THE CALL OF ISAIAH

 

“IN THE YEAR OF KING UZZIAH’S DEATH

I SAW THE LORD…”

 

                Woe is me Isaiah exclaims! What a most profound feeling he must have had. So deep and soul saving an experience! He had just seen the Lord!!!

                We hear so many times the statement that no one has seen the Lord. No human being has ever had the privilege, the awesome experience of seeing the Lord. And yet Isaiah, chapter 6 verse 1, Isaiah clearly states that he saw the Lord. What an astounding event, what an awesome experience!!!

                He says he saw the Lord sitting upon His throne, sitting high up and lifted up and His train filled the temple. Unbelievable sight, incredible picture, or vision Isaiah had, but there’s trouble with the train. What does it mean in this context? Researching the word train, many meanings were discovered, none of which seemed to fit this context except the word train meaning a group of persons that follow after another or stand behind another. Attendants, as it were, stood behind the throne of the Lord.

                The very profound experience of God and the Godhead, once penetrating Isaiah’s spirit, affects all his future life and all his future writings.

                It’s entirely possible Isaiah, before this encounter, was just an ordinary, run of the mill spokesperson for God. Very possibly, Isaiah considered himself a bit special for telling people about God. Conceivably, he was a bit complacent and arrogant in his task of telling others about his God. He went around with possibly the idea that he was not exactly doing God a favor but feeling pretty good about himself, filled perhaps with a fair amount of self righteousness. But God knew his heart; God knew what Isaiah was made of.

                And then the vision! And then the encounter. The sight of the LORD! The sight of the LORD!!! What a privilege! What an honor!!! What you would think of as a very gladdening, invigorating, intoxicating experience. Yet no! He was not overjoyed. He was not full of exhilaration. He was full of sadness! “WOE IS ME.” He says “I AM LOST!!!” and then he gives us his reason. - “God, I am a man of unclean lips, and (what’s more) I dwell among a people of unclean lips!!!” And yet with these eyes he have seen the king, the LORD of Hosts!!!

                “WOE is me for I am undone.” It’s very interesting to try to understand what this ‘undone’ means in this context.

                Researching the word ‘undone’ we find that the word ‘undone’ is used as the past participle of the word ‘undo’, meaning, of course, ruin or destruction. Undone is also an adjective meaning ‘not done’, or not performed! I suspect the former meaning is the correct meaning here.

                Isaiah says then he is undone meaning he is ruined, utterly destroyed. How so? Why? - He is so because he has just encountered GOD, the all Holy One, - THE WHOLLY OTHER ONE and sees his own profound sinfulness and unworthiness.

                Isaiah is totally overwhelmed by the HOLINESS of God. In his vision, the angels cry out, chant unceasingly Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of Hosts, the whole earth is full of your glory.

                But God has mercy on Isaiah.

                One of the seraphim - (those who guard the throne of God) flies to him and the angel is carrying in his hand a glowing coal. The angel touches Isaiah’s mouth with it. The angel declares “the coal has touched your lips; your sinfulness, your iniquity is removed and wiped away.”

                The awesome, indescribable sight of God has made Isaiah painfully aware of his own sinfulness and unworthiness. Isaiah, now penetrated through and through with his own iniquity, is now declared free of sin - by God himself by way of a seraphim angel.

                What a moment! What an experience! What a revelation! What a feeling! What an unforgettable thing to have happen to you, to hear from the living God that your sin is wiped away! This was an experience that would change the rest of his life.

                Then, almost immediately, Isaiah hears now from the Lord Himself asking Isaiah, “WHOM SHALL I SEND?” What an invitation! What a calling! What a responsibility! What a challenge! He says who will go for me?

                Isaiah answers, “HERE AM I, SEND ME.” His answer is immediate. What a marvelous and positive response. And then just as quickly God tells Isaiah what he wants him to do.

                Isaiah is to tell his people a very strange message. The Lord declares they will listen but will not understand. These people are so far from God, so dulled in their senses, they will be very hard to reach. They will not comprehend.

                Amazingly, Isaiah does not seem to be discouraged. For he simply asks, - “How long Lord?” How long will he need to do this? The Lord answers until total destruction occurs and the entire country is one vast desolation.

                We must assume Isaiah simply listens and obeys. He has been transfixed and transformed by his encounter with his God. He will be steadfast in his mission. And we see from later chapters in the book he does just that. He obeys and is ever faithful to his mission as prophet and as God’s messenger. He is ever faithful to his call.

                Further reading and research into the book of Isaiah and into the man Isaiah has revealed some very interesting facts.

