Isaiah 6:1-8
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple. 2 Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. 3 And one called to another and said:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of
his glory.”
4 The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who
called, and the house filled with smoke. 5 And I said: “Woe is me! I
am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean
lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord
of hosts!” 6 Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. 7 The seraph touched my mouth with it and said: “Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.” 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!”
Famously, Isaiah 6:1-8, in a section that extends to verse 11, relates a vision the prophet had in
the temple at the time of the death of Uzziah. It relates the call of Isaiah.
This passage is a particular example of the multiplicity of biblical ideas of
revelation. Here, while worshipping in the temple at Jerusalem, Isaiah becomes
part of the counsel of the Lord and receives his commission. [1]
The call of Isaiah to become a prophet of God is perhaps the best-known event
in Isaiah's life. If the vision recorded in 6:1 marks
the start of Isaiah’s ministry, his career began in 738 B.C., the year of King
Uzziah’s death, and extended until at least 701 B.C. and possibly later. His
words to Ahaz were uttered not long after his ministry in Jerusalem began, and
may have propelled him from the ranks of ordinary court prophets to pre—eminent
status. it appears that Isaiah was a part of the privileged class within
Jerusalem as indicated by his ease of access to the centers of power. His
presence in the area of the temple normally restricted to priests might
arguably place Isaiah within that class. Might he have been among the 80
priests of valor who confronted King Uzziah on his ill-fated attempt to offer a
sacrifice within the temple precinct (II Chronicles 26:16-21)? Certainly uppermost
in Isaiah's affections was his love for the city of Jerusalem and his interest
in the special relationship between YHWH and the Davidic dynasty.
Many scholars think the specific
setting for chapter 6 to be an annual religious drama conducted in the temple.
This drama, known as the Enthronement Celebration (see Psalms 47, 93 and
96-99), depicted the return of the Divine King to the temple as victor over the
forces of evil to receive the crown as king, creator and judge of his people.
Isaiah 6: 1-3 describe a vision of God. In the year that King Uzziah died, when the nation is going through
a difficult transition from a popular and effective ruler to his unproven and
less popular son, Jotham. I hope I am not reading too much into this, but it
sounds like Isaiah is worried about the future.
Without Uzziah at the top, what is to happen? He knew that the next king
would not be like Uzziah. After all the
good that Uzziah accomplished, the new king could wipe it all away. Isaiah needed the reminder that it is not
good to place too much trust human beings in general and in political leaders
in particular. They often disappoint
us. Those whom we think of as leaders,
as celebrities, and lift far above ourselves as idols, often turn out to be too
much like us. They are weak. They have feet of clay. Yet, we find it easy for fame, beauty,
intellect, wealth, and power to impress us. I
saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe
filled the temple. The vision occurs in the temple, likely during an act of
worship. Thus, on one Sabbath day, Isaiah entered the temple. Isaiah was dejected, anxious, yet hopeful
that the Lord would give him a sign. He
offered his prayers. The priests
performed their duties. All went on as
before. However, this time Isaiah saw
the Lord. A dejected prophet caught a vision of the real king. He had been so impressed with the
accomplishments of a human king. He
needed a reminder that not all was lost.
The real king was still in charge.
He caught a vision of who the Lord really was. This was no ordinary
Sabbath day. Everything had
changed. Isaiah would not be the same
after this. Throughout much of his ministry,
Isaiah tried to persuade the king not to put his trust in foreign
alliances. Rather, in the midst of the
complicated politics of that period, he needed to place his trust in God. The king simply did not listen. 2 Seraphs
mixed creatures popular in Egyptian symbolism as guardian deities, were in attendance above him. Each had six
wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet (referring
to genitalia), and with two they flew. The
six-winged seraphim described in this passage are otherwise unknown in the
Scriptures, this being the only reference. These attendants to the heavenly
throne display the appropriate response to the presence of YHWH. With two wings, they covered their faces so that
the holiness of the Lord would not blind them; with two wings they covered
their nakedness; and with two wings they hastened to their appointed
tasks. 3 In addition, one
called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts, an
antiphon sung in Jerusalem temple. In the Hebrew language, one of the ways to
express emphasis is through repetition, and thus Isaiah hears the thrice spoken
"Holy" as a way of indicating the surpassing holiness of YHWH. As for
the Christian reader, wise counsel suggests a need to avoid taking the
threefold "Holy" of verse 3 or the "us" of verse 8 in any
Trinitarian sense. The former is for emphasis; the latter is YHWH addressing
those attending his throne. Yet, the hymn by Reginald Heber (1826) has part of
its imagery from this verse. “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty,” the hymn
begins, who is merciful and mighty, “God in three persons blessed Trinity.” As
the antiphon concludes, the whole earth
is full of the glory of the Lord.”
