What Isaiah Experienced (Isaiah 6:1-13)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 7/15/2013 8:38 AM

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  What Isaiah Experienced

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Isaiah 6:1-13

            Message of the verses:  I suppose that it is possible that some may begin reading the book of Isaiah and wonder why Isaiah had the right to pronounce “woes” on Jerusalem and the worshipers in the temple.  Well we will find out the answer in chapter six, the chapter we are now going to look at, for in this chapter Isaiah will pronounce a “woe” upon himself as he sees the Holy One of Israel.  We will look at four stages in the experience that Isaiah had with the Lord. 

            Sight:  He saw the Lord (Isaiah 6:1-4):  “1 ¶ In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. 2 Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called out to another and said, "Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory." 4 And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke.”

            I suppose that I have heard many sermons on the sixth chapter of Isaiah, as it is a very important portion of Scripture, not just in the OT, but in the entire Word of God.  We will see in this section that Isaiah sees the Holy One of Israel, and as he was taught in the Law he thought that he was going to die.  There was a similar thing that happened with the parents of Samson when the preincarnate Jesus Christ came to visit them announcing the birth of a son for them.

            It is believed but not proved that Isaiah was in the temple when this marvelous event occurred.  This event happened in 740 B.C. the year that one of Judah’s greatest kings died, and I am sure that this was very upsetting to Isaiah, but even though the earthly king had died there was still a king in heaven, and for that matter still is today.  “These things Isaiah said because he saw His glory, and he spoke of Him (John 12:41).”  This verse shows that the King that Isaiah saw was the Lord Jesus Christ.

            Dr. Wiersbe writes “Only here are the seraphim mentioned in Scripture.  The Hebrew word means ‘to burn’ and relates these creatures to the holiness of God.  This is why they repeat, ‘Holy, holy, holy’ before the throne of God.  Some students think that the seraphim are the ‘living creatures’ described in Revelation 4:6-9.”

            Even thought Isaiah’s outlook was bleak, when he saw the scene in heaven and from heaven’s point “the whole earth was full of His glory.”  I am trying to put to memory the 46^th Psalm which begins with these words, “Go is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”  Isaiah saw this in action as recorede in this chapter.

            Insight:  He saw himself (Isaiah 6:5-7):  “5 ¶ Then I said, "Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts." 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs. 7 He touched my mouth with it and said, ‘Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away and your sin is forgiven.’” 

            The commentary from this section by Dr. Wiersbe is so good that I want to share it here.  “The sight of a holy god and the sound of the holy hymn of worship brought great conviction to Isaiah’s heart, and he confessed that he was a sinner.  Unclean lips are caused by and unclean heart (Matt. 12:34-35).  Isaiah cried out to be cleansed inwardly (Ps. 51:10), and God met his need.  If this scene had been on earth, the coals would have come from the brazen altar where sacrificial blood had been shed, or perhaps from the censer of the hight priest on the Day of Atonement (Lev. 16:12).  Isaiah’s cleansing came by blood and fire, and it was verified by the word of the Lord (Isa. 6:7).

            “Before we can minister to others, we must permit God to minister to us.  Before we pronounce ‘woe’ upon other, we must sincerely say ‘Woe is me!’  Isaiah’s conviction led to confession and confession led to cleansing (1John 1:9).  Like Isaiah, many of the great heroes of faith saw themselves as sinners and humbled themselves before God:  Abraham (Gen. 18:27), Jacob (32:10), Job (Job 40:1-5), David (2Sam. 7:18), Paul (1Tim. 1:15), and Peter (Luke 5:8-11).”

            Vision:  He saw the need (Isaiah 6:8):  “8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?’ Then I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’”

            Last week at the church that I attend there was a missions meeting from one of the mission agencies that were actually started in our church many, many years ago.  One of the purposes of the meetings was to confirm that new missionaries were actually given a call from the Lord and were now able to go out on deputation to begin their ministry. We heard the testimonies of a number of missionaries in both services yesterday, but last night we heard from a young woman who is headed for South America to minister there, and she was so full of the joy of the Lord and so enthusiastic about her ministry that it was so evident that the Lord had set her life in motion for this task that He has for her.  She mentioned a number of times the same words that Isaiah says in this section “Here am I send me.”

            There are some in the Scriptures that seem to argue with the Lord about His calling them, Moses for example as seen in Exodus 3:11-14 and also Jeremiah as seen in Jer. 1:4ff.  I can also think of Gideon too as seen in the sixth chapter of Judges.

            As witnessed from the two serves at our church I can see that God is still in the business of calling people to do His will.

            Blindness:  The nation could not see (Isaiah 6:9-13):  “9 ¶ He said, "Go, and tell this people: ’Keep on listening, but do not perceive; Keep on looking, but do not understand.’ 10  "Render the hearts of this people insensitive, Their ears dull, And their eyes dim, Otherwise they might see with their eyes, Hear with their ears, Understand with their hearts, And return and be healed." 11 Then I said, "Lord, how long?" And He answered, "Until cities are devastated and without inhabitant, Houses are without people And the land is utterly desolate, 12 “The LORD has removed men far away, And the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land. 13 “Yet there will be a tenth portion in it, And it will again be subject to burning, Like a terebinth or an oak Whose stump remains when it is felled. The holy seed is its stump.’”

            I remember hearing the story of a missionary who went to a foreign land and worked his whole life there telling others about the love of Jesus Christ, and how one can be saved through His work on the cross.  He worked his whole life and only one person received Jesus Christ as his personal Savior.  I am sure that this was greatly discouraging to him, but after his death that one person he led to the Lord began a great work in that land and many came to know the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord.  It seems from reading this section that Isaiah’s job was even harder than this missionary’s job for the Lord tells him that people will not hear what he is saying to them, and this had to be discouraging to Isaiah.  Dr. Wiersbe states that verses 9-10 are quoted six times in the New Testament:  (Matt. 13:13-15; Mark 4:12; Luke 8:10; John 12:40; Acts 28:25-28; Rom. 11:8).  Dr. Wiersbe writes these very important words:  “God does not deliberately make sinners blind, deaf, and hard-hearted; but the more that people resist God’s truth, the less able they are to receive God’s truth.  But the servant is to proclaim the Word no matter how people respond, for the test of ministry is not outward success but faithfulness to the Lord.” 

            Even though Isaiah’s ministry would seemingly be a failure at the end there would still be a remnant as seen by the stump that would produce new life latter on after the captivity in Babylon.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  God and tell is still the call for all believers today, and I pray that God will continue to use me to tell others about his saving grace.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Proverbs 3:5-6.

Memory verses for the week:  Psalm 46:1-6  

            1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.  2  Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; 3 though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains quake at its swelling pride.  Selah.  4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy dwelling place of the most high.  God is in the midst of her, she will not be moved, God will help her when morning dawns. 

            6 The nations made an uproar, the kingdoms tottered; He raised His voice, the earth melted.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible Question:  “Pharisees” (Mark 2:16).

Today’s Bible Question:  “Where was Paul at the end of the book of Acts?”

Answer in tomorrow’s SD.

7/15/2013 9:52 AM