                Isaiah at the outset speaks of the vision, his vision concerning Judah and Jerusalem during the reign of four kings.

                Isaiah’s prominent and overarching character and personality had an effect on Jewish life and Jewish ways and beliefs for centuries after his death according to the most reliable Jewish historians.

                Many parts of Isaiah’s book were written down during his lifetime but biblical historians tend to agree that the book of Isaiah, as presently found in scripture, was not written entirely during Isaiah’s lifetime. Portions of the book were transcribed later by his most devoted followers recalling Isaiah’s words and prophecies. His disciples followed in his footsteps by passing on the message to later generations. They were in utter awe of this gigantic old testament personality.

                In a further analysis of the book we notice Isaiah does not make any attempt to define God or explain God; he gives us only his living impression, his vision of God as he experiences it.

                His very real spiritual experience he expresses in sensory images. His innermost self is permeated, his entire humanness is captivated by his experience of God. He makes himself conscious of what he has seen, reflects on it, and conveys it in images.

                Taking a closer look at the picture in the passage we see a scene of a royal vision; a king clothes in his stately robes, sitting on his throne in the royal room of his palace, surrounded by his royal court.

                It was a high throne with many steps. Solomon is remembered here as one who made a great ivory throne, and plated it with refined gold. The throne had six steps , two lions stood beside two arms and twelve lions stood on both sides of the steps as is described in 1 Kings 10:18-20. A similar scene is depicted in 1 Kings 22:19-20 where YAHWEH is seen seated on his throne with all the array of heaven standing in his presence.

                Isaiah is totally and completely overwhelmed. He cries out. “I am lost. My eyes have looked upon the king.”

                It is a TEMPLE vision with images of incense, song, altar and holy fire. The entire temple floor is covered with the hem of YAHWEH’S splendid attire.

                This, according to reliable biblical authorities, is a symbol of YAHWEH’S highest authentic presence. The hem had a special meaning in the ancient East as described in other biblical references. In those days, the hem or train was as characteristic of a person as for us a fingerprint or signature might be.

                Isaiah experiences the very nearness of God as he stands as a lonely, moral man. The sound of the seraphim is powerful. These radiant beings surrounded YAHWEH’S high throne and ‘stand’, two wings constantly move and with two other wings they covered their faces since even they cannot bear to look at the Holy One of Israel.

                With two other wings they cover the lower part of their bodies, apparently or possibly in an effort to hide their - creatureliness from God’s holy sight. Some sight!!!

                The temple vision is presented in a way that the temple of Jerusalem and the heavenly temple give the appearance of merging.

                The prophet uses these images to endeavor, in a very crude way, to express in words his indescribable and incomprehensible vision and experience of God. They are thoughts taken from the temple and the palace, as Isaiah could have experienced them. They are united to Isaiah’s inner life and transformed into the crude human expression of his personal and life changing vision of his awesome GOD. The transformation, unlike in the case of Paul and others, is immediate and total.

                Although, noticeably national and Jerusalem like his imaginary material may have been in origin, his vision here has become a reality that transcends a nation and the world.

                In this remarkable setting, Isaiah is transformed and receives his call, his commission. GOD IS PLEASED WITH ISAIAH.

                Thus, God shares his deepest secrets regarding man’s redemption. Isaiah becomes the most PROLIFIC and ACCURATE prophet of Christ as Messiah in the entire biblical record.

 

Postscript:

                Additional readings in commentaries on Isaiah yielded more fascinating information. In the 1850’s a number of very learned Bible scholars began to theorize that the book of Isaiah was written by a number of people. Stade, Auhm, Mante, Buddle and Skinner were among those advocating multiple authorships.

                In response to their theories, J.A. Alexander, brilliant linguist and eminent biblical expert, rejected what he regarded as excesses by the above mentioned scholars. Similar views of Koppe, Eichhorn and Bertholdt were also dismissed by Alexander.

                Alexander upheld the Isaianic authorship of chapters 40-66. A number of other scholars including the renowned Rudolf Stier were also advocates of a single author. Additional defenses of the unity of authorship of Isaiah were provided by Caspam, Rutgers, Jeffreys, G.L. Robinson, Lias and Ribberbos. Most of these prominent Bible scholars lived in the latter part of the 19the century or the early part of the 20^th century.

                Areas of agreement among all these bible experts were the profound and utter holiness of God, God’s faithfulness to man, God’s absolute promise of salvation to those seeking Him and an unwavering condemnation of evil and evildoers.

                Vengeance is His and it will come. Victory is His and it will happen. The Eternal Kingdom is His and it will last forever. His saints are His and they will be with Him forever.