Sunday School Lesson 2 - Isa. 6:1-13 - GOD SENDS
INTRODUCTION: Last week, in Isa. 1:10-20, we heard Isaiah issue God's warning to the Judeans. They were going through the motions, making the requisite sacrifices and observing the Sabbath and festive activities, but inwardly, they were unrepentant sinners whose rituals were in truth empty and meaningless. Through His prophet Isaiah, God basically told them that this fake worship was much worse than no worship at all. Then God told them that in addition to their meaningless worship practices, they were also guilty of sinful lifestyles that violated their covenant with Him. Finally, God invited them to consider their condition and make a choice, which was really an unconditional ultimatum: (1) If they agreed to be "willing and obedient," which meant true repentance of heart, they could expect to be blessed with prosperity; or (2) if they refused and rebelled, they could expect to be "devoured by the sword," which did in fact happen many years later.
In Chapters 2-5, which we don't cover, Isaiah, as God's prophet, continues to use harsh words that condemn Judah's wicked ways, calling the once faithful city of Jerusalem a "whore" and labeling Judah as a vineyard that now produces only "wild grapes." It appears that Isaiah's work in chapters 1-5, denouncing Judah's sin and warning them of judgment, was necessary to prepare him for the astonishing revelations he will receive during today's lesson in chapter 6, verses 1-13. For five chapters Isaiah has pointed God's judgmental finger at his fellow Judeans. Now, in chapter 6, in the presence of God's holiness, he abruptly recognizes his own un-holiness. It is this "Aha! Moment" that humbles and equips Isaiah for a life of service far beyond anything he could be capable of otherwise.
Read Isa. 6:1-4 - I SAW THE LORD SITTING ON A THRONE
1 In the year of King Uzziah's death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. 2 Seraphim were standing above Him, each having six wings: with two each covered his face, and with two each covered his feet, and with two each flew. 3 And one called out to another and said, "Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of armies. The whole earth is full of His glory." 4 And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke.
v. 1a: "In the year of King Uzziah's death" - "Uzziah," who began his reign at age 16 and reigned 52 years, was one of the better kings of Judah who ("did what was right in the eyes of the LORD" 2 Chron. 26:3-4). He defeated the Philistines, built military fortifications, and encouraged better agriculture. In the years after his death, however, the nation of Assyria rose to a position of dominance and began asserting pressure on Judah to pay tribute in order to avoid being attacked.
v. 1b: "I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple" - Here, in the holy of holies of the Temple, Isaiah is given the privilege of seeing the great heavenly king-God Himself-sitting on a throne. Although God had earlier told Moses, "You cannot see my face...and live" (Ex. 19:21), there are rare instances when God did allow people to see Him and live (e.g., Sarah in Gen. 16:13 and Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and 70 elders of Israel in Ex. 24:10). And to Isaiah, it seemed like God's robe filled the entire room, which made him feel very, very small.
v. 2a: "Seraphim were standing above Him, each having six wings: with two each covered his face, and with two each covered his feet, and with two each flew" - "Seraphim" is plural for Seraph, and according to Unger's Bible Dictionary, p. 1160, they were an order of angelic beings capable of speech. They each had six wings, with two covering their faces to protect them from seeing God, two covering their feet, suggesting an attitude of humility, and two used for flight.
v. 3a: "And one called out to another and said, "Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of armies" - This is a
heavenly choir with different Seraphim singing back and forth to each another in perfect, harmonized voices. The Hebrew language used repetition for emphasis, and the threefold repetition "Holy, Holy, Holy" exemplified the complete and perfect moral purity of the heavenly presence that Isaiah was being allowed to see in the holy of holies, giving him, in effect, a front row seat to behold God's glory.
v. 3b: "The whole earth is full of His glory" - There aren't adequate words to describe this scene on a purely human level. As believers, according to Rev. 22:3-4, we will one day see this for ourselves.
v. 4: "And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke" - The seraphim are singing so loudly that the Temple doors are shaking. Besides that, the Temple is also filled with smoke from incense and burnt offerings. The smoke and violent shaking are reminders of Moses' encounter with God at Mount Sinai in Ex. 19:18.
APPLICATION 1: The sheer magnificence of God's presence is impossible to explain on a human level. What Isaiah was allowed to see in the Temple exemplified the complete and perfect moral purity of God's heavenly presence, a front row seat to behold God's glory. As NT Christians, we, too, will one day behold God's glory and see Him face-to-face (Rev. 22:3-4).
