Isaiah
6 reminds me of the devastation of wild fires. We see the flames
consuming everything in its path and leaving nothing but black
charred waste behind. The chapter begins, “In
the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted,
seated on a throne“. The
timing has significance. King Uzziah had arrogantly taken on a role
reserved only for the priest (ruining a picture that there is only
one King and Priest in the Bible and that is Jesus). He was struck
with leprosy, yet stubbornly would not repent. 2 Chronicles 26:21
says, “King
Uzziah had leprosy until the day he died“,
meaning he refused to ask for forgiveness, choosing rather to die
still unclean. Our hearts can be so hardened that we dismiss God’s
grace. The chapter continues with the prophet standing in the
presence of God. Most of us have a warped image of heaven. Isaiah
explains that God is surrounded by angels that look nothing like
cupid and even the angels “covered
their faces” in His presence
as they sing, “Holy, holy, holy
is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of His glory“.
The sound of their voice is like an earthquake, and Isaiah is
understandably terrified. He cries, “Woe
to me! I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips… and my eyes
have seen…the LORD Almighty“.
Isaiah had read Exodus 33:20,
“For no man shall see Me, and
live“.
Have you lost the fear and reverence for God?
Isaiah
is likely face down with his eyes tightly closed, fully aware that
sin cannot survive in the holiness of God. He writes, “Then
one of the seraphim [type of
angel] flew to me with a live
coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With
it he touched my mouth and said, ‘See, this has touched your lips;
your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for’“.
The purpose of this altar in the Temple was to burn incense; it is a
symbol of purification. Isaiah’s mouth was being prepared for
speaking God’s truth. God then asked, “Whom
shall I send? And who will go for Us?“.
The prophet does not hesitate, “‘Here
am I. Send me!’“. Has God
been preparing you? Are you resisting?
The
chapter closes with God commanding the most difficult task possible.
He tells the prophet to preach to people that will not listen. Here
is a lesson to every believer, God alone will change hearts. Not one
person will ever accept Christ because of me, but only because the
Holy Spirit of God ministers. God says, “Go
and tell this people: Be ever hearing, but never understanding…
Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and
close their eyes“. What a
heartbreaking failure Isaiah would be, except that he
understands that God has a
bigger plan. Isaiah asks, “For
how long, Lord?“. I’m sure
he was hoping for a number of hours, but God said, “Until
the cities lie ruined and without inhabitant… houses are left
deserted and the fields ruined and ravaged, until the LORD has sent
everyone far away and the land is utterly forsaken… though a tenth
remains in the land, it will again be laid waste“.
Compassionate people do not want to see friends and relatives
struggle. We want to keep propping them up, but perhaps we are
preventing God from bringing them to a place of restoration? The
chapter ends with green shoots rising from the ashes, “so
the holy seed will be the stump in the land“.
My savior rose from the dead. He gave me new life and He offers
that to you too. 2 Corinthians 5:17 declares, “Therefore,
if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:
The old has gone, the
new is here!“. Will you
receive the Holy Spirit and be cleansed today?