The cleansing of the prophet. 1. (6) A seraphim brings a coal from the altar. Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. a. One of the seraphim flew to me: These angelic beings, surrounding the throne of God, ministered to Isaiah. One flew to Isaiah with a live coal - which means the coal was still hot and burning. It was so hot that even an angel had to use the tongs from the altar. b. The altar: This must be heaven’s version of the altar of incense that was set before the holy of holies in the tabernacle of God (Exodus 30:1-10). We know that the earthly tabernacle God instructed Moses to build was made after the pattern of a heavenly reality (Exodus 25:9). i. The throne is for God; that is where He rules and reigns. The altar is for us; that is where we find cleansing and purging from sin. We should never confuse the two! ii. “The fire was taken from the altar, to intimate that it was divine or heavenly; for the law forbade any strange fire to be brought to it, because in sacred things every human mixture is absolute profanation. By this figure, therefore, Isaiah was taught that all purity flows from God alone.” (Calvin) 2. (7) A coal from the altar cleanses Isaiah’s lips. And he touched my mouth with it, and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged.” a. And he touched my mouth with it: This must have been painful; a burning hot coal applied to the lips, one of the more sensitive areas of the body. Yet, nothing is written that Isaiah reacted in pain. Either there was no pain, because of a special blessing by God, or the pain did not matter because of the majesty of the surroundings and the goodness of the cleansing. i. Isaiah knew he did not serve the LORD like these seraphim, the burning ones. So God said, “I will light a fire in you, also!” That is why a burning coal was used to purify Isaiah. “Jehovah, who is a consuming fire, can only fitly be served by those who are on fire, whether they be angels or men.” (Spurgeon) ii. Isaiah cried out, Woe is me, for I am undone! (Isaiah 6:5) We might think that a burning coal to the lips would be more painful than a vision of the holy God. But for Isaiah, it was more disturbing to see the holiness of God, and to see his lack of holiness, than it was have a burning coal applied to his lips. b. Your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged: Isaiah’s sin had to be burned away; the fire of judgment was applied to his place of sin. i. This was obviously a spiritual transaction. If one has a sinful mouth, it will do nothing to place a burning hot coal on their lips. That will not take away or purge their sin. ii. Yet, the same principle works on our behalf in regard to Jesus’ work on Calvary. Our sin was place upon Him, and He was burned with the fire of God’s judgment. Yet because He was holy and righteous Himself, the fire of God’s judgment did not harm Him; it only burned away the sin, our sin. c. Once Isaiah had met with the LORD, been convicted of his sin, and cleansed from its guilt, then he was ready to serve God. i. “The effect of that live coal will be to fire the lip with heavenly flame. ‘Oh,’ says one man, ‘a flaming coal will burn the lip so that the man cannot speak at all.’ That is just how God works with us; it is by consuming the fleshly power that he inspires the heavenly might. Oh let the lip be burnt, let the fleshly power of eloquence be destroyed, but oh for that live coal to make the tongue eloquent with heaven’s flame; the true divine power which urged the Apostles forward, and made them conquerors of the whole world.” (Spurgeon) C. The commission of the prophet. 1. (8) God calls, and Isaiah responds. Also 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.” a. Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us? God looked for someone to send. He wanted someone to go. i. How strange it is for God to ask a question at all! What does God wonder about? What questions would He have? What does God not know? But God was asking for a person, because God wants to reach the world, and He wants to reach it through willing people. It isn’t that God doesn’t know who these people are. It is that God is waiting for ready hearts to reveal themselves. ii. How strange it is that this God of majesty, sovereignty, and power asks for volunteers! He could easily create robots to do His work, or command angels to carry out His will. But God wants willing, surrendered servants. Have you been waiting for God to force you to serve Him? He looks for volunteers! b. Whom shall I send means that the missionary, the Christian worker, the witness of Jesus Christ, is sent. This is a divine commission. Who will go for Us means that the missionary, the Christian worker, the witness of