isaiah’s commission isaiah 6:1-13 - bible study...

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 1 Commentary and Questions by John C. Sewell

Isaiah’s Commission

Isaiah 6:1-13

Landmark Publications, Inc., 1045 Maynor Street, Nashville, TN 37216, U.S.A., John C. Sewell, Ph.D., Editor.

http://www.biblestudyworkshop.org/


Isaiah’s Commission Text: Isaiah 6:1-13, 1. In the year of King Uzziah’s death, I saw the sovereign master seated on a high, elevated throne. The hem of his robe filled the temple. 2. Seraphs stood over him; each one had six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and they used the remaining two to fly. 3. They called out to one another, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord who commands armies! His majestic splendor fills the entire earth!” 4. The sound of their voices shook the door frames, and the temple was filled with smoke. 5. I said, “Too bad for me! I am destroyed, for my lips are contaminated by sin, and I live among people whose lips are contaminated by sin. My eyes have seen the king, the Lord who commands armies.” 6. But then one of the seraphs flew toward me. In his hand was a hot coal he had taken from the altar with tongs. 7. He touched my mouth with it and said, “Look, this coal has touched your lips. Your evil is removed; your sin is forgiven.” 8. I heard the voice of the sovereign master say, “Whom will I send? Who will go on our behalf?” I answered, “Here I am, send me!”



www.biblestudyworkshop.org 3 Commentary and Questions by John C. Sewell 9. He said, “Go and tell these people: ‘Listen continually, but don’t understand! Look continually, but don’t perceive!’ 10. Make the hearts of these people calloused; make their ears deaf and their eyes blind! Otherwise they might see with their eyes and hear with their ears, their hearts might understand and they might repent and be healed.” 11. I replied, “How long, sovereign master?” He said, “Until cities are in ruins and unpopulated, and houses are uninhabited, and the land is ruined and devastated, 12. and the Lord has sent the people off to a distant place, and the very heart of the land is completely abandoned. 13. Even if only a tenth of the people remain in the land, it will again be destroyed, like one of the large sacred trees or an Asherah pole, when a sacred pillar on a high place is thrown down. That sacred pillar symbolizes the special chosen family.” (NET) Introduction: I. Hamilton wrote that Isaiah 6:1 - 9:7 forms a subsection which begins with a theophany and ends with visions of a deliverer.

A. In between the beginning and end, stories and oracles of conflict and salvation appear.

B. Hamilton defined theophany as the appearance of a divine being to a human.

II. Hailey noted that Isaiah 6 falls into three divisions; i.e., . . .




A. Isaiah’s vision of the mighty Jehovah (verses 1-5), . . .

B. Isaiah’s consecration to his mission (verses 6-7), and . . .

C. Isaiah’s commission from Jehovah (verses 8-13). III. Smith wrote that Isaiah’s vision has three components; i.e., . . .

A. A vision of God (verses 1-4), . . .

B. A vision of self (verses 5-7), and . . .

C. A vision of service (verses 8-13. IV. Isaiah chapters 1-5 have given a general summary of the spiritual conditions in Judah at the time of Isaiah’s call to the prophetic ministry detailed in chapter 6. (Briley)

A. Isaiah was cleansed and enrolled in divine service.

B. There was hope for some in Judah to be spared although great difficulties on the journey awaited them and most would die in rebellion against God.

V. Lowth via Coffman wrote, “Although it (Isaiah 6) relates primarily to the prophet’s own times, . . . it extends . . . to the age of the Messiah, and the blindness of the Jews to the gospel, to the desolation of their country by the Romans, and to their being rejected (as God’s chosen people) by God.”




A. Matthew 13:14-15, And concerning them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: ‘You will listen carefully yet will never understand, you will look closely yet will never comprehend. For the heart of this people has become dull; they are hard of hearing, and they have shut their eyes, so that they would not see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’ (NET)

B. John 12:40, “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, so that they would not see with their eyes and understand with their heart, and turn to me, and I would heal them.” (NET)

C. Acts 28:26-27, when he said, ‘Go to this people and say, “You will keep on hearing, but will never understand, and you will keep on looking, but will never perceive. For the heart of this people has become dull, and their ears are hard of hearing, and they have closed their eyes, so that they would not see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.”’ (NET)

D. Romans 11:7-8, What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was diligently seeking, but the elect obtained it. The rest were hardened, as it is written, “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear, to this very day.” (NET)



www.biblestudyworkshop.org 6 Commentary and Questions by John C. Sewell VI. Coffman concurs that Isaiah 6 falls into three short divisions; viz., . . .

A. The vision of God (verses 1-5), . . .

B. Isaiah’s cleansing (verses 6-8), and . . .

C. Isaiah’s prophecy of Israel’s hardening and rejection (verses 9-13).

VII. Clarke wrote, “As this vision seems to contain a solemn designation of Isaiah to the prophetic office, it is by most interpreters thought to be the first in order of his prophecies.

A. But this perhaps may not be so; for Isaiah is said, in the title of his prophecies, to have prophesied in the time of Uzziah, whose acts, first and last, he wrote, which is usually done by a contemporary prophet; and the phrase, in the year that Uzziah died, probably means after the death of Uzziah; as the same phrase means after the death of Ahaz.”

1. 2 Chronicles 26:22, The rest of the events of Uzziah’s reign, from start to finish, were recorded by the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. (NET)

2. Isaiah 14:28, In the year King Ahaz died, this message was revealed: (NET)

B. Clarke noted that other chapters in the book of Isaiah are not in chronological order, that chapters 2-5 seem to be antecedent to chapter 1.



www.biblestudyworkshop.org 7 Commentary and Questions by John C. Sewell VIII. The Pulpit Commentary states that this was not the original call of Isaiah to the prophetic ministry which call ordinarily came at the beginning of the book.

A. Jeremiah 1:10, Know for certain that I hereby give you the authority to announce to nations and kingdoms that they will be uprooted and torn down, destroyed and demolished, rebuilt and firmly planted.” (NET)

B. Ezekiel 1:1, In the thirtieth year, on the fifth day of the fourth month, while I was among the exiles at the Kebar River, the heavens opened and I saw a divine vision. (NET)

IX. Note the similarities between the call of Isaiah here and of Jeremiah. (See The Pulpit Commentary.)

A. Jeremiah 1:4-19, The Lord said to me, “Before I formed you in your mother’s womb I chose you. Before you were born I set you apart. I appointed you to be a prophet to the nations.” I answered, “Oh, Lord God, I really do not know how to speak well enough for that, for I am too young.” The Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ But go to whomever I send you and say whatever I tell you. Do not be afraid of those to whom I send you, for I will be with you to protect you,” says the Lord. Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “I will most assuredly give you the words you are to speak for me. Know for certain that I hereby give you the authority to announce to




nations and kingdoms that they will be uprooted and torn down, destroyed and demolished, rebuilt and firmly planted.” Later the Lord asked me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?” I answered, “I see a branch of an almond tree.” Then the Lord said, “You have observed correctly. This means I am watching to make sure my threats are carried out.” The Lord again asked me, “What do you see?” I answered, “I see a pot of boiling water; it is tipped toward us from the north.” Then the Lord said, “This means destruction will break out from the north on all who live in the land. For I will soon summon all the peoples of the kingdoms of the north,” says the Lord. “They will come and their kings will set up their thrones near the entrances of the gates of Jerusalem. They will attack all the walls surrounding it, and all the towns in Judah. In this way I will pass sentence on the people of Jerusalem and Judah because of all their wickedness. For they rejected me and offered sacrifices to other gods, worshiping what they made with their own hands.” “But you, Jeremiah, get yourself ready! Go and tell these people everything I instruct you to say. Do not be terrified of them, or I will give you good reason to be terrified of them. I, the Lord, hereby promise to make you as strong as a fortified city, an iron pillar, and a bronze wall. You will be able to stand up against all who live in the land, including the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and all the people of the land. They will attack you but they will not be able to overcome you, for I will be with you to rescue you,” says the Lord. (NET)



www.biblestudyworkshop.org 9 Commentary and Questions by John C. Sewell Commentary:

Isaiah’s Vision of the Lord Isaiah 6:1, In the year of King Uzziah’s death, I saw the sovereign master seated on a high, elevated throne. The hem of his robe filled the temple. (NET) I. In the year of King Uzziah’s death, I saw the sovereign master* seated on a high, elevated throne.

