Isaiah 6

Isaiah began to prophesy at the end of Uzziah’s reign, which had been quite long – over 50 years. Sadly, despite most of his reign being successful, Uzziah made a drastic error of judgment in the Temple and was punished by God with a form of leprosy, even though previously he had ruled genuinely and with regard to Jehovah’s wishes. It is a proof of God’s justice, which is played-out regardless of previous holiness or good, whether king or pauper. Because of his sin, the king was kept in isolation for the last few years of his life. Uzziah was succeeded by Jotham, but this prophecy by Isaiah had nothing to do with earthly kings but with God’s calling to Isaiah. The kings of earth are as nothing to God, Who is THE King of kings Who rules the lives of kings on earth – whether or not they like it, want it, or reject it.

Isaiah “saw” God. That is, in a vision, for if he had actually seen God his life would have ended. ‘Saw’, rā'â, means to perceive, to see (usually in a vision). This enables Isaiah to understand, to pay attention to, to discern with his mind and at the same time, be ‘seen’ by God (Who can, of course, see us whether or not we are in His Presence). Another proof that he was seeing a vision is that no man enters Heaven until the final day (apart from two, Enoch and Elijah, by God’s mercy). Isaiah saw “the Lord”, 'ăḏōnāy, a masculine noun used as a Name of God; a title often used instead of Yahweh… Lord of everything/Lord of lords.

God sat on a throne raised above all else, both physically and spiritually. Note that Isaiah does not describe what God looked like. The hem of His garment filled the Temple. You might remember the Pharisees tried in vain to enhance their supposed greatness by elongating the hems of their garments. I suggest two reasons why ‘temple’ is used: (a) God is Lord of His own Temple (b) He sat in His heavenly palace. Both can be used because God is Lord of both.

Above the throne and God were magnificent seraphims, or śārāp̄.  They were heavenly angels with human hands and human voices, and six wings. It is necessary to say they were heavenly, because another meaning of seraphim is that of a deadly serpent. Here they were glorious angels of great might. Two wings were used to cover their feet, two covered their faces, and two were used to hover and fly. We are not told how many serpahim were present, but they called out to each other, repeatedly saying “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of Hosts”.  That is, God is thrice holy, and THE ‘Holy One’ above all that is holy; qāḏôš; apart from all else, sacred; Jehovah of the heavenly host. This host or ṣāḇā' has two main meanings – the angelic beings who cannot be numbered, who are also referred to as an army, always ready to go to war… as we should be, dressed in full armour at all times.

However, it also means God is Lord over all creation. Note how this ties in with our position as saved men and women – as soldiers, ṣāḇā'. How few Christians understand that they are not called to sit in a backroom whilst others fight – we are ALL called to serve as active soldiers in His heavenly army. This is because everything reflects His glory, reputation and honour, and all He rules are mandated to fight His cause. When the seraphim cried out like thunder, the sound caused the doorposts of the palace/Temple to shake; and the place was filled with holy smoke. It is good to be reminded of the Power of not just the Lord, but also of His angelic host, many of whom come amongst human beings, usually without our knowledge (e.g. Hebrews 13:2; note how two angels and Jesus visited Abraham, Genesis 18).

Verses 5-7

5. “Then said I, Woe is me! For I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.
6. Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar:
7. And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.”

The vision had an immediate effect on Isaiah, who must have trembled with both awe and fear: “Woe is me!” It is a right response to being in the Presence of God in all His glory, for an human being is automatically like a filthy rag next to shining gold. Isaiah knew straight away that he was worthless before God… except for the fact that God saw him as His worthy servant. Isaiah, in the pure Presence of God realised just how sinful he was, and cried out in distress – he was himself unclean, and lived amongst an unclean people, perhaps not himself living sinfully, but nevertheless living amongst those who treated God with disrespect. Psalm 1 warns against this – but Isaiah could not escape this disgusting reality, so had to fortify himself against becoming just as awful as those around him. And now he was before “the King”, Who is the Lord of all people, angels and the universe; so he felt the divide even more so.

