Isaiah 6: 1 – 13
All Who Want To Volunteer Say ‘I’
1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. 2 Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one cried to another and said: “ Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!” 4 And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.5 So I said: “ Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The LORD of hosts.” 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth with it, and said: “ Behold, this has touched your lips; Your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged.” 8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: “ Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.” 9 And He said, “Go, and tell this people: ‘ Keep on hearing, but do not understand; Keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’ 10 “ Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; Lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and return and be healed.” 11 Then I said, “Lord, how long?” And He answered: “ Until the cities are laid waste and without inhabitant, the houses are without a man, the land is utterly desolate, 12 The LORD has removed men far away, and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land. 13 But yet a tenth will be in it, and will return and be for consuming, as a terebinth tree or as an oak, whose stump remains when it is cut down. So the holy seed shall be its stump.”
Many people do not know how hard it is to be a Pastor. They think that is glamorous to have a title. Little do they know? They are not aware of all the heartache that comes with the assignments given to us. How about being available to everyone one of your flock, their relatives and people they know, 24 hours a day. How about putting in 12 hours of serving others and then receive a phone call that someone needs you to come pray for them in a hospital? Worse yet, how would you like to be the hard guy telling a couple in love that you will not marry them because they are already living together. Or how about having to rebuke someone because they are doing things that is hurting them and others.
Isaiah also was given a difficult ministry. He had to tell people who thought that they were outstanding believers, that they were in fact vile sinners, who are about to be judged by God Almighty. I heard one Pastor say that his job was to comfort the convicted and convict the comfortable. It is similar to what we see Isaiah having to do.
I’ll tell you one thing though, on your own strength, you cannot handle the job. However, if you commit all your ways to our Supreme Master, Lord, and Savior Jesus Christ then the job can be done.
1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple.
Did you catch the great incident that occurred in verse one. Take a stab at it? Still do not see it? Let me ask you a question as we look at verse 1 again = “I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. I know you read it and still do not see it. What did Isaiah see? – The Lord. You are familiar with the Gospel of John chapter 1, “1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
I think a lot of us miss the fact of Who Isaiah saw. He saw the Lord Jesus Christ, face to Face and conversed with Him, this is how we receive all this information from the prophet. So, our Lord not only taught him but showed him the Throne Room of Heaven and showed him what would happen in the future.
Here is a question for all of us to ask ourselves, and that is, ‘how does your concept of the Greatness of El Shaddai – God Almighty – compare with Isaiah’s? If you are honest, then you will agree with me, that we are not even close. We need to discover and solidify in our hearts His Holiness. Our daily problems, frustrations, pressures, and shortcomings, greatly impact our view of God. The bible encourages us to meditate upon His Word. If we do then we see things more clearly. We see things from His perspective, Who IS Pure and Holy. With this happening we are then in a better position to submit to His Rule and Authority over our lives.