A. NET Footnote: Hebrew – Adonay (also in verses 8, 11 and 7:7, 14, 19).

1. Isaiah 7:7, 14, 19, For this reason the sovereign master, the Lord, says: “It will not take place; it will not happen. For this reason the sovereign master himself will give you a confirming sign. Look, this young woman is about to conceive and will give birth to a son. You, young woman, will name him Immanuel. All of them will come and make their home in the ravines between the cliffs, and in the crevices of the cliffs, in all the thorn bushes, and in all the watering holes. (NET)

2. Adonay means “the sovereign one” (Smith), one to be greatly reverenced.

B. The Israelites believed that literally seeing God would lead to death. (See Hamilton.)




1. This appearance was in a vision which did not result in death.

2. Moses saw God’s shadow which did not result in death.

3. Exodus 33:20, But he added, “You cannot see my face, for no one can see me and live.” (NET)

C. This passage marks the beginning of Isaiah’s prophetic ministry. (Hamilton)

1. Hailey observed that there is no clear explanation as to why Isaiah’s call to the prophetic ministry appears here as chapter 6 instead of at the beginning of the book.

2. Coffman, however, wrote, “Therefore, we under-stand this great chapter as a second appearance of the Lord to Isaiah, much in the same manner that God appeared to Abraham a second time in Haran, to Jonah a second time, and to Daniel a number of times.”

D. Yahweh’s glory is in this passage sharply contrasted with the frailty of King Uzziah who had just died. (See Hamilton.)

1. Psalm 99:3, 5, 9, Let them praise your great and awesome name! He is holy! Praise the Lord our God! Worship before his footstool! He is holy! Praise the Lord our God! Worship on his holy hill, for the Lord our God is holy! (NET)




2. Revelation 4:8-11, Each one of the four living creatures had six wings and was full of eyes all around and inside. They never rest day or night, saying: “Holy Holy Holy is the Lord God, the All-Powerful, Who was and who is, and who is still to come!” And whenever the living creatures give glory, honor, and thanks to the one who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders throw themselves to the ground before the one who sits on the throne and worship the one who lives forever and ever, and they offer their crowns before his throne, saying: “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, since you created all things, and because of your will they existed and were created!” (NET)

3. The Pulpit Commentary states it is not definite whether this vision was seen before or after Uzziah died.

E. The year King Uzziah died is variously dated to 748-734 B.C., 740-739 B.C. being the date most often accepted. (Hailey)

1. Hailey further wrote that Uzziah was a great king whose reign had been characterized by prosperity.

a. However, the time Uzziah was king, the nation was also characterized by sin.




b. Uzziah, after he became powerful, became proud which led to his downfall, his being struck with leprosy and his relinquishing the throne to his son Jotham. (See Briley.)

2. Although three other good kings, Jotham, Hezekiah and Josiah, reigned in subsequent years, overall the nation was in decline in years following Uzziah’s reign. Judah’s glory days were gone! (See Hailey.)

3. “It was in the crucial year of King Uzziah’s death that Jehovah called Isaiah to the prophetic ministry. (See Hailey.)

4. 2 Chronicles 26:1-23, All the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in his father Amaziah’s place. Uzziah built up Elat and restored it to Judah after King Amaziah had passed away. Uzziah was sixteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jecholiah, who was from Jerusalem. He did what the Lord approved, just as his father Amaziah had done. He followed God during the lifetime of Zechariah, who taught him how to honor God. As long as he followed the Lord, God caused him to succeed. Uzziah attacked the Philistines and broke down the walls of Gath, Jabneh, and Ashdod. He built cities in the region of Ashdod and throughout Philistine territory. God helped him in his campaigns against the Philistines, the Arabs




living in Gur Baal, and the Meunites. The Ammonites paid tribute to Uzziah and his fame reached the border of Egypt, for he grew in power. Uzziah built and fortified towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate, Valley Gate, and at the Angle. He built towers in the desert and dug many cisterns, for he owned many herds in the lowlands and on the plain. He had workers in the fields and vineyards in the hills and in Carmel, for he loved agriculture. Uzziah had an army of skilled warriors trained for battle. They were organized by divisions according to the muster rolls made by Jeiel the scribe and Maaseiah the officer under the authority of Hananiah, a royal official. The total number of family leaders who led warriors was 2,600. They commanded an army of 307,500 skilled and able warriors who were ready to defend the king against his enemies. Uzziah supplied shields, spears, helmets, breastplates, bows, and slingstones for the entire army. In Jerusalem he made war machines carefully designed to shoot arrows and large stones from the towers and corners of the walls. He became very famous, for he received tremendous support and became powerful. But once he became powerful, his pride destroyed him. He disobeyed the Lord his God. He entered the Lord’s temple to offer incense on the incense altar. Azariah the priest and eighty other brave priests of the Lord followed him in. They confronted King Uzziah and said to him, “It is not proper for you, Uzziah,




to offer incense to the Lord. That is the responsibility of the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who are consecrated to offer incense. Leave the sanctuary, for you have disobeyed and the Lord God will not honor you!” Uzziah, who had an incense censer in his hand, became angry. While he was ranting and raving at the priests, a skin disease appeared on his forehead right there in front of the priests in the Lord’s temple near the incense altar. When Azariah the high priest and the other priests looked at him, there was a skin disease on his forehead. They hurried him out of there; even the king himself wanted to leave quickly because the Lord had afflicted him. King Uzziah suffered from a skin disease until the day he died. He lived in separate quarters, afflicted by a skin disease and banned from the Lord’s temple. His son Jotham was in charge of the palace and ruled over the people of the land. The rest of the events of Uzziah’s reign, from start to finish, were recorded by the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. Uzziah passed away and was buried near his ancestors in a cemetery belonging to the kings. (This was because he had a skin disease.) His son Jotham replaced him as king. (NET)

5. Isaiah is thought to be a cousin of King Uzziah. (Coffman)

6. Uzziah was held in high esteem by the people of Judah. (See Coffman.)




F. Related references: . . .

1. John 12:41, Isaiah said these things because he saw Christ’s glory, and spoke about him. (NET) 2. Hebrews 1:3, The Son is the radiance of his glory and the representation of his essence, and he sustains all things by his powerful word, and so when he had accomplished cleansing for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. (NET) 3. John 1:18, No one has ever seen God. The only one, himself God, who is in closest fellowship with the Father, has made God known. (NET) 4. 1 Timothy 6:16, He alone possesses immortality and lives in unapproachable light, whom no human has ever seen or is able to see. To him be honor and eternal power! Amen. (NET)

II. The hem of his robe filled the temple.

A. This vision pictures the Lord as an exalted king on the throne of his heavenly temple.

1. The hem of his robe filled the temple.

2. Eastern monarchs were known for their elaborate, flowing robes,




B. John 12:39-41, For this reason they could not believe, because again Isaiah said, “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, so that they would not see with their eyes and understand with their heart, and turn to me, and I would heal them.” Isaiah said these things because he saw Christ’s glory, and spoke about him. (NET)

C. In contrast with the once proud king Uzziah who became frail, sickly and died, God is presented as permanent, glorious, all powerful in whom total confidence can be placed. (See Briley.)

1. “God alone is King, and he dwells in true glory in the heavenly temple,” Briley wrote.

2. “God’s people always need to remember, especially at a time of crisis, that the holy God in heaven reigns,” Briley wrote.

3. Coffman observed, “Too many might have been looking to the wrong throne for the blessings Israel needed.”

4. The eternal God, in times of prosperity and disaster, is the only source of hope and salvation. (See Coffman.)

D. God is pictured as king in royal majesty seated in the most holy place of the temple with seraphim praising and serving him.




