of the prophet (Verses 9-13): God tells Isaiah to deliver the message that although the people will hear, they will not understand, and He speaks of both judgment and hope for the remnant.
The Meaning of the Entire Chapter
In Isaiah 6, human limitations and sinful nature are revealed in light of God’s holiness, and it shows how a person who has been made clean by God’s grace responds to God’s call and carries out the mission. It also contains a message of hope that, despite the stubbornness of the people of Israel, God will prepare a new beginning through the remnant.
Points for Reflection
- When we look upon God’s holiness, we come to see what kind of response we give and we are led to look down on the limits and sin within us.
- Remember that God calls even insufficient people as workers of God’s work, and that He is the one who makes them clean.
- Even if the path of obedience and mission is sometimes hard to understand and lonely, we can reflect on how important it is to have an attitude of responding to God’s calling.
Applying It to Me
- I too examine whether I can respond humbly to God’s calling, and whether, despite my weakness, I can offer myself to God.
- Even if I do not directly hear God’s voice, I consider what mission God has entrusted to me in my life today.
- I remind myself that I need to live with the expectation that God works in the circumstances He has provided and that His grace will cleanse me every day.