Read Isa. 6:5-7 - WOE TO ME! I AM A MAN OF UNCLEAN LIPS
5 Then I said, "Woe to me, for I am ruined! 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." 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs. 7 He touched my mouth with it and said, "Behold, this has touched your lips; and your guilt is taken away and atonement is made for your sin."
v. 5a: "Then I said, "Woe to me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips" - Now, in the presence of the Almighty and totally overwhelmed by His own unholy condition and guilt, Isaiah speaks for the very first time in the Book. His words are a prophetic, a woe against himself. He confesses his "unclean lips" in contrast to the Seraphim choir whose worship is pure and untainted by sin. What Isaiah means is that his unclean lips only give expression to an unclean heart. It's only when Isaiah finds himself in the presence of God's holiness that he fully recognizes his own uncleaness.
v. 5b: "And I live among a people of unclean lips; - Since Isaiah's generation in Judah is unfit for God, Isaiah perceives himself as being no better.
v. 5c: "For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of armies" - Because seeing "the LORD of armies" should be fatal for a sinner such as himself, Isaiah is wondering if he's about to be reduced to ashes.
v. 6: "Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs" - While this verse makes no mention of God commanding the seraph to take this action, it's clear that the seraph is obeying God's will. The live coal most likely came from a sacrificial altar where blood atonement is made for sin, which makes the forgiveness of sin possible.
v. 7a: "He touched my mouth with it" - Despite having a hot coal applied to his lips, there's no indication on record that Isaiah reacted in pain. Either there was no pain due to God's protection or any pain felt was completely offset by the righteousness of this cleansing experience.
v. 7b: "and said, "Behold, this has touched your lips; and your guilt is taken away and atonement is made for your sin" - What we are seeing here is a divine spiritual transaction, an act of grace: a lice coal burning away the uncleaness of Isaiah's lips and heart. He who was unholy is made holy, and he who was unfit to stand in God's presence is, by God's grace, now made fit. Under the same underlying principal, we are made holy by the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross.
APPLICATION 2: A holy God and an unclean people cannot live (dwell) together. It was only when Isaiah found himself in the presence of God's holiness that he fully recognized his own unclean condition. As a representation of divine grace, God used a hot coal to burn away the uncleaness of Isaiah's lips and heart, so that he, who was unholy, was made holy, and he, who was unfit to stand in God presence, was now made fit. Under the same underlying principle, we Christians are made holy by the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross (Heb. 10:8-10).
Read Isa. 6:8 - HERE I AM. SEND ME!
8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I. Send me!"
v. 8a: "Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" -
Now, having heard Isaiah's confession of guilt, God addresses this heavenly council-there is business to conduct, messages to be sent, so God asks, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" Isaiah is just a bystander, listening. God doesn't say where this messenger is to go or what he's supposed to do; nor does God ask Isaiah to volunteer.
v. 8b: "Then I said, "Here am I. Send me!" - Isaiah, caught up in the excitement of the moment, and most likely, grateful to be cleansed and even more grateful to still be alive, volunteers for the job. And he does this even though he doesn't know where God expects him to go or what He want him to do there. In effect, Isaiah writes God a blank check, agreeing to go wherever and do whatever. This happens in Christian ministry today when people of faith yield to God's call to enter His service with the unconditional attitude that they are willing to go wherever God leads them.
APPLICATION 3: After confession and forgiveness, the natural response of a person is worship and service. After God's cleansing and in response to God's call, Isaiah, in effect, wrote God a blank check agreeing to go wherever and do whatever. This happens in Christian ministry today when people of faith yield to God's call to enter His service with the unconditional attitude that they are willing to go wherever God leads them.
Read Isa. 6:9-10 - YOU KEEP ON LISTENING, BUT DO NOT UNDERSTAND
9 And He said, "Go, and tell this people: 'Keep on listening, but do not understand; And keep on looking, but do not gain knowledge.' 10 Make the hearts of this people insensitive, Their ears dull, And their eyes blind, So that they will not see with their eyes, Hear with their ears, Understand with their hearts, And return and be healed."