1. Ezekiel 43:7, He said to me: “Son of man, this is the place of my throne and the place for the soles of my feet, where I will live among the people of Israel forever. The house of Israel will no longer profane my holy name, neither they nor their kings, by their spiritual prostitution or by the pillars of their kings set up when they die. (NET)

2. Jeremiah 17:12, Then I said, “Lord, from the very beginning you have been seated on your glorious throne on high. You are the place where we can find refuge. (NET)

3. 1 Kings 10:18-20, The king made a large throne decorated with ivory and overlaid it with pure gold. There were six steps leading up to the throne, and the back of it was rounded on top. The throne had two armrests with a statue of a lion standing on each side. There were twelve statues of lions on the six steps, one lion at each end of each step. There was nothing like it in any other kingdom. (NET)

4. The thrones of monarchs of that region were grandiose, Solomon’s ranking among the most elaborate of these majestic displays. 5. This throne of the Lord far transcended all others!

a. All stood in awe before the Lord, Adonay.



www.biblestudyworkshop.org 18 Commentary and Questions by John C. Sewell Isaiah 6:2, Seraphs stood over him; each one had six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and they used the remaining two to fly. (NET) I. Seraphs (seraphim) (fiery, burning ones) – were angelic or heavenly beings associated with Isaiah’s vision of God in the temple when he was called to his ministry. This is the only place in the Bible seraphs are mentioned. (Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Dictionary)

A. “Seraphs” may be used for the Hebrew word for “burn” as a reference to their fiery appearance or their purity. (Briley)

B. Seraphim were a special class of angels not to be identified or confused with cherubim. (See Hailey.)

1. Although the number of seraphim in Isaiah’s vision is not stated, Hailey said the content indicates a host was present.

C. The seraphim stood ready to do the Lord’s bidding.

1. Each seraph had six wings, two covered the face, two covered the feet (the lower part of the body) in modesty and two were for flying. (See Smith.)

2. Their wings showed great reverence for God as one pair of wings covered their faces and another pair covered their feet. With the other pair they would fly to do the Lord’s bidding. (Briley)



www.biblestudyworkshop.org 19 Commentary and Questions by John C. Sewell Isaiah 6:3, They called out to one another, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord who commands armies! His majestic splendor fills the entire earth!” (NET) I. They called out to one another, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord who commands armies! His majestic splendor fills the entire earth!”

A. Related references: . . .

1. Ephesians 4:6, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. (NET)

2. Psalm 19:1-14, The heavens declare the glory of God; the sky displays his handiwork. Day after day it speaks out; night after night it reveals his greatness. There is no actual speech or word, nor is its voice literally heard. Yet its voice echoes throughout the earth; its words carry to the distant horizon. In the sky he has pitched a tent for the sun. Like a bridegroom it emerges from its chamber; like a strong man it enjoys running its course. It emerges from the distant horizon, and goes from one end of the sky to the other; nothing can escape its heat. The law of the Lord is perfect and preserves one’s life. The rules set down by the Lord are reliable and impart wisdom to the inexperienced. The Lord’s precepts are fair and make one joyful. The Lord’s commands are pure and give insight for life. The commands to fear the Lord are right and endure forever. The judgments given by the Lord are trustworthy




and absolutely just. They are of greater value than gold, than even a great amount of pure gold; they bring greater delight than honey, than even the sweetest honey from a honeycomb. Yes, your servant finds moral guidance there; those who obey them receive a rich reward. Who can know all his errors? Please do not punish me for sins I am unaware of. Moreover, keep me from committing flagrant sins; do not allow such sins to control me. Then I will be blameless, and innocent of blatant rebellion. May my words and my thoughts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my sheltering rock and my redeemer. (NET)

3. Revelation 4:8, Each one of the four living creatures had six wings and was full of eyes all around and inside. They never rest day or night, saying: “Holy Holy Holy is the Lord God, the All-Powerful, Who was and who is, and who is still to come!” (NET)

B. The seraphim sang to one another extolling the righteousness of God.

1. Clarke wrote, “This hymn, performed by the seraphim, divided into two choirs, the one singing responsively to the other.”

C. God’s majestic splendor covers the entire earth and the whole of creation. (See Briley.)

1. The whole earth is full of his glory.




D. All of us should respond to God’s will as these seraphim responded to God’s bidding.

E. Those in heaven care for those of us on earth. Thanks be to God.

1. Hebrews 12:22-24, But you have come to Mount Zion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the assembly and congregation of the firstborn, who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous, who have been made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks of something better than Abel’s does. (NET)

Isaiah 6:4, The sound of their voices shook the door frames, and the temple was filled with smoke. (NET) I. The sound of their voices shook the door frames, and the temple was filled with smoke.


1. Revelation 15:8, and the temple was filled with smoke from God’s glory and from his power. Thus no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues from the seven angels were completed. (NET)




2. Psalm 18:8, Smoke ascended from his nose; fire devoured as it came from his mouth; he hurled down fiery coals. (NET)

3. 2 Samuel 22:9, Smoke ascended from his nose; fire devoured as it came from his mouth; he hurled down fiery coals. (NET)

4. Exodus 40:34-35, Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. (NET)

5. 1 Kings 8:10, Once the priests left the holy place, a cloud filled the Lord’s temple. (NET)

6. Ezekiel 10:4, Then the glory of the Lord arose from the cherub and moved to the threshold of the temple. The temple was filled with the cloud while the court was filled with the brightness of the Lord’s glory. (NET)

B. The voices of the seraphs shook the temple door frames and the temple was filled with smoke.

1. Smoke is sometimes associated with God’s wrath as seen above. (Hailey)

2. The seraphim were singing with such energy that it shook the gates of heaven. (The Pulpit Commentary)




C. The sound of the voices of the seraphim shook the heavenly temple and the temple was filled with smoke from the altar of incense. (See Smith.)

1. This was indeed an awe-inspiring vision of God’s majesty. (See Briley.)

Isaiah 6:5, I said, “Too bad for me! I am destroyed, for my lips are contaminated by sin, and I live among people whose lips are contaminated by sin. My eyes have seen the king, the Lord who commands armies.” (NET) I. I said, “Too bad for me! I am destroyed, for my lips are contaminated by sin,* and I live among people whose lips are contaminated by sin.

A. *NET Footnote: Hebrew – for man of unclean lips am I.

1. Isaiah regarded himself as unworthy to join the seraphim in praising God or to preach to his people.

a. Exodus 4:10, Then Moses said to the Lord, “O my Lord, I am not an eloquent man, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant, for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” (NET)

b. Exodus 6:12, But Moses replied to the Lord, “If the Israelites did not listen to me, then how will Pharaoh listen to me, since I speak with difficulty?” (NET)




c. Jeremiah 1:6, I answered, “Oh, Lord God, I really do not know how to speak well enough for that, for I am too young.” (NET)

d. Isaiah 15:1, Here is a message about Moab: Indeed, in a night it is devastated, Ar of Moab is destroyed! Indeed, in a night it is devastated, Kir of Moab is destroyed! (NET)

e. Jeremiah 47:5, The people of Gaza will shave their heads in mourning. The people of Ashkelon will be struck dumb. How long will you gash yourselves to show your sorrow, you who remain of Philistia’s power? (NET)

f. Hosea 4:5-6, You stumble day and night, and the false prophets stumble with you; You have destroyed your own people! You have destroyed my people by failing to acknowledge me! Because you refuse to acknowledge me, I will reject you as my priests. Because you reject the law of your God, I will reject your descendants. (NET)

B. Hamilton wrote, “Immediately, Isaiah realizes he is a spiritual leper among leprous people. For public protection, lepers covered their upper lip and warned anyone approaching: Unclean, unclean, in contrast to the seraph’s cries to God: Holy, holy, holy.”




1. Leviticus 13:45-46, “As for the diseased person who has the infection, his clothes must be torn, the hair of his head must be unbound, he must cover his mustache, and he must call out ‘Unclean! Unclean!’ The whole time he has the infection he will be continually unclean. He must live in isolation, and his place of residence must be outside the camp. (NET)

2. Matthew 12:34, Offspring of vipers! How are you able to say anything good, since you are evil? For the mouth speaks from what fills the heart. (NET)

C. In face of the glorious voices of the seraphim, the earthquake and the smoke filled temple, Isaiah exclaimed, “Too bad for me! Woe to me! I am destroyed, for my lips are contaminated by sin, and I live among people whose lips are contaminated by sin.” (See Smith.)