Isaiah starts off with a mentioning of king Uzziah. Here is a little background information on this king which we find in the book of 2 Chronicles chapter 26, “3 Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jecholiah of Jerusalem. 4 And he did what was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father Amaziah had done. 5 He sought God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the visions of God; and as long as he sought the LORD, God made him prosper. 6 Now he went out and made war against the Philistines, and broke down the wall of Gath, the wall of Jabneh, and the wall of Ashdod; and he built cities around Ashdod and among the Philistines. 7 God helped him against the Philistines, against the Arabians who lived in Gur Baal, and against the Meunites. 8 Also the Ammonites brought tribute to Uzziah. His fame spread as far as the entrance of Egypt, for he became exceedingly strong. 9 And Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate, at the Valley Gate, and at the corner buttress of the wall; then he fortified them. 10 Also he built towers in the desert. He dug many wells, for he had much livestock, both in the lowlands and in the plains; he also had farmers and vinedressers in the mountains and in Carmel, for he loved the soil. 11 Moreover Uzziah had an army of fighting men who went out to war by companies, according to the number on their roll as prepared by Jeiel the scribe and Maaseiah the officer, under the hand of Hananiah, one of the king’s captains. 12 The total number of chief officers of the mighty men of valor was two thousand six hundred. 13 And under their authority was an army of three hundred and seven thousand five hundred, that made war with mighty power, to help the king against the enemy. 14 Then Uzziah prepared for them, for the entire army, shields, spears, helmets, body armor, bows, and slings to cast stones. 15 And he made devices in Jerusalem, invented by skillful men, to be on the towers and the corners, to shoot arrows and large stones. So his fame spread far and wide, for he was marvelously helped till he became strong. 16 But when he was strong his heart was lifted up, to his destruction, for he transgressed against the LORD his God by entering the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense. 17 So Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him were eighty priests of the LORD—valiant men. 18 And they withstood King Uzziah, and said to him, “It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the LORD, but for the priests, the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense. Get out of the sanctuary, for you have trespassed! You shall have no honor from the LORD God.” 19 Then Uzziah became furious; and he had a censer in his hand to burn incense. And while he was angry with the priests, leprosy broke out on his forehead, before the priests in the house of the LORD, beside the incense altar. 20 And Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked at him, and there, on his forehead, he was leprous; so they thrust him out of that place. Indeed he also hurried to get out, because the LORD had struck him. 21 King Uzziah was a leper until the day of his death. He dwelt in an isolated house, because he was a leper; for he was cut off from the house of the LORD. Then Jotham his son was over the king’s house, judging the people of the land. 22 Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah, from first to last, the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz wrote. 23 So Uzziah rested with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers in the field of burial which belonged to the kings, for they said, “He is a leper.” Then Jotham his son reigned in his place.
We notice a few things here. For one, Uzziah had been a good king but wound up doing something very stupid, he went into the Temple where only God allowed priests. As punishment he was struck with leprosy. His son Jotham reigned as a co-regent.
Isaiah saw in king Uzziah a picture of Israel and Judah’s spiritual conditions. For just as Uzziah life came to an end due to his leprosy, so also were these Jewish kingdoms coming to an end because of their leprosy. Leprosy is always associated with sin.
If you take note of Uzziah’s story you see also a man who had it all; favor with Jehovah Elyon – The Lord Most High; Peace; and blessings from the Almighty King. Yet, he wanted something he could not have and that is the right to disregard God’s Will and Authority. Our Precious Holy Father had established certain positions. He gave the people a king who would be His co-shepherd. He assigned priests to represent the people for Him, and He picked prophets in which He would communicate His Word to His people. Now you might be saying why God went to all this trouble. If He loves us so much why didn’t He just speak and interact with us normally.
Well, for one thing He Is Holy, Sinless, and Pure. He would love to hang out with us like He did with Adam. However, because of our sinful state, we would be destroyed if He came and hung out with us normally. Here are a few examples; Do you remember when Moses wanted to see God’s Glory? We see the results of this request from God in the book of Exodus chapter 33, “12 Then Moses said to the LORD, “See, You say to me, ‘Bring up this people.’ But You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found grace in My sight.’ 13 Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people.” 14 And He said, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” 15 Then he said to Him, “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. 16 For how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, except You go with us? So we shall be separate, Your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth.” 17 So the LORD said to Moses, “I will also do this thing that you have spoken; for you have found grace in My sight, and I know you by name.” 18 And he said, “Please, show me Your glory.” 19 Then He said, “I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” 20 But He said, “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live.” 21 And the LORD said, “Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock. 22 So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by. 23 Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen.”
So, strike one on trying to see the Lord. How about His Personal Presence hanging out with us. Shall we pick up the story a little before this interaction with Moses when He came and visited the people on Mount Sinai in chapter 19, “18 Now all the people witnessed the thundering, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off. 19 Then they said to Moses, “You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.” 20 And Moses said to the people, “Do not fear; for God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin.” 21 So the people stood afar off, but Moses drew near the thick darkness where God was.”
