Isaiah 6:9 -13

When God called me to the ministry, the hope burned in my heart of seeing towns and cities transformed and people changed. It still does. Since I became a pastor in 1978 I have been privileged to watch many people turn to Christ. There is no joy in the world like it. At the same time, I have often been disappointed not to see the big results I so longed for. But I feel blessed to have experienced what I have, and I trust that many prayers which currently seem unanswered will come to fruition in God’s good time. I am thankful that I have always had hope. But imagine a calling where you know from the beginning that you’re going to spend years preaching and not be outwardly successful. By and large people are not going to respond well to what you have to say from God. You won’t be going to any conferences to share the secrets of your success. That, effectively, was what Isaiah was facing. ”Make these people blockheads, with fingers in their ears and blindfolds on their eyes, So they won’t see a thing, won’t hear a word, So they won’t have a clue about what’s going on and, yes, so they won’t turn around and be made whole.” The Message.

At face value, you could take (9, 10) to mean that God doesn’t want the people to turn back to Him. But we know that could not be the case. However, Isaiah was being told that these people had now passed the point of no return. Ever since Solomon’s day, the people of Israel especially, but also those in Judea, had become steadily more idolatrous and disobedient. Because of this persistent, obstinate disobedience, their hearts had become ”calloused” or hardened. Once people get to that point God gives them over to their own ways (Rom.1:24, 26, 28) and lets them experience the judgment they have opted for. But he does this only after many warnings and much pleading for them to return. His patience is so great. He is willing to forgive if people come to their senses and repent. But there comes a moment when the door of the ‘ark’ closes. It is too late to come back to God. For the people of Judah that time had come. They had lived through the years of opportunity. Their hearts were calcified and Isaiah would get no change out of them. His preaching would only drive their feet more firmly into the ground. That would be its effect.

The result would inevitably be the calamitous outcome we’ve already seen several times in this book (11, 12). What an unpopular message Isaiah had to give! No wonder the people finally killed him under the reign of Manasseh.

Yet even for Isaiah there was a message of hope. A tiny remnant of faithful Israelites, a ”holy seed’’, would survive and be restored to the land. They would be like a shoot springing up from a dead stump. In this way God’s ancient promise to Abraham would be fulfilled (see Gen.17:3-7; 22:17, 18). For God’s true ”seed” to grow and flourish, the old plants of wickedness had to be destroyed; the ground had to be cleared for new growth. (The principle of life coming from death is found throughout the Bible.) Out of this ”holy seed” Jesus the Messiah would ultimately come.) After writing these words my wife came into the office and pointed out that what we thought was a dry, dead clematis stump is now showing vibrant shoots. I’ve just been to have a look at it and it is truly amazing growth. What God does in a garden; what He does again and again in nature, He was going to do in this devastated land. With the benefit of hindsight we now know that He has done it.

In spite of Isaiah not having a good response in his day, he has become one of the biggest names in the Bible. He has left us a book that is widely read and preached in public services: one of the best-loved in all Scripture. At its heart it is a book which so remarkably points us to Christ. So if your ministry doesn’t seem all that remarkable in the short term, try to take the long view. Who knows what God might do with it.

Prayer: Lord give me the faith and patience to persevere through unpromising days.