1. In chapter 5, Isaiah had pronounced six woes on sinful Judah and here he pronounces a seventh on himself.

a. Romans 3:10, just as it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one, (NET)

b. Psalm 14:1, Fools say to themselves, “There is no God.” They sin and commit evil deeds; none of them does what is right. (NET)




2. How will you feel when you stand before the holy and all powerful creator of heaven and earth at the great final day of judgment?

a. Job 15:15, If God places no trust in his holy ones, if even the heavens are not pure in his eyes, (NET)

3. Isaiah, in view of God’s majestic glory and the purity of the seraphim, considered himself ruined, destroyed.

a. Don’t ever think of yourself as hopeless.

b. Remember what God did with Saul of Tarsus, “the chiefest of sinners.”

c. Hosea 4:6, You have destroyed my people by failing to acknowledge me! Because you refuse to acknowledge me, I will reject you as my priests. Because you reject the law of your God, I will reject your descendants. (NET)

d. Isaiah 57:19, I am the one who gives them reason to celebrate. Complete prosperity is available both to those who are far away and those who are nearby,” says the Lord, “and I will heal them. (NET)

e. Hebrews 13:15, Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to




God, that is, the fruit of our lips, acknowledging his name. (NET)

II. My eyes have seen the king, the Lord who commands armies.”

A. The Lord commands all forces in heaven and on earth, physical and spiritual.

B. Awareness of the presence of God universally produces reactions similar to that here experienced by Isaiah. (See Coffman.)

1. Other examples of this reaction include: . . .

a. Gideon: Judges 6:22, When Gideon realized that it was the Lord’s messenger, he said, “Oh no! Master, Lord! I have seen the Lord’s messenger face to face!” (NET)

b. Manoah: Judges 13:22, Manoah said to his wife, “We will certainly die, because we have seen a supernatural being!” (NET)

c. Job: Job 42:5-6, I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye has seen you. Therefore I despise myself, and I repent in dust and ashes! (NET)

d. Peter: Luke 5:8, But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” (NET)




e. John: Revelation 1:17, When I saw him I fell down at his feet as though I were dead, but he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid! I am the first and the last, (NET)

f. Thief on cross: Luke 23:40-41, But the other rebuked him, saying, “Don’t you fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we rightly so, for we are getting what we deserve for what we did, but this man has done nothing wrong.” (NET)

2. We should regard Isaiah’s confession as an admission that he, as all humanity, had his faults, not that he was in full rebellion against God as was the case with the people of Judah generally. (See Coffman.)

Isaiah’s Consecration

Isaiah 6:6, But then one of the seraphs flew toward me. In his hand was a hot coal he had taken from the altar with tongs. (NET) I. But then one of the seraphs flew toward me.

A. This is a continuation of the vision in which Isaiah saw God in his glory and a host of seraphim.




B. The seraph was instrumental in the process of cleansing Isaiah of his sins and preparing him to be God’s prophet.

II. In his hand was a hot coal he had taken from the altar with tongs.

A. In this vision, one of the seraphs took a hot coal from the altar of incense, as identified by numerous commentators, with tongs, touched Isaiah’s lips with it and symbolically cleansed Isaiah’s lips.

1. The altar of incense was located before the throne. (Hailey)

a. Exodus 30:1-10, “You are to make an altar for burning incense; you are to make it of acacia wood. Its length is to be a foot and a half and its width a foot and a half; it will be square. Its height is to be three feet, with its horns of one piece with it. You are to overlay it with pure gold—its top, its four walls, and its horns—and make a surrounding border of gold for it. You are to make two gold rings for it under its border, on its two flanks; you are to make them on its two sides. The rings will be places for poles to carry it with. You are to make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. “You are to put it in front of the curtain that is before the ark of the testimony (before the atonement lid that is




over the testimony), where I will meet you. Aaron is to burn sweet incense on it morning by morning; when he attends to the lamps he is to burn incense. When Aaron sets up the lamps around sundown he is to burn incense on it; it is to be a regular incense offering before the Lord throughout your generations. You must not offer strange incense on it, nor burnt offering, nor meal offering, and you must not pour out a drink offering on it. Aaron is to make atonement on its horns once in the year with some of the blood of the sin offering for atonement; once in the year he is to make atonement on it throughout your generations. It is most holy to the Lord.” (NET)

b. Revelation 8:3, Another angel holding a golden censer came and was stationed at the altar. A large amount of incense was given to him to offer up, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar that is before the throne. (NET)

c. Leviticus 16:12, and take a censer full of coals of fire from the altar before the Lord and a full double handful of finely ground fragrant incense, and bring them inside the veil-canopy. (NET)




2. Isaiah has been mercifully cleansed, forgiven, and made ready to serve.

3. The Pulpit Commentary views this altar as the altar of incense.

a. Revelation 6:9, Now when the Lamb opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been violently killed because of the word of God and because of the testimony they had given. (NET)

b. Revelation 8:3, Another angel holding a golden censer came and was stationed at the altar. A large amount of incense was given to him to offer up, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar that is before the throne. (NET)

c. Exodus 25:38, Its trimmers and its trays are to be of pure gold. (NET)

4. Clarke, however, wrote that the altar in question here was the altar of burnt offerings located before the door of the temple, on which the fire that came down at first from heaven was perpetually burning.

a. Leviticus 9:24, Then fire went out from the presence of the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the fat parts on the altar, and all the people saw it, so they shouted




loudly and fell down with their faces to the ground. (NET)

b. 2 Chronicles 7:1, When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the Lord’s splendor filled the temple. (NET)

c. Leviticus 6:12-13, but the fire which is on the altar must be kept burning on it. It must not be extinguished. So the priest must kindle wood on it morning by morning, and he must arrange the burnt offering on it and offer the fat of the peace offering up in smoke on it. A continual fire must be kept burning on the altar. It must not be extinguished. (NET)

Isaiah 6:7, He touched my mouth with it and said, “Look, this coal has touched your lips. Your evil is removed; your sin is forgiven.” (NET) I. He touched my mouth with it and said, . . .

A. This was part of the vision, not a physical event.

B. The cure, remedy (hot coal) was applied to the diseased body part (the mouth, lips).

II. “Look, this coal has touched your lips. Your evil is removed; your sin is forgiven.”*




A. NET Footnote: Or – is ritually cleansed.

B. Hailey wrote, “Sin and the guilt of sin must be removed – blotted out – if one is to be an acceptable servant of the Lord. . . . since all sin is ultimately against God, only God can forgive it. . . . we have in the vision a symbolic picture of Isaiah’s recognition and acknowledgement of his own sins and God’s forgiveness of those sins.”

1. Psalm 51:4, 10, 14, Against you—you above all—I have sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. So you are just when you confront me; you are right when you condemn me. Create for me a pure heart, O God! Renew a resolute spirit within me! Rescue me from the guilt of murder, O God, the God who delivers me! Then my tongue will shout for joy because of your deliverance. (NET)

2. Romans 3:23-26, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. But they are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. God publicly displayed him at his death as the mercy seat accessible through faith. This was to demonstrate his righteousness, because God in his forbearance had passed over the sins previously committed. This was also to demonstrate his righteousness in the present time, so that he would be just and the justifier of the one who lives because of Jesus’ faithfulness. (NET)




C. Martin via Smith wrote that God does not want and will not use unclean instruments in his service.

Isaiah’s Commission From God

Isaiah 6:8, I heard the voice of the sovereign master say, “Whom will I send? Who will go on our behalf?” I answered, “Here I am, send me!” (NET) I. I heard the voice of the sovereign master say, . . .

A. Having been cleansed of his sins, Isaiah is now eligible to hear and respond to God’s call to divine service. (See Hailey.)

II. “Whom will I send? Who will go on our behalf?”

A. The Lord here was in the process of determining who would be qualified to discharge these responsibilities and who, within this group, would be willing to volunteer for these duties.

B. “Us” or “our” may refer to the trinity (Smith and Coffman and The Pulpit Commentary), but Hailey wrote that the reference is probably to God and his court.