2 Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one cried to another and said: “ Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!”
This is the only time in the bible we read of a unique group of angels that are called Seraph[im]. The word Seraph means ‘burning ones’ or nobles. They are also sometimes called the ‘ones of love’ because their name comes from the Hebrew root for love. There are only mentioned by the prophet Isaiah which tells us this in chapter 6,
You will notice that they have six wings, not four like the Cherubim. [Check out the book of Ezekiel chapter 9 if you want to read up on Cherubim] They use only two for flying. With two they cover their faces. Being so close to God they would witness His full Glory. The other two covered their feet. Feet are considered unclean and therefore not worthy to be shown in God’s Presence.
Their positions in the Throne room are flying above God’s Throne, unlike the cherubim who are beside and around the throne. Their primary duty is to constantly glorify and praise God and they may also be the personal ‘attendants’ who serve God. Their eternal song is ‘Holy, Holy, Holy’ [Father, Son, and Holy Spirit] is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of His Glory.’ In Hebrew, when you use the same word three times means that the person or object is utterly like the word. So calling God Holy three times means that God Is utterly and perfectly Holy.
I think a lot of people also miss the point that the Seraphim are worshiping the Blessed Holy Trinity. Holy Is our Father. Holy Is The Son. Holy Is the Holy Ghost.
4 And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.
The Glory of the Lord being displayed, the smoke, and the shaking was a way our Lord was teaching His prophet. You see in a prior engagement our Lord had made a covenant with His people on Mount Sinai. In the book of Exodus chapter 19 we read about this, “ 1 In the third month after the children of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on the same day, they came to the Wilderness of Sinai. 2 For they had departed from Rephidim, had come to the Wilderness of Sinai, and camped in the wilderness. So Israel camped there before the mountain.3 And Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: 4 ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. 5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. 6 And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.” 7 So Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before them all these words which the LORD commanded him. 8 Then all the people answered together and said, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do.” So Moses brought back the words of the people to the LORD. 9 And the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I come to you in the thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and believe you forever.” So Moses told the words of the people to the LORD. 10 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes. 11 And let them be ready for the third day. For on the third day the LORD will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. 12 You shall set bounds for the people all around, saying, ‘Take heed to yourselves that you do not go up to the mountain or touch its base. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death. 13 Not a hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned or shot with an arrow; whether man or beast, he shall not live.’ When the trumpet sounds long, they shall come near the mountain.” 14 So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and sanctified the people, and they washed their clothes. 15 And he said to the people, “Be ready for the third day; do not come near your wives.” 16 Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled. 17 And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. 18 Now Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly. 19 And when the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by voice. 20 Then the LORD came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain. And the LORD called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up. 21 And the LORD said to Moses, “Go down and warn the people, lest they break through to gaze at the LORD, and many of them perish. 22 Also let the priests who come near the LORD consecrate themselves, lest the LORD break out against them.” 23 But Moses said to the LORD, “The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai; for You warned us, saying, ‘Set bounds around the mountain and consecrate it.’” 24 Then the LORD said to him, “Away! Get down and then come up, you and Aaron with you. But do not let the priests and the people break through to come up to the LORD, lest He break out against them.” 25 So Moses went down to the people and spoke to them.”
Here our Precious Adoni Yahweh Is reminding His prophet that He Is keeping His people to the terms of the contract made on Mount Sinai.”
5 So I said: “ Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The LORD of hosts.”
If you remember our study of chapter 5 we discussed 6 ‘Woe’s’ or ‘Watch outs!’ given from our Everlasting Ruler. Here is the seventh ‘Woe’. Isaiah realized his sinfulness and feared that he was a goner. When you eyes are open to the Holiness of our Mighty God, great fear overcomes you. In the Gospel of Luke chapter 5 Peter was kind of rude toward our Precious Lord Jesus when asked to go fishing. However, after he witnessed a miracle and more importantly he saw our Holy King for Who He really Is, well let’s read what happened, “1 So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, 2 and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets. 3 Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat.4 When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” 5 But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.” 6 And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. 7 So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.