As Isaiah stood in awe and fear, one of the seraphims flew to him carrying tongs holding burning coal taken from the altar. He placed the coal on Isaiah’s lips and told him that his sins were removed. It takes fire to take away our evils, not confessions or prayer, but fire used to worship God. Fire can destroy or give warmth and cleansing. It is symbolic of God’s anger modified to give hope and salvation.

Verses 8-10

8. “Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.
9. And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.
10. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.”

Then, God spoke to Isaiah. “Whom shall I send?” “Who will go for us?” Of course, God sent Isaiah a vision, so He knew that Isaiah was the one to be sent. But, it was required to speak it for the sake of the written word. Often, things must be shown formally as a reminder of God and His promises. Isaiah, just like Samuel, said he was here and to send him. God responded immediately, confirming the status of Isaiah as a man sent with the commendation of God… a commendation that is given to all who preach and teach God’s word. God told him to tell “this people”, meaning the people of Israel (including Judah: ʿam - kinsmen). The message would be heard but not understood; the people would see it but only superficially.

God is rephrasing the words of Jesus when He used parables – NOT to make understanding easier but to hide the truth from them, because of their wickedness.  When Isaiah spoke the people would hear but become ‘fat’ or gross. Their ability to understand would be poor and they will not wish to hear much anyway. Like men who have eaten too much they will go to sleep so they do not have to perceive the truth.

Many do that today – they refuse to listen for fear of understanding; to understand makes them culpable, and when we know we are culpable we can either accept and be saved, or turn away and pretend not to hear. But, once the word of God is given, those who hear must respond, and here God says they will deliberately avoid the conclusions of hearing God’s word – they wish to turn from understanding or even hearing the truth, because this might make them understand inwardly, to be healed of their sin and converted…šûḇ. That is, recover from their slumber; return to God from their sins; to draw away from what they had become.

The word indicates that God was inviting all of Israel, including Judah, to come back to their first love and again serve the Lord. This cannot be used to speak of totally unsaved people today, for we cannot ’return’ to our former selves, but can only return to what we once knew – salvation and the Lord. So, be careful not to apply this term to the unsaved today. To convert, then, is to go back to our original state of salvation. Today it is used to describe going from a fake religion to a true one – biblical salvation – but it can also be used improperly to mean a mechanical turning from one demand to another, rather like changing one’s job, club or political party. For Isaiah it meant telling the wayward people of God to return to His commands and way of life. The same warning and command comes to us all today if we have become wayward. We can certainly pretend not to hear because we enjoy our sin – but we lose our earthly blessings and mental assurances of His Presence, becoming slaves to the ‘old man’.

Verses 11-13

11. “Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate,
12. And the LORD have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land.
13. But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be eaten: as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them, when they cast their leaves: so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof.”

Isaiah accepted the call and asked how long he must preach the message. God does not say ‘until they repent and come back’. Rather, He proclaims judgment, because, as He has already said, the people will be so steeped in their sin they will pretend not to hear. He says Isaiah must keep warning until everything loved by the people is ruined; until the cities become barren and the whole land desolate! It seems that Isaiah receives a future truth, that the people of God, because of their intransigence, will be removed ‘far away’ (Babylonia), and the land forsaken.

We should understand that it was GOD Who led the Babylonians to capture Jerusalem… and any other enemies for that matter. Just as the far future fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD was a punishment for centuries of Israelite sin, so Jerusalem would fall several times before that. Yet, though Jerusalem would fall and the people enslaved, so a small number (remnant) would later return and become ‘holy seed’ ready to again grow food, spiritually and actually. (A teil tree is either an elm or an oak). Their strength is in their own souls, just as Christian strength is not in their own minds or bodies but in their salvation.

© 11 May 2025

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