III. I answered, “Here I am, send me!”

A. Isaiah was ready to serve and immediately volunteered for God’s service. He did not wait to be drafted!




1. The lessons in this for all of us today are many and these lessons are clear!

2. Ephesians 2:1-10, And although you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you formerly lived according to this world’s present path, according to the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the ruler of the spirit that is now energizing the sons of disobedience, among whom all of us also formerly lived out our lives in the cravings of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath even as the rest… But God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us, even though we were dead in transgressions, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you are saved!— and he raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, to demonstrate in the coming ages the surpassing wealth of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God; it is not from works, so that no one can boast. For we are his workmanship, having been created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared beforehand so we may do them. (NET)

3. 1 Peter 2:9-10, But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his




own, so that you may proclaim the virtues of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. You once were not a people, but now you are God’s people. You were shown no mercy, but now you have received mercy. (NET)

Isaiah 6:9, He said, “Go and tell these people: ‘Listen continually, but don’t understand! Look continually, but don’t perceive!’ (NET) I. He said, “Go and tell these people: . . .

A. Isaiah faced a most difficult task; that is, preaching to people with calloused hearts, dull ears, closed eyes. (See Hamilton.)

1. Isaiah was to preach to people who were afflicted with the disease of which he had been cured.

2. Isn’t that the way it is today with those who preach God’s word?

B. Hailey and Coffman observed that the expression “these people” rather than “my people” is used here because the people of Judah had so sinned as to alienate themselves from the special favor of the Lord.

1. Isaiah 3:12, Oppressors treat my people cruelly; creditors rule over them. My people’s leaders mislead them; they give you confusing directions. (NET)




2. Isaiah 5:13, Therefore my people will be deported because of their lack of understanding. Their leaders will have nothing to eat, their masses will have nothing to drink. (NET)

3. Isaiah 5:25, So the Lord is furious with his people; he lifts his hand and strikes them. The mountains shake, and corpses lie like manure in the middle of the streets. Despite all this, his anger does not subside, and his hand is ready to strike again. (NET)

4. Isaiah 8:11, Indeed this is what the Lord told me. He took hold of me firmly and warned me not to act like these people: (NET)

5. Isaiah 28:11, 14, For with mocking lips and a foreign tongue he will speak to these people. Therefore, listen to the Lord’s word, you who mock, you rulers of these people who reside in Jerusalem! (NET)

II. ‘Listen continually, but don’t understand! Look continually, but don’t perceive!’

A. The world is full to overflowing with people who do not listen!

1. Of those who do listen, all too many do not understand what they hear.




2. Many do not “pay attention” and of those who do “pay attention”, many do not understand what they see.

3. Some are ever learning, but never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

B. This condition appears to be one “these people” had brought on themselves.

1. The people to whom Isaiah was to preach were already in a hardened state of sin.

2. Preaching to these people about their sins would make them even more hardened and set in their rebellion. (See Briley.)

3. Matthew 13:14-15, And concerning them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: You will listen carefully yet will never understand, you will look closely yet will never comprehend. For the heart of this people has become dull; they are hard of hearing, and they have shut their eyes, so that they would not see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’ (NET)

4. Mark 4:12, so that although they look they may look but not see, and although they hear they may hear but not understand, so they may not repent and be forgiven.” (NET)



www.biblestudyworkshop.org 39 Commentary and Questions by John C. Sewell Isaiah 6:10, Make the hearts of these people calloused; make their ears deaf and their eyes blind! Otherwise they might see with their eyes and hear with their ears, their hearts might understand and they might repent and be healed.” (NET) I. Make the hearts of these people calloused; make their ears deaf and their eyes blind!

A. Hailey wrote, “The Lord is telling the prophet what will come to pass as a result of his preaching: his words, which should accomplish one end, will, in fact, result in another.

1. Isaiah 1:18-20, Come, let’s consider your options,” says the Lord. “Though your sins have stained you like the color red, you can become white like snow; though they are as easy to see as the color scarlet, you can become white like wool. If you have a willing attitude and obey, then you will again eat the good crops of the land. But if you refuse and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.” Know for certain that the Lord has spoken. (NET)

2. The saving word, if rejected, will result in condemnation.

3. The outcome rests with the people themselves, but the Lord knew what their decision would be. (See Hailey.)




4. Isaiah was to condemn sin and tell of the destruction it would bring; he was also to proclaim the survival of a remnant.

B. Preaching to the people was necessary because a remnant would hear. (See Hailey.)

1. “The Lord never loses sight of the individuals who will hear his voice and do his will,” Hailey wrote.

C. Israel and Judah had experienced “a judicial hardening” as they continually rebelled against God. (See Coffman.)

1. Acts 28:27, For the heart of this people has become dull, and their ears are hard of hearing, and they have closed their eyes, so that they would not see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.”’ (NET)

2. Matthew 13:13-15, For this reason I speak to them in parables: Although they see they do not see, and although they hear they do not hear nor do they understand. And concerning them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: ‘You will listen carefully yet will never understand, you will look closely yet will never comprehend. For the heart of this people has become dull; they are hard of hearing, and they have shut their eyes, so that they would not see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with




their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’ (NET)

3. Mark 4:12, so that although they look they may look but not see, and although they hear they may hear but not understand, so they may not repent and be forgiven.” (NET)

4. 2 Corinthians 4:4, among whom the god of this age has blinded the minds of those who do not believe so they would not see the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God. (NET)

5. 2 Thessalonians 2:11, Consequently God sends on them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false. (NET)

6. Pharaoh is a perfect example of a person whose heart was hardened, really hardened!

D. Clarke wrote, “The prophet speaks of the event, the fact as it would actually happen, not of God’s purpose and not of his ministry. The prophets are in other places said to perform the thing which they only foretell.”

1. Jeremiah 1:10, Know for certain that I hereby give you the authority to announce to nations and kingdoms that they will be uprooted and torn down, destroyed and demolished, rebuilt and firmly planted.” (NET)




2. Ezekiel 43:3, It was like the vision I saw when he came to destroy the city, and the vision I saw by the Kebar River. I threw myself face down. (NET)

II. Otherwise they might see with their eyes and hear with their ears, their hearts might understand and they might repent and be healed.”

A. Just as the hot sun melts butter and hardens cement, so the preaching of God’s truth hardens some hearts while softening others depending on the nature of the hearts in question.

Isaiah 6:11, I replied, “How long, sovereign master?” He said, “Until cities are in ruins and unpopulated, and houses are uninhabited, and the land is ruined and devastated, (NET) I. I replied, “How long, sovereign master?”

A. In answer to Isaiah’s question as to how long he was to preach this message to his sinful countrymen or how long was this blindness and callousness of the people to continue, God replied, “Until the land is completed devastated and only the holy seed remains, a small group of penitent believers surviving the fall of Samaria (721 BCE), Sennacherib’s invasion (701 BCE), the overthrow of Jerusalem and Babylonian exile (587 BCE).” (Hamilton) (See also The Pulpit Commentary.)




B. Isaiah’s question, “How long sovereign master?”, was fulfilled primarily in the events of the conquest of Israel by Babylon, but the ultimate fulfillment came when the Romans under Vespasian and Titus destroyed Jerusalem and destroyed the government of Israel for almost two millennia, Coffman wrote.