Jesus Christ, has decided to go. Here we see a cooperation of the divine sent and the human will go. i. Here we see another subtle reference to the Trinity. Who is sending? I or Us? It seems to be the same Person speaking in both the singular and the plural. It is the same Person! “The change of the number, I and us, is very remarkable; and both being meant of one and the same Lord, do sufficiently intimate a plurality of the persons in the Godhead.” (Poole) c. Here am I! Send me: Isaiah emphatically answered God’s call. He did not hesitate. Isaiah wanted to be the answer to God’s question. i. What created this kind of heart in Isaiah? First, he had a heart that had been in the presence of God. He had a heart that knew its own sinfulness. He had a heart that knew the need among the people, the need for God’s word. He had a heart that had been touched by God’s cleansing fire. And he had a heart that heard God’s heart to reach the nations. d. Send me meant Isaiah was submitted to the LORD in all his service. He didn’t even say, “Here I am, I will go.” Isaiah would not go at all unless he knew he was sent by the LORD. Many are quick to say, “Here I am, I will go” but never wait for the LORD to send them. 2. (9-10) His mission described. And He said, “Go, and tell this people: ‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’ Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and return and be healed.” a. And He said, “Go”: When we say, “Here am I! Send me” to the LORD, we should expect that He will say “Go.” He may say, “Go and serve Me here” or “Go and serve me there” or “Go and be prepared for future service,” but God always has a “Go” for us! b. Go and tell these people, “Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing but do not perceive.” God told Isaiah to go and preach to a people who wouldn’t respond, so that their guilt would be certain. As Trapp wrote, Isaiah would “Preach them to hell.” c. What preacher could be satisfied with a ministry that made the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and shut their eyes? Isaiah might not be satisfied with it. The people might not be satisfied with it. But God would be satisfied with it. d. And understand with their heart, and return and be healed: This shows what the word of God can accomplish when it is received with open eyes, ears, and heart. It brings understanding to our heart, it makes us return, and it brings healing to our lives. If you are under the word of God and these things aren’t happening to you, ask God to work with your eyes, ears, and heart! 3. (11-13) Isaiah is told how long he must prophecy this way. Then I said, “Lord, how long?” And He answered: “Until the cities are laid waste and without inhabitant, the houses are without a man, the land is utterly desolate, the LORD has removed men far away, and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land. But yet a tenth will be in it, and will return and be for consuming, as a terebinth tree or as an oak, whose stump remains when it is cut down. So the holy seed shall be its stump.” a. Lord, how long? This is a logical question from anyone who is given such a difficult commission. “I have to preach to those who won’t hear, and their rejection of my message will ultimately seal their doom? How long will I have to serve in that kind of ministry?” b. The answer: Preach until destruction comes (Until the cities are laid waste and without inhabitant). Preach in hope of the restoration of a remnant (yet a tenth will be in it, and will return). Even though Isaiah’s ministry was difficult, it was not without hope. c. And be for consuming: The remnant will indeed return, but even the remnant will eventually be judged. Israel was not done being disobedient when the returned from the Babylonian captivity, and God was not done bringing His judgment on a disobedient Israel. i. “The devastation, great as it was to be, would not be total; but even its survivors would have to submit to further judgment. The illustration from nature, however, introduces an element of hope.” (Grogan) d. We would expect this dramatic call of Isaiah to open the book. But the Bible clearly states that the message is more important that the messenger. Isaiah’s message was more important than Isaiah the messenger. e. When Isaiah saw the LORD, who did he see? He saw God in the Second Person of the Trinity, he saw Jesus before He added humanity to His deity. We know this because the Apostle John quotes Isaiah 6:10, and under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, adds: These things Isaiah said when he saw His glory and spoke of Him (John 12:41).
Posted on: Thu, 27 Nov 2014 04:47:09 +0000
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