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| Volume 25 Number 4 April 2023 |
Page 13 |
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| Volume 25 Number 4 April 2023 |
Page 13 |
Here Am I! Send Me
Emily Fisher
The prophet Isaiah witnessed the God of Glory on His throne in a vision (Isaiah 6). Imagine this majestic scene.
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew and one cried to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!” And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke. (Isaiah 6:1-4 NKJV)
As the Lord of hosts gave Isaiah a glimpse into His heavenly temple – observing the multi-winged creatures, the doors shaking as the message rang out and the encompassing smoke – it caused him to reflect upon some things. What can we today learn from this vision?
Who God Is
This scene truly showed Isaiah Who God is (verse 3). Like the prophet, we also need to recognize the Lord’s nature. This takes study and application of His complete Word (2 Timothy 2:15; 3:16; 2 Peter 1:3). From a similar vision given by our Lord Jesus to His servant John, we learn God is holy and worthy of honor and glory (Revelation 4:8-11). The One, True, Holy God demands our reverence because we were created by Him (1 Peter 1:14-16; Hebrews 12:28-29; Psalm 99).
Who I Am
Seeing the glory of the Holy God caused Isaiah to examine himself in this light and to confess his sinfulness. “So I said: ‘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 my eyes have seen the King, The Lord of hosts’” (Isaiah 6:5).
As we come to know our Lord, we should realize our spiritual state (Luke 5:8; 18:13; Romans 3:23; 5:8). Men or women, rich or poor and darker complected or lighter complected, we all stand equal as sinners before the Holy God. He does not want us to stay in our sins but calls to us through His Word – to repent, to obey and to enter into His everlasting kingdom (Luke 13:3; Mark 16:16; Matthew 7:21).
God’s Mercy
In a merciful display, God forgave Isaiah of his sins. “Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth with it, and said: ‘Behold, this has touched your lips; Your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged’” (Isaiah 6:6-7).
Christ Jesus, God in the flesh and our Great High Priest, made freedom from sin possible (John 1:14; Acts 4:12; Hebrews 7:25-27). The Spirit through the writer of Hebrews stated:
God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high…” (Hebrews 1:1-3)
My Responsibility
“Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?’ Then I said, ‘Here am I! Send me’” (Isaiah 6:8). As the Lord called out, Isaiah realized his responsibility. Being redeemed by the blood of Christ should cause us to see our responsibilities (2 Corinthians 5:10-12; 1 John 4:19). Our love must compel us to share this good news with others, warning them that sin leads to death and hell fire (Romans 6:15-19; Matthew 25:41). May we have courage like Isaiah and prayerfully respond, “Here am I! Send me.”
God’s Mission
The throne room scene does not end there. The Lord told Isaiah what he was to go tell the people, though, not quite what we would expect. “Go, and tell this people: ‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; Keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’ Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; Lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and return and be healed” (Isaiah 6:9-10).
Summary
Being privileged to have the completed revelation of God – the New Testament – we have an advantage over Isaiah. We can look back through history and see that first-century Israel did not understand the Gospel of Christ. Indeed, as a whole, the nation rejected the Messiah about which their Scriptures prophesied in detail. It is interesting that these verses in Isaiah 6 were quoted by Jesus and recorded in Matthew 13:13-15, Mark 4:11-12 and Luke 8:10 right before He explained to the disciples the Parable of the Sower. Also, the apostle Paul in Acts 28:25-27 reminded his Jewish listeners of this prophecy as he informed them that “the salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will hear it” (Acts 28:28). Now, through the one spiritual body of God’s Son, consisting of Jews and Gentiles, His mission is being carried out (Ephesians 3:10). Some will believe the message and obey – praise God! However, many will not believe, but that does not negate our responsibility to teach. Thus, we press on, sowing the seed, carrying out the Lord’s mission and remembering the Holy and Glorious God we serve (Luke 19:10; Matthew 28:19-20).