1. 2 Kings 25:12, But he left behind some of the poor of the land and gave them fields and vineyards. (NET)

2. Jeremiah 39:10, But he left behind in the land of Judah some of the poor people who owned nothing. He gave them fields and vineyards at that time. (NET)

3. Jeremiah 44:11-27, “Because of this, the Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, ‘I am determined to bring disaster on you, even to the point of destroying all the Judeans here. I will see to it that all the Judean remnant that was determined to go and live in the land of Egypt will be destroyed. Here in the land of Egypt they will fall in battle or perish from starvation. People of every class will die in war or from starvation. They will become an object of horror and ridicule, an example of those who have been cursed and that people use in pronouncing a curse. I will punish those who live in the land of Egypt with war, starvation, and disease just as I punished Jerusalem. None of the Judean remnant who have come to live in the land of




Egypt will escape or survive to return to the land of Judah. Though they long to return and live there, none of them shall return except a few fugitives.’” Then all the men who were aware that their wives were sacrificing to other gods, as well as all their wives, answered Jeremiah. There was a great crowd of them representing all the people who lived in northern and southern Egypt. They answered, “We will not listen to what you claim the Lord has spoken to us! Instead we will do everything we vowed we would do. We will sacrifice and pour out drink offerings to the goddess called the Queen of Heaven just as we and our ancestors, our kings, and our leaders previously did in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. For then we had plenty of food, were well-off, and had no troubles. But ever since we stopped sacrificing and pouring out drink offerings to the Queen of Heaven, we have been in great need. Our people have died in wars or of starvation.” The women added, “We did indeed sacrifice and pour out drink offerings to the Queen of Heaven. But it was with the full knowledge and approval of our husbands that we made cakes in her image and poured out drink offerings to her.” Then Jeremiah replied to all the people, both men and women, who responded to him in this way. “The Lord did indeed remember and call to mind what you did! He remembered the sacrifices you and your ancestors, your kings, your leaders, and all the rest of the people of the land offered to other




gods in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. Finally the Lord could no longer endure your wicked deeds and the disgusting things you did. That is why your land has become the desolate, uninhabited ruin that it is today. That is why it has become a proverbial example used in curses. You have sacrificed to other gods! You have sinned against the Lord! You have not obeyed the Lord! You have not followed his laws, his statutes, and his decrees! That is why this disaster that is evident to this day has happened to you.” Then Jeremiah spoke to all the people, particularly to all the women. “Listen to what the Lord has to say all you people of Judah who are in Egypt. The Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, ‘You women have confirmed by your actions what you vowed with your lips! You said, “We will certainly carry out our vows to sacrifice and pour out drink offerings to the Queen of Heaven.” Well, then fulfill your vows! Carry them out!’ But listen to what the Lord has to say, all you people of Judah who are living in the land of Egypt. The Lord says, ‘I hereby swear by my own great name that none of the people of Judah who are living anywhere in Egypt will ever again invoke my name in their oaths! Never again will any of them use it in an oath saying, “As surely as the Lord God lives….” I will indeed see to it that disaster, not prosperity, happens to them. All the people of Judah who are in the land of Egypt will




die in war or from starvation until not one of them is left. (NET) __________?

4. Jeremiah 44:28, Some who survive in battle will return to the land of Judah from the land of Egypt. But they will be very few indeed! Then the Judean remnant who have come to live in the land of Egypt will know whose word proves true, mine or theirs.’ (NET)

II. He said, “Until cities are in ruins and unpopulated, and houses are uninhabited, and the land is ruined and devastated, . . .

A. The people’s hardening and Isaiah’s preaching would continue until Judah and Jerusalem were in ruins.

1. That is the result of sin!

B. Related references: . . .

1. Isaiah 1:7-8, Your land is devastated, your cities burned with fire. Right before your eyes your crops are being destroyed by foreign invaders. They leave behind devastation and destruction. Daughter Zion is left isolated, like a hut in a vineyard, or a shelter in a cucumber field; she is a besieged city. (NET)

2. Leviticus 26:14-38, “‘If, however, you do not obey me and keep all these commandments—if you reject my statutes and abhor my regulations so that you do not keep all my commandments




and you break my covenant—I for my part will do this to you: I will inflict horror on you, consumption and fever, which diminish eyesight and drain away the vitality of life. You will sow your seed in vain because your enemies will eat it. I will set my face against you. You will be struck down before your enemies, those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee when there is no one pursuing you. “‘If, in spite of all these things, you do not obey me, I will discipline you seven times more on account of your sins. I will break your strong pride and make your sky like iron and your land like bronze. Your strength will be used up in vain, your land will not give its yield, and the trees of the land will not produce their fruit. “‘If you walk in hostility against me and are not willing to obey me, I will increase your affliction seven times according to your sins. I will send the wild animals against you and they will bereave you of your children, annihilate your cattle, and diminish your population so that your roads will become deserted. “‘If in spite of these things you do not allow yourselves to be disciplined and you walk in hostility against me, I myself will also walk in hostility against you and strike you seven times on account of your sins. I will bring on you an avenging sword, a covenant vengeance. Although you will gather together into your cities, I will send pestilence among you and you will be given into enemy hands. When I break off your supply of bread, ten women will




bake your bread in one oven; they will ration your bread by weight, and you will eat and not be satisfied. “‘If in spite of this you do not obey me but walk in hostility against me, I will walk in hostile rage against you and I myself will also discipline you seven times on account of your sins. You will eat the flesh of your sons and the flesh of your daughters. I will destroy your high places and cut down your incense altars, and I will stack your dead bodies on top of the lifeless bodies of your idols. I will abhor you. I will lay your cities waste and make your sanctuaries desolate, and I will refuse to smell your soothing aromas. I myself will make the land desolate and your enemies who live in it will be appalled. I will scatter you among the nations and unsheathe the sword after you, so your land will become desolate and your cities will become a waste. “‘Then the land will make up for its Sabbaths all the days it lies desolate while you are in the land of your enemies; then the land will rest and make up its Sabbaths. All the days of the desolation it will have the rest it did not have on your Sabbaths when you lived on it. “‘As for the ones who remain among you, I will bring despair into their hearts in the lands of their enemies. The sound of a blowing leaf will pursue them, and they will flee as one who flees the sword and fall down even though there is no pursuer. They will stumble over each other as those who flee before a sword, though there is no pursuer, and there will be no one to take a




stand for you before your enemies. You will perish among the nations; the land of your enemies will consume you. (NET)

3. Deuteronomy 28:15-68, “But if you ignore the Lord your God and are not careful to keep all his commandments and statutes I am giving you today, then all these curses will come upon you in full force: You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the field. Your basket and your mixing bowl will be cursed. Your children will be cursed, as well as the produce of your soil, the calves of your herds, and the lambs of your flocks. You will be cursed when you come in and cursed when you go out. “The Lord will send on you a curse, confusing you and opposing you in everything you undertake until you are destroyed and quickly perish because of the evil of your deeds, in that you have forsaken me. The Lord will plague you with deadly diseases until he has completely removed you from the land you are about to possess. He will afflict you with weakness, fever, inflammation, infection, sword, blight, and mildew; these will attack you until you perish. The sky above your heads will be bronze and the earth beneath you iron. The Lord will make the rain of your land powder and dust; it will come down on you from the sky until you are destroyed. “The Lord will allow you to be struck down before your enemies; you will attack them from one direction but flee from them in seven directions and will become an




object of terror to all the kingdoms of the earth. Your carcasses will be food for every bird of the sky and wild animal of the earth, and there will be no one to chase them off. The Lord will afflict you with the boils of Egypt and with tumors, eczema, and scabies, all of which cannot be healed. The Lord will also subject you to madness, blindness, and confusion of mind. You will feel your way along at noon like the blind person does in darkness and you will not succeed in anything you do; you will be constantly oppressed and continually robbed, with no one to save you. You will be engaged to a woman and another man will rape her. You will build a house but not live in it. You will plant a vineyard but not even begin to use it. Your ox will be slaughtered before your very eyes but you will not eat of it. Your donkey will be stolen from you as you watch and will not be returned to you. Your flock of sheep will be given to your enemies and there will be no one to save you. Your sons and daughters will be given to another people while you look on in vain all day, and you will be powerless to do anything about it. As for the produce of your land and all your labor, a people you do not know will consume it, and you will be nothing but oppressed and crushed for the rest of your lives. You will go insane from seeing all this. The Lord will afflict you in your knees and on your legs with painful, incurable boils—from the soles of your feet to the top of your head. The Lord will force you and your king