Did you notice our Lord’s request to Peter? He said, ‘Let down your nets, not just one net, which Peter, cajoled Him with. Just think of the catch they would have gotten if Peter was totally obedient.
What was Peter’s response to the Holiness of our Lord and Savior after seeing the miracle? He fell to his knees and besought the Lord to leave him because of his awareness of his sinfulness.
6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth with it, and said: “ Behold, this has touched your lips; Your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged.”
In order to be used by God, you have to be cleansed of your sins. In the Epistle of 1 John chapter 1 we read this, “5 This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.
The angel went to the altar and took coal from which the blood of many sacrifices were made. This coal represented atonement or the taking away of sin. If you notice in verse 7 of the book of 1 John we see how our Precious Holy Master took away our sin for good at the cross, “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”
8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: “ Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”
We read here one of the most amazing verses in the bible. In the book of 2 Chronicles chapter 16 this important fact, “9 For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.” It says here that our Magnificent Creator scans the whole earth looking for a man or woman who will raise their hand and say, “Lord, here am I, use me.” If someone is willing then our Holy El Shaddai will do wonders through and for that person. Sadly, hardly anyone takes Him up at His request. However, Isaiah was one that did. He waved his hand frantically, ‘Lord, over here, pick me. I will go.’
You will notice that Isaiah did not raise his hand and ask questions like, ‘Ah, Lord, before I fully volunteer, I was wondering exactly what, where, and when would you have in mind?’
Isaiah was thinking to himself, ‘Oh, Holy God, I know that I am not worthy to serve you but if in Your Grace You could use me, here am I with my hand raised. How about you? Anyone willing to raise his or her hand to serve Jehovah Elyon – The Lord Most High?
Before moving on I also want to point something out that God haters want to cause trouble with. Please notice the words, ‘who will go for Us’. Some so called scholars say that God is saying, ‘Who will go for Me and the angels who are with Me.’ It doesn’t say that. Shame on them. If you notice the ‘Us’ is capitalized. You know Who the ‘Us’ Is. The One asking the question Is the Triune God, our Blessed Holy Trinity.
9 And He said, “Go, and tell this people: ‘ Keep on hearing, but do not understand; Keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’ 10 “ Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; Lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and return and be healed.”
At first reading, this verse sounds like God Is going to do something mean. Why would He send a representative and purposely keep the people from hearing and seeing the truth? Here is a truth that we all need to heed. Our Holy Creator has given us a conscience. When we attempt to do something against His Will, we are warned not to give into the temptation. If we yield to the temptation, then the voice of warning gets harder to hear. If we stay on this downward course, then our hearts become hardened. Let’s just look a little at this problem as it occurred with Pharaoh as explained to us in the book of Exodus chapter 8, “1 And the LORD spoke to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD: “Let My people go, that they may serve Me. 2 But if you refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all your territory with frogs. 3 So the river shall bring forth frogs abundantly, which shall go up and come into your house, into your bedroom, on your bed, into the houses of your servants, on your people, into your ovens, and into your kneading bowls. 4 And the frogs shall come up on you, on your people, and on all your servants.”5 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your hand with your rod over the streams, over the rivers, and over the ponds, and cause frogs to come up on the land of Egypt.’” 6 So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. 7 And the magicians did so with their enchantments, and brought up frogs on the land of Egypt. 8 Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, “Entreat the LORD that He may take away the frogs from me and from my people; and I will let the people go, that they may sacrifice to the LORD.” 9 And Moses said to Pharaoh, “Accept the honor of saying when I shall intercede for you, for your servants, and for your people, to destroy the frogs from you and your houses, that they may remain in the river only.” 10 So he said, “Tomorrow.” And he said, “Let it be according to your word, that you may know that there is no one like the LORD our God. 11 And the frogs shall depart from you, from your houses, from your servants, and from your people. They shall remain in the river only.” 12 Then Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh. And Moses cried out to the LORD concerning the frogs which He had brought against Pharaoh. 