Isaiah 6 is my favorite chapter in the Bible,
so I’m going a little longer today. It recalls Isaiah's vision at the time of
King Uzziah's death.
Though some see this as the beginning of
Isaiah's call, I disagree. The first chapter says that the times of Isaiah's
prophecy were "during the reigns of Uzziah, ..."(1:1). What I see here
is a reaffirmation of the call of God and something more, a strengthening of
Isaiah's constitution for the hard days ahead. This call isn't something most
people would want when looked at in total. This is why, I believe, God gave
Isaiah such a dramatic vision.
I could go on for some time about everything
I see in Isaiah 6 but first I have to point something out. Often in the west,
we look at ministry as a hard but safe profession. We think that if you go into
the ministry that everything will grow and prosper after all this is the good
news we are preaching. This is not always true. Yes, the church is booming in
the third world, but this is after decades, even centuries of mission work
where little growth took place (as a percentage of the population). Even Paul's
ministry, though planting works all across Asia Minor didn't have a majority.
No, I am not saying we should have a defeatist mentality and accept that we
can't make a difference, but we do need to be honest. Most of our ministries
don't end up turning into mega-churches. However, Isaiah was given something
much less than we can hope for.
What I want to highlight isn't the vision but
the promise God gave on the acceptance of the call. After Isaiah accepts the
call, God promises him that he will serve until everything in his country,
which he loves, is destroyed. God promises a tenth, a stump will remain when
his ministry is over. Even that bit, though it will grow, will not be seen by
Isaiah. In Star Trek terms, this is the "The Kobayashi Maru" a no-win
scenario (at least from man's perspective).
I just returned from district assembly for my
denomination. There was much encouragement on growth (and I believe there
should be). The district superintendent made it clear he didn't want to serve
if it meant he was serving over the death of the district. I can't blame him,
neither would I. I have served in two churches that were dying and nothing
could be done to save them as they were. I have made a commitment to myself
never to be in that place again. Yet, this is exactly what Isaiah is being
called to do. Stay until they turn the lights out. Stay until all you know and
love is gone. Stand and watch it burn to the ground.
It is no wonder God gave him this vision, he
would need it in the years ahead. It is a beautiful reminder that God gives us
what we need to finish the task he has set before us.
I have called Isaiah's call a no-win scenario
but in the eyes of eternity, what God did through the work of Isaiah and his
associates has changed the world. The book of Isaiah has given so much to the
world, I can't imagine the canon of scripture without it. Yes, during his day
he saw no reward, but like many artists, years later the world can't be
imagined without them.
On a side note: If you regret not having a
vision like Isaiah, maybe you should be glad you haven't. I sure wouldn't want
his ministry, though who could argue with the eternal outcome.
From a sermon: God never leaves us: alone,
unchanged, without purpose, without hope.
So what are your reflections on this chapter?
Isa 6:1-13
(1) In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.
(2) Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.
(3) And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.
(4) And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.
(5) Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.
(6) Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar:
(7) And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.
(8) Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.
(9) And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.
(10) Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.
(11) Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate,
(12) And the LORD have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land.
(13) But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be eaten: as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them, when they cast their leaves: so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof.
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