whom you will appoint over you to go away to a people whom you and your ancestors have not known, and you will serve other gods of wood and stone there. You will become an occasion of horror, a proverb, and an object of ridicule to all the peoples to whom the Lord will drive you. “You will take much seed to the field but gather little harvest, because locusts will consume it. You will plant vineyards and cultivate them, but you will not drink wine or gather in grapes, because worms will eat them. You will have olive trees throughout your territory but you will not anoint yourself with olive oil, because the olives will drop off the trees while still unripe. You will bear sons and daughters but not keep them, because they will be taken into captivity. Whirring locusts will take over every tree and all the produce of your soil. The foreigners who reside among you will become higher and higher over you and you will become lower and lower. They will lend to you but you will not lend to them; they will become the head and you will become the tail! All these curses will fall on you, pursuing and overtaking you until you are destroyed, because you would not obey the Lord your God by keeping his commandments and statutes that he has given you. These curses will be a perpetual sign and wonder with reference to you and your descendants. “Because you have not served the Lord your God joyfully and wholeheartedly with the abundance of everything you have, instead in hunger, thirst,




nakedness, and poverty you will serve your enemies whom the Lord will send against you. They will place an iron yoke on your neck until they have destroyed you. The Lord will raise up a distant nation against you, one from the other side of the earth as the eagle flies, a nation whose language you will not understand, a nation of stern appearance that will have no regard for the elderly or pity for the young. They will devour the offspring of your livestock and the produce of your soil until you are destroyed. They will not leave you with any grain, new wine, olive oil, calves of your herds, or lambs of your flocks until they have destroyed you. They will besiege all of your villages until all of your high and fortified walls collapse—those in which you put your confidence throughout the land. They will besiege all your villages throughout the land the Lord your God has given you. You will then eat your own offspring, the flesh of the sons and daughters the Lord your God has given you, because of the severity of the siege by which your enemies will constrict you. The man among you who is by nature tender and sensitive will turn against his brother, his beloved wife, and his remaining children. He will withhold from all of them his children’s flesh that he is eating (since there is nothing else left), because of the severity of the siege by which your enemy will constrict you in your villages. Likewise, the most tender and delicate of your women, who would never think of putting even the sole of her




foot on the ground because of her daintiness, will turn against her beloved husband, her sons and daughters, and will secretly eat her afterbirth and her newborn children (since she has nothing else), because of the severity of the siege by which your enemy will constrict you in your villages. “If you refuse to obey all the words of this law, the things written in this scroll, and refuse to fear this glorious and awesome name, the Lord your God, then the Lord will increase your punishments and those of your descendants—great and long-lasting afflictions and severe, enduring illnesses. He will infect you with all the diseases of Egypt that you dreaded, and they will persistently afflict you. Moreover, the Lord will bring upon you every kind of sickness and plague not mentioned in this scroll of commandments, until you have perished. There will be very few of you left, though at one time you were as numerous as the stars in the sky, because you will have disobeyed the Lord your God. This is what will happen: Just as the Lord delighted to do good for you and make you numerous, he will take delight in destroying and decimating you. You will be uprooted from the land you are about to possess. The Lord will scatter you among all nations, from one end of the earth to the other. There you will worship other gods that neither you nor your ancestors have known, gods of wood and stone. Among those nations you will have no rest nor will there be a place of peaceful rest for the soles




of your feet, for there the Lord will give you an anxious heart, failing eyesight, and a spirit of despair. Your life will hang in doubt before you; you will be terrified by night and day and will have no certainty of surviving from one day to the next. In the morning you will say, ‘If only it were evening!’ And in the evening you will say, ‘I wish it were morning!’ because of the things you will fear and the things you will see. Then the Lord will make you return to Egypt by ship, over a route I said to you that you would never see again. There you will sell yourselves to your enemies as male and female slaves, but no one will buy you.” (NET)

4. Matthew 13:14, And concerning them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: ‘You will listen carefully yet will never understand, you will look closely yet will never comprehend. (NET)

5. John 12:40, “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, so that they would not see with their eyes and understand with their heart, and turn to me, and I would heal them.” (NET)

6. Acts 28:26-27, when he said, ‘Go to this people and say, “You will keep on hearing, but will never understand, and you will keep on looking, but will never perceive. For the heart of this people has become dull, and their ears are hard of hearing, and they have closed their eyes, so




that they would not see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.”’ (NET)

7. Romans 11:8, as it is written, “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear, to this very day.” (NET)

Isaiah 6:12, and the Lord has sent the people off to a distant place, and the very heart of the land is completely abandoned. (NET) I. and the Lord has sent the people off to a distant place, and the very heart of the land is completely abandoned.”

A. Isaiah was “to continue to preach until his predictions of devastation and deportation had been completely fulfilled. Then only would he be relieved of the responsibility to preach,” Smith wrote.

B. Jamieson via Coffman noted that Isaiah 40-66 is centered on the remnant, Christ’s faithful followers, who would be saved.

C. The Assyrian and Babylonian policy of deportation is the focus here. (The Pulpit Commentary.)

Isaiah 6:13, Even if only a tenth of the people remain in the land, it will again be destroyed, like one of the large sacred trees or an Asherah pole, when a sacred pillar on a



www.biblestudyworkshop.org 56 Commentary and Questions by John C. Sewell high place is thrown down. That sacred pillar symbolizes the special chosen family.” (NET) I. Even if only a tenth of the people remain in the land,it will again be destroyed* like one of the large sacred trees or an Asherah pole, ** when a sacred pillar on a high place is thrown down.

A. *NET Footnote: Or – burned.

B. **NET Footnote: An Asherah pole was a shrine or image of the Canaanite fertility goddess Asherah.

C. Even if only a small part of the remnant endures, some, a few faithful, will survive. (See Hailey.)

1. Briley wrote, “. . . there is finally hope. God can bring life even from a stump after the tree has been felled and the stump burned. In this case the stump refers to the holy seed.”

a. Genesis 17:19, God said, “No, Sarah your wife is going to bear you a son, and you will name him Isaac. I will confirm my covenant with him as a perpetual covenant for his descendants after him. (NET)

b. Isaiah 10:33-34, Look, the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, is ready to cut off the branches with terrifying power. The tallest trees will be cut down, the loftiest ones will be brought low. The




thickets of the forest will be chopped down with an ax, and mighty Lebanon will fall. (NET)

c. Isaiah 11:1, A shoot will grow out of Jesse’s root stock, a bud will sprout from his roots. (NET)

2. “Even when Israel seems hopelessly hardened in sin, God has the willingness and the power to bring about a better future,” Briley wrote.

3. Time and again by enemies such as the Assyrians, Babylonians, Romans and Germans the size of the Jewish remnant has been reduced, but the Jews continue as a distinct, identifiable people. (See Coffman.)

D. Related references:

1. 2 Kings 25:12, 22, But he left behind some of the poor of the land and gave them fields and vineyards. Now King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, as governor over the people whom he allowed to remain in the land of Judah. (NET)

2. Jeremiah 40:12, So all these Judeans returned to the land of Judah from the places where they had been scattered. They came to Gedaliah at Mizpah. Thus they harvested a large amount of wine and dates and figs. (NET)




3. Matthew 24:1-28, Now as Jesus was going out of the temple courts and walking away, his disciples came to show him the temple buildings. And he said to them, “Do you see all these things? I tell you the truth, not one stone will be left on another. All will be torn down!” As he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, his disciples came to him privately and said, “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” Jesus answered them, “Watch out that no one misleads you. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will mislead many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. Make sure that you are not alarmed, for this must happen, but the end is still to come. For nation will rise up in arms against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these things are the beginning of birth pains. “Then they will hand you over to be persecuted and will kill you. You will be hated by all the nations because of my name. Then many will be led into sin, and they will betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will appear and deceive many, and because lawlessness will increase so much, the love of many will grow cold. But the person who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole inhabited earth as a testimony to all the




nations, and then the end will come. “So when you see the abomination of desolation—spoken about by Daniel the prophet—standing in the holy place” (let the reader understand), “then those in Judea must flee to the mountains. The one on the roof must not come down to take anything out of his house, and the one in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing their babies in those days! Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. For then there will be great suffering unlike anything that has happened from the beginning of the world until now, or ever will happen. And if those days had not been cut short, no one would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe him. For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. Remember, I have told you ahead of time. So then, if someone says to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out, or ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe him. For just like the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so the coming of the Son of Man will be. Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather. (NET)




E. “The trials of the Jewish nation under the Persian, Egyptian and Syrian monarchies may be intended here,” The Pulpit Commentary states.

