Isaiah 6:1-13 - Whom Shall I Send?

Isaiah 6:1-13 NIV

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.

“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.” Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”

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!” He said, “Go and tell this people: “ ‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’ 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.”

Then I said, “For how long, Lord?” And he answered: “Until the cities lie ruined and without inhabitant, until the houses are left deserted and the fields ruined and ravaged, until the Lord has sent everyone far away and the land is utterly forsaken. 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.”

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Isaiah 6 is one of the better known parts of the prophet's writings. It is biographical in its retelling of his calling to become a prophet of Yahweh. It's prophetic in that it reveals the impending judgement upon unfaithful Israel. God has had enough of their idolatry and injustice. Now is the time for alerting the faithful who listen for the word of the Lord and for alarming the rebellious toward repentance.

Isaiah had a vision of Yahweh while at worship in the temple. Something I notice is the parallel images of the regal robe of God filling the whole temple and the glory of God filling the whole earth. Isaiah saw God seated high upon His throne and six winged seraphim flying around God singing. The heavenly beings cover themselves in humility and holy reverence, because of the pure holiness of God.

The holy nature of God elicits fear like one might feel when witnessing an awe inspiring event in the sky that you've never seen before. I often think of the fear I'd feel swimming in the ocean with a behemoth of a whale next to me. The fear I'd feel on a space walk might compare to the fear Isaiah felt as he trembled before the holiness of God.

Part of what happens in the presence of God is our awareness of our unholiness. Isaiah cried that he was a man of unclean lips living among a nation of unclean lips. He thought he would surely die because he'd seen the Lord. But God reassured Isaiah. He did not come to kill but to call. Isaiah was reminded that the Lord is merciful. God gave Israel a sacrificial system to maintain holiness before the Lord that they might dwell together. The blood of the sacrificed animal makes the unclean clean again. Those who participate in the covenant community share in the holy sacrifices and are therefore holy. The pressing of the coals from the altar to Isaiah's lips symbolizes this atonement theology. And because his unclean lips are now made holy, he is free to serve the Lord in His holy purpose.

God calls out, "Who will go for us?" Isaiah responds, "Here am I. Send me." God called Isaiah. Isaiah answered the call to go and proclaim God's message to the people. It's not a pleasing message. It's not a message easy to hear, but it's the message God gave Isaiah to deliver to His wayward people.

I answered God's call to preach and minister among his people 21 years ago. Six years afterward I was ordained an elder in the United Methodist Church. I just celebrated 15 years as an ordained pastor. In my time I've had to deliver sermons that were not easy to share. I've delivered sermons that deeply convicted me of my need for transformation. I've delivered messages targeted at the congregation's need for change. I've been applauded. I've been rejected. I've been afraid. I've been zealous. I've been bold. I've been tender. I've been whatever God, or other spirits, stirred up in me.

I mention other spirits because I know God is not the only player and I may not always hear God perfectly. Preaching is a risky business. People's hearts are in your care. It takes special care to no when, where, how, and what to say, and know why to say it. It takes God. I wouldn't keep doing it if I wasn't certain of my calling. Since I was 11 or 12 God has been calling me. I was 32 when I finally submitted and joined Isaiah in saying, "Here am I. Send me."

The message Isaiah is given is one that is meant to prick the ears of his audience and lead them to turn from their sins and be healed. By way of ironic speech God says make them deaf and blind so that they will not hear or see the truth. Harden their hearts, God says, so there won't be any godly understanding. This sounds cruel and unfair, but it's really pointing to the current reality. The people are already seeing but not perceiving the truth.They are already hearing divine revelation but not really listening. Their hearts are hard. God is not getting through.

But there's still hope that some may have their eyes and ears and hearts opened by Isaiah's message. There's a chance some will repent. They may join the faithful, the holy seed that will be left after the wrath of God brings destruction upon Israel through the armies of Babylon.

Isaiah is called to preach until the doom prophecied for Israel is complete. The cities will be ruined and the countryside ravaged. The population will die by the sword and the survivors will be taken away in exile. Even if a tenth of the people are left, they too will suffer further destruction. God's righteous judgement will purge the land of the unclean and unholy. Only those who've remained faithful will survive, and only a portion of them. But from this small and utterly humbled group, God will start again building holy community in Israel. Trees will rise again from the stumps.

This talk of wrath is never pleasant, but it is necessary. Just as the great flood story is terrifying, it is still a story of God cleansing the earth of evil. And that is good news. God remains faithful to the task of blessing the world with the knowledge of God through holy community. Even when God's called become unfaithful and abandon God's mission, God remains faithful. If it were not for these divine interventions when God hits the reset button, we'd be overrun with wickedness and the suffering it brings.

Cancer must be faced with radiation, surgery and strong chemicals that nearly kill the patient, but if this intervention is not pursued cancer spreads until it's impossible to save the life of the patient. Sometimes God intervenes in the world to eradicate a cancer that threatens His creation. Sometimes God intervenes in our personal lives when necessary. All of this is motivated by His loving intention to bless the world through a blessed people who love God and love neighbor.

Would you say the world needs more people who will answer the call of God? Where are you? If you are not going where you are sent with the ministry you are given, then what are you doing? You live among a people of unclean lips. Their mouths carry the names of false gods like politicians, movie stars, sports heroes, musicians and the like. They curse God and praise perversity. What's on your lips? What's God saying to your heart? Will you go?