Note: You hear a lot of sermons on vv. 1-8 but not many on vv. 9-13 because they represent God having made up His mind to condemn an entire people. After handing down this verdict, God wants nothing to interfere with the judgment that He will soon render. This seems to go against our idea of a loving-forgiving God. Yet, these passages connect with each other: vv. 1-8 tells us of the messenger and vv. 9-13 convey the message. We do know from Scripture (e.g., Ezra, Nehemiah) that from this wreckage, a remnant will survive to move forward with God's plan.
v. 9a: "And He said, "Go, and tell this people" - God's anger is obvious by His reference to the Judeans as "this people" rather than "My people."
v. 9b: "Keep on listening, but do not understand; And keep on looking, but do not gain knowledge" - The people have been given every opportunity "listen" and "look." God has given them every possible advantage, but they refuse to comprehend. So, their failure to obey God is willful. They don't understand because they don't want to understand. If they understood, they would repent.
v. 10: "Make the hearts of this people insensitive, Their ears dull, And their eyes blind, So that they will not see with their eyes, Hear with their ears, Understand with their hearts, And return and be healed" - This may seem pretty dark, but we should remember that when people harden their hearts, God lets them go their own way, knowing that a call to repent only causes them to raise their defenses (i.e., their indifference) even higher. Although God's purposes are always redemptive, He will allow them to "hit bottom" before he redeems them. This is reminiscent of the wilderness wanderings reported in Numbers and Deuteronomy, where God allowed an entire generation of Israelites to die before they could enter the Promised Land-a severe but not final judgment.
APPLICATION 4: When God's people harden their hearts, God allows them to go their own way. In today's lesson, God had given the Judeans ample warning, but they refused to comprehend-in reality, they didn't want to understand. If they really tried to understand God, they would repent. Although God's purposes are always redemptive, He will allow them to hit "bottom" before He redeems them. Do you see evidence of this in America today, a downward spiral to the bottom?
Read Isa. 6:11-13 - UNTIL THE LAND IS UTTERLY DESOLATE
11 Then I said, "Lord, how long?" And He answered, "Until cities are devastated and without inhabitant, Houses are without people And the land is utterly desolate, 12 The LORD has completely removed people, And there are many forsaken places in the midst of the land. 13 Yet there will still be a tenth portion in it, And it will again be subject to burning, Like a terebinth or an oak Whose stump remains when it is cut down. The holy seed is its stump."
v. 11a: "Then I said, "Lord, how long?" - This is more of an expression of grief than a question. It conveys feelings of despair rather seeking precise information. Isaiah's response here makes it clear that he's surprised and distraught at the task God has given him. This isn't what he expected when he raised his hand as a volunteer. He finds no pleasure in the prospect of what he's assigned to do.
v. 11b: "And He answered, "Until cities are devastated and without inhabitant, Houses are without people And the land is utterly desolate" - Here, God informs Isaiah that the destruction will continue until it is complete. Not even a part would be allowed to remain. The only glimmer of hope is that God didn't say that all the people would be killed but that the cities would be uninhabited, the houses empty.
v. 12: "The LORD has completely removed people, And there are many forsaken places in the midst of the land" - Those who survived the destruction would be dispersed and carried away in exile in order to complete God's judgment of purification.
v. 13a: "Yet there will still be a tenth portion in it, And it will again be subject to burning," - Following the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar's Babylonian armies in 597 B.C., a tenth of the deported population was allowed to return to Jerusalem (reported in Ezra, Nehemiah, and 2 Chron.), however, this group would be largely reduced and the rebuilt Temple sacked by the invasion of Jerusalem by Antiochus IV, king of Alexander the Great's Hellenisitc Empire in 168 B.C.
v. 13b: "Like a terebinth or an oak Whose stump remains when it is cut down. The holy seed is its stump" - This is Isaiah's glimmer of hope. Later still, an even smaller remnant, "The holy seed," would spring out of the stump of the felled tree of Judah, which we know as the roman province of Judea and the rebuilt Temple that existed at the time of Christ.
APPLICATION 5: Even in the end-times, when God will judge the world, He will leave a glimmer of hope as the "holy seed." Following the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Messiah foretold by Isaiah, God made a New Covenant that offers salvation to a lost world, and God's invitation is still open; however, God's judgment in the form of the Great Tribulation, could happen at any time. According to Rev. 7:9, a remnant-144,000 Jews from the 12 tribes of Israel-will be protected during the 3.5 years of the Great Tribulation.
