Isaiah 6 explained: Isaiah Sees God and Is Sent

God on the throne (vv. 1-4)

King Uzziah had ruled Judah for about fifty years and died around 740 BC, so as an earthly king passes, Isaiah sees the true King still reigning. The fiery attendants (seraphim, a name linked to the word for burning) cover their faces and bodies in reverence and call God holy three times, a Hebrew way of saying utterly, completely holy.

Isaiah's cry and cleansing (vv. 5-7)

Faced with such purity, Isaiah feels his own wrongdoing and that of his people, focusing on his lips, the very part a prophet speaks with. A burning coal from the altar, where offerings for sin were made, touches his mouth, a sign that his guilt is removed and he is made fit to speak for God.

Here am I (v. 8)

God asks who will go, and Isaiah, now forgiven, volunteers at once. Christians have often read the "us" as a hint of the Trinity, though many scholars see it as God speaking with his heavenly court.

A message that won't land (vv. 9-10)

Isaiah is told his preaching will leave the people more stubborn, not less, so they keep hearing without understanding. Interpreters disagree over whether this means God actively hardens them or simply foretells how they will react, and Jesus later quotes these words about people who heard him but did not grasp his meaning.

How long? (vv. 11-13)

The answer is bleak: until the cities are empty and the people are carried away, which later happened when Babylon conquered Judah. Yet a felled tree leaves a living stump, and the "holy seed" points to a surviving remnant from which new life can grow.

Key verse: Isaiah 6:8

Where Christians differ

Christians differ on whether verses 9 and 10 mean God deliberately hardens people's hearts or describes the result their own refusal will bring.

Something to think about

What would make someone keep speaking up for something when they expect almost no one to listen?