Whom shall I send?
Isaiah 6:1
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple.
2:Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying.
3:And they were calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory."
4:At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.
5:"Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty."
6:Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar.
7:With it he touched my mouth and said, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for."
8:Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"
This chapter is all about Isaiahs calling to be a prophet to the Nation. It occurs in the year of the death of king Uzziah, also known as Azariah. Uzziah was on the scale of things, a relatively good king. However towards the end of his reign he had become proud and God had allowed Leprosy to come upon him. Uzziah had also allowed false worship to be practised in the land. The people of Judah had become corrupt and it had become a dark place to live.
I want to look at the three things that take place in this chapter that lead Isaiah to become one of the most significant prophets in history. Firstly he has a vision of God, then he is consecrated before God, and finally he accepts, and is faithful, to Gods commission.
Had a vision of, and from, God.
Isaiah has an encounter with God, and he is not alone. All of the great movers and shakers in the Bible had an encounter with God in some way before they began their work. Moses and the burning bush, Samuel, when he thought Eli was calling him, and Paul on the road to Damascus. If we want to be used by God then we must seek these encounters with Him daily. We must have both an encounter with God as well as a vision for what he wants us to achieve.
We have the ability when we worship God, not just to sing praises to Him, but also to actually enter the Holy place with Him. In the temple, where the people worshipped, there were separate courts. The gentile court, the inner courts, the Holy Place, and then the Holy of Holies, where only the High Priest could enter. When Jesus died the curtain of the temple was ripped apart, (Matthew 27:51, Mark 15:38, Luke 23:45) and we can now enter into His presence. Jesus has become our high priest and we can now encounter the Lord as Isaiah did.
When was the last time that you sought to enter that place with Him? God wants us there daily with him as it is there that He will give us the vision of what He wants us to do. If you have never been to that place of intimacy with God, then if you seek His face, He will take you there. If you seek God with all humility then He will meet with you. You may not see Him physically as Isaiah did, but you will certainly see His presence. It is when we have this kind of encounter with God, that he gives us a vision of what He wants us to do.
We need to desire a vision of God, before we desire the vision for His purpose. Some time ago there was a man who had a vision. He was in a very comfortable job, and yet he risked his life, and gave up his position in order to see that vision accomplished. He suffered many years of heart ache and endured many oppressors who would have liked to see his vision fail. Yet this man looked to God, and accomplished a great work.
The mans name was Nehemiah. He had heard that Jerusalem lay in ruins. Everybody could see the desolation that it was in, and yet Nehemiah had a vision to see it rebuilt. Nehemiah saw the finished product way before the work had begun, and because he had received his vision from God, he lived to see the walls of Jerusalem rebuilt. If we want to make a difference in this world, then like Isaiah and Nehemiah, we first need an encounter with God, and to receive a vision from Him.
Was consecrated before God.
When Isaiah entered Gods presence, he suddenly became fully aware of his own unworthiness.
v5:"Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty."
To enter Gods presence in our sinful state should mean death, and Isaiah knew it. However in Isaiahs humility we see repentance and the Lord cleanses him and sets him apart. Isaiah is consecrated before God. This is the same for any of the great men or women of God in the Bible, before they accomplished anything, they had to consecrate themselves before God. Joshua was told the same thing when he encountered God. In chapter 3 of the book of Joshua, he tells the people that they must be consecrated before God, and that tomorrow, God will do amazing things. We find the same in chapter 5, when after meeting again with God, Joshua ensures that all of Israel are circumcised. In chapter 7, God reminds the people that unless they clean the impurities from their lives, then they will never stand against their enemies.
Joshua 7:13
"Go, consecrate the people. Tell them, `Consecrate yourselves in preparation for tomorrow; for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: That which is devoted is among you, O Israel. You cannot stand against your enemies until you remove it.
If we are to be used by God then we must be consecrated before Him. If we humble ourselves as Isaiah did, then Christ’s death is enough to atone for our sin. God is calling His people to humble themselves and repent before Him. We can not expect to stand against our enemies if we have any area of sin in our lives, and neither can we expect to continue our relationship with God.
I recently read about a man who returned from a foreign holiday and was feeling very ill. He went to see his doctor who immediately rushed him into hospital. After undergoing several tests the man found himself waking up in a private room of the hospital. He staggered to the door, only to find that it was locked. He could hear his family outside, and they told him they weren’t allowed to come in and the door was fully secured. The mans bedside phone then rang and it was the doctor on the other end. The doctor explained that the man had a very nasty virus that was extremely contagious and hard to treat.
"Oh my goodness!" cried the man, "What can you do for me, doctor?"
"Well, we are going to put you on a diet of pizzas, pancakes, tortillas, and pita bread."
"Will that cure me??" asked the man.
The doctor replied, "Well no... but it’s the only food that we can fit under the door."
(Illustration adapted from Byron Sherman at SermonCentral.com)
The man was separated from the ones he loved because of his condition. In the same way we will be separated from God unless we are cleansed from our sinful condition. If we want to be in Gods will then we need to consecrate ourselves.
Accepts and is faithful to his commission.
The Lord points out the dire state that the nation is in and asks the question, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?"
I can imagine the scene, Isaiah has been brought into the presence of God, He has been made clean by God and the heavenly hosts are all around. There is an urgent problem that needs addressing and the King of Kings and Lord of Lords is asking the question, Whom shall I send? The tension is building, will anybody be found who can take on the challenge. Isaiah stands forwards and says those immortal words, "Here am I. Send me." Isaiah heroically takes the mantle as the man of God, I can almost here the heavenly hosts singing... Hallelujah, Hallelujah... but then Isaiah listens on to find what his commission is.