Isaiah
6: 4-7 are an act of cleansing and prophetic preparation. 4 The pivots on the thresholds, referring to the temple, shook at the voices of those who called, either
heavenly or earthly voices, and the house
filled with smoke, referring to incense and offerings. 5 Moreover, I
said: “Woe, referring to guilt, is
me! I am lost, expressing his sense of this experience overwhelming him, for I am a man of unclean lips. He feels
unfit to be the mouthpiece of the Lord.
The point of the cultic separation of what is holy, of what is dedicated
to God or related to God, and especially of the deity and the places and times
of the divine presence, is not just to protect the holy against defilement by
contact with the profane. Above all, the separation has the design of
protecting the world of the profane from the threat of the holy. This explains
why Isaiah in this verse responds to a vision of the holy God with terror.[2]
Not only that, I live among a people of
unclean lips. He is also aware of the sinfulness of the people generally.
Further, the people have “unclean” lips that could not stand before the eternal
King and therefore they have fallen victim to death. The judgment of God upon
the people of God confirmed this verdict.[3] We
may think the passage is harsh. Yet, we snap at our loved ones. We gossip
behind the backs of our friends. If we do not speak ugly thoughts about others,
we are thinking them. Carl Jung was trying to help a man with severe
depression. Jung told him to cut back
his 14-hour workday to eight. He was to
go directly home to his study and spend his evenings there, quiet and
alone. The man tried it. He went into his study and did some readings,
listened to some music. After a few
weeks, he came back to Jung, complaining that he did not notice any
improvement. When the man told him what
he was doing, he said, "But you didn't understand. I wanted you to be all alone with yourself.
Not reading or listening to music."
He got a horrified expression on his face. "I can't think of any worse
company!" Jung replied, "Yet
this is the self you inflict on other people fourteen hours a day."[4]
That is why confession of sin daily is a good idea. We are wretched people.
This passage can make us wonder if part of discipleship is a real anguish over
our sinfulness before the Lord. Too many of us read and hear the Bible without
having a basic respect of it. Too many go to church and receive absolution
without feeling genuinely refreshed. They receive Holy Communion and remain
cold. They seem to lack an appreciation of this moment of grace. More of us may
need to pray that the Lord would give us more anguish over our sins. On the other
hand, the contrived efforts of preachers and teachers in the church to tell us
that we should feel shame and unworthiness are very different from what this
passage intends. Such persons may appreciate the fact that the preacher has
stepped on their toes a bit or “gone to meddling.” Yet, such feelings are often
fleeting and do not yield to real change or transformation. Some Christians
become stuck in this “woe is me” place. They forget that the Lord comes to
unworthy people with forgiveness and grace. Yet
my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” The acute awareness of
YHWH's holiness led Isaiah to recognize the comparative unrighteousness of both
him and his people. Yet, in spite of that unrighteousness, YHWH chose to reveal
the divine self to Isaiah. 6 Then,
in an act of ritual cleansing, one of
the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that it took from the altar with a pair of tongs. 7 The seraph
touched my mouth with it, purging the
whole being of the prophet, and said,
“Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is
blotted out.” This revelation of the Lord to Isaiah displays unimaginable
grace. The fact that the Lord would choose any of us to be an ambassador of the
Lord is an amazing gift and privilege.
In Isaiah 6: 8-11, we have the giving of the divine
commission to Isaiah. 8 Then I
heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for
us?” This revelation also communicates an unavoidable mission. The Lord
comes with forgiveness and grace, and therefore a mission. The Lord convicts,
but also equips and empowers to live a life for the Lord. The Lord adopts as
children of the Lord. The image is that of the Lord surrounded by the heavenly
court with Isaiah allowed to attend. Moreover, I said, “Here am I; send me!” Grace frees the prophet to respond
to the mission. He hears the question and knows only he can go. he has no
authority outside this. The prophet
accepts God's commission. Isaiah's call introduces a new element to prophetic
ministry, namely the need for the spokesman to experience purification for
himself before he can undertake the mission to which he has been called. Thus
cleansed (forgiven), Isaiah can do nothing less than show his gratitude by
committing himself to the purposes of YHWH. The task is impossible. It will
likely not lead to success, as the world understands success. People need to
hear that the call of the Lord is toward something that looks like endless
failure. Yet, in many ways, this passage forms the basic structure for
traditional Protestant worship. The call to worship invites us to awaken to the
presence of the Lord. Holy, Holy, Holy invites us to offer praise. The entrance
into the divine presence gives us an opportunity for awareness of our sin,
followed by the assurance of pardon. We then hear the word of God, followed by
a hymn of dedication. The benediction invites us to go into the world to serve.
It seems wise to end this reflection with a popular praise song built off this
passage.
"Here I Am, Lord."
I, the Lord of sea and sky,
I have heard My people cry.
All who dwell in dark and sin,
My hand will save.
I who made the stars of night,
I will make their darkness bright.
Who will bear My light to them?
Whom shall I send?
Here I am Lord, Is it I Lord?
I have heard You calling in the
night.
I will go Lord, if You lead me.
I will hold Your people in my
heart.
--Lyrics by Dan Schutte.
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