II. That sacred pillar symbolizes the special chosen family.”


1. Romans 11:5, So in the same way at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. (NET)

2. Romans 9:25-29, As he also says in Hosea: “I will call those who were not my people, ‘My people,’ and I will call her who was unloved, ‘My beloved.’” “And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ there they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’” And Isaiah cries out on behalf of Israel, “Though the number of the children of Israel are as the sand of the sea, only the remnant will be saved, for the Lord will execute his sentence on the earth completely and quickly.” Just as Isaiah predicted, “If the Lord of armies had not left us descendants, we would have become like Sodom, and we would have resembled Gomorrah.” (NET)

3. Ezekiel 5:1-4, “As for you, son of man, take a sharp sword and use it as a barber’s razor. Shave off some of the hair from your head and your beard. Then take scales and divide up the hair




you cut off. Burn a third of it in the fire inside the city when the days of your siege are completed. Take a third and slash it with a sword all around the city. Scatter a third to the wind, and I will unleash a sword behind them. But take a few strands of hair from those and tie them in the ends of your garment. Again, take more of them and throw them into the fire, and burn them up. From there a fire will spread to all the house of Israel. (NET)

B. Smith explained, “Those who listened to the prophet and embraced God’s holiness would be like a stump in the land. From the stump a new Israel would emerge.”

C. Trees which shoot up again from the stock after been cut down; as the prophet expresses it, “have a stem in their destruction.” So to Judah shall remain, after all, a “holy seed,” which shall be its “stem” or “stock,” and from which it shall once more “take root downward, and bear fruit upward.” (The Pulpit Commentary)

1. Isaiah 37:31, Those who remain in Judah will take root in the ground and bear fruit. (NET)

Conclusion: I. The marvelous appearance of the Lord to Isaiah certainly confirmed his faith and clarified his mission.




A. The Lord on this occasion appeared to Isaiah at a crucial time in which King Uzziah who had ruled some fifty years had died.

B. This lets us know as Christians that when trials and tribulations beset us, we are not alone. (See Matthew Henry.)

1. God is ever with those who remain faithfully with him.

II. To serve the Lord, we must first be cleansed and then willingly volunteer to do the Lord’s work. III. Preaching the word of God will not always be easy and the word proclaimed will not always be readily accepted.

A. We must always be faithful in season and out of season until Jesus returns.

B. Then we will share in the eternal glory of our majestic king and sing, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord . . .” who has saved our souls.

IV. By the way, this scribe, come the final day of judgment, does not want fairness nor justice. He is relying on God’s grace and mercy and is eternally grateful that the judge’s only begotten son, in whom he has believed for more than four score years, will be serving as his attorney!




Questions

on

Isaiah 6:1-13 1. How does Hamilton view Isaiah 6:1 – 9:7? ________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2. Outline in three sections Isaiah 6:1-13. ___________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 3. How did Lowth view Isaiah 6? __________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 4. How do Isaiah 1-5 and Isaiah 6 relate to each other? _______ _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________



www.biblestudyworkshop.org 64 Commentary and Questions by John C. Sewell __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 5. When was Isaiah first called to the prophetic ministry? At the time God appeared to Isaiah in chapter 6, was Uzziah dead? In what year did Uzziah die? Give reasons for your answers. ______ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 6. Evaluate the reign of Uzziah. How long did he reign? How, in your opinion, did the people react to Uzziah’s death? __________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 7. What is the meaning and significance of the designation Adonay for God? _______________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 8. No man can see God and live. How did Isaiah survive seeing God in chapter 6? ______________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________



www.biblestudyworkshop.org 65 Commentary and Questions by John C. Sewell _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 9. Compare and contrast Isaiah’s and Jeremiah’s calls to the prophetic ministry. (See Isaiah 6:1-13 and Jeremiah 1:4-28) ___ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 10. Where did God appear to Isaiah? _______________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 11. Compare the appearance of God, his throne, his attendants and his robe (See Isaiah 6:1-13.) with the thrones, attires and courts of mid-eastern monarchs of that era. _________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 12. “Too many might have been looking to the ______________ ______________ for the ______________ ______________ ______________,” Coffman wrote.



www.biblestudyworkshop.org 66 Commentary and Questions by John C. Sewell 13. The ______________ ______________, in ______________ of _____________ and ______________, is the ______________ ______________ of ______________ and ______________. (See Coffman.) 14. ____________ is pictured as ____________ in ____________ ______________ ______________ in the ______________ ______________ ______________ of the ______________ with ______________ ______________ and ______________ him. 15. What were seraphs/seraphim? Describe the seraphs of Isaiah 6. ___________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 16. Why did they stand over God? What did they do as explained in Isaiah 6? Give other biblical references to seraphs/seraphim. _ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 17. What caused the temple door frames to shake? Of what significance is this? Does the singing where you worship cause the door frames to shake? _______________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________



www.biblestudyworkshop.org 67 Commentary and Questions by John C. Sewell __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 18. What caused the temple to be filled with smoke? What is the meaning, significance of smoke filling the temple? ____________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 19. What armies does God command? Explain your answer. ____ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 20. How did Isaiah react to all that he saw? How will you feel when you stand before the judgment seat of God? ____________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 21. What did Isaiah say? (See verse 5.) ____________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________



www.biblestudyworkshop.org 68 Commentary and Questions by John C. Sewell 22. How did Hamilton describe Isaiah’s condition? (See verse 5.) _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 23. How could Isaiah see God and continue to live? ___________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 24. How did other prominent Bible characters react to their encounters with diety? __________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 25. What characteristics must those who serve God have? What characteristics keep people from serving God? _______________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________



www.biblestudyworkshop.org 69 Commentary and Questions by John C. Sewell 26. What part did one of the seraphs have in Isaiah’s being forgiven? _____________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 27. From what altar was the “hot coal” of verse 6 taken? Was this “hot cold” essential to Isaiah’s salvation? If not, what part did it play in Isaiah’s forgiveness? _________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 28. What did Hailey say about sin and the guilt of sin? _________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 29. ____________ ____________ ____________ ____________ and will not ______________ ______________ ______________ in his ______________. (Martin via Smith) 30. To God’s questions, “______________ will I send? Who will go on _________ __________,” Isaiah responded, “___________ am __________, __________ __________.”



www.biblestudyworkshop.org 70 Commentary and Questions by John C. Sewell 31. Define “us” or “our” as used in verse 8? _________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 32. What is the significance of the use of the phrase “these people” instead of “my people” in verse 9? __________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 33. What was Isaiah to preach to “these people?” ____________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 34. What characteristics describe “these people?”_____________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 35. What produced these characteristics? Did Isaiah’s preaching have anything to do with producing these characteristics? If so, what? ________________________________________________



www.biblestudyworkshop.org 71 Commentary and Questions by John C. Sewell _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 36. Define “judicial hardening.” Who were those who were judicially hardened? What happened to those who became judicially hardened? _____________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 37. Did God produce this judicial hardening? If so, how and why? _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 38. How long would Isaiah’s message to be preached? How long was the people’s callousness to continue? What events led or contributed to the end of those judicially hardened people? _____ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 39. Identify the remnant that was to be spared. ______________



www.biblestudyworkshop.org 72 Commentary and Questions by John C. Sewell _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 40. What purpose did the mention of sacred trees, and an Asherah pole serve? Identify the stump from which the branch would sprout. Identify “branch” as used in this connection. _____________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 41. Let us know as ______________ that when ______________ and ______________ beset us, we are not ______________. ______________ is ever with those who remain ______________ with him. 42. To ______________ the ______________, we must first be ______________ and then ______________ ______________ to do the ______________’s ______________. 43. ______________ the ______________ of ______________ will not ____________ be ____________ and the ____________ ______________ will not ______________ be ______________ ______________.



www.biblestudyworkshop.org 73 Commentary and Questions by John C. Sewell 44. We must ____________ be ____________ in ____________ and ______________ of ______________ until ______________ ______________. 45. Then we will ______________ in the ______________ ______________ of our ______________ ______________ and ____________, “___________ __________, ____________ is the ____________ . . .” who has ____________ our ____________.



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