Isaiah 6:9
He said, "Go and tell this people: "`Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’
10:Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed."
I can almost imagine Isaiah thinking... ’now hang on a minute, I though I was going to preach and the people would listen... erm, can I reconsider.’ Isaiah was probably hoping that it would get better, and so asks, how long will it take?
Isaiah 6:11
Then I said, "For how long, O Lord?" And he answered: "Until the cities lie ruined and without inhabitant, until the houses are left deserted and the fields ruined and ravaged,
12:until the LORD has sent everyone far away and the land is utterly forsaken.
13:And though a tenth remains in the land, it will again be laid waste. But as the terebinth and oak leave stumps when they are cut down, so the holy seed will be the stump in the land."
Things go from bad to worse. It is one thing to receive a calling from God when you know people are going to listen and repent, but Isaiah is told that instead the people will ignore him and the land will be left in ruins, only a few will survive.
Even though Isaiah’s calling is a miserable one, he still accepts it and is faithful to it. Although Isaiah has to prophecy the destruction of the people, he is also used mightily by God. It is Isaiah who prophecies that Cyrus, a Persian ruler, will come to reign, over a hundred years later, and will rebuild Jerusalem. Josephus, the historian, actually records that Cyrus was shown Isaiahs prophecy, and it was that that caused him to order the restoration of Jerusalem to begin.
Isaiah is also responsible for what is probably the most moving prophecies of the coming of Christ and His purpose (Isaiah 53), recorded anywhere in the Bible. Even though Isaiahs commission is difficult, it is his faithfulness to it that has led him to be one of the most popular important prophets in the Bible.
There is another great commission recorded in the Bible, and that is that of the disciples. It is recorded in Matthew chapter 28.
Matthew 28:18
Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
19:Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20:and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
We are given the same commission as the disciples, as Jesus states that it is to be carried out to the very end of the age. God is saying today the same thing that he said to Isaiah, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" Will our reply be the same as Isaiah.
Conclusion:
Only a few days ago I saw a video of the Bradford City fire disaster, as part of a fire training exercise at work. I was eight years old when it happened, and had heard about it, but I had never seen the footage, that was captured live, by a shocked camera crew who just kept filming.
On Saturday 11th May 1985, 11,000 football fan had gathered to watch a football match between Bradford City and Lincoln city. At 15:40 hours that day a small fire was noticed at the back of the Sunwin Stand. The play was continuing, but the fire was also spreading. The commentator mentioned the fire but then resumed commentary on the match, oblivious to the seriousness of the situation. People were simply being moved away from the area of the fire, and fire fighting equipment was requested, but everything else seemed calm. About 30 seconds later the fire was growing and the people at the end of the stand where the blaze was had started to move onto the pitch and so the game was stopped. The people at the other end of the stand simply sat where they were, unaffected by what was happening.
Within a short time the roof of the stadium had combusted into flames and the people at the other end of the stand suddenly began to panick. People were unable to get onto the safety of the pitch in time, 56 people lost their lives and 265 were taken to hospital with serious injuries. Many of the dead were the young and elderly, crushed in the stampede to get to safety. Others died in the flames.
This video is so shocking and upsetting, that it is only used for fire safety exercises and is banned from view to the general public. When I watched it, I was horrified at how unnecessary the deaths were. If only people had reacted when they first saw the fire, and made their way onto the pitch, nobody would have been killed. Even though the footage is almost 20 years old, and I knew the result, as I watched, I still found myself urging people to do something when the flames could first be seen.
There were a number of upsetting factors of the video. An elderly man, who like the rest, hadn’t initially thought that he was in danger, could be seen desperately trying to climb over the seats to the front of the stand and on to the pitch. When he got about half way his clothes had begun to catch fire. He suddenly realised that he was going to make it, just gave up, and waited to die
Another upsetting feature was that, as many people were dying, or about to die, the rest of the crowd who were on the pitch didn’t realise this. They were still singing and chanting football songs, and many were jumping in front of the cameras, trying to get there faces on television. That rejoicing soon went quiet, as reality dawned.
One thing that struck me however was the efforts of one police officer. He had been near to the area of the fire and had realised the seriousness of the situation. He could be seen near to the start of the incident, frantically trying to wave people towards the pitch, towards safety. However, people didn’t seem to be listening to him, it was as if they felt safe in the crowd that they were in. However a number did listen, they went towards the pitch, and they were saved.
When was reading Isaiah chapter 6, it struck me that police officer job was not dissimilar to Isaiah’s. Just like Isaiah he had seen the danger and the coming destruction if the people didn’t act, was desperately trying to guide the people to safety. But just like in Isaiahs day, they thought that they were safe in the crowd and only a few listened. Because of this, unnecessary destruction was to follow.
An investigation into the fire suggested that it was probably caused by the accidental dropping of a match or a cigarette stubbed out into a polystyrene cup. The resulting fire was then fuelled by rubbish that had collected underneath the wooden stand. This fire was a disaster waiting to happen.
In the same way rubbish has been allowed to collect in this area and this nation. Pornography, sexual immorality, greed and idolatry are just a few of the pieces of rubbish that are waiting to fuel the fire of judgement that will come upon this land. In that day there will be many who don’t respond until its too late. There will be the sound of rejoicing, unaware of the situation. We are called to be like Isaiah or that police officer, warning the people and trying to lead them to safety. There will be many that won’t listen, but we are still called to do it for the sake of those that will. We need to realise the seriousness of the situation. God is going to judge this land.
The Lord is asking the same question today, as He did to Isaiah..."Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?"
Will you stand before God today and reply, "Here am I. Send me."
