Isaiah Sees the Holy King and Is Sent

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. 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. 6:3 They called out to one another, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord who commands armies! His majestic splendor fills the entire earth!” 6:4 The sound of their voices shook the door frames, and the temple was filled with smoke. 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.” 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. 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.” 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!” 6:9 He said, “Go and tell these people: ‘Listen continually, but don’t understand! Look continually, but don’t perceive!’ 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.” 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, 6:12 and the Lord has sent the people off to a distant place, and the very heart of the land is completely abandoned. 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 high place is thrown down. That sacred pillar symbolizes the special chosen family.”

Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NET) are from the NET Bible®, copyright ©1996, 2019 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. All rights reserved.

Isaiah sees the Lord on his throne, high and holy. He is undone by his own sin. God cleanses him, then sends him to speak to a hard-hearted people. The message will bring judgment, yet God will still preserve a holy seed.

Isaiah’s vision begins with the Lord seated as true King. Uzziah has died, but God still rules. The seraphs show reverence before his holiness. Their cry, “Holy, holy, holy,” is the center of the scene. God’s glory fills the whole earth.

Isaiah does not admire the vision from a distance. He is crushed by it. He knows he is unclean, and he lives among an unclean people. Before he can speak for God, he must be cleansed. A seraph touches his mouth with a coal from the altar. God says his guilt is taken away and his sin is forgiven.

Then God calls for a messenger. Isaiah answers, “Here I am, send me!” But the message is hard. He must speak to people who keep hearing but do not understand, and keep seeing but do not perceive. This is a judgment on stubborn unbelief. Their continued refusal will bring more hardness, not immediate healing.

Isaiah asks how long this will last. The answer is severe: until the land is ruined, the cities are empty, and the people are carried away. Yet judgment is not the last word. Even if only a small part remains, God will preserve a holy seed. The nation may be cut down like a tree, but the Lord will keep his purposes alive.

• God is the true King, even when earthly kings die.
• God is holy, and his glory fills the whole earth.
• A sinner cannot stand before God apart from cleansing.
• Cleansing comes from God’s mercy, not from human effort.
• True ministry begins with grace and repentance.
• God sends his servants with his word; they do not send themselves.
• Persistent unbelief can become judicial hardening under God’s rule.
• God’s judgment is real and can bring ruin, exile, and desolation.
• Even after judgment, God preserves a remnant or holy seed.
• God’s covenant purposes continue, even through severe loss.

• Woe to me, for I am unclean.
• The Lord is holy; treat him with reverence.
• Here I am; send me.
• Listen continually, but do not understand is a judgment oracle against hardened people.
• Do not use this passage to excuse unbelief or manipulative preaching.
• Do not flatten Isaiah’s unique commission into a simple pattern for every believer.

The passage shows the holy King calling and cleansing a prophet so he can speak for God’s covenant purposes. It also shows that God judges stubborn rebellion, yet preserves a holy seed so his promises do not fail.

We should fear God’s holiness and not treat sin lightly. We should ask the Lord to cleanse us, not trust our own goodness. We should be ready to obey when God sends us. We should also take warning from repeated refusal of God’s word. Even when God’s work seems small, we should trust him to preserve his people and keep his purposes moving.

• Lite Commentary
• In-depth Commentary