13 So the LORD did according to the word of Moses. And the frogs died out of the houses, out of the courtyards, and out of the fields. 14 They gathered them together in heaps, and the land stank. 15 But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and did not heed them, as the LORD had said. 16 So the LORD said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your rod, and strike the dust of the land, so that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt.’” 17 And they did so. For Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod and struck the dust of the earth, and it became lice on man and beast. All the dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt. 18 Now the magicians so worked with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not. So there were lice on man and beast. 19 Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, just as the LORD had said. 20 And the LORD said to Moses, “Rise early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh as he comes out to the water. Then say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD: “Let My people go, that they may serve Me. 21 Or else, if you will not let My people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies on you and your servants, on your people and into your houses. The houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground on which they stand. 22 And in that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, in which My people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there, in order that you may know that I am the LORD in the midst of the land. 23 I will make a difference between My people and your people. Tomorrow this sign shall be.”’” 24 And the LORD did so. Thick swarms of flies came into the house of Pharaoh, into his servants’ houses, and into all the land of Egypt. The land was corrupted because of the swarms of flies.25 Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God in the land.” 26 And Moses said, “It is not right to do so, for we would be sacrificing the abomination of the Egyptians to the LORD our God. If we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, then will they not stone us? 27 We will go three days’ journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the LORD our God as He will command us.” 28 So Pharaoh said, “I will let you go, that you may sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only you shall not go very far away. Intercede for me.” 29 Then Moses said, “Indeed I am going out from you, and I will entreat the LORD, that the swarms of flies may depart tomorrow from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people. But let Pharaoh not deal deceitfully anymore in not letting the people go to sacrifice to the LORD.” 30 So Moses went out from Pharaoh and entreated the LORD. 31 And the LORD did according to the word of Moses; He removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people. Not one remained. 32 But Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also; neither would he let the people go.
Pharaoh’s heart continued to become harder and harder. Even though he and his nation were taking hits more severe each time. This is how we slide so down that there no other alternative than total destruction.
11 Then I said, “Lord, how long?” And He answered: “ Until the cities are laid waste and without inhabitant, the houses are without a man, the land is utterly desolate, 12 The LORD has removed men far away, and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land. 13 But yet a tenth will be in it, and will return and be for consuming, as a terebinth tree or as an oak, whose stump remains when it is cut down. So the holy seed shall be its stump.”
You can see two possible reactions from Isaiah after hearing his difficult assignment. One possibility is, ‘Lord, how long do I have to do this? You’re sending me to people who I am going to get no positive responses from. How long is this assignment going to be?’
I do not believe that was what Isaiah was asking Almighty God. I believe that Isaiah after having seen the Purity and Holiness of the only True and Living God, then realizing his own filthiness, understood that total destruction was going to happen to all the Jews. He was asking ‘how long’ until the hammer of justice came down. To encourage His prophet and to those Israelites who were trying to live an obedient and righteous life our Lord gives a two part answer. The first is in relation to when the Judgment will occur, “11 Then I said, “Lord, how long?” And He answered: “ Until the cities are laid waste and without inhabitant, the houses are without a man, the land is utterly desolate, 12 The LORD has removed men far away, and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land.”
Then to leave the people some ‘hope’ our Holy Supreme Ruler says that in His Mercy He will spare some people, “13 But yet a tenth will be in it, and will return and be for consuming, as a terebinth tree or as an oak, whose stump remains when it is cut down. So the holy seed shall be its stump.”
Thank You Lord that Your Mercies are new every morning.
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