Isaiah 6: 6 – 8

”Jesus didn’t send only His twelve disciples into the world; He sends every believer into the world. There are not two kinds of disciples: those who are sent and those who can stay back and lead ”normal” lives. All of us who claim to be Christians have been sent. The only crucial question is: Will we obey? God waits to hear us say, ”Send me.” Then He will show us where. ” Tom Hale: The applied Old Testament Commentary, p.1001.

Warren Wiersbe says that Isaiah had both ‘sight’ and ‘insight’. As we observed yesterday, when He saw the Lord he saw himself, and he did not like what he saw. He thought he was a dead man (5; see 1 Sam. 6:20). But in that moment of confession and self-humbling the door was opened for him to receive cleansing (6, 7). Thank God there is provision for all who will truly repent. It comes ”from the altar.” The cross where Jesus died is the ultimate altar where our forgiveness was procured; our ”sin atoned for”. The one in the temple was a foreshadowing of the cross. At Calvary the Lord Jesus made it possible for our ”guilt” to be ”taken away”. Fire symbolizes God’s cleansing (”live coal”). The coal touched Isaiah’s lips, where his greatest, self-confessed need was at the time (5). At the same time this coal also touched Isaiah’s whole being and cleansed him from all sin. ”Isaiah had pronounced woes on other people, but now he cried, ”Woe is me!” He admitted that he was a sinner, he confessed his sin, and the Lord cleansed him. Were it not for the sacrifice on the altar, we could never approach the Sovereign on the throne.” Warren W. Wiersbe: With the Word, p.456

Wiersbe in fact says three things about Isaiah from this story of his commission. He had ‘sight’, ‘insight’ and ‘vision’ (8). God called him to go and use those cleansed lips (and that washed life); to lift up his eyes on the fields, as it were. In this story of Isaiah’s call there is the fascinating interspersing of ”I” and ”us” in God’s words (8).Could this be one of those places in the Old Testament where there is a strong indication of there being both unity and diversity in the Godhead? Many theologians and commentators seem to think so. This, of course, will be more fully revealed in the New Testament, but it is implied in a few places in the Old. This is one of them (see also Gen.1:26; 11:7). ”True worship leads to service. You hear God’s call, and you respond with obedience. God did not send Isaiah to a receptive people or give him an easy message to preach. But when you have seen the Lord and felt His touch, you can obey His will without fear.” Warren W. Wiersbe: With the Word, p.457.

Tom Hale, in his excellent ‘The applied Old Testament Commentary’, makes some interesting and helpful comments on (8). He says that God didn’t call Isaiah directly, but the prophet ‘overheard’ a conversation going on in heaven. The call wasn’t just for Isaiah but is meant to be heard by everyone. After Isaiah was cleansed he was ready to hear God’s call. He responded as a servant would. God had first of all forgiven him and removed his guilt and now he was ready and willing for anything: ”If we are having trouble hearing God’s voice, it is probably because we have not yet come to His altar, His fire, and offered ourselves to Him (Romans 12:1)…Too many believers today say to God, ”Here am I – bless me,” when they should be saying, ”Here am I – send me.” Too many Christians come to church to be blessed, but not to be sent. They remain spiritual infants, still drinking milk (Hebrews 5:11-13). Christ gave His life for us; how can we suppose that we’re not called to give our lives for Him?…Christians often say they’re not sure what God is asking them to do; but that’s because they’re not willing to do whatever He might ask…The question remains for each of us: Am I willing to do anything that God might ask? (Pp.1000/1001)

Prayer: Here I am wholly available; as for me I